AmAnDa: Health Care or Debt?

The United States does not have universal health care. Programs such as Medicare and medicaid provide basic health insurance to elderly, disabled, and poorer residents. In 2004 15% of people in America did not have health care coverage. I am one of them. I was raised in a lower class family and even though I married into a somewhat middle class family I still do not have health insurance. When you work in pizza places and hotels your whole life, its hard to convince your boss to shell out and provide health insurance benefits for you. And even harder to take money away from bills that have to be paid to pay for something I consider a luxury. Recently I paid the price. My husband got injured in a football accident. He broke his elbow in 6 different places almost to the point where it came out of his arm. Up untill this point my husband had good credit, which he prided himself on. Well after an 8 hour surgery, 13 pins and 3 plates, and six days in the hospital, his credit was shot. $45,000.00 dollars we were supposed to pay. What about charity organiztions? Our “household” made too much to qualify. So because my mother-in-law and sister-in-law lived with us…we were not allowed this benefit. Needless to say we couldnt afford to pay this…so my husbands credit payed for it. I heard someone say in class one day that people without healthcare should be more responsible. So just because one person was raised in a hardworking lower class family instead of upper middle class snobland– they have to also struggle to prevent “accidents” too? No. Accidents happen. And society should be set up in such a way as to provide options for the “inbetween” class. Well options for everyone really. I love the idea that Europe has– everyone gets healthcare! This prevents diseases because of early detection and other things designed to help society! What kind of a “society” are we if we cant take care of each other? This is supposed to be the land of oppertunity. Well why cant it be the land of equal oppertunity? It can. And it should.

This entry was posted on 12. June 2009 at 03:17 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.