As we get closer to the election, all, I’d like to provide a link that has the stories of some families without medical insurance. I really urge you to take a look at it.
I listened to McCain say in the debates that he’d make sure each family (the entire family, not each individual) had a $5,000 a year tax credit to pay for their medical care. I really don’t know what planet he’s from that he thinks that would pay for much of anything. That won’t even begin to cover the cost of insurance for an individual who has any preexisting conditions at all…if you’re lucky enough to even get insurance then.
There’s a real misperception among a lot of privileged people that the government will pay for a person’s health care if they truly need it. (No, seriously–I’ve had people spout that to me.) Here’s a case study from 2000 to illustrate the issue a bit more. I shouldn’t have to note that the situation hasn’t improved in the last eight years.
It’s sad, guys. Please, as a country, let’s get our priorities straight as we decide how best to fix things. Our health care system is shameful.
6 Responses to “Families without health insurance”
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I'm a freelance copyeditor specializing in fantasy and science fiction. SF/F novels I have copyedited have been finalists for (and have sometimes won) the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, Endeavour, Golden Spur, John W. Campbell Memorial, Quill, Locus, Philip K. Dick, British Science Fiction, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy awards. In 2007 I became the first and only copyeditor ever short-listed for a World Fantasy Award.
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I belong to a family without health insurance. My husband is in law school, and I’m temping. Both of us could have gotten coverage (through his school, or through my job) but all that was available was emergency coverage (that is, it wouldn’t cover routine issues, or dental, or glasses) and there was a $10,000 deductible. We decided that with insurance like that, we might as well be uninsured and keep the extra $100/month, which we really need.
Tax credits won’t help if you can’t get good insurance to begin with. I don’t see the point in paying for crap insurance which won’t cover me when I need it. Plus, a tax break doesn’t help if you don’t have the money to begin with. We’re not in that situation, but lots of people are.
I agree wholeheartedly — McCain’s health-care proposal will do nothing to fix this crisis: In fact, it will only make it worse! He intends to tax individuals the value of their employer-based healthcare. FactCheck.org explains it all:
http://www.factcheck.org/mccains_5000_promise.html
Very scary and sad! Average, middle-class Americans should be up in arms.
Australia will pay for its citizens’ medical needs–a system I am quite grateful for, and one that far surpasses anything the US current has.
It’s a shame the US doesn’t have a system like this, nor do I believe it would be able to afford it. Alas.
I hear you. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
[Granted, I'm seriously pissed at Obama for not adopting Edwards' and Kucinich's single-payer plans or even Hillary's plan (although he has come closer to endorsing her plan in the past couple of months), because if we can't do it, how come other poorer countries can? Hell, if we spent what we're spending on the Iraq War or the bailout, we could pay for health care for 50 million people for the first three years. But no, that would socialism! And we can't have THAT! (Except for the Post Office, the Veteran's Administration, public libraries, public schools, social security, the FDIC provisions that are the only things keeping most of us from going broke right now...). But McCain's policy would make things even worse without fixing anything. Obama's plan will at least keep the door open to the possibility of a single-payer system - a plan that 70 percent of the country supports.]
Honestly, I don’t get it when people say McCain’s a centrist. I’m willing to vote for a centrist if that’s what it takes to keep the crazies out of the White House and the Supreme Court, and he’s not it. But the only way McCai can win now is to say black is white and up is down and hope we’re stupid enough to fall for it without looking at his record.
Ignoring the real value of $5000/year when it comes to health insurance (and how long before insurance rates rise by $5000/year?) Sadly, quick newsbites like that are all a politician wants in an election year. There is no simple fix, the US already spends more on health insurance than it does on food (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18802) we already spend more than any other nation on earth on health care (http://www.amsa.org/programs/barriers/case.pdf). Our budget already shows that as a country we spend close to as much on health benefits as everything else put together. Clearly an unworkable situation.
Where would the money come from? we already owe other governments over $9 trillion dollars and are borrowing $400 billion dollars per year just to pay the interest (gee, I wonder how long we can sustain that)
Lets break down that offhand soundbite….Assuming that the people would actually get $5000 (which I doubt, most likely we are talking a tax break, probably off the taxable income which would amount to real dollars in the sub-$1000 range for most Americans) but assuming its 100% on the level.
According to the census bureau, there are 111,621,768 families in the US. (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts) Multiply that by $5000 gives a yearly cost (in less taxes) to the US of $558,109,990,804 (500 billion dollars) or as much as all of medicare costs now and considering that the US gains a new person every 9 seconds (http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html), you can see where that cost will go.
These kind of things are what make me despise McCain and his “tell the people something that gets me elected but I know has no chance of actually working” way of doing things.
Most gov’t health plans will NOT cover a pre-existing condition unless you were covered by a previous health plan for six months with no issues on your pre-existing condition.
If you have cancer, diabetes, asthma, etc consider yourself S.O.L. and consider yourself screwed out of most normal health plans that you can try to find for yourself.
I’ve been without health care for almost 5 years. I have been refused gov’t coverage, or offered gov’t coverage at a rate of 600 dollars per month with a high deductible. I have been refused private coverage based on being a liability.
All because I have chronic asthma which is manageable. Meaning I take a few pills, keep a few prescriptions up to date and handy and I won’t spend much time in the hospital. I have never overnighted in a hospital for my asthma, and i’ve only had one major surgery (without insurance mind you).
No, there is no health coverage in the U.S. Scott and I deal without it even though insurance would make life a ton easier for both of us. I still search on a weekly basis for something that is reasonable that I won’t get rejected for. But it’s getting kinda hopeless.
I don’t expect the gov’t to fix this anytime soon either. Universal health care for anyone over the age of 18 is not high on anyone’s list.