Health Care

by: Erik Davis

We are one of the only industrialized countries in the entire world that does not have a universal health care system.  Canada has a very famous one which our senior citizens are currently taking advantage of by smuggling prescription drugs back to the states in hollowed-out canes and what not.  Health care is readily available at a lower cost in Canada.  It should be here, too.  It’s not your fault that you get sick, so you shouldn’t have to pay the gargantuan cost of medical treatment.  No one enjoys going to the doctor and I only pay for things I enjoy.  What follows is an example of why we need universal health care in our country.

Someone I know very well could really benefit from universal health care. We’ll call her Jane.  As we all have, she has encountered several bumps in the road over her life.

However, she has always worked hard to overcome them.  Some years ago, her first marriage ended in divorce, and Jane became, like many women, a single parent.  When she was married, she stayed at home caring for her young daughter.  After her divorce, she had to go back to work.  Although she has an advanced degree, she felt she needed to stay close to home to be a support for her daughter.   She began working as a free lance writer, and was lucky to land a contract writing cards for a major greeting card company.  She had just made the down payment on a house when the entire department at the company was eliminated. 

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However, she picked up some smaller contracts, and always managed to pay the bills, put food on the table, and pay the premium for her individual major medical policy.  She is very creative and could always come up with fun ideas that didn’t cost a lot for entertainment.  For one birthday party, her daughter invited all of her friends over and they had a “no table manners or silverware” meal.  They fixed all kinds of messy foods and ate them with their hands and burped at the table and never said please or thank you.  Didn’t cost a penny but was fun. 

Then Jane’s life really started to look up.  She met a guy.  I'll call John; he is a wonderful person - the nicest guy you could ever know.  He works with people with disabilities, finding them jobs, homes, and other supports.  Jane and John dated for a really long time; so long in fact I was about to propose for him because I didn’t think it would ever happen.  But finally it did.  They got married in the back yard of Jane’s house.  Her daughter loved him too.  That was probably the best part. And, Jane could get medical coverage under John’s health insurance policy.  Their new family had a good life.

Until three days ago.  John, at the age of 48 and only 2 years after his marriage to Jane, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease.  If the disease follows its typical course, he has approximately six months to one year of “normal” life in which to do the things he has always dreamed of.  After that, the progression of the disease will cause John to be dependent on a ventilator, feeding tube, and wheelchair, until eventually, it takes his life. 

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And all that medical care will be expensive (according to the ALS Association web site, it costs about $200,000/year to provide medical care to a sufferer of Lou Gehrig’s disease).

In that situation, wouldn’t you want to take the opportunity to spend what time you have left with your family, maybe taking in some of the things you have been putting off for retirement, or for some distant point in a future you always thought would be there?  But, that is probably not to be.  John will have to work as long as he possibly can, because, under the law, his health insurance carrier only has to cover him for 18 months after he quits work (Jane and John will have to pay those premiums). Unless, of course, Jane can make a seamless transition to a job of her own that offers group health as he quits his job.  But then, who will care for John as the disease takes its toll on him and robs him of his ability to live independently?   Will Jane have to hire full time help so she can work full time to get health insurance, which hopefully will pay for the full time help?  Does John go into a nursing home if insurance doesn’t cover in-home care, and go on Medicaid?  Or do they have to divorce so that he is financially eligible for Medicaid?  What is the cheaper alternative?  What is the most humane? 

I hope and pray that a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease will be found in time for John.  But if that doesn’t happen, then the least we can do is provide health care coverage so John can spend the time he has left with his family.  That is both the cheaper alternative in the long run, and the most humane.

Steve will respond next week, you can too. email "The Steve"

I may write controversial things, but I'm not petty.

I never intend to be controversial; so I am always amazed when I write something that raises people's ire.

In these columns I will try to stay thoughtful and seek to evaluate life as it unfolds not through any lens.

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