Episode 24: Down the Rabbit Hole aka the U.S. Health Care System

Should you find yourself on the cusp of death in these United States, be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Okay, so we’re all afraid on the cusp of death, so how about this:  Should you find yourself sick for any reason in these United States, be afraid.  Be very afraid.

I live close to the finest medical institutions on this planet, and I have arguably the best insurance company covering my care, so my care should be top-notch and should not end up bankrupting me, right?

Well, it was a different insurance company covering me when I did have to go bankrupt due to losing my job because I was ill—yes, I know that’s illegal, but you just try to fight it and see how useful that in—in my case, I gave up after one of three appeals because I was so darned sick, so exhausted, and my mind and abilities to do paperwork were not up to the task, and so I let it go.

Let it go.

Let everything go.

Because when you’re sick in the United States today, that’s likely what you’ll have to do.

The issues abound, and I intend to take each one on in future episodes, but for today I’ll focus on what I believe to be the underlying problem, the fundamental issue escalating costs and reducing coverage.

Episode 20: Down the Rabbit Hole OR On Being a Patient in Today's Health Care System

If you've ever read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you know that "Wonderland" is not a happy place to be.  Nothing makes sense there, and when Alice tries to get out of the underground warren she falls into, she is thwarted at every turn by absurdity.  Nothing is as expected; everything is illogical; nothing makes sense; frankly, the place is terrifying.

Just like today's health care system in these United States of America.

Now, I've had some good doctors, and I'm not here to doctor-bash.  Nearly all of the absurdities I've been subjected to have been thanks to the insurance companies--you know, the ones that are supposed to pay for services to make us healthier but, in fact, are money-making entities far more interested in lining the pockets of their CEOs and shareholders than in taking care of the sick who rely on them and who pay for their coverage. We are their customers, and if they didn't have a monopoly on the whole thing, they couldn't get away with what they do.  If we had a choice about how to pay the astronomical costs of taking care of ourselves--those skyrocketing costs ALSO thanks to those same filthy rich CEOs and soul-less company owners--we'd never shop at their "stores," ever.

But we can't vote with our feet.  We can't take our business down the street to get a better deal.  They've got us in their gnarly fingers and are pushing pins into our inert bodies while pocketing all the money in their bank accounts overseas--not even keeping our dollars right here in the good ol' USA.

Oh, well, hey.  That's what Obamacare is all about--breaking that monopoly.