Anecdotes are not data, but they are stories of real life that can have an effect on public policy, as in the many Megan's laws, the Lily Ledbetter Act, Stand Your Ground laws, etc.
The Murdoch money-pit New York Post printed one such story Sunday, about how an actress/waitress' body, and financial life, were ruined by the pre-ACA health care racket.
Through NO FAULT of her own, unless being too poor to afford health insurance is a fault.
Hogan Gorman's story is not new -- she's written a book, "Hot Cripple", and performs a one-woman show of the same name.
But it is unusual for a Murdoch anti-Obama propaganda organ to print/broadcast anything that is favorable to Democratic proposals/laws to reform the murderous health care racket.
The op-ed is essentially the book in very short form -- highlights of Hogan Gorman's story are below.
Back in 2004, Gorman was hit by a car while crossing Lafayette Street in lower Manhattan. She was uninsured, but treatment of her injuries should have been covered by the driver's no-fault auto insurance policy.
It wasn't, until she got a lawyer, and then the no-fault coverage was inadequate.
I was taken to the hospital via ambulance and once the ER doctor discovered I was uninsured, I was basically ignored.
My neck and back were in excruciating pain; I had to beg for a CAT scan and was ultimately released with a neck brace, a pat on the back and a “good luck.”
It would later be discovered that I had suffered five herniated discs between my neck and lower back, two torn ligaments in my right knee and lost a chunk off the back of my kneecap, requiring surgery, in addition to a severe concussion that affected my memory, eyesight and balance.
The next several years of my life were filled with constant pain and financial ruin. Because I was uninsured, no doctors would see me until I found a lawyer and filed all the paperwork to be covered by No-Fault (which covers people hurt in accidents up to a certain amount of money).
Unable to work, I went through what little savings I had, maxed out my credit cards to the tune of $25,000 and ended up having to borrow $30,000 from companies that will loan people money against their settlements at criminally high interest rates, just to be able to survive.
Though this is a short, relatively colorless (compared to the show and the book) account of her ordeal, you can sense the desperation of this seriously injured uninsured American.
Gorman writes that no-fault cut off her coverage after just seven months, which limited effective treatment for her injuries.
My doctors continued to see me on a lien, but there would be no more procedures or surgeries, no more physical therapy, and no more prescriptions.
Unable to afford the $300 a month in medications and the $175 physical therapy sessions on my own, I went for several months without before eventually ending up on Medicaid, food stamps (where I was allotted $4.70 a day for food) and Social Security disability.
Gorman concludes:
I was hobbled physically and financially for years by this split-second traffic accident, and as an extra-added bonus I am now what is known as “a pre-existing condition.”
My story is not unusual; unfortunately it is the story of millions of Americans who fall through the cracks of our failed health-care system every day.
Gorman is absolutely right that she is not alone, and, by implication, that the ACA, however imperfect, will help millions of people like her.
So, a rare kudos to the Murdoch Post for publishing Gorman's op-ed, and on a Sunday, when readership is highest.