When did Americans stop giving a SCOTUS about each other?

Posted on by in General, Health, Opinion

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ambulance entering a hospitalAs a Brit, who grew up without ever questioning the notion of health care for all, the circus going on in the Good ‘ol US of Frickin A has me all a little disillusioned about life, the universe and everything.

A heavily modified version of the Big Bad Barack’s health care plan, that aims to make sure every single American can have access to some kind of health insurance coverage, has been been deemed constitutional by SCOTUS, the highest and fairest court of them all.

However uproar from conservative and libertarian camps has gone all loopy over the fact that some (less than 6%) American’s may be required to purchase some form of health insurance or face a fine / tax (it really doesn’t matter what it is). Screaming about freedoms being taken away and being forced to do this, go there and use that can be heard all over the internet and on TV. The fact is, these concerns are annoyances and yes in some ways could be seen as liberty being taken but it just seems like a distraction from the fact that many don’t want anything that could possibly resemble Universal healthcare.

To me that means many don’t want to help their fellow Americans have a life where they don’t need to worry about their health. Instead of picking on every little bit of this bill what about trying to come up with a viable alternative that will provide healthcare to all? So many politicians and their supportive citizen’s have been whining and whingeing without at any point offering a a full plan that can bring a similar outcome as so called Obamacare.

The bill has the main aim to help every American somehow gain access to Insurance. As far as I can see the two main groups of people who are often not able to get insured are the poor and people with pre-existing conditions.

Now as a country I would have thought it would be in everyone’s best interests to help the poor and sick keep as healthy and work-fit as they can so they don’t end up scrounging off other benefit systems.

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In the current system a perfectly fine working, qualified person with insurance through their job could quickly find themselves demoted and trapped in a loop becoming a scrounging good for nothing lay-about being funded by people’s tax money. I wanted to share this story (which was actually a comment left on this post from Media Matters) that illustrates the point perfectly.

By kpat 1960 (June 28, 2012 10:43 pm ET)

This is my experience with the healthcare system. First, I was a member of the system, I am a RN (male), I was one for over 10 years. I started out in the healthcare field as an EMT/Paramedic. I was working in Galveston TX as a nurse with full healthcare insurance, when I had a stroke at the age of 47. I was treated and released from the hospital with the expectation of continued follow-up care. I was fired shortly thereafter (losing insurance benefits)and was unable to get the recomended follow-up and I didn’t work for 18 months.

I was living off of my girlfriend and her family. When I had recovered enough to go back to work I found that I could no longer function as a nurse due to the residual effects of the stroke. I had several nursing jobs that only lasted for 6 months or less. I applied for disability but missed a required exam from a doctor because I had a heart attack (and was denied disability).

I told the parasmedics that picked me up that I didn’t have insurance. I was taken to the closest ER,(Baylor Medical Center)not the county hospital (Parkland) as was the correct protocol. It was determined that I would need heart bypass surgery, but the surgeon would not be available for a week, I was required to stay at the very expensive Baylor hospital for a week until the surgeon was available. I asked several times to be transferred to Parkland as they are the designated hospital in Dallas for residents without insurance. I was never given a reason for why I didn’t get transferred and my bypass surgery was performed at Baylor. They are still waiting for me to pay my 75,000 bill.

I have been unable to find work since, as a nurse. I even tried working as a convienience store clerk for minimum wage, but was fired after 3 months, again because of the residual effects of the stroke. I then applied for Disability again, I was finally approved for disability 3 years after the stroke. Under current disability rules I will start recieving Medicare after getting disabilty payments for an 3 years (will start in 11/2013). I have been without any healthcare coverage since 2007.

I am now one of the unemployed free-loaders that the Republicans HATE so much. I wish I could go to work, I have worked since I was 16 and payed taxes. I volunteer for the Red Cross so I can still contribute to society. I get very angry with people who think that everyone on disability or welfare are just lazy and living off the govwernment teet.

Sorry for such a long post and appologize for any misspelled words, never was a good typist even before the stroke

I am having a serious problem understanding why every American is not backing a system that enables everyone to get treatment for any potential health problems. It seems barbaric to me to not want to live in such a society.

