Daily Musings
To understand why the healthcare system in this country is so barbaric, take this example. The other day I went with my fiancé to her oncology appointment. On this day she had to get an infusion that takes 45 - 60 minutes, so I waited with a book, patients, and other spouses, in the waiting room for her.
While I was waiting a man walked in with crutches. He only had one leg. Not a prosthetic, and a leg. Just one leg, the other leg gone from the knee down. He checked in for his appointment and then sat down a few seats away from me. Within seconds a lady appeared through a secret back door with a piece of paper and walked over to a young kid and said, “Tom?” He shook his head no and the man with one leg raised his hand and said, “I’m Tom.” She walked over to him and presented the paper, explained that he had a balance due and asked him if he wanted to make a payment.
Clearly surprised by the question at first he hesitated, and then he politely declined to pay right there in the waiting room of his oncologist’s office. The lady left, but the awkwardness hung in the air. There were at least 8 people sitting in the waiting room and we could all here it and we all felt it.
This man, for reasons I don’t know, had lost a leg. He presumably was also suffering from cancer since he was waiting to see an oncologist. If the stress of life with one leg, and having cancer is not enough, he also has the weight of unpaid medical bills that are piling up. And I don’t know this man’s situation, but I spent a decade working in healthcare, and I can safely say that this is not the only collector that’s calling him.
We live in the richest and most powerful nation in the world. A country that in recent years has become fond of uttering the phrase “America First,” and yet it’s still somehow debatable if we should have universal healthcare.
What would help put America First more than making sure that all of its citizens were healthy? A healthy and happy employee is a productive one. If GDP and a bull market is what raises all boats, than why not invest in the health of every single citizen, and make sure that every citizen is capable of participating? Other than the multi-billion dollar insurance industry, who benefits from not investing in our citizens in this way? Now that’s not the reason I believe we should adopt universal healthcare in this country, but I think it’s a rationale that is hard to be against.
To me universal healthcare is simply the humane thing to do. It wasn’t until I read The Healing of America that I ever considered the fact that in our current system healthcare is treated like a commodity. If you have money you can have it, and if you don’t you can’t (or go bankrupt receiving it).
We all say we want this country to be great, but when it comes time to choose we always decide it’s better to invest our money somewhere else. There’s always more than enough money for the military and the next war, but there’s always just enough to give citizens the bare minimum. And I just wonder what needs to happen to make everyone realize that supporting and investing in our citizens is the best way to actually make this country the greatest in the world.