Thanks for Caring About My Healthcare

It’s crunch time or the Obama Healthcare plan and concerned politicians and industry groups are running amuck in attempts to make our lives healthier. I’d just like to thank them for that.

Thank you Americans for Prosperity. You warned that If government takes over health care, recommendations that women not have mammograms till age 50 could become the law of the land. Turns out that’s a big lie according to the Truth-O-Meter, but it’s still nice that you care. BTW, I went to your website and have to wonder ‘Who’s prosperity are you actually concerned with?’ Don’t you think I would be a little more prosperous if I didn’t have to pay more than $400 a month for my healthcare insurance? Just a thought.

Thank you AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans). You point out that health insurance companies' costs are only 4 percent of all health care spending and that far larger proportion goes to doctors and hospitals. But, I’m wondering, what exactly do you mean by “insurance companies cost?” Wasn’t it once the case that if you got sick and went to the hospital, your insurance would take care of it and pay everybody? That would be 100% of my cost and that’s the only percentage I care about. Of course, last year when my wife tripped and broke a couple fingers, despite our insurance, we got separate bills from Bayonet Point Hospital, the ER doctor who set her finger improperly, the x-ray technicians, the guys who own the x-ray machine and everyone else we bumped into that day. Next time something like that happens, I’ll bypass the hospital and go straight to one of those emergency care clinics. What a rip! Something’s definitely wrong with the system. How could anyone say it doesn’t need an overhaul?

And, what about the people with no healthcare? Shouldn’t we care about them? I’m not so self-absorbed that I can turn my back on people who can’t afford health insurance, people who are forced to spend long hours in line at clinics or in hospital ER’s when illness strikes. The acrobatics these people are forced to go through are ridiculous. What would be the harm in bringing something resembling a normal package to them?

Yeah, I have health insurance, but I can’t help wondering what’s going to happen in a couple of years. Will my doctors still accept me if I drop my current health insurance? Will a new provider accept me with my “prior condition?” – I’m a diabetic. Will I have to opt out of some kind of treatment because I can’t afford it? I worry about this stuff. That's what being an American means to me.