It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about healthcare reform. I continue to receive emails from passionate individuals who are emotionally in favor or hysterically against healthcare reform. Personally, I can’t get myself to understand how anyone who has ever had to pay a hospital bill or buy a prescription in this country can honestly say that the system in place isn’t horribly flawed.
A couple of years ago, I received treatment for prostate cancer and am happy to say that I am now cancer-free. The bill for testing, consultation and about 50 hours of radiation treatment over 6 weeks came to $191,000. I spent less than 3 hours with an actual doctor. While I will be eternally grateful to be cancer- free, I couldn’t help but wonder how many Americans die because they can’t afford to participate in our healthcare system.
You would have thought that our recent economic crisis, at least partially brought on because of reduced government regulation, might have caused many to rethink their mantra “government bad, people good,” but the shouting is just as loud. It doesn’t matter how many times they hear about medication costing half the price in Canada or Mexico. It doesn’t matter how many articles are written about lower hospital costs in other countries and it doesn’t matter how many seniors praise our Medicare System. It’s always back to the same mantra!
Eight Million Mature Workers on Unemployment
In America today, there are more than 8,000,000 workers over the age of 40 on unemployment. There are millions more who have either taken survival jobs or given up their job search. There are others who are working in underemployed roles or at reduced hours. Most of them had absolutely nothing to do with creating our current economic crisis. There has got to be a way for us to know that every person in America has access to quality medical care. No American should have to die or live in unnecessary pain because the health care system is too expensive. Several of our advisors have warned me against speaking out on controversial issues while we are still in the funding process, but some things should not be left unsaid. It’s time to stop the rhetoric and fix the problem.
Related posts:
- Demystifying Healthcare: Tragedy and Loss of Healthcare
- How Healthcare Reform Could Get You Hired
- Demystifying Healthcare: The Untold Story
- Out For Smokes or Alien Abductions… The Shrinking Labor Force
- Health Reform May Open Employment Opportunities
Tags: Economic Crisis, Government, Healthcare, Mature Worker