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Red State, Blue State—We’re All Caught in the Health Care Hustle
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| Listen to Working America’s Karen Nussbaum talk about the Health Care Hustle on Workers Independent News. | |
No one who saw the grace and dignity with which Elizabeth and John Edwards dealt with the recurrence of her treatable, but not curable, cancer last week could help but be moved.
Then, just a few days later, White House press secretary Tony Snow told us the colon cancer thought to be cured two years ago had spread to his liver.
Both Snow and Edwards have tough, tough times ahead of them. Americans across red and blue states wish them both well. After all, who hasn’t been touched by cancer through our own experiences or a loved one’s?
But millions of other Americans will face similar diagnoses and many of them will lack one advantage Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow surely have: good health insurance.
Nearly forty-five million of us have no health insurance and millions more face regular battles with their insurance companies over huge hospital bills, treatment decisions, doctors’ charges, prescription costs and the rest of the “health care hustles” working families must endure.
The answer is universal health care to cover everyone, built upon Medicare—a system that works, according to a March 6 statement by the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Earlier this week, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) introduced the AmeriCare Health Act, which would provide affordable, comprehensive and quality health care built on the Medicare model. There are several ways to achieve universal health care and the AFL-CIO endorses the Stark bill as one of the paths to universal coverage.
Working America and the AFL-CIO want you to join the national conversation about how we fix a broken health care system. Earlier this month, we launched a new website, In the Heart of the Health Care Hustle, where you can share your stories. Hundreds already have, including “Dr. Jill.” Every day she sees how the lack of health insurance hurts families.
I am the Medical Director of a new small free medical clinic for poor uninsured adults. We have been seeing a lot of people who are caught in a real catch-22. They are unemployed and have no health insurance, so can’t keep their diabetes or high blood pressure under control. They find a job (the lucky ones, that is) but then can’t start work because they can’t pass the employment physical! They can’t work because they have no insurance and they can’t get insurance without a job. What a system. It’s a national disgrace.
One women described the fight she has had with an insurance company that refuses to pay for the much-needed hysterectomy her doctor recommends after other treatments failed to relieve extremely painful menstrual cycles.
…the insurance company denied it twice now, allowing me to live in pain and anxiety over this entire situation. My life is actually revolving around where I will be in my menstrual cycle….My doctor has me on three different pain killers. I have a friend whose aunt had similar problems like I do, and her insurance denied her hysterectomy until the month she turned 45! I don’t want to live like this for seven more years. I recently told my doctor that I now believe that there is a special place in hell for insurance doctors who allow people to live in pain.
Click here to read more horror stories or submit you own experience with the Health Care Hustle.
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4 Comments
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Even when you have health insurance, there is no guarantee of quality health care. I have been disabled for three years and recieve medicare. When I went to Jacobi hospital dental center in the Bronx to recieve treatment under the health First medicare plan, I recieved practically no treatment over a six month period. The only treatment I recieved was an x-ray. My appointments were cancelled without notice, multiple dentist would call in sick at the same time, receptionist would not answer or return phone calls, the wait to see someone was so long, that I ended up just leaving the facility altogether.
The American people must realize that the administration in office has an agenda to conduct a war on all working and poor people. From Katrina,Iraq, VA hospitals, to health care. We are being attacked with our own tax dollars.
The crisis in our healthcare system is indeed worsening by the day! We have no one to blame but the huge healthcare HMO’s, the pharmaceutical industry, the private for profit hospitals and the politicians who receive campaign funds from these parasites!
H.R. 676 has the support of over 250 labor organizations across the nation as well as the Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church, Physicians For A National Health Program and Latinos For A Naional Health Plan. 676 would expand Medicare to all and needs YOUR support! contact your Congressional representative and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 676 today!
Not only are premiums skyrocketing on almost a bi-yearly basis, we have insurance companies practicing medicine. I was in a doctor’s office having some blood work done when one of his assistants seems visably upset. I ask her if I could help in any way. She told me that a patient’s insurance company called and insisted the doctor prescribe a different medication other than the one he recommended for the patient’s condition. I find this outrageous! Insurance companies practicing medicine. Insuance companies and Phamacutical companies are so intertwined that it is impossible to seperate the two at times. I know a person who is self employed and his insurance premium for himself alone is nearly $700. per month. Being self employed and having a family with that kind of a monthly premium is having a profound effect. This administration does not have a clue what the working man needs nor in my opinion does it care. It is all about big corporations and profits. Since this administration took office, corporations are protected and unions are either being eliminated or stuggling at best. This is one of the 14 points of facism and we all should be aware of that. This is the weathiest country in the world and health care for all of our citizens should be on the priority list.
Universal Health Care was proposed by the “bullmoosers” of T Roosevelt’s time. Roosevelt and Truman also mentioned universal health care. Although that would not cure all the medical woes of the land, it would be a good first start. In Missouri, the health care system of folks with good insurance or money is first rate. Others: Third World for sure.