I will have significant lifestyle changes to make. I will have weight to lose. But I could find all this out in time because I work for a government agency, a school system, which provides us with good medical insurance. Even my prescriptions are reduced in cost. And I have a Medical Savings Account which covers the limited out of pocket expenses on the prescriptions.
But what if I did not have insurance? Would I even have a regular physical or would I - like far too many Americans - forgo that as a luxury, especially when expenses were tight?
And what if my insurance were not so thorough - what if I had had to pay even half of the expenses of the past three days. On a school teacher's salary, how could I afford that without severe financial jeopardy?
I have health insurance through my employer. What if I were at school system that was laying off teachers because of the drop in local government revenue - that is one serious impact of the recent crises in housing, beginning with the expanded number of bankruptcies even before the subprime crisis and its aftermath exploded upon the scene?
Or what if I were among the many Americans who took whatever job they could for some income, but that job provided no health insurance?
We are seeing hundreds of thousands lose jobs now, and many more will get pink slips in the next few months. If they have health insurance, it is likely through those jobs, and absent the employer contribution will be unable to obtain or maintain coverage. What then? Do they forgo the kind of basic medical checkup that may have just saved my life - 143/110 is not exactly a picture of health, after all.
I had a lot of time to think as I rested after my catheterization today. It is not my first - I had one perhaps 18 (my wife says 25) years ago, based on a positive reaction on an ordinary stress test, and nothing was found then either. And perhaps that made me too casual about my lifestyle. I realize how lucky I am to have access to the medical care that i have received.
How many Americans could not have received such care? I am in a major metropolitan area, with many fine medical facilities. My physicians are associated with Washington Hospital Center. What if I had insurance, but the nearest decent sized hospital were several hours drive away? Would I even be able to get the appointments I had Tuesday and today on such notice, even if I could afford them? And might it make the difference between life and death, or at least between healthy life and a debilitating illness: heart attack or stroke?
I was lucky. Too many Americans are not, and that has to change.
Had I any doubt before, I no longer do. We must change the way we do medical care in this nation, from insurance, to preventative care, to distribution of doctors and medical facilities.
I do not have the answers. I don't know what is the best ultimate structure. I do know that a largely employer-based system is not working, as will become increasingly clear as unemployment continues to expand. And clearly employer based health care is a major issue for our auto makers.
Good health care may seem expensive, but the alternative is even more so. Think of the lost productivity that comes from preventable and easily treatable illness, both at work and in schools. People who postpone ongoing medical care often wind up spending or costing far more when the conditions become much more severe.
Some might argue that people like me, who should know better, should not be able to get the kind of treatment I received at such a low out of pocket cost. There is some merit in accusing me of not taking care of myself in recent years. Yet a punitive approach never seems to solve major problems, as I have experienced with such an approach in schools and as our society should be realizing in the medical and health crises we currently face. Diet and nutrition are a major part of it: 25.3% of people in Virginia now qualify as obese, and we have a lower rate of obesity that several neighboring states. Nutrition and health are inextricably linked. And the profit motive of corporate interests should never outweigh the health and well-being of the residents of this - or any other - nation.
Would I have died had I not seen my doctor on Monday? I was certainly a candidate for a stroke, and my cholesterol, while not quite so sky-high,put me at risk for a heart attack. Perhaps not immediately, but absent treatment and change in diet and exercise and stress, sooner than later.
I am lucky. I know that. And while I am grateful, that is insufficient. That "luck" should be the right of all.
I spent most of Christmas Eve day in a hospital bed. For which I am grateful, because it will keep me out of other beds, or worse.
If I have a Christmas wish right now, it is that no one ever be denied the necessary health care because of access or affordability. I know the difference it can make.
Peace.
Comments are closed on this story.