I’m not saying Obamcare is the absolute answer. I know there are concerns that it could drive doctors to retire early, cause small business higher health care costs and make health care more general and impossible to find specialists. I know the incentives for people to go through the stress and money sapping of medical school could be reduced meaning less qualified professionals. I know there are other problems that could happen but the system as it is simply is not working and it needs a jolt of change. Many are currently uninsured because they either can’t afford it or the lovely helpful corporations that offer medical insurance are refusing people on the grounds of what illnesses / conditions they have or have had!

Check out Miranda’s take on Obamacare and how it will really affect.

Everyone needs coverage and people shouldn’t be rallying to stop Obamacare and everything associated with it. They should be rallying to find a solution to the issue of how everyone can get the coverage.

Access to health in a country that has a government that collects taxes should be a Right. All American’s should support this Right and if they don’t then that says to me that they just don’t care about their fellow citizens.

Now feel free to rip me to shreds in the comments, c’mon, I can take it!……. Keep the ripping metaphorical though, I don’t have health insurance.

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22 Responses to “When did Americans stop giving a SCOTUS about each other?”

  1. Practical Parsimony

    29. Jun, 2012

    It is unconstitutional to require citizens to purchase anything. I am not affected since I am retired and have a full disability. However, the people who are so against the healthcare bill are the politicians. Did you know that senators and congressmen retire with full salary and full healthcare benefits? Did you know that they vote on their own raises? BET NOT!

    In the UK an MRI may take a 6 month wait. In the US, an MRI is available day or night and immediately. I think it was the PM from the UK that said on American TV that the healthcare in England was a mess–don’t follow in their footsteps.

    The male nurse wrote that in 1960. Is that stilll the state of healthcare in Texas today? I would want to be in Baylor and not the county hospital! His care was better.

    I went to the hospital, thinking I was having a heart attack. I was never checked into the hospital and came back the next day for an angiogram. The total was $27. I paid not a dime because I filled out papers and the state paid 100% of my bill. AND, I was working and had no disability. I went home that night by choice because they said I had not had a heart attack ever and was not havng one then. The angiogram was to determine if I had heart or artery damage or blockage. Luckily the doctor said I had healthy heart and arteries.

    The poor or disabled will not suffer. Actually, they may be discharged from the hospital too soon. But, that is still something to be determined.

    The people who do drugs, drink, smoke, and generally do not care to work will receive care. The people who will suffer are the people who work, work hard, pay their bills and just cannot afford to pay for insurance premiums at all. They will be fined. That is not fair at all.

    My ire does not arise from the effects it will have on my children who all work and have insurance through work. My ire is that the Republicans will take all they can from people who are already suffering to line their pockets. Yes, I am a Democrat and voted for Obama and will again.

    What is proposed here does not resenble your healthcare system as much are you think.
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    • Jean Marcus

      02. Jul, 2012

      I totally agree with you. It is just not right having the citizens purchase anything. And the politicians should as well know they it is the citizens who put them where they are and stop being against the health benefit to due to selfish gains.
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  2. Practical Parsimony

    29. Jun, 2012

    OOPS, I see when the male nurse wrote the article now. The text on your blog is so dim it is difficult to read the text at all. It is like you have gray letters instead of black.
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  3. CF

    29. Jun, 2012

    I’ve also been surprised at some of the information and commentary that I have read. Perhaps I was not very knowledgeable about US health care practices, but this piece at the New Yorker really amazed me: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/06/something-wicked-this-way-comes.html

    One of the most striking stories for me, was the anecdote about the 40-50 year old women with cervical cancers due to lack of Pap smears. In Canada, my doctor reminds every two years to get my Pap smear. Even when I didn’t have a family doctor, each time I went to a walk-in clinic, they would ask if I wanted to get my Pap done at the same time. And I’m in my 20s. When I went to the hospital for a bump on the head, they gave me my tetanus and whooping cough booster shot “since you’re here anyways”.

    I just can’t imagine what it would be like to live without insurance in the US.

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    • Forest

      29. Jun, 2012

      I know, right! Paps are so important and for the good of the country all women should have access to them, i don’t care about the individual situation of said woman (freeloader, drug addict, high profile ceo, whatever). Women need a lot of basic care available to them and as a country it should not cost them. It should be as high on the agenda as providing decent highways between big cities.
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  4. Practical Parsimony

    29. Jun, 2012

    I am still livid. Forest, did you know that taxpayers pay for top-tier healthcare for our politicians, even when they are out of office. I pay taxes and don’t get that level of care and never have.

