Health Care, Women's Rights, and 8 Years of Cat Crap.

Health Care, Women's Rights, and 8 Years of Cat Crap.

By Lisa Daily

I was riveted by the health care vote.

I'm not sure if I was the only person in the country glued to C-SPAN on Saturday night, or if everyone else in the country blew off an exciting social life, a reasonable bedtime, or at the very least, SNL, just like I did.

All day, I followed the Twitter updates; all night, I watched the action unfold, live on cable TV.

I believe in universal health coverage, not just because it's obvious to me that the business model for the health insurance industry is fundamentally flawed (the less care they pay for, the more money they rake in, hmm, whatever will they do???) but because I believe that it's the right thing to do.  The human thing to do.

I also believe the World Health Organization's report --  and despite all the the spin to the contrary, America does not have the best health care in the world (unless by "best" they mean "most expensive,") we're actually ranked #37, behind Dominica and Costa Rica, and squeaking in ahead of health care giant, Slovenia, #38.  Government-run health systems in places like France, Canada, and England are not the socialized nightmare we've been led to fear -- respectively, France, Canada and England rank #1, #30, and #18 -- all significantly ahead of us.

So even if it is crappy, government-run health care, it's still better than what we have.  I want what France has.  Call me a traitor.  Call me a socialist.  Or just call me a doctor when I need one.

As I tuned in, I didn't really know what to expect.  In the morning, I'd heard that Nancy Pelosi and company had cut a deal with the pro-life folks to allow a vote on a strict amendment (Stupak) outlawing the use of federal funds for abortion in exchange for the last straggling votes needed to pass the bill.

Apparently the lobbyists for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had stopped by for a meeting on Friday, to drive the point home. (Anybody else like a little separation of church and state please?)

As a decidedly pro-choice woman, I'm a little ticked off that once again, women's health and the freedom to make choices about our own bodies was sacrificed.  I think that if a procedure is legal in this country, and your doctor thinks you need it, that your insurance company should pay for it.

But I'm also aware of the fact that there is already a law on the books (known as the Hyde Amendment, in place since 1976) that says that federal funds can't be used to pay for abortions, so the Stupak amendment feels a little bit like adding a new law that says you still can't drive 90 on the interstate.

I also think it sucks that most insurance companies will cover Viagra, but a number of them won't cover birth control pills, but I digress.

So even though the Stupak amendment feels like a big step back in terms of womens' reproductive rights, it's really more of a sidestep.  And even though I hated to see it passed, I was willing to take the sacrifice, to leave that fight for another day, in order to pass health care reform.

And no, it's not a perfect bill.  But if we wait until we have a perfect bill, we'll never have universal health care.  Every time I hear someone say that we should wait until we have a better bill, a stronger bill, I'm always reminded of those people on those "clean house" reality shows, who have pizza boxes and McDonald's Happy meal toys stacked up to the ceiling -- people who are living in piles of crap because they're paralyzed to do anything about it.

Psychologists say that many of the people living like this are perfectionists.  This seems counter-intuitive at first -- after all, if they were really striving for perfection, how could they possibly end up with overflowing cat boxes, 37 dead computer monitors, year-old yogurt in the fridge, and a collection of Domino's coupons dating back to 1973?  

The answer is because they don't have the time/organizational skills/ forklift necessary to clean their homes the way they think it "should" be done (ie, perfectly) -- so they become completely paralyzed and do nothing at all, sometimes for years or until the health department (or camera crew) shows up in Hazmat suits to start cleaning.

Our health care system is like our country's own personal pigsty.

And as any personal organizer, TLC host, or cleaning crew will tell you, the solution is to just dig right in and start throwing out the crap you don't need, (like denials on pre-existing conditions, calling anything that costs more than $100 "experimental", and, er, 40% profit margins);  and reorganizing and taking care of the stuff you do need. (Like doctors, hospitals, and citizens.)

It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be progress.

Lisa

Comments

[Kathy Sweeney]

I have mixed feelings too - but I am trying to be positive. At least we got something out of Congress.

Plus, if I focus too hard on any bill that passes in DC, I end up retching. Have you ever tried to read any of these things? It's a shanda. I still haven't recovered from reading The Patriot Act.

[nancy martin]

Lisa, I love your analogy to the house cleaning shows! Our elected officials are paralyzed for fear of blowing it---or not getting re-elected.

[judy merrill larsen]

Amen, Lisa.

[JanetLynn13]

Yes to Progress! I find it unbelievable that anyone can say with a straight face that our healthcare system doesn't need fixed.

[Holly Gault]

Ditto. You SAID it. May EVERYONE, including elected officials hear it.

Thanks.

[Auntie Knickers]

Right on, Lisa. Would that everyone had your good sense.

[Karen in Ohio]

Wow, Lisa, good blog today.

