As the struggle for health insurance reform enters its final phase, we must remember why this battle is so important. Our health insurance system is broken. Ask nearly any American his or her healthcare story and that fact becomes obvious.
Here’s my story: I have an health savings account (HSA), something Republicans praise as if it is a panacea. Let me tell you, it’s not. It’s close to worthless. The high-deductible medical plan that accompanies my HSA pays for one yearly wellness exam. If I get ill, I have to pay out-of-pocket until I reach my $2,600 deductible. Prescription costs don’t count toward the deductible, so I’ve had to rely on the Colorado Drug Card for discounts.
In order to use my HSA, I set aside the maximum amount I can afford from my bi-weekly paycheck — about $100. The money gets deducted promptly every payday. However, the bank that administers the HSA doesn’t deposit the funds into my account for weeks (thus skewing interest accrual and causing me to bounce two checks, resulting in $60 fines). In the meantime, I’ve earned barely $2 of interest in two years. I avoid sick visits to the doctor because I know I’ll never reach my deductible unless something very bad happens.
Last June, I ended up in the ER with agonizing abdominal pain. The doctors gave me IV pain meds and sent me home without a diagnosis and with instructions to return to the ER if the pain returned. That single visit cost me $1,900. After a doctor’s visit and a referral for an ultrasound, I learned that I’d developed a gallstone and needed surgery. That’s when my insurance kicked in — thank God. The surgery cost about $40,000. I reached my deductible (though I’m still paying off the emergency room bill, $200 a month), and I received reimbursement for subsequent treatment until January rolled around. Now I’m back trying to avoid sick visits to the doctor.
My husband applied for coverage as an individual in Colorado and encountered the infamous “pre-existing condition” conundrum. There are many heartbreaking stories about this topic, but his experience was simply absurd.
My husband is 37 years old. He’s never smoked, rarely drinks, exercises at least three days a week, is fit, and eats healthy food. He started playing the guitar two years ago. He developed a tendon problem called “trigger finger” where the finger sticks in a bent position. He needed to get a minor outpatient procedure to scrape the tendon. When he applied for health insurance, the only way he could get a policy was to accept a separate $3,000 deductible on his left ring finger.
So not only did the insurers invoke the “pre-existing condition,” they actually cherry picked which parts of his body they were willing to cover. That’s how absurd the insurance industry has become. That’s why we need grownups handling this problem.
For more than a year, Republicans have treated insurance reform as a game and the American people as pawns. They’ve behaved like children at the grownups’ table — carelessly playing with our health, our bodies, and our lives in order to score political points.
At the healthcare summit, Republicans used a telling metaphor to describe what they wanted done to a year’s worth of work: “shake the etch-a-sketch.” In other words, they demanded a do over. They claimed there was plenty of time to fix the system, despite the fact that 42,000 Americans die every year from lack of insurance.
Since then, Republicans have solidified their opposition, resorting to word play and scare tactics. And that’s their end game: they want to cause a panic. Terrified people will believe anything, do anything. Right now, anxious Americans are playing right into their hands. They are reacting rather than reasoning.
It’s time to reject the scare tactics and enact reform. It’s time to tell the Republicans: the game is up. Now is not the time for child’s play.
Nina Shope lives in Denver. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