    At one point, I had federal insurance. I never paid over five dollars for a doctor visit. I was admitted into the hospital for a thyroid operation and paid $0. Prescriptions were free. So, that is how it is to live like a politician? Even with my medicaid and medicare, I am limited to 14 doctor visits a year.

    I have to beg for vaccinations and make another appointment to get the vaccinations. So, that limits my healthcare options further. Are you aware of these situations? And, from what I hear, my healthcare will be more limited.
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    • Forest

      29. Jun, 2012

      Hey Practical Parsimony,

      A lot of things to comment on here!

      Yes I know about the politicians and their care. It’s probably a tiny cost in the grand scheme of things but of course it is a big symbolic issue and shows problems.

      I’m not saying Obamacare is perfect by any stretch, I was simply trying to say that I don’t understand why anyone in USA would want to strike down proposals to make sure everyone gets insured and access to care. Instead of trying to strike it down people should be working to provide an alternate to Obamacare that will provide everyone with access to health, which in USA should be a right.

      I don’t care if you are a drug addict, free loader or lay about, it is a right to have basic access to health. I don’t mind paying for my fair share of the majority to get help even if there is a tiny bad minority. MOST poor people don’t fit the “freeloader, drug addict” model that is so often thrown around as a cliche.

      The eligibility to be fined will affect less than 4-million people. Most of those 4mil will already have care or will find access to more affordable care with help of the new rulings. Sure some will face the fine but I bet it will be a tiny amount and of course nothing can or ever will suit everyone.

      If it is unconstitutional to make anyone pay for anything then there is a serious issue with the structure of the country and its time to go to a ‘mad max’ style of living! I think the fact that the courts have ruled it constitutional means that officially it is now!

      Healthcare in the UK is 1) much cheaper than USA and everyone is covered; and 2) has no issues with you buying additional private cover so you can get your same day MRIs.

      The UK prime minister is slowly dismantling our system and selling it off privately, he is a conservative with a lean towards big business and money…. Of course he would say terrible things about it.

      So, my own experience with the UK health system.

      Firstly I can visit the docs as many times a year as I like, that is a big stress taken off life.

      I broke my finger years ago and went to hospital. I received and x-ray within 3 hours and was operated on 24 hours later. I then had 6-weeks of full physio care and was able to come in for cast and dressing changes as frequently as I needed. Healthcare in the UK is not people dying on the floors like US media so often portrays it.

      For better systems look to Germany and Japan.
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      • Practical Parsimony

        03. Jul, 2012

        The UK system is still a two-tier system–the haves get propter immediate care, the have-nots wait. I know nothing can be equitable. And, I am sure no one minds that people pay more. The point is, your healthcare system has serious flaws as does ours.
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  5. krantcents

    29. Jun, 2012

    It is all about politics. Obamacare does not go far enough because it does address cost containment other than getting everyone insured. It would be great if the Republicans would build on it rather than vowing to destroy it.
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  6. Practical Parsimony

    29. Jun, 2012

    Obama is making a start and is hobbled by Republicans. I never mentioned druggies anywhere, so your response to me made me keep looking at my comment. Insurance companies are the driving force in rising healthcare costs. Because of the Constitution, each state makes its own insurance rules in the US. Did you know that? The federal govt says that it cannot mandate how insurance companies make rules, yet they can mandate how we spend our money. Don’t you see a bit of discrepancy here?
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    • Forest

      29. Jun, 2012

      Sorry was having more of a general rant!!!! Not specific to all your points.

      I totally 100% agree the system is absolute bogus. I think insurance (a huge profit guided industry) being involved with health is a serious issue! I applaud Obama for trying to do something and it is so sad that he is stopped at every hurdle.
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  7. Practical Parsimony

    30. Jun, 2012

    Any woman in the US who wants or needs a Pap smear can get one free at the local health department.

    Mostly, the problem is either women don’t want one or don’t know how important they are or do not know they are free. I just passed mine with flying colors!

