I just had my daughter (who started a new job recently and has no insurance yet) at the local Emergency Room. We had to pay $200 upon arrival. Her prescription cost $260. Those two items alone would cost someone making minimum wage one and one half weeks worth of gross wages!
For those who think that the poor take advantage of services, please rethink your position because I’ll tell you what happens in many cases—the $260 prescription doesn’t get filled. Groceries, rent, clothes and shoes for growing children, and utilities are more of a priority.
A couple of years ago my father was in the hospital and I ran into a friend in the hallway who was also a patient. I visited with her awhile and found out that she’d just been diagnosed with cancer. When I inquired about what kind of treatment they would use, she quietly shook her head and told me she didn’t have insurance, so there was nothing she could do.
When did some start believing that access to health care isn’t an inalienable right? When did health care or affordable health insurance become a luxury? When our citizens are unhealthy, we’re all unhealthy.
When our parents and grandparents were growing up, everyone was treated by doctors and hospitals, even if they had to pay by bartering. My grandfather often got chickens in payment and sometimes nothing. But he never turned anyone down and treated Indians when some others wouldn’t.
Our collective moral compass should point toward keeping our citizens—all our citizens—healthy. It’s the least we can do!
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