My day wasn't filled with titilating scandals or exciting breaking revelations.
I went to the dentist. Not for work - I can't just walk into a dentist and have work done. Lacking dental insurance and the ability to pay for most procedures, and having a poor credit rating as a result of running a small business (our bills get paid when we get paid - and we're a CPA firm specializing in small businesses, not doing well in the Bush economy), dental problems are an enormous and ongoing crisis.
The first dentist I went to assured me he would "work with me" on a payment plan. But when he looked at my x-rays, (consultation fee, $40) he told me that I needed to see an endodontist first (estimate from endodontist, $4000, consulting fee $100). So the payment plan for crowns was rather a moot point - no endodontry, no crowns needed.
Then Sears Dental advertised that they were "affordable" and had "flexible payment options". I called and they asked if I had a Sears Credit card. I did, but with only about a $600 credit limit. No problem, they said, they could increase it. Reluctantly - but in serious pain by now and on antibiotics - I went to Sears Dental. I was given two estimates - $12,000 (for endodontry & crowns, etc.) or $6400, for extractions and a partial. But then they took my credit card, and since I've paid many bills late this year, told me my credit history precluded me from getting an increased credit line. Consultation fee: $55. Humiliation: Priceless.
I've now spent $195 I can't afford and still have three teeth in desperate condition. My jaw is so swollen I find it difficult to talk. I've been unsuccessful in finding a dentist who would do the work for monthly payments I can afford, they all want you to get a special credit card ("Care Card" or "Unicorn Card") for which I am not eligible.
I don't know what I will do. My congressman, Henry Hyde, does not care. I know because I've written to him many times on this issue. We don't want the government getting involved in health care, he writes to me. I can't get any Democrats interested in this issue, either. They're all talking about perverted emails this week. Apparently that is what it takes to get the attention of the media, and the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, I have to figure out how to produce money I don't have to get desperately needed health care that I can't work without. I know it's not a sexy problem. I can't get it addressed in rehab. But for those who say the economy shouldn't be a front burner issue, I say, grow up. Wake up. Jobs, housing, healthcare - they may not sell magazines. But they are the stuff that matters. They are what Democrats need to talk about, need to rave about, need to be outraged about. Because 18,000 Americans die yearly due to lack of access to affordable health care, millions (like me) are suffering due to lack of dental care, and there's one other thing.
The despair. My husband works a full time and a part time job (he's a CPA). I work two part time jobs and care for my kids. We live on the edge of disaster. And we can't afford basic dental care. I am humiliated telling this to dentist after dentist, and I am humiliated as an American. We shouldn't be living like this, and we shouldn't let our representatives in government pretend this doesn't matter, isn't happening. Even if it's not a sexy problem.