I was reading Seanan McGuire's Blog as I do most days and again hit a quandary.
I wanted to comment. I didn't know what to say. What I have to say isn't going to be popular with a lot of people & I'm really not in a mood to get bashed for it (not that I suspect bashing would be allowed to continue for a long if it started, but I'm so tired on this point that I'm becoming mute rather than risk it.)
Things I am willing to stipulate: There's a massive problem with health care in this country. People, such as the woman Ms. McGuire wrote about today, are dying rather than seeking health care. They're dying rather than risking security. That's just wrong. Some type of universal coverage would help alleviate this situation. There are greedy self-serving asses in both the medical and health insurance fields. (There are greedy self-serving asses in every field.)
Things I am not willing to stipulate: All doctors are villians because they expect to be paid in a manner commensurate with the hours they work, the stress that work involves and the education required to get there. All insurance companies are evil because they expect to make a profit. All patients are lazy slugs who expect medicine to have a miracle pill to fix every problem so they can go on not taking care of themselves, yet avoid all medical problems.
I could literally spend the rest of my life dissecting this problem. I've modeled the Gordion knot extensively. It's ugly and twisty and there is no simple solution.
So why am I bothering to say anything?
Because I keep trying. I don't really expect anyone will listen to me if/when I figure this out because after all, who am I? Suburban wife & mom. What could I possibly understand? I just want to do it the way I think is best to protect my comfortable life because I'm a greedy conservative. I've got mine, screw everyone else, right?
And yet I keep trying. Even when confronted with crap like the opinions above (which I've heard in various forms, more than once.)
What can we do? Today, here, now - as individuals, not waiting for the government to fix it for us.
We can take care of our personal health. That means exercise, eating reasonably, washing our hands thoroughly, restricting who we interact with when we're ill & not presuming that any of this is not our responsibility.
If we have insurance, we can use those benefits to see our doctors & follow their advice. They want to help. We frustrate them immensely when we come to them for advice and then don't follow it. How much do you like it when someone in your life seeks your advice then disregards it - regularly & repeatedly? I stop giving those people advice. If I were a doctor, I would go through the rigmarole to drop them as a patient if they weren't going to work on their health. Most doctors are nicer than I am.
If we don't have insurance, instead of waiting for someone to hand it to us, we can take the third road. The primary benefit most people use in their insurance is the bulk negotiated discounting on the cost of office visits & prescriptions. What alternate methods exist to gain those benefits? Can we approach our doctors and see if they'll discount office visits if we pay cash when we're in the office? Worst they can say is no & if they do, at least we tried. Are there organizations to which we belong or can join that offer at least prescription discounts if we use a particular pharmacy? Can we organize a co-op in our area of the un/under-insured and negotiate either of these situations? Are there free clinics available in our area? Can we find doctors with whom we can barter? That last point won't work for hospital stays, but historically barter is a very valid way to pay doctors & there are probably a percentage still willing to work in that fashion today. What do you have to offer?
And now I'm tired and sad again, because I just keep beating my head on this wall. Maybe I'll go shovel the snow to work out some of the grump.