    There nay be cllinics that will perform this test also.
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  8. Practical Parsimony

    01. Jul, 2012

    It is publicized! However, if a woman does not have the money to take public transiit, she cannot go. You must have childcare for this visit or someone to go with you if you must take children. If a woman lives in a town without public transit, like I do, there is still the issue of transportation.

    If a woman lives with a man who thinks she is not worth saving, she has another issue. Maybe the man does not want her to bare herself to another man. He will not keep the children, give her the car, drive her there, all sorts of issues arise.

    If a woman works, there is the issue of taking time off from work. Most women do not have jobs that are okay with taking off work and NOT penalizing the woman for hours lost. Women in low-paying jobs may take a chance because she needs that hourly wage.

    Women who are lax in other areas of their sexual life/health may not be motivated to take care of themselves. Risk takers are not likely to have a pap smear.

    I have had pap smears for 40 years and still don’t like it. I endure it. Just because a woman is sexually active does not mean she wants to lie in stirrups and be probed. Plus, the breast exam hurts!

    Now, the paper robe I get comes to just below my breasts. The paper sheet for the rest of me is just for comfort because not much modesty is there.

    There is more to receiving a pap smear than just the knowledge it exists. It is complex. Study the complexities of the whole issue.

    I am well-educated, have a car, gas to go in it, no one to stop me, and still I sometimes wait for 18 months instead of one year. The health dept is three miles from me. However, I tried going there once. The woman who administered the pap smear hurt me! That was a first. Then, she forgot something and left the room with the instrument hanging from my vagina. Plus, she left the door open as she hurried down the hall.

    When I complained about the door being left open, she said, “Well, the only people back here are patients.” Right, and some were men getting tb tests or bringing their children in! No sensitivity at all or professionalism was exhibited. What happens in an inner-city health department?

    I went to the health department that time because I was suffering great economic problems. After that experience, I found the money to pay almost $200 for my regular gynocologist exam. Now, Medicare pays for my regular gyno exam.

    Publicity is great. But, there are greater issues at play as to why women don’t take advantage of the free services.

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    • Forest

      01. Jul, 2012

      I’m quite aware of the issues surrounding women actually going to get the pap smears, free or not, and stigma attached to such exams by bad partners. My girlfriend is a Gender Graduate so I am pretty well read on that side of things.

      If it is common knowledge that Paps are available for free and American women are still going less than in other countries then there is a serious cultural issue to get over. Of course I guess another issue lies because if anything is found that requires hospital treatment poor women can’t afford to go!

      The transport / babysitting aspect is a difficult one and maybe there needs to be some more work done enabling women on those situations to be seen.

      Also the bad treatment you got has to be able to be put up to a complaints system. It doesn’t matter if healthcare is free or the most expensive thing you can buy there are doctor patient laws regarding privacy.

      I’m getting interested in writing a post on this subject so any other info you have about the systems, publicity, who actually provides / pays for them etc etc would be very welcomed.
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  9. Practical Parsimony

    02. Jul, 2012

    The other issue with going to the health dept is one of fear.
    1) fear of what the outcome will be. It is the ostrich head in the sand issue
    2) fear of other people in the health dept waiting room. In this small 100% white town, I never saw another person of a different culture in the waiting room. It would not have been an issue for me. Most of the people were not grungy looking or ill-behaved. Children were clean and under control. I felt I could safely take my children there for shots instead of going to the pediatrician.

    Now, there are a few blacks and many Hispanics. I am still not afraid of catching anything. However, children are not controlled. Plus, there is a sign threatening expulsion for bad language, anything controversial between patients or patients and staff. The atmosphere has changed even though the building is new and really nice.

    When I suggested to my daughter in NYC that she take her son to the health dept for his baby shots, she was incensed, telling me how bad it was there with druggies, fights, and in a bad neighborhood. She said it was nasty, stinky, and just horrendous. Her neighbor had gone there.

    We have no problem sharing spaces with different ethnicities. But, we do not like nasty places to take babies, frightening conditions, inside or outside.

    Your response “if it’s true” is sort of insulting. It is true. Even for those who fall through the cracks, there is help. If a woman has no access to a computer, does not know how to use a computer, or is not aggressive enough in her search, she will not get a pap smear. Maybe the woman depends on others for transportation and the other person does not show up, generally not a dependable person? There are so many variables that there is not one way to pin down an answer that will provide a cure for this problem. Many approaches are needed to get the available pap smears women need.

