Health is a valuable commodity in America. The healthier one is, the more they can accomplish it seems (though there are exceptions to that rule). Businessmen know this and know that people will often pay a lot for their health. So they have made "healthcare" a profitable business for them by exploiting that fact. The problem with that business-ideology is that the health industry then truly caters to the rich and well-to-do. If you are rich and can afford a good doctor or good insurance, you have a better chance of lving longer and feeling better quicker when you are ill. If you are not...you could have a long hard road ahead of you.
American politics is just that "American politics." I recollect a Black Hills State University professor who used to describe politics as simply "the sruggle for power." It seemed like a shallow definition, but I have come to realize that that is really all it is. There is no right or wrong in American politics: just who has more power. There seems to be a growing number of politicians who spend all their time just trying to see "who can stay in power the longest." Sometimes that involves actually being in touch with the needs of the people, but more often than not, it just means having the most money and the slickest campaign. A bunch of "yes" men doesn't hurt. A lot of important issues get lost in the crossfire as polticians battle each other for power. Health care is one of those. The politicans, who get their health care from their government jobs are mostly clueless. The victims of their ignorance are the poor people and the uninsured.
Then there's Social Security and Disability. The stories I have heard and still hear are just pathetic. People who end up with disabilities have to fight in order to get approved to receive any aid. And the process itself can be emotionally draining. There are attorneys who specialize in this. Although, when you are applying, the office personnel will often say "you worked for this" or "you are entitled to it." This really isn't so when it comes to actually getting it. Sometimes after a few years of appeals you might get it. By then, as if the disability wasn't devasting enough, everything else in your life has been pretty much devastated also.
Social Workers for the most part are first and foremost employees of the state. A lot of them do get into the business because they have a heart for people and want to help. Government rules and regulations do not cater to that. The focus of the government's rules when it comes to these kinds of programs is to not spend anything they shouldnt have to spend. Although they don't seem to have any problem dumping money on irrelevant pork barrel projects in order to help their own state or PR standing. Being careful with how money is spent is good business. The problem is that people that need the help then become a business tool. Having been involved in the system I get a little tired of the catch-all phrase "I understand," but if they truly understood I might have receieved the medical help I needed when I needed it most.
For many years I was outside the system. I had insurance and if a health problem arose, it was covered. I remember reading something by Thomas Sowell: "Neither the affluent nor the poor are being denied access to health care, whether or not they have health insurance. The uninisured may not be given cosmetic surgeyr, and they may have to wait in line in clincis and emergency rooms, but they are not denied medical care." I embraced that back in 1995 and even put it in my newsletter. It made me feel better knowing that that was so. But, as I had to enter the world of the uninsiured I find that Thomas Sowell was very wrong and I was wrong to believe him and those who embraced his ideology. The fact of the matter is that there are two health care systems in America: one for the rich and one for the poor. The one for the poor and uninsured is, for the most part a mess and very hard to get into. And if you do get into it, many are charged as though they were a part of the "rich" side of healthcare. And if their illness had not destroyed their life be free, then the medical administrators send out collection agencies to devour anything you might have left. The hospitals and medical agencies don't care....but they might say "I understand," while at the same time destroy your credit or have a collection agency garnish your wages.
The new Democratic congress has a "health care" buzz around it, but so did many candidates from both parties. The new Bush proposal for health care helps the middle class and rich and does nothing for anyone else. So the Bush administration is continuing its policy of ignorance on the subject of health care. The fact of the matter is that tax cuts and breaks don't help those who have lower incomes or no incomes.
There is no way to end this article, because the battle is still going on. Life has no guarantees and when health becomes an issue we often find we have little or no warranty. So, this article will be continued.......
