I called Tennessee Senator Bob Corker's office today to encourage him to support Obama on the healthcare effort. I talked to a polite young man who said he was happy to discuss healthcare with me. I told him that I hoped the Senator would change his mind and get behind a public option in the developing healthcare legislation. The young man said Senator Corker is in favor of reform, but he believes it can be better accomplished in the private sector. He told me that in those places like Massachusetts where they have expanded coverage, there are often long waits for care, long waits for MRIs, etc.
I told him both of my daughters live in Massachusetts and both of them are very happy with their healthcare.
I told the young man I am fortunate to be covered by the insurance my husband gets from his employer, but we hope my husband will retire someday. He is older than I am and will be able to get Medicare, but there are no insurance companies that will cover me with my pre-existing condition (multiple sclerosis). The young man in the Senator's office told me Corker's ideas for healthcare reform include prohibiting insurance companies from excluding people with pre-existing conditions.
He said the Senator is keeping people like me in mind as he works on this important issue.
Then, perhaps because senators like to believe they are in office to help their constituents, the young man gave me a helpful suggestion: "I think Senator Corker would advise your husband to keep working." I told him I hoped that Senator Corker would not only keep people like me in mind, but also people like my husband, who I hope will be able to experience at least a couple of years of retirement before he dies!
So these are the points that came out of Corker's office:
- The Senator is for healthcare reform, including fixing the pre-existing condition problem, but he believes it can be better accomplished in the private sector.
- In those places where health coverage has been expanded, the Senator thinks the results are unsatisfactory, with what he alleges are intolerably long waits for certain medical procedures.
- The Senator is keeping people like me (those with pre-existing conditions) in mind as he works on healthcare.
- I'm not sure Senator Corker would say this, but the representative in his office didn't seem hopeful that change would arrive soon, and he advised that my husband keep working.
We've had 60 years of relying on the private sector--why does Senator Corker think this is the solution now? Isn't relying on the private sector what got us where we find ourselves today?
I think I need to improve my persuasion skills. Do you think that people who think as Corker does can be persuaded to look at the healthcare issue in a different way?