Feeling Better

My life has been stressful as of late. A relative of mine whom I'm very close to has had pretty serious medical issues. Really, this has been going on for several months, but only in the last month, has the severity of the condition kicked into high gear. I share this not to exploit what's been going on in my family, but more to share my thoughts on the state of healthcare in this nation. I can sum it up in two words: it sucks. I'm not going to claim that I know all of the answers. I don't think that there is any one person out there that can fix the system. But I do know that something needs to change. Isn't there some statistic floating out there that the U.S. spends the most on healthcare but doesn't come close to the best service and care for patients? Doesn't this tell us something? From my experience, health insurance is to blame. Their prices are exorbitant. The policies are endlessly confusing about what is actually covered, who gets stuck paying what, who you can see when you need care, and when you qualify for care. And then to get a human being to answer a question and give you help through that muck, well, it's not surprising that customer support is limited. It's not right to deal with that when you're sick.

The whole point of health insurance is for the things that we can't foresee happening. It doesn't seem fair to pick and choose what is covered and what's not, what doctors can do and not do for their patients. For example, when an individual is choosing a plan/policy, they may opt for one with limited rehabilitation benefits to try to save money. Understandable. But when that poor guy ends up getting his head bashed in during an accident, after his 2 day stay in the hospital, the guy is screwed! The crappy policy he picked only covers a week or two of rehab care. If he needs more therapy, which is often the case, it has to come out of his pocket. Or take a student who has to drop below full time status due to health reasons - he will most likely lose his health insurance, and as if that's not bad enough, if he tries to get new coverage, he won't be accepted because it was a "pre-existing condition." Or look at people dealing with chronic diseases like diabetes or needing long-term treatments for cancer - those individuals (or their families) end up in a constant phone and paperwork battle with the health insurance companies to have the medical care expenses covered. The companies seem to be set up to find any loophole they can to get out of covering expenses. And this goes for poor, middle-class, and rich alike.

That's why I hated McCain's health care tax refund. In theory, that idea gives the money, and thus power, to us the consumers to choose the plans and insurance companies ourselves. But seriously, what non-crappy options are out there? What company is truly set up so that a person who has paid into the insurance pool gets any and all of the services they may need at a reasonable price? And without having to fight tooth and nail for it? That criticism being shared, I'm also not sure about Obama's national plan option. I mean, look at medicare and medicaid - parts of those plans are actually great. No really! They fund some fantastic services. But other aspects of those programs are so bogged down in red tape and regulations that I'm not sure it's better. However, I do feel that if his idea actually comes to fruition, at the very least, the presence of another option might shake up the industry. The consumers will have another option breaking down goliath companies that seem to be only concerned with the bottom line. You know, it's pretty disgusting to me that we've turned healthcare into an industry in the first place.

To me, this is an issue that must be addressed not just from an economic/monetary perspective. These are people we love needing our help. It could be you or me one day requiring a stay in the hospital, a surgery, or a prescription medication. Don't we all deserve the chance to heal and be well? In the long run, wouldn't our country work better if individuals didn't have to stress about medical bills the same way? If they didn't have to worry about seeing a doctor? I mean, stress is known to exacerbate or even cause poor health. Then if our workforce has less stress and better health, wouldn't all industries benefit? Do these thoughts make me sound kind of socialist? You know, on this issue, I'm 100% ok with that.