Phone call equals appointment equals visit to doctor with shockingly low co-pay equals exam equals treatment equals prescription equals (I hope) restored well being.
I'm among the lucky ones. I am fortunate enough to be married to a man who carries a premium health insurance with great benefits. I am fortunate enough to have a job that can be largely done from home if I am unwell and a workplace where self care is expected. Sick? Stay home.
How different would life be if I were an hourly wage earner with