THIS is why healthcare should be accessible to all
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Over the weekend, many of us had news of the death of Texas writer and reviewer Melissa Mia Hall.
The tragedy was compounded today when it was discovered this could have been prevented had she been able to afford insurance or basic medical care. Read the story over at The Lipstick Chronicles.
This is a woman who worked her tail off, had a house of her own, yet couldn't afford medical care or health insurance because she chose to be self-employed.
It doesn't cost that much to go to the doctor, you say? Think again. Around here $100 for a basic office visit is typical. If you don't have a drug plan, that hundred bucks is just the start. A basic GYN visit (which can screen for early cancers) runs closer to $200. And if you don't have health insurance, the costs of treating that early cancer are astronomical.
Our healthcare system is in serious need of reform. We can save so many lives AND bring down the cost of care with affordable preventive medicine for all. Instead, people wait and go to the emergency room or simply die like Melissa Mia Hall.
Accuse me of being a flaming Socialist if you want, but think about this for a minute: Who pays for those emergency room visits? We do, through taxes and higher medical costs. As a result, health insurance costs go up, making care further out of reach for hard working people and their families. Don't make this about welfare cheats or illegal aliens. Ms. Hall was neither.
Tags: Writing Politics
Filed under: Writing Politics
Comments are closed
|