This opinion piece from the East Valley Tribune just shows how short-sighted and dumb some people in the news media can be.
The piece entitled "Shadegg has a point about healthcare" argues that no one really goes without healthcare. After all, we have a system that provides reduced or free healthcare if you cannot afford to pay or don't have insurance. Don't even get me started on the inefficiencies of running a system this way.
Ok Mr. Le Templar, while factually true that we do not turn away people in dire need of healthcare would you admit that with about 45% percent of bankruptcies being related to medical expenses that we still have a huge problem.
The problem is that the middle class gets screwed in our current system. If you are very poor, there are programs to help. If you are very wealthy it is likely that you have an employer who provides health insurance. That leaves people in the lower and middle class in a lurch if they lose their job or cannot buy healthcare on their own. I personally have been in the unenviable situation of trying to decide whether it was worth going to the doctor to have something checked knowing full well that my insurance would only cover a small portion of the cost and would likely drop or greatly increase the cost of my coverage the next year.
I doubt I am alone in making that calculation. There are many times when individuals decide to go without vital medicine or avoid going to the emergency room or doctor because they hope their problem will go away without a two or three day hospital stay putting them thousands of dollars in debt.
There is also a larger problem. The only reason I am no longer running my own business is because of healthcare. It was not that I could not afford my premiums, it was that as a two to three person company our insurance was always at risk. I could not ask my family to risk going without healthcare for the sake of my personal ambition. The satisfaction of doing what you love and being your own boss sometimes takes a backseat your family's well being. There is also the fact the no matter how much I wanted to provide insurance to my employees, it was simple financially out of reach.
I think what you are referring to is a distinction without a difference. Your argument is both specious and asinine.
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I don't know where people get this grandiose medical safety net idea because it's not there. Medicaid exists on paper and largely transfers funds back to the general state funds. That's the purpose of it.
I have Medicaid, Medicare, Cost Sharing and every program you can think of (disabled and low income). I recently went to the E.R. for a breathing treatment, Medicare paid and Medicaid denied it.
I have bills covering 2 major surgeries that I am paying out of pocket because Medicaid does not cover cancer. I have talked to others in the same boat. I have "no private right of action" to enforce federal regulations. There is not even an administrative attorney listed with Maricopa Bar.
Where do people think the money is coming from for all these budget neutral Medicaid expansion programs that have been added to AZ State Plans?
The truth is that the majority of people on Medicaid are just trying to survive, in institutions or nursing homes and it's not political popular to admit to needing - i.e. the "voiceless class" and we all know squeaky wheels get the funding.
I just wanted to correct the extremely popular and unjustified opinion that there is this grand medical safety net because there isn't.
You can read a number of reports on nursing home care within Medicaid that could compare with reports from Gitmo.
That could be you at some point too. Private insurers have a habit of duplicating public policies as well. I doubt few with private health insurance realize how underinsured they may be until it's too late.
Health 'insurance' is a racket.
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