Of Health Care and Health Insurance

Two different things, those. But to listen to most politicians, they're the same. Bush talks about universal healthcare as just going to the emergency room -- no problem, everybody has healthcare.

Not long ago (November 27), my 15-year-old nephew broke his collarbone. He's on his high school's basketball team; during a game he dove for a loose ball and another player fell on top of him, elbowing him in the upper chest. Voila, broken right clavicle. My dad, who was in the bleachers, took him to the ER. I was at home to receive the call, picked up my sister (nephew's mom) and took her to the ER to meet them. Two or three hours and a couple of x-rays later, we all could breathe a sigh of relief and go home.

But until we remembered that he was injured during a basketball game, the entire event was looking like a major crisis.

My sister (hereinafter referred to as "Single Mom") had back surgery in mid-October and was still recovering. Her kind, loving employer had terminated her without notice and had not notified her of her COBRA eligibility until the surgery bills started coming in. Nephew, of course, also had his health insurance through her employment. Single Mom had only recently made her COBRA election: insurance coverage just for herself. The premium for her two-person family was just too expensive. We (me helping her out) had just found Cover Kids, the state's children's health insurance initiative, and she had filled out paperwork to get Nephew signed up; his coverage would start December 1st. But as of the moment of injury, Nephew was uninsured.

This is the sort of thing that can strike terror in the heart of any sane person. Especially one who's been not working for a few months. Fortunately, since Nephew was injured during a game, his school and their insurance (for which the players' parents do pay a premium) are taking care of everything.

This instance, to me, underscores the need for affordable health insurance available to everyone in the country, regardless of employment, income, or pre-existing conditions. Health insurance is just too damn expensive -- and it's not just the for-profit healthcare industry. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the largest insurance company in the state, is a not-for-profit organization. Of course, they're building a huge new multimillion-dollar headquarters in Chattanooga, but they're still a nonprofit.

John Edwards is right when he says that companies like BCBST are not going to voluntarily give up the power they have in Washington. Neither are the drug companies or the healthcare corporations. We cannot invite them to the negotiating table and expect that they won't fight tooth and nail to keep (or increase) their power. And our current government can't or won't do anything about them; hell, the Medicare drug coverage law proved that by forbidding itself from negotiating lower drug prices.

We need universal healthcare, with an emphasis on prevention as well as treatment. And the only presidential candidate we have who'll fight for it is John Edwards. That's one reason I'm voting for him on February 5th.