Do It Now!

As I watch this Health Care reform drama unfold on our TV screens and listen to all the commentators and editorialists describe positions both pro and con, I am struck by the simple fact that if we do nothing, there will be an additional 10 million people who will not be insured over the next five years.  In addition, the abuses perpetrated on all of us by the insurance companies will continue unabated and we will all be paying more and getting less.

Dennis Kucinich, the representative from Ohio got it right when he said that even though this bill may have big problems, it is at least a beginning, and he couldn’t in good conscience vote against it.  It is a way to insure 30+million more Americans, as well as end some of the egregious practices of the insurance companies. 

Nicolas Kristoff writes in the New York Times today about the life expectancy of Americans and the periods in our history when life expectancy increased most.  It turns out that the period of the largest increase was during the War years in the 1940s when many more Americans had to have physicals when they entered the armed forces or were screened to do a variety of jobs for the war effort.  Diseases and problems were diagnosed early and treated, and lo and behold, we as a nation became healthier!

It is so patently obvious that preventive care will save us money and increase our productivity as a nation, that those who stand in the way of initiating this reform could easily be considered principled morons or in the most extreme, traitorous!  Where is our moral obligation to our fellow countrymen?  Why is it that when we are dealing with others in a one-on-one relationship our compassion and generosity comes forth with ease.  Yet when we are faced with relationships that are group-to-group, we become covetous, stingy, competitive and morally questionable.

I have always felt that the provision of health care and reform is our moral responsibility as human beings.  Our country’s success now depends on our finding a way to support our less fortunate countrymen so that we as a nation can rise to a new level of caring and productivity. 

My experience just since I have started writing this blog has shown me example after example of serious problems with the current system, both personally and anecdotally from friends and acquaintances.  This morning at the dermatologist’s office, for example, the receptionist asked me if I wanted to pay the whole bill for my last visit.  I said, “Didn’t my insurance cover most of it?”  She said they had covered $84 of a bill for $350 for exam and freezing removal of a variety of little lesions.  I am paying $23,000 a year for insurance, and the best they can do for this kind of procedure is $84?  Better yet, I went for lab work and a physical 6 weeks ago, and the bill was $169.  My insurance paid $.83 (yes, that’s 83 cents!). 

Something is wrong with this picture!

So I ask you again, can we not find it in our hearts, person to person, to reach out with some compassion and support for those who need the help.  Health care reform needs to be passed now, not later.  If we fail to do this now, it will be at least a decade before we will have another chance, and by then my friends, I fear it will be too late for all of us.

Make your voice be heard.  Can’t you take a minute to write an email to your congressman?