The Health Care Debate

As we speak our politicians are huddled together, trying to come up with a health plan that pleases everyone. For me, its hard to remain unbiased, because I have been on the medicaid line, & I have been without insurance. I did this with children. So those experiences tend to lend themselves to my views.

Medicaid was a horrible experience. The people who were supposed to help you treated you like garbage. You were forced to get a third party involved, to state that you were so destitute that they had to help you financially. I believe I even signed a paper that stated if I should die, they can recoup their monies through my estate. The medicaid system does all that it can to make sure you do not have one ounce of dignity left.

Private practitioners do not accept Medicaid. I was told by one doctor, that its because Medicaid doesn't pay out enough (if at all). So people who have medicaid are forced obtain medical assistance from either hospitals, and or clinics. Most of which, are not nestled in my middle class suburb, or staffed with experienced doctors, in opposed to students.

After 3 years, I decided to take my daughter off of medicaid. I wanted her to see one doctor, and or group that she could rely on to provide interested care. I found a pediatrician who gave me samples of antibiotics to help with pharmaceutical costs. When she had seasonal asthma, it sometimes came down to a choice between buying the prescription, or paying the rent on time.

After I had my second child, Child Health Care Plus came out. It covered children, below a specific economic level, and more doctors accepted it. I found a great group, loved the doctors, and then was thrown off the plan. Apparently you can not receive Child Health care Plus, if you are Medicaid Eligible. Once again, we were left without insurance, until my husband switched jobs and we finally got into an HMO.

I am grateful for my health insurance. Its not perfect, but its better than medicaid. Its a HMO, so there are issues with finding doctors who accept it, and medications that may or may not be covered. I can deal with that though.

Doctors do not want to accept governmental health insurance because it doesn't pay out. Hospitals are then overrun with patients without insurance, or those who have Medicaid. Its a mess. How can it be fixed? Do we need socialized medicine, and additional programs? Maybe we need just a reform of the programs we already have in place.

In a civilized society, we should not have people who can not get treated medically when they need it. We, despite are all attempts to separate ourselves, are connected in some way. Disease knows no color, race or religion, or citizenship. As the swine flu is showing us, it crosses borders, and poverty lines.

Our society seems to believe that we are so separate from our unfortunate brothers and sisters. As if the poor, and working poor are just living off of our charity. Let me pose this to you. If you should lose your job and cobra runs out.. (a scary reality in todays economic situation), who will help you when you are sick? How will you supply your children with medical care?