Capitalism, Medicine, and Medicare-For-All.
In the course of the past week, we’ve had to borrow $5700 for medical costs.
No. That’s not a typo. No. There’s no major, medical emergency. No one is in the hospital. No blood was spilled. No major bones were broken.
The money is needed to cover what should be basic medical needs.
It started back in August when our insurance bill went up to three times the normal amount. It turned out the Healthcare Marketplace, the one that Trump’s been cutting funding for left and right, screwed up and thought our household income was nearly double what it actually was. Our subsidy was cut, and the bill skyrocketed. We’ve been trying to get that sorted out since then, jumping through two sets of hoops, one for the Marketplace and one for the Insurance company, while the unpayable insurance premium keeps adding up. We had 90 days before they removed us from the insurance rolls.
In the meantime, I developed an infection from a broken tooth. Normally, like many Americans, I would do what I could to ease the symptoms and try to wait it out. It wasn’t my first go around with a broken tooth. This time, however, my face started swelling and the pain from the infection was bad enough to keep me awake at night. A trip to the dentist revealed that yes, there was definitely an infection, and I had five teeth to be pulled, including my last wisdom tooth. None of it, of course, is covered by health insurance because health insurance does not cover dental issues.
I am relatively well read. I know what can happen when an unchecked tooth infection rages through a person’s body. In the past few years, more than one person has died because they could not afford the dental bills from treating a tooth infection, and it spread to their brain. The fact that this is not an isolated incident and that this is the state of health care in America should appall everyone.
But, here we are, citizens of what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world, and people are going bankrupt and dying because of health and dental issues. Doctors and dentists agree that dental health needs to be covered just as much as the rest of the body, that it is important physically, socially, and mentally, and yet, our health care system ignores that necessity as insurance companies abdicate responsibility for covering even the most basic needs.
This, of course, leads me to wonder, what exactly are we paying them for?
Of course, in the face of tooth extractions, my husband and I had to weigh the dangers of waiting against the cost. Could we afford to take care of this health issue? Out of pocket, the answer is obvious. No. But the dentist suggested that, in order to cover it, we apply for Care Credit. What is Care Credit? It is a credit line for people who find themselves with medical costs not covered by insurance. It was scarily easy to apply and get funding, without even providing income information. Through Care Credit, though, we were able to cover the extractions and the dental device I will need.
At the same time, my family was still waiting on the appeal to lower our insurance premiums back to a feasible level. As we approached Halloween, and knowing that we were likely to get kicked off of our insurance November 1st for non-payment, we were forced to figure out how we were going to come up with money that was so far out of our reach. In the end, my husband borrowed money from his family, and we used it to catch up the three months of non-payment as we sit and wait for the final determination to go through.
Here, I need to point out that this is a living example of privilege. My husband and I are not wealthy, but we are lucky. We are lucky that our credit is currently in a place where the credit line was available to us. We are lucky that we were able to access a limited amount of money from family to prevent us from getting kicked off our insurance. And, we will hopefully remain lucky enough to not lose our home in seeking this medical care.
We are lucky. Hundreds of thousands of people aren’t.
And no one should have to rely on luck to get the health care they need. People should not be forced into debt, begging for dollars at the mercy of banks to afford necessary care. And my situation is exactly why I support Medicare for All and Bernie Sanders.
In 2009, a study revealed that over 45,000 people die annually from a lack of health insurance. Many more die from being underinsured, and we live in a country where, even with health insurance, the costs of medication and treatment puts basic health care out of bounds for the average person.
People are treating themselves with animal antibiotics because they cannot afford a trip to the doctor or the padded price of medication. People are dying because they are forced to ration insulin and other necessary medications.
Bernie Sanders’ plan for Medicare for All covers dental, it covers basic medication, and it covers the health needs of families like mine and yours. It is my number one issue in this election, and there is no candidate who supports it like Bernie Sanders. I will vote for him, not just because my family needs affordable health care, but because no one should have to be lucky to afford treatment.
