Tax Burden? I will Send you My Bill

......7.07.06...........I lost my insurance coverage over a year ago after pretty much having it most of my life. I can see now that i took it for granted. Recent experiences have opened my eyes to the "other" side of the American medical system. And it is a mess. The insurance companies aid in deciding what medicines and doctors should charge (and even, in some cases, what they can prescribe). . When the insurance companies say they can raise the price, most do. So, it has nothing to do with "real" cost. Hospitals are businesses for the most part. There are people who work for them who have a sincere desire to help people, but the entity is a business. And they will not hesitate suing anyone for money they didn't get because they overcharged or you did not have insurance. And they do not care. It is now becoming more and more common place for people to have very large medical debts on their credit report. I worked very hard to keep my credit report clean. It is destroyed now. I have to wonder how many people die, or how many people are suffering from inadequate or no health care. I was given a list of "free" clinics (or ones that will work with those who don't have insurance) from two local hospitals (one in Independence and one in Shawnee Mission), but after calling them could not get in unless I had AIDS or was pregnant (which neither is a problem for me). And that was a general response from those that actually answered the phone. Then I was referred to doctors that i could not afford......and that list is very long. American politicians want to spend time debating issues like a war across the ocean, the price of gas, and their own salary increase while there are many Americans across the country that just want to be healthy. And, anyone who says that health care for everyone is just to much of a tax burden is more than welcome to pay my medical bill.