On Health

This morning I watched Matt Lauer interview Obama on the Today Show. The interview made me decide to return to the blog I started last week about healthcare, delete the ranting segments (no fears, your time will come, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck) and try again - this time with the same cool, collected level-headedness that Obama displayed in his interview this morning: acknowledging that there are other sides and opinions out there, even recognizing those opinions as valid (he appeared better at this than me - even validating certain aspects of the Tea Party Movement), but still standing firm in the reasons why I too think the passing of this bill was an amazing step for America. Thanks for the inspiration, Pres. Here I go.

I don't believe that we have to belong to the same political persuasion to agree that the current healthcare system is broken. Very broken. Many of us even has personal stories or know people who have been impacted by a system that is notorious for denying care to those who need it the most. As a therapist, and thus someone who deals with insurance and third party payment as an every day part of my work, I have experienced an inside view into the corruption of this system. In my personal experience, some of the most grueling parts of dealing with the health care system include: the constant frustration of a model that is always reactive instead of proactive, and seeing head-on how insurance companies will go to any length to save a dime - especially denying coverage for care to those who need it desperately. Moreover, since I love, work with, and am preparing to have my own child, I especially see how this corruption impacts children. Because of this, I am so excited about these sections of the healthcare bill impacting children directly (and positively!)...

This year:

• insurance companies will no longer be able to refuse to pay for treatment of children's pre-existing conditions (who can believe they were ever even able to do this?!?)
• health care plans will allow young people to remain on their parents' insurance policy up until their 26th birthday
• insurance companies will be banned from dropping people from coverage when they get sick, and they will be banned from implementing lifetime caps on coverage (I know people this has happened to - people with cancer - unbelievable)
• people who are uninsured because of pre-existing conditions will have access to affordable insurance through a temporary subsidized high-risk pool
• small businesses that choose to offer coverage will begin to receive tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums to help make employee coverage more affordable (this is such a reality for us and many of our friends and family, being that all of our income comes from non-profit employment)

And within the next five years:

• insurance companies will be banned from denying health insurance coverage to people of all ages because of pre-existing conditions
• families and children with moderate incomes (up to about $88,000 for a family of four) will be able to get help paying for health insurance coverage
• state insurance exchanges will enforce minimum benefit standards for health insurance coverage

Good stuff. Real good stuff. Those opposed to the bill have plenty to say (some of which is totally unfounded, fueled by the vitriol of far right radio talk show hosts and the likes) about the parts of the bill they disagree with or the supposed cost of the bill. I give them that right. But I'll just say this: after over 30 years of an attempt to make some sort of change to healthcare in this county, I'm proud of a President who has finally made something happen. Some power is running the healthcare system and will continue to, and I'd rather have it be government controlled than run by the insurance companies (i.e. totally money driven). And, at the end of the day, I'd rather have my tax dollars (of any amount) go to healthcare for others rather than to an unnecessary, unprovoked war that has cost us over one trillion dollars to date. Just saying.

Beyond my exposure from my job, my family lived the benefits of a good healthcare plan during my father's three year battle with cancer. My father was blessed to have worked for a company that covered his medical expenses nearly in full. When the medical bills would roll in, especially after long hospital stays or necessary surgeries, I was aghast to read the dollar amount at the bottom of the page - all of which my family would have been expected to pay out of pocket had we not been fortunate enough to have amazing insurance coverage. I've thought many a day about the families out there who do not have the same, and the infinite impact it has made on our lives. More recently, in my quest to learn more about pre and postnatal care, I read that the out of pocket expense for comprehensive care (and a hospital stay at birth) is over $30,000 for those without insurance. Thus, as I was during and after my father's battle, I am humbled by the blessing of good insurance coverage. And I recognize that I do not deserve the privilege of good healthcare more than any of my neighbors. I hope that this bill will start the enormous process of bridging this wide, wide gap.

Cheers to the bill, the one small step that it is.