Think how long that line in the pharmacy would be.....

Personally, I have not doubted that health care is a  human right for many years. I can trace this epiphany to the late 1990s. Nursing a husband during his last days on earth as he died from complications of chemo, the necessary treatment for inoperable stage 4 lung cancer, forever removed the idea that I was too important to face an  incurable/catastrophic disease. Cancer does not care if one is rich, or has insurance. Neither does heart disease, or MS, or even H1N1. If you doubt this, ask the families of the Americans who have buried their loved ones.

In the interest of full disclosure, we had employer based insurance. One of those so called Cadillac Plans the leaders in Congress are going to tax. Sort of a punishment for all the union workers that bargained for years with large companies, accepting less money for medical benefits.

The life altering event of the death of my spouse did not leave me feeling smug for having the ability to trade money for health care. Watching my 20 something son mop up the bile that spewed from a dying Father's stomach onto our kitchen floor removed smug from my psyche. Listening to my teen age daughter talk him into the next world , (the rest of us, all adults, were sobbing ), so that he would die hearing the voice of a loved one gave me understanding. Health Care is a commodity I want my tax dollars to purchase for every citizen in America. Nothing less.

The great debate today , the best that I can read, is the idea that the government will run health care. Now, I am for single payer health care. The theory that America and Americans are not smart enough to provide, pay for, and regulate health care has always been a bit insulting to me . Single payer plans are working in other industrialized nations, that the only remaining Super Power can't provide for her people seems absurd. Having said that, single payer is not even on the agenda in the great health care debate. What are we arguing about?

A Public Option ,( explained under Public health insurance option-Wikipedia) that would introduce competition into the health care industry is one part of this reform. This one part of the plan has conservatives taking about  "socialized medicine" . I have heard a Public Option called smart socialism, and I agree. Not everyone does, as the world found on on 9/12, (http://www.alternet.org/blogs. ), when the conservatives marched on D.C., ready to save the country. Personally, I find nothing to fear in Medicare/Medicaid, so a Public Option does not strike terror into my heart. I find the idea of having some faceless government clerk deciding my fate disingenuous. After all, for over 30 years, the clerks working for the insurance companies have been deciding who receives treatment, and who does not. Deciding the fates of the customers who purchase their product. The idea that I could petition my elected official or start a referendum to correct bad practices, giving me some control, seems a good one. There is very little one can do if denied coverage by a health care provider.  The very ideas shouted at town hall meetings and demonstrations crumble under the weight of my experience with my elderly parents as the family faced terminal illnesses. I found Medicare easy to dealt with and the corporate insurance company  (my Mother chose an option where tax dollars subsidized a large corporate health care plan) difficult and expensive.

The idea that a  Public Option would endanger all those corporate companies seems dishonest.  I cannot grasp the logic. The insurance companies will have millions of new customers, health care insurance will be mandatory. Many of  those customers will be young and healthy, cheap to insure.Many will be my age but healthy; over 50, I see my physicians for my annuals but little else. This is just to difficult for me to believe. Introduced competition with regulation is not going to put these companies out of business. Volume alone will feed the market. Check on the success of Sam Walton as an example of the buying power of the 98% who make under 200K a year.

I have heard the argument that the majority of Americans are misusing the health care system. This  is not information I am willing to accept at face value, and I sure need a credible organization to verify this information. I do know that millions of Americans are under insured or have no insurance. Both the conservatives and the progressives agree on this data

Another argument I hear often, how is this program paid for? According the Congressional Budget Office, the  legislative compromises to date have rendered the program deficit neutral.


Another reform  is stopping the inhumane practice of removing coverage after a client becomes ill. As President Obama made note, a woman with breast cancer was denied coverage after forgetting to report a case of acne! That preexisting condition was a clear signal that woman was ready to commit fraud against that beleaguered insurance company, allowing this company to refuse coverage. What an affront to the dignity of this woman. What an injury  to the  intelligence and integrity of the American people. We cannot support such blatant abuse.


Did  you know that women are routinely charged more for premiums than men? After all, young women use more health care. I am not certain why, but apparently it  costs more money for a woman to under go a pelvic than for a man to undergo a prostrate exam. Go figure. Or perhaps this cost exists because women are simply responsible enough to actually have an annual exam, even if doing so can be a bit emotionally uncomfortable. I'm just saying......


Did  you know that those who suffer from domestic violence are denied coverage? Will there be those who say that the women and children trapped in the cycle are not deserving of health care? Bet so.


Did you know that gays and lesbians are charged more for health care? Will there be those that do not agree with this lifestyle choice who say that the humans who choose to live as such should pay more? Bet so. Do the children who are adopted by parents practicing these alternative lifestyles pose a larger health risk? Do we punish the children for the perceived transgressions of the parents?


Did you know that babies born over or under a certain weight are denied coverage? Even when the physician of record indicated the infant is healthy?

Did you know that rape survivors are denied coverage if HIV drugs are administered as preventative therapy? Did you know that many rape survivors do not report the injury to insurance companies for fear of future reprisals?




Verify my statements. Ask yourself what would your life be like if you or a family member were suddenly facing illness or injury and no health coverage, or inadequate coverage.  Believe me, it can happen to you.


I read on a message board a conversation that astonished me. One woman who was ill spent 4 hours waiting for her meds to be filled at a local pharmacy. The response to this complaint was the  bitchy comment,"Think how long the lines will be if the government gets involved in heath care. "


Please think about that . All 3 million Americans assured health care. Long lines indeed. Have we come to this point in our culture? That we are resentful of being forced to wait for our meds because lines are long?  I find the complaint so incredibly sad. With personal knowledge of exactly how long waiting for an appointment to see a specialist can be I was torn between amusement and dismay at the lack of knowledge this comment indicated.  Long lines at WalMart. Sad.


This is just a political fight, IMO, for the sake of having a fight. An overture for 2012 that cynics are playing payed for by the 40,000 Americans who die every year from complications due to lack of health care along with the many who buy a commodity(health care)  that cannot be used when needed. The fact that payment is not funds but lives/quality of life makes the payment higher, I think.



I support a robust public option with no  triggers for participation. I support regulation of the health care industry. I support the smart idea of health care provided by the people, for the people.


We the people are government. It is past time that our combined dollars provide health care for all.