Have You Seen "Sicko?"

While most of you know I find it difficult to keep my opinions to myself, I usually refrain from posting anything that is politically charged. I try to save those discussions for when I'm least likely to offend someone. But I can't hold back on this one!


As a result of a discussion we had with Rory while he was visiting, Ryan and I watched Sicko the other night. I hope you have seen this movie. I know, Michael Moore is out-there and usually tells a one-sided story. I'm certain there was a little bias in this documentary as well, but every American should watch this movie!


The message stuck with me so much, that I had a dream about health care. So it was fresh in my mind when I woke up this morning. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I immediately thought of four instances where this broken system has affected my life, so I thought I should share them to spark some discussion and hopefully eventually some action. (I'll attempt to keep it short).


1. My brother is a full-time student and hasn't had medical insurance since my mom passed away because he was covered under hers, can't afford it on his own, and can't get a full-time job while finishing school.


2. My dad was a contractor and couldn't afford private health insurance. He had a bad hip from sports injuries, but just took ibuprofen for years to get through the day. The ibuprofen eventually killed his kidneys at age 48. Luckily he was able to get help, but was forced to live on dialysis for three years, and has since received a kidney transplant. But had he had insurance to get his hip taken care of, it never would've happened.

3. When my mom found out she had cancer, several doctors told her she needed a PET Scan to really figure out what, if anything could be done. She never could get the insurance company to approve it. I'm not saying that the lack of having this scan led to her death, but we'll never know if more could've been done to help.

4. My first job away from home afforded me "full benefits," by my insurance didn't kick in until April 1st. My appendix ruptured on March 23rd. Two days in the hospital and an appendectomy later, my doctor/hospital bill was over $25,000. My employer tried to convince the insurance company to help, but no luck there. I applied for Maryland medical assistance for this one instance, but I hadn't established residency and I made too much money to get help. I tried to get help in PA, but they said I wasn't a resident there anymore. That hospital bill has come back to haunt me more than once.

I feel for anyone who has issues with medical insurance. It's sad that we cannot keep up with countries like Canada, the UK and France who have excellent health care for everyone and even higher life expectancies. I only hope someone devises a way to fight the insurance business in this country!