What are we debating?

• by bambi
• 2008-08-13 11:08:16
• General Posting
• 1073 views
• 4 comments

This seems as good a forum as any to state one more twist to this very important subject. To cut to the chase, we are talking about human lives and the right to live in health. If we are healthy, we can be productive participants in society. What happens to those of us who struggle to put food on the table let alone find the hundreds of dollars for insurance premiums?

Are certain people more entitled to health care than others? Although I can hear a resounding "no!", [I hope], then take my example. I certainly don't want to disclose my personal life to be judged by "superior" people, who have lucked out, but I feel my example will speak for many.

When I lost my husband of 17 years to cancer in 1994, we had 3 children ages 8,10,& 12. I was, and still am, the owner of a dance studio. This is, in my opinion, and evidently most of America's, a poor choice of careers. The arts in this country are considered extra curricular, something we can do without, something most people think is "nice" but not vital. This is another subject altogether, but important to this discussion.

I never went on any government programs after my husband's death. I even tried buying a family insurance plan. The deductibles were high, but hey kids just need an occasional check up at the Dr.'s right? 6 months after my husband's death, my 12 year old suffered 2 serious bouts of acute pancreatitis, which entailed 3 long hospital stays, and left him with Type 1 diabetes. My daughter , in that same year, needed emergency surgery on her knee, and I started having serious arrythmia problems. This meant lost work, and the inability to pay insurance premiums.

Our luck didn't change. We had a house fire [no fault of our own], and many setbacks that were health related. We went on a state health plan. That went belly up a few years ago, because of greed and corruption at the top. No surprise there! I lost my insurance just in time to face the biggest issue I had to date, the removal of my pacemaker leads, the angioplasty and stenting of my SVC, and the replacement of the whole pacemaker system. Before that surgery, I had 3 failed balloonings of my SVC. Of course this left me with over $80,000 in medical bills. And this was with the Dr.'s writing off their fees!

I have been given quotes of $1,000 - $1,500 a month for insurance coverage. I find that impossible to afford. So, how does this make me feel? After the anger, comes the feeling that I am not worth living! I don't say this jokingly. Somehow, I DON'T RATE! I don't deserve any quality of life, or life period, because I have failed to make enough money to afford health insurance!

Although I work hard, pay lots of taxes, and form young children's lives with a love of something besides video games, I don't make the cut!!!!! And PS, I was too busy raising three kids on my own to date and remarry. I don't have hubby's insurance or societal clout to fall back on.

In conclusion, my story mirrors many other single mothers in this country. There will always be national health care plans lacking in perfection, open to corruption and failure. However, for those of you who feel superior to those of us who have given it the old college try, please examine your feelings of every human's right to a healthy life.

Bambi