Imagine if you will walking into the doctor’s office and not having to pay a co-payment. Sitting in the waiting area for only a matter of minutes not hours. Then leaving knowing that you were properly diagnosed and genuinely cared for. Going to pick up your prescription and never paying more than $10. In the perfect world right? Well it’s possible in almost every other country than our own. Oh sweet America, land of the home and the free … really it’s more like land of the too afraid to really speak up for fear of what our spineless government might do. I started to really question our healthcare system when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He wasn’t allowed to go to whatever physician or surgeon he chose, they had to be “in network” providers. So when his oncologist recommended a particular surgeon, he was denied from his health insurance provider, Anthem. The insurance agent that was working on his case kept encouraging my dad to appeal his denial and promised he would eventually be approved. Well, after three months of repeatedly being denied my dad’s cancer had spread to the brain. And every time my dad spoke to Anthem, he forever got the run around and was treated like a nuisance. They even hung up on him several times. What excellent service, wouldn’t you say? Well come to later find out, health insurance providers bring in more money by denying a patient care than they do by actually providing that care. So, if my dad wanted the best healthcare, he thought he had been paying for over the last thirty plus years, he really would have needed to just pay for it all himself. The day my father died, was a successful day for Anthem. Why you ask? Well, why not? They no longer had to pay on any more visits to the doctors, the oncologists, the local hospitals, his medications. Oh yeah, and they canceled my mothers insurance as well. Isn’t that so encouraging to know that we think we are privileged to be able to have affordable healthcare, when in fact, our healthcare providers are robbing us blind. We are paying and paying and paying for less than mediocre care. How infuriating! I have no doubt in my mind that my dad would be here today if he had gotten the treatment he needed when he needed it. What’s really sad and disturbing is that my dad is one of millions with a similar story. A person who thinks they are paying for excellent healthcare, now dead or dying due to inadequate care.
Shortly after I realized that our healthcare system was not as squeaky clean as I had once thought, I discovered Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko. For anyone who has not seen it, it’s a must see. Moore really digs deep into the disgusting behaviors of the medical world. The most disturbing part, is that the insurance providers have all parties involved wrapped around their fingers. They say money makes the world go round, but no, it just shuts people up. They keep the doctors happy and rich with illegitimate kickbacks and the politicians quiet with enormous payouts. And all I can think is how insanely stupid we are! We are so greedy it’s ridiculous! We are one of the unhealthiest countries out there. There are third world countries who offer better healthcare and have longer life expectancies than we do. Every year millions of Americans die due to improper or total lack of adequate health care. Every year even more millions are becoming bankrupt and homeless due to outrageous medical bills. I can’t help but wonder, wouldn’t we profit more if we had less people sick and more people actively working, which would then help to turn our economy around. The healthier we are, the more we work; the more we work, the more we buy; the more we buy, the better the economy. But instead, let’s just keep giving the medical world all our money so that we can just get sick and eventually die. Come on people! You have got to be kidding me! This is the kind of world we have to raise our children in? Can you imagine your child becomes deathly ill, and your health care provider doesn’t even care! They are banking on your child dying to turn a profit? Almost every other country in this world has socialized healthcare, why don’t we? Because our system seems to be working so well? Clearly not! This has got to become a more pressing issue. I would much rather live and pay taxes in a country that actually cares about my life, and that doesn’t look on turning a profit once it’s over.