That 40% profit margin thing is the deal killer, to me. I sold insurance for nine years, from 1979 to 1988, and watched as the COBRA regs began to benefit no one except the insurance companies. Sure, you could get coverage if you lost your job, but that coverage cost you dearly, sometimes as much as four times what your employer paid. And that was almost 20 years ago. It's only gotten worse since then, while at the same time companies large and small have stopped paying for their employees' plans altogether, largely because of the increasing costs.

It's a scandal that our country pays the most and gets the least, and gives the idea of capitalism a black eye. Yes, we should have companies for profit, and as much profit as they can possibly make for their investors, but in the health care field? And when that quest for profit results in the deaths of far too many? Sorry, but I completely disagree with that idea.

Our own family's health insurance had increased so much that, along with one employee, we were paying more for health insurance than any other of our expenses, including a mortgage on a nine-room home, the insurance on it, and the property taxes. And then we were told that nothing was covered when it was needed, and the company unilaterally dropped our prescription drug coverage without telling us. AND raised our rates 30%. Thank goodness we were all healthy; just think what they might have done if one or more of us was sick or actually needed that platinum-priced coverage.

Hell, yeah, we need reform. This is just a baby step.

And by the way, what's up with holding Ms. Pelosi hostage over the #&%^* abortion issue, and then not even voting for the bill? Yes, some did, but only one Republican did. I hope voters, who overwhelmingly want reform, remember this mess at election time.

[Laura (in PA)]

Amen, Lisa. You said it all so well.

I work with a man in his early 50s, a husband and father of five, who has been battling cancer. He had surgery, was on chemo for several months, and was doing very well for many months. Recently, they found a spot on his stomach lining, which has a grim prognosis. In order to buy himself a couple of years, he was looking into a radical treatment in Pittsburgh that has been used for treatment of cervical cancer. He was denied by the insurance company because, you guessed it, he doesn't have cervical cancer.

Stories like this make me ill. It's enough to deal with the ravages of the diseases and illnesses. Do we have to deal with the ravages of the insurance companies too?

[Peggy G]

Unfortunately the bill in its present form scares me. I'm uninsured, not by choice, but because I simply cannot pay the premiums that would be required. And before I get bashed, there is nothing frivolous in my budget that can be cut to accommodate that expense. It would literally mean going without food or electricity (or both) for me. By including mandates for certain coverage, limiting out-of-pocket expenses, and not allowing denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, the bill is going to increase overall premiums. And just because insurance becomes mandatory doesn't mean that my income is magically going to expand so that I can afford to pay for it.

Scary. Really scary.

[Karen in Ohio]

Peggy, I can see why that would worry you. Hopefully, with fully one sixth of the country without health insurance, and with so many out of work, Congress will figure this out and refine the provisions accordingly.

As an employer, it worries me, as well. We had to make a choice: either stop paying for health insurance or lay off our single, older employee. We chose to stop paying for his coverage. But first we provided him with an affordable policy.

[Alan P.]

You were not the only one doing an all nighter with CSPAN. Great post.

Nice to know that my pro-choice reps caved like overdone fettechini when it was gut check time.

As the father of two little girls it is still a shoebox of twenties for female health care. I have a few years, maybe something will happen before I need it.

[bea]

Was also glued to C-Span, and joked about how exciting my current life is, as I spent the earlier part of the evening going out of my way to check out a new grocery store. Whoo Hoo! Grocery shopping and C-Span on a Saturday night.

I agree that reform is necessary, and that we can provide better care to more people than we currently do. But it is obvious to me that we are in the process of mindlessly rearranging the deck chairs--instead of insurance companies deciding what will be covered, the federal government will decide. Also, although I realize that the current shorthand is "health care reform," what people seem most intent upon is health insurance reform.

Insurance companies don't provide health care--they reimburse the costs of health care. Now, in the name of 'sweeping reform,' the government will decide what is to be reimbursed. The same government running Medicare (insolvent in 2017 and, due to its 'low overhead' and prompt payment, an easy target for fraudulent claims--which continue to be paid, and paid, and paid), Medicaid (a staggering burden on the federal and state governments, and also a target for fraudulent claims), the VA (remember all the stories about the shoddy care of our soldiers?) and Social Security (still going broke).

My husband and I are currently paying a small fortune for health insurance and health care. If my calculations are anything close to accurate, we will pay less, in the short run. In the long run? I know we will pay more (for less), as will nearly every American. As with all massive government programs, it will cost more than advertised, and will provide less than promised. Also, of course, it is one more link in the chain we are purposefully hanging on the necks of Americans younger than we are.

[Karen in Ohio]

Bea, the sad truth of the matter is that you will pay more, with or without reform. As will we all.

