Thursday, August 20, 2009

love thursday 08.20.09 ~ health care reform? how about insurance reform (or love your neighbor as yourself redux)


If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it's pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting.

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder ~


Let's talk health care. (Why not? Everyone is doing it.) Everyone needs care and what we have isn't working.

In my former life, I had health insurance through domestic partner benefits. When that relationship ended, I was able to go on COBRA and then to a "portability policy"--which means the coverage is not nearly as good and the premiums are not much less than COBRA, but the insurance company was required to offer me something.

In the meantime, I started looking for coverage through other companies that might cost less and cover more. They all rejected me. I hadn't used my insurance (except for an occasional chiropractic adjustment). I didn't have a disease nor was I on medication.

They all rejected me because my Body Mass Index (BMI) was too high. That's right. They rejected me because I'm too fat.

Now, I admit I weigh more than I want to and I have to shop in the fat girl catalogs (people who shop in those catalogs can call them that--people who don't can't). However, I can still sometimes buy things that fit me from regular catalogs, too. The insurance companies? They think I am too fat and they rejected me...because they can.

What we need is health insurance reform. Everyone needs to be able to have / afford health care. I don't really care how that happens as long as the new system works.

As long as the "for profit" insurance companies can pick and choose and reject whomever they want, and the "for profit" insurance companies write the legislation that their lobbyists then push through the system, we will not have care for everyone. The "for profit" insurance companies make the laws and the profits. Who pays? We do.

I am not a huge fan of paying taxes--at least not to support the war machine--but, I don't mind paying taxes that buy me services and support my well-being. Enter health care. As long as the only option is a "for profit" insurance company, I will continue to pay more and more in health care costs and premiums to maintain their profit. Not my health.

Don't kid yourself. We will pay for health care one way or the other. What do you say we try doing it the kind, compassionate, humane, neighborly way?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm thining healthcare today too. until yesterday, my husband's work provided health insurance for myself and our kids too, so it was never an issue for us. but from today, all of a sudden, they have decided that family cover would no longer be available; so i am exploring all healthcare expenses and insurance policies.

SE'LAH... said...

Seems that it's the topic of conversation all over. I personally prefer for every child and person to have some form of health coverage, rather than promoting a more unhealthy population.

Operaton You said...

It's amazing that this society/health insurance companies bank on making money off sickness... Blnded by greed..until one of their own gets sick.. No one should be denied and don't care what it costs this soceity.. NO ONE should be denied help! My mom has worked 2 jobs all her life and paid her taxes and she had to go without health insurance for five years until her Medicaid kicked in at age 65! I don't understand!

Joan said...

Most definitely there needs to be a change in our healthcare system...a fair one. Too many of us work for insurance and what doesn't go to the outrageous premiums goes to what the insurance won't cover. It seems criminal that not everyone can have insurance. Let's hope that it can be fixed in a humane way.

Carrie Wilson Link said...

I say yes.

Susan O'Neil said...

Right on sister!

Cowtown Pattie said...

Susan took words right outta my mouf:

Right on, Sistah!

Hey, anyone interested, you can write up your healthcare points of view and post them at Ronni Bennet's Time Goes By blog.

She is trying to collect enough to catch the eye of big wig journalists.

www.timegoesby.net

rebecca said...

Brilliantly said

christina said...

yes- in a compassionate, humane way. i agree. i need to feel comfortable if i get sick, as for now, im not feeling if something happened, it would be all good.
there has to be better way.