I was late to the party when it came to seeing Michael Moore’s movie Sicko. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s a movie that every American should see before they vote in this presidential election.
Regardless of what you think about Michael Moore and his theatrics, one thing is clear — if you live in Canada (or a variety of European countries), there are a lot less worries about health care — getting it and paying for it — than we have here in the United States.
I’ve said before that the PunditMom family is really lucky. We have a good insurance policy, so we worry a lot less than many families when it comes to health care. But apparently one of the men we’ve come to know and like who works at PunditGirl’s school does not.
I’m not exactly sure what Mr. W.’s title is, but he’s the guy who directs traffic at the intersection by the school in the mornings to make sure everyone crosses safely, he does custodial work around the school, and pretty much anything else that needs to be done taking care of the building itself. He’s kind, always upbeat and happy to see you even when he’s standing out in the rain on a dreary afternoon at pick-up.
But Mr. W. is really sick. Last week, all the school’s families got an E-mail from the principal telling us about his illness, how they were planning to tell the children, and asking if any of us would be willing to make some small contributions to help cover his medical costs and hospice care.
That we live in a country where a hard-working man who is loved by all the children at the school where he works doesn’t have the coverage he needs to make his last days comfortable and worry free made me sick.
Sure, many of us have advocated for changes in the health insurance system. But it’s abstract until it hits home. And it doesn’t even have to be a family member. Mr. W. always has a smile and wave for me and PunditGirl. We chat about the changing seasons, the icy sidewalks and having good holidays. His openness and affection for the school and the kids reminds me of my dad, a part-time school bus driver who keeps up with the job at the age of 71 partly to watch the kids grow up and partly for the health insurance.
I wish instead of a check to cover a few expenses, we could have given Mr. W. a ticket to Canada where, at least if you believe what you see in Sicko, he and his family would not have had to worry about his medical care or whether his family’s resources would be sapped by his illness.
Of course, we were more than happy to help Mr. W. and his family and we’re glad that we could do it. But wouldn’t it be so much better if we never had to get messages like that again because families would just know the doctors and medicines and care they needed would be available no matter how much or how little their family income was?
January 17th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I didn’t care as profoundly as I do now about healthcare until a. I had a child and b. I had a child who would come to need 13 surgeries in the first two years of her life. After dealing with endless bureaucracy, approvals and refusals, constant arguing and occasional large payments even after our policy has covered some of my daughter’s bills…there has to be a better answer out there somewhere for people in this country. What we have right now is a disgrace.
Signed,
Sounding just like my mother
January 17th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I believe that we are in a health care crisis, but I’m not so quick to believe that universal health care is the right step just yet. I think this creates a dependency on the government. I don’t think the government has proven they can handle universal health care. They’ve royally effed up social security, medicare and medicaid and now they want Americans to trust them with our medical care?
If they could end the frivolous lawsuits because of money hungry burn victims (like the woman that sued McDonald’s when she spilled coffee on her lap — she got several million dollars), if we could stop the overpaid insurance industry from over charging for basic medical care then we’d be ahead of the game. But the government won’t do that. They want to pad their pockets first.
Initially, I thought socialized health care was the way to go, and then my father showed me something interesting. He showed me two hospital birthing bills from 1979. One was mine, one was my cousins (my dad and uncle compare notes on everything). My father never had insurance when me and my siblings were born, but my uncle’s family did. My cousin and I were born two days apart. My father’s bill was $2100, because he had no insurance and my uncles bill was $5400 and he had insurance. More than double. What is wrong with this picture?
I’m starting to think that privatizing insurance is the way to go — if people were in control of their own health care and how they spent their money (such as FSA’s and health savings plans) I think we’d eliminate the need to run to the ER for every cough or sniffle.
I hate knowing that 74 million Americans are uninsured. They deserve better, but I really don’t trust the government with such a big responsibility just yet.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I will hold Mr. W. in the light.
Recently, one of the adjuncts at the school where I teach evening classes had a heart attack. The students and other adjuncts took up a collection.
Perhaps we paid for a month of medication.
We certainly did not make a significant dent in his medical bills.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:18 am
That is a sad and frightening post. Health care in this country makes me heartsick. I just don’t understand why the powers that be don’t understand that it would be better all around if we went to a single payer system. I just don’t get it.