You’ve probably seen it: that letter that is supposedly written by a doctor about the fact that there is no health care crisis, but rather a culture crisis. It’s been making the rounds on Facebook. (I wish I could link it up, but it’s mysteriously disappeared from the walls of everyone who shared it.) It’s shown up in my feed several times now and it irritates me. Why? Because that is only part of the story…there are absolutely people who abuse the system. People who buy expensive clothes and drive expensive cars and eat fast food every day and buy cigarettes and alcohol but expect us to pay for their illnesses.
But there are also people who are just struggling to buy food and pay their mortgage and keep their electricity and water on. Whose modest cars are barely running, who haven’t had new shoes in years, and can’t afford fast food, much less cigarettes and beer. People who endure incredibly painful medical problems without a doctor’s care because they know they can’t afford it, whose teeth are crumbling due to lack of dental care. who haven’t seen the eye doctor for new glasses in a long time, who live in fear of an accident or illness because it could bring down their whole precarious financial house of cards. Who are these people you ask? Well, me for one. And guess what? I don’t qualify for Medicaid unless I get pregnant again, which won’t be happening if I have any say in the matter.
I wish I could afford insurance. Three years ago, I never would have considered going without it…only irresponsible people do that, right? Right now, it would be irresponsible for me to have insurance. Because it would mean I wouldn’t have a place to live, or there would be no food for us to eat or electricity to keep the refrigerator and heat working. And this is even if I could get health insurance…my medical history is not stellar. Kidney stones, infertility, PCOS, c-sections…these are all things that could make insurance very expensive (the lowest estimate I could find was $400/month) or get me denied completely. Yes, even if the insurance didn’t cover pregnancy or infertility treatments, they could deny me because of those things. I am looking for a job that can provide me with group health insurance. If you know of one that I’m qualified for where the pay justifies the cost of gas, clothing, and childcare expenses, tell me about it. I’m applying to every job I can find that would meet these needs. The problem is, once I find it, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to afford the premiums for the group health insurance, which puts me right back where I started…uninsured and scared. Sometimes I wonder if things will ever get better for us. It’s hard to believe that less than 3 years ago I had no idea what it was like to go without food or worry about whether they were going to shut off our electric or where we would go if the mortgage company foreclosed. This is my new normal, and it’s pretty freaking terrible.
Our healthcare system is broken. There are absolutely people who abuse it…there always will be, no matter what the system is. It’s unfortunate, but let’s not abolish the system because of these few. Instead, report those who abuse it. Show mercy and kindness to the people who don’t. A little understanding goes a long way. I’m not broken yet, but reading things like that letter reminded me that people out there think that I’m somehow less deserving than others and that hurts me more than anything else has yet.
