Medical Care

July 2, 2006

Last night I dreamed I was in the hospital with a life threatening condition. Of course, any dream of this nature would be distrubing. But, the worst part of the dream was that the hospital withdrew treatment as soon as the paltry funds in my bank account had been expended.

You see...I have no health insurance, just as a large segment of our population does not have coverage. Many of us are either unemployed or, like myself, self employed. We fall between the cracks. I do not earn enough to pay the exorbitant rates to which health insurance has climbed. So I, along with all the others, take my chances and pray to stay healthy. I try to eat sensibly and get daily exercise, all good things to do whether you have health insurance or not. But, for those of us who don't, good habits are an absolute must.

It pains me to ruminate on the fact that Bill Clinton, when he was president, opted to pursue NAFTA, a course of action he had campaigned against. His promise to us, his constituency, was that he would dedicate himself to revamping our healthcare system. I applaud his post-presidential work in the fight against AIDS but I believe he let us down during his presidency and many Americans are now paying the price.

If you think that we who are presently uninsured are the only ones at risk, think again. Seniors on Medicare face escalating drug costs that are, in many cases, beyond their ability to purchase. We are only too aware of the "donut hole' that comes into play after the first 2-3 thousand expended. That applies or will apply to a majority of seniors. And, as the baby boomers reach the critical era wherein they will stress the medicare system, it is anyone's guess as to what will happen to these so called "entitlements".

The other group who may find themselves in proverbial hot water with regard to health coverage are those who worked until retirement, gained pensions and insurance plans, only to see them amended and eroded because of insolvency on the part of the business for whom they worked.

In this regard, I can personally cite IBM, which, at one time, was considered to be THE employee's company. Nowadays, they continue to dilute their health benefits yearly.

I heard on a news broadcast that the cost incurred in administering Medicare is 2-3%. The same figure in the private sector is upwards of 25%. How can we not realize that , in the long run, a national system of healthcare would save America and Americans money. Yes...there are short run funding concerns which have been exacerbated by this administration's deplorable fiscal plan. Even omitting the Iraq fiasco, the pork that has been loaded into Congressional bills is staggering...more than any administration previously. Add to that figure the many billions of dollars spent in Iraq, many of them mishandled funds, and we can see the remnants of possibilities that might have been.

It is not only prudent for Americans to speak up, but crucial. The next 2 decades may be a case of "make it or break it". Can we really afford NOT to take action!!!

trickster108