HealthCare - There Must Be A Better Way.

A couple of weeks ago I was assisting in an operation that would allow air conditioning to cool my house. In with the new furnace and out with the old but the old furnace is rusty and heavy. Three large and burly men lift this old and rusty furnace to the back of a truck and in the process, I, this large and burly man (ha… ha) was cut and scratched. A tetanus shot was now needed. It had been years since my previous shot. I went to the local emergency room because I was not entirely sure of how to handle this situation because I did not have a tetanus shot on my person at the time.

 

So I go to the emergency room and they do the normal check up routine. My weight, height, blood pressure as they try to discover if anything else is ailing me. They ask for my degree of pain, from 1 to 10. I feel that a score of 2 is appropriate. I sit in a chair for a while. The nurse cleans my wounds and puts an antibiotic cream to prevent infection. The doctor would then administer the shot and then tell me that the emergency room trip was a little drastic because there is about a three day window from getting cut to needing a tetanus shot. Was I supposed to know this? Annoyed slightly, not by my lack of knowledge but by the condescending tone of my doctor. So other than my doctor being a prick, a professional that feels a tetanus shot is somehow beneath him, my rush with death or lockjaw was not horrible. I did not have to wait horribly long to get treatment. The nurse was friendly and polite and I did not have a co-pay. Yay.

 

In the end the clerk took my insurance card. Yes, I have insurance now. Six months ago this would have been a rough situation. She took my insurance as well as other information and I was good to go. No muss, no fuss.

 

Wait, not so easy. This week I got the bill. I thought I was fine. My insurance company sent me a notice suggesting that the matter was all cleared up. A portion of my insurance was taken out to cover the medical expense. Yes, the portion of my insurance covered 10% of the medical bill. The bill for one tetanus shot, a little bit of antibiotic cream and my blood pressure measurement costs just as much as three insurance payments.

 

So, the bill was $350. Yes, for a sad little part time retail employee this is a lot of money. I pay $110 monthly for my insurance plan. This is an insurance plan that was recommended to me in case of a serious accident or emergency. You never know what can happen this day and age. My insurance plan was also recommended for the scope of coverage and it’s low cost. If you are like me then you are thinking – I got screwed. To be honest I cannot really afford a better insurance plan. I cannot really afford to get more tetanus shots. Thank goodness this last shot will last me five more years. If you want to think of it this way… $70 per year to protect me from tetanus but that doesn’t make my wallet feel better or thicker.

 

Now, I might have had strep throat and because of this possibility, I reside between a rock and a hard place. Since visiting the doctor was so expensive I might find a better answer for my illness at Wal-Mart than a hospital. Is that right? Is it right that Wal-Mart might take better care of me than a hospital? 9 months ago I was ill with sore throat, body aches, fatigue and a fever. I was lacking health insurance and I had heard rumors of how well the clinic inside Wal-Marts benefit those who are ill. A visit to a Wal-Mart medical center cost me $28.

 

I am not saying that we need government or national healthcare even though maybe we do need government regulated health care.  I am not saying that we need to completely retool or rework the healthcare system even though maybe we should. And I am not saying that health insurance is worthless even though I am. Something has to change.

 

When discussing the issue of national healthcare or government healthcare most people who don’t need it seem to scoff or believe that such a proposition is either absurd or a waste of time. “National healthcare doesn’t work,” they say.  Why do people think this way? Why cannot health care be a careful balance between private and government insurance, aid and care? Why aren’t we doing all we can to improve a system that is clearly flawed? Next time you laugh at the proposal of national healthcare think about the millions of people that have it far worse than I do. I want you to laugh or ignore the 47 million without healthcare along with the many helpless children than cannot fight infection or disease. Laugh and scoff at those who do have healthcare but are suffering through more serious illness than a tetanus scare or strep throat and cannot afford constant care, prescription drugs or major surgery.

 

Maybe all this is my fault. My fault because I do not have a decent job that pays me well to afford quality healthcare. It is my fault because I do not have a job that offers me healthcare coverage. It is my fault because I don’t wash my hands enough or drink enough orange juice. It is my fault because I am not immune to every sickness or disease.

 

If all this is my fault because I squander opportunity then please tell that to the millions of Americans who squander their chances for better jobs and medical coverage. After all a majority of Americans have healthcare, the 1 out of 6 Americans struggling should take more responsibility for themselves by getting better jobs and accepting the flawed system that is currently in place. I am not that heartless though and I think a better system must be put in place.

 

 

 

 

So… in the end, can you look me in the eye and tell me that this system works or can there be something better?  I think we can do better.