On Facebook a couple weeks ago there was one of those chain-letter-statuses going around: "...no one should die because they cannot afford health care and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, post this as your status for the rest of the day."
Many of my friends and family posted it. Just take a look at the statement as a statement. If you ask your neighbors and family if they wouldn't want their family to go broke or die because they couldn't afford health care most would say they wouldn't want that to happen. Most of us could probably agree on that or at least I hope others wouldn't want us to go broke or die because we couldn't afford health care.
One of my relatives posted the statement (I did too) but then she had a reply from someone on her friend's list that made me shake my head. I am totally baffled that someone would actually believe it...I am going to paraphrase....but basically he said that "people who can't afford health care should stop driving fancy cars and spending money on other luxury items. And people just need to be responsible."
What? Really?
Where is the compassion? Did we lose that somewhere? Is it okay that 47 million people don't have health insurance? Is it okay that our neighbors and people in our families struggle to pay their health care bills? Has the politics and viral emails worked to create the stereotype that every poor person who can't afford health insurance has fancy cars and other luxury items? How did we get so blinded by the stereotype that removes compassion and replaces it with something unrecognizable?
Michael and I don't lead a luxurious life. We never have. We don't have a fancy TV. We have a car that is functional for our business, but it's hardly a luxury mobile. We might get Chinese take-out once in a blue moon. We scour the weekly sales because we want good deals to make our money last longer. With how the state of the economy has been for us lately we have had to cut out even normal daily things for cheaper brands. I used to wash my hair with Pantene, not the $20 Paul Mitchell stuff, but Pantene. It was the one shampoo I have found that leaves my hair manageable in our dry climate. I now use whatever I can find the cheapest. I used to have a diet coke a day. I now drink one about a week. We cut out many things that were "luxuries" because we have our own business and the economy has sucked.
Yeah, some people make poor decisions but I imagine there is a very limited few that are driving around in their luxury mobiles flashing their bling worrying about how to pay for their health care. And really when you think about how many people try to beat the system it doesn't just go to one economic class.
But I am not trying to beat the system. I am trying to get quality health care at a price that I can afford. I am one of the 47 million people that doesn't have health insurance. I have asthma. It is a pre-existing illness. So when I apply for insurance I am turned down. The ones that will cover me - I can't afford and on top of that they won't cover asthma or I would have to pay outrageous premiums have it covered. I am on a drug that I am lucky to get at a discount - because if I had to pay full price it would be $187 a month. There is no way I could afford that.
Michael hurt his knee 3 years ago and hasn't been able to get any help for it because we can't afford it because he has no insurance also. Again, it's a pre-existing condition. Recently we saw a wonderful Doctor who will work with us on making payments to get Michael's knee fixed, but we still might not be able to afford it because if it comes down to making our house payment or making a surgery bill - the house bill will come first.
Unfortunately this is normal for us. We opt to not go to the doctor because we know we won't be able to afford the drugs or tests they will want.
And really our story isn't even close to the worst or the saddest ones out there. I just read an op-ed the other day that was beyond sad and unfortunately I think this is becoming more the norm every day. So many like us are just in the middle class bracket (or just barely) that can easily go broke paying for healthcare. The person that replied to my relative's post irritated me. The implication that we just weren't being responsible is the unfortunate perception. I often hear opposition against health care reform that is from the people who actually have health insurance. I really don't think they understand how hard it is when you are without it. Even when the President presents his plan - saying that it's not going to change their insurance, it doesn't matter. To them, it's okay that Michael and I along with millions of other families out there go without basic health care. I simply don't get that. Even if I had coverage or insurance - I still would never want to read another story about someone suffering or dying like the ones I've been reading.
Do we really lack compassion to not want to give everyone in the United States the right to health care?
Is this the United States we recognize?
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