[Becky Hutchison]

Great post, Lisa! I think it needs to be posted on all computer website banners (because most everybody uses a computer) where the US really stands in comparison to other countries in delivering good health care. Maybe then all the people who vehemently disagree with the US providing universal health coverage to its citizens will think again.

And those people who say the cost of universal health care is too high seemed to be okay with sending billions of our dollars overseas to a war with a fake premise. And are those same people going to avail themselves of Medicare when the time comes? Most probably yes.

I'm also frustrated with the GOP who say they'll vote on a bill if it has a particular item in it and then renege on their promise. The anti-abortion funding item isn't the only one they've mandated for their votes and then refused to vote "Yes" on a bill.

And regarding insurance companies, I totally understand how small business owners struggle with providing or subsidizing health care for their employees with the high premiums they have to pay, and don't even get me started about preexisting conditions. What I don't understand is why some of those against universal health care think there will be "death panels" to decide who gets help and who doesn't. What are the insurance companies doing today? By denying funding for life-saving surgery, experimental treatments, and pre-existing conditions, they're deciding on who dies and who lives already.

I know this is an over-simplification of what I'm trying to say, but I believe the healthier our citizens are, the more productive we are, and the healthier our country will be as a whole.

**Off soapbox now**

[Harley]

Lisa, amen, sister.

Ditto what's been said here. And no, Uncle Sam doesn't do so well with the veterans and their health care, but I prefer to think of the Public Option as similar to the Post Office. I happen to love my local post office, and everyone working there and you know what? THings generally get where they need to go and the price of a stamp isn't killing me. I know, I know. Call me Pollyanna. But the situation as it is now just sucks.

Don't get me started on the Reproductive Choice issue.

And boy, do I love the show HOARDERS, partly because my best friend is one of the shrinks in the rotation, but mostly because those poor souls make me feel like such a clean, well-organized person.

[Karen in Ohio]

Some of the "pre-existing" conditions that insurance companies have denied coverage for most recently, based on news reports and articles:

Rape
Domestic violence
Pregnancy
Obesity
Overweight infants
Underweight infants
Sleep disorders
Mild hypertension (requiring only an occasional Advil)

A friend got turned down for insurance, despite robust health, because he takes sleep medication. I was turned down because of taking an over-the-counter antacid, Prilosec. (But then we given coverage by the same company a year later, after stopping taking it.)

This is crazy. People with diabetes, a disease that requires hundreds of dollars of insulin a month just to sustain life, cannot get insurance at any price unless they already have coverage.

Seriously, we need reform, and badly. This is just the first step in what is by necessity an extremely complicated process, one that has been attempted unsuccessfuly since 1940. It's high time.

[Alan P.]

Sorry for going off topic, but here are some pictures from Elaine's book signing in St. Louis over the weekend. There are pictures of princes 1 and princes 2, Storyteller Mary and Karen in Ohio who made the drive on Saturday.

http://theportmans.name/index.php/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,52/catid,72/
Yes it is a mouthful, just click.

[Lisa Daily]

Hi all,

Great comments-- thanks for the smart discussion on all sides.

Today is my birthday, and my brand new iphone would not allow me to post comments today from my chair at the beach. I'm taking it as a sign that the Universe wanted me to take the day off with a good book, and that you all would probably forgive me for posting so late in the day...

Elaine -- AWESOME signing!!

XO,

Lisa

[Harley]

Happy Birthday, Lisa!!

[Marie]

Alan, thanks for sharing Elaine's book signing pictures. They are so great. Lisa, Happy Birthday!!
Also my husband is struggling with diabetes..his latest test results were good. What a relief. But health care reform is a priority and we hope it turns out for the best for all of us.

[storyteller Mary]

Lisa, happy birthday and thanks for a great blog! I think this would be a good bumper sticker, "Call me a traitor. Call me a socialist. Or just call me a doctor when I need one."
The pre-existing condition factor is such a trap -- people not able to consider work or life changes for fear of losing coverage . . . shameful to leave people without medical care, or bankrupt from paying for it.
My mom summed up the abortion issue, "Those people need to keep their noses out of my body." (We had just passed a "pro-life" demonstration on Hwy. 94, I nearly drove of the road when she said it).

[storyteller Mary]

Alan, great photos!!

[Becky Hutchison]

Happy, Happy Birthday, Lisa! Enjoy your new iPhone and many wonderful apps to come!

[Rita Scott]

Someone told me today that 'they' will take out the manditory coverage right out of my SS.
EXCUSE ME? They already take out $93 every month for Medicare!! Crap, I can't afford the $135 deductible and they want to take out more?!
They won't need a 'death panel', they'll end up starving us to death!

[Lynn]

My daughter is out of work. No insurance. She is married. Insurance would be $120 per week out of her new husbands paycheck. He only makes about $300 to start with. He makes too much for her to get Medic-aid. How is she supposed to get insurance?