Healthcare

On the evening of March 25, upon the advice of my parents, I went to the ER. By law, they have to treat someone without insurance, so I thought that I would get this illness treated, come back, and work things out later.

I waited in the ER waiting room for several hours, listening to a misogynist complain about the fact that these "females that [were with him] are causing more trouble than they're worth." I just wanted shout a couple of four letter words in his face, but no, that would be mean. After waiting for 4 hours, they finally assigned me a hospital bed. They took X-Rays, ran a CAT scan at 3 in the morning. I was released a little before 6 on the 26th.

Yesterday, I got a bill from the Phoenixville Hospital. The bill was for nearly $12,000. They want it paid immediately, if not sooner. I had called the Hospital's financial agents about this several times, only to hear their voicemail. See, since I'm uninsured, I was given a maximum liability of $0 for my mental health, and wanted to know if it covered physical health as well. I never heard back from them. When I got the bill, I just got their voicemail again. So, I tried their outsourced 800 number.

Long story made short, they demanded their payment immediately. If I don't pay, then they'll ruin my credit. So essentially, they will make it very hard to find a place to live, get a loan, etc, because I am uninsured and not wealthy.

This is the whole point of this post. In this nation of "great opportunity" and all that other such BS, why is it that only those who are offered insurance or who are wealthy can afford to stay alive and well? If we are truly a nation built on the ideal of equality of opportunity, then why the hell is the opportunity to stay healthy a priveledge reserved for the rich? What kind of opportunity is this?

We live in a society that values the rich and famous above those who are our under and working classes. It's quite obvious. Is it right that access to three square meals a day, or healthcare, or anything else necessary for life is a priveledge reserved for those that can afford it?

I will gladly admit this. I am lucky to have parents that have allowed me to live nearly a year after college graduation (which was mostly funded by scholarships, grants, loans, and other such monies; to the grantors, I am eternally grateful, to the lenders, I am forced to be grateful for ten years) under their roof, eating their food, and so forth. There are others who are not that lucky. To those of you who are not as lucky: I have had many opportunities to taste what you live through all the time. There are no parents for them. They turn to a mega church, and all they find are tracts and pamphlets about Jesus. They turn to the job market, only to find that the invisible hand is flipping them off. They turn to the government, who simply says "it's not our job to feed you."

It would be incorrect to say that our society has given up on the poor. In point of fact, our society has never given two craps about the state of the impoverished in our country. Our country has, in effect, said "Die. The rich need your resources. So, just die already."

Food for Thought,