I represent one of those armies of the 46 million uninsured the media tosses around as a statistic. In short order I had cancer. Our business crumbled. We lost a home. The health insurance evaporated. Following this, I got divorced. I was left with an army of creditors, five children and a series of chronic health conditions. Having been married for 14 years and chiefly a stay at home mom, without a degree, did not market me for the workplace. I've been without insurance for nearly a decade. I don't just hear the statistics, I live them.
Lest you think mine is an isolated, tragic story, may I remind you that 71 percent of the bankruptcies following cancer patients in a recent study were those with insurance? The average insured bankrupt individual had 19K plus in out of pocket, deductibles and patient cost. Contrast that to the average uninsured with around 26K in expense. It's still a chunk of change to toss at medical bills, along with premiums-money that many Americans do not have as expendable cash.
Imagine if you had the misfortune to have a chronic condition or one that lingered over a few years of co-payments and deductibles? Cancer patients, once in remission, typically require scans to track health issues for extended periods of time. In fiscal terms, it's likely you may meet your co-pay and out of pocket for several years to come in that scenario. Toss unemployment in the mix, and you've created a volatile fiscal event for most families. Less than seven percent of all unemployed can afford to COBRA their insurance. Many of the chronically ill become too sick to work, thus losing their jobs and their insurance.
What's the solution? I remember sitting in the hospital crying all over a nurse, regarding the rising costs we were faced with during treatment. Her response was to pat my knee, and comment, "Don't worry, you can still file bankruptcy." I suppose she meant it to comfort me. However, living with the repercussions of unaffordable insurance, negative credit and raising children is not a comfortable life. Likewise for the third of under or uninsured, who've lives have significantly been altered by medical costs, I suspect it's not a comforting thought for them as well.
You and I see these costs in reflected in second mortgages to leverage money for medical bills, bankruptcies which put a fiscal drain back into health care system of 34 billion, and nearly a trillion already being spent by the federal government. For those who state that affordable care is a daunting task, the premiums I've been quoted over the years were up to a half of my income. Current premiums, several years after cancer, now represent a fifth to a sixth of my income. How many of you, upon reading this can live on a half of your income and raise a family? Or would enjoy giving up a sixth of your income, while paying current obligations?
80 percent of uninsured work full-time. These millions are breadwinners, small business owners and those employed at companies struggling with economics too grave to provide insurance for workers. Roughly a third of all small companies do not provide medical benefits. It's become a vicious cycle. Medical costs have soared. In response, businesses have limited or dropped coverage for employees, who in turn frequently file bankruptcy or become delinquent on bills. For each person who's filed medical bankruptcy, we've lost a consumer to feed the economy and gained a negative asset on the health system.
In my own case, I've never had both credit and income in this decade to be enough of a consumer to buy property. At 44, it's likely I may never, given my continual medical bills bleeding me dry like perennial fiscal leeches. I've lost both a home in the past and the possibility of one in the future.
Hospitals blame rising costs on 34 billion annually in bad debt. Consumers blame hospitals for soaring prices of treatment, etc. Millions more due to economics, will be adding to future health care drain.
I am certain others, like me, healed at the hands of American medicine are grateful beyond words for health. However, I pose this question- is there another option to provide medical care without so critical a cost?
It's time to evaluate other possibilities.
I've published a book about my experiences in the health care system. Upon researching it, these statistics I've shared with you stand out, as evidence of a system in crisis. We can choose to allow this to continue on as it has- like a definition of insanity, attempting to produce different results while applying the same methods. Or we can move forward and seek a new alternative.
As an industrial safety and health professional, I've worked with OSHA compliance for five years in a wide variety of settings for a five year period. I am a federally authorized trainer for safety related industrial needs and a CPR instructor. A career published writer, I am the author of "No Room in the Inn," an ebook chronicling my decade as one of those uninsured masses mentioned above, available on Mobipocket and Amazon. I am an advocate for women and work with finance for credit challenged females in my blogsite. My work with career counseling also involves resume building and job coaching. Please feel free to contact me with any assistance in professional writing, job coaching or resume development. Comments, likewise are always welcome.