    I am assertive and tenacious. My education has nothing to do with that aspect of my personality. However, the less educated are often the ones who do not have the will or information or language to find the answers. Many people who need help from programs are so reactionary, saying, “They want to know my life history and treat me rudely, so I just want get food stamps/pap smear/utility help.” These women are hiding the fact they work under the table, live with boyfriend, have others who give them money. They would rather do without needed services that expose their “livelihood” and risk tax evasion charges or have another service removed. They think they are being “looked down on” by the workers.
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    • Forest

      03. Jul, 2012

      Sorry didn’t mean to be insulting.

      I’m a bit bemused by your immigrant comments. “I am still not afraid of catching anything’, who ever would be afraid?

      Also I think it’s more a sign of changing times, not because they are black or hispanic. I challenge you to tell me the younger white folk’s kids don’t act in the same way?

      Sure there are differences between cultures but most other cultures are as respectful and careful of each other than American culture is, in fact I would go as far to argue that many cultures are more so. I lived in Egypt for two years and grew up in London in a mostly Indian area with many African immigrants later on in life. I have friends from all over the world and my travel has enlightened me to the fact that people are the same with the same worries and grievances wherever you go.

      Ok back to the health clinics, you are making a lot of presumptions about people but I hear what you are saying. The reality is that being poor is tough and breeds tough, sometimes irresponsible people. If we as a world could provide a slightly raised platform and access to a better standard or education for ALL then I think much of what you describe would fade away. The clinics have a lot of trouble and I don’t pity them dealing with the angry and hard edged clientele but there must be a way to improve this whole mess.

      In the UK where we all (poor, middle class and some rich) share the same clinics and hospitals we generally get reasonable care and don’t have to worry about bad behavior. Kids will always be a pain in the butt though and so they should be, they are learning about the world! Sure the emergency room on a saturday night can be a bit crazy but in general it’s just fine.
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  10. Practical Parsimony

    03. Jul, 2012

    I said nothing about immigrants. I am talking about the changing demographics of the town. The children are of all ethnicities who are not being minded by parents. However, there is ignorance in this town. I am not a part of it.

    No, I am not making presumptions about why women don’t go to get pap smears. Remember, I have a degree in women’s studies. Lots of reading and research was required. Plus, women in the class shared their emperiences. Every situtation does not have to apply to each woman. Some have only one issue. Others have multiple issues.

    I am not making presumptions about why whites do not want to go to the heasth department here or several places. I am repeating attitudes vocalized all the time!

    Ignorance abounds! If a white woman presumes she will catch something in a clinic filled with mostly Hispanics and a few blacks, then she may not go to the clinic if it is free. That is not a problem for me. It is a problem when children of any ethnicity are running into me as I try to walk. With my back problems, falling would be easy. I have a knee problem, I cannot tuck that foot back to avoid brawling toddlers. But, it is not sticking out in the floor. Actually, Hispanic children are much better controlled by parents that the white parents in these clinics.

    You are taking what I say others think and attributing the thoughts to me. Not so.

    The poor here are mostly relegated to county hospitals while the wealthy or insured go to the teaching and research hospitals. Still, going to the ER is one of my 14 visits allowed. County hospitals and clinics abound. I have to drive over an hour to be seen in a teachng or research hospital where I think the care is top notch.

    When I fell and hit my head on a concrete step and knocked myself out, I was told to go home and run a hot bath and take a soak. “My head!?!?” “No, your knee,’ said the nurse practitioner in the ER! Wouldn’t you lose confidence? THAT is why I drove 50 miles in the rain with fever to a better ER. And, yes, the whole waiting room was Black people, AND I was not in the least concerned about their presence. When I tell you things about others, please don’t assume that is my attitude.

    You seem to be making this all about defending the ethnicities of the world from what this white woman is writing. I was giving you explanations of why women don’t get Pap smears.
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  11. Amy Turner

    06. Jul, 2012

    I completely second your suggestion for those in the constantly whining and opposing side to just come up with a viable alternative to the proposed health care plan. It is so easy to criticize and hurl condemning words but never offering something. If they’re so smart, they can come up with a more sound and beneficial counter proposal, don’t you think?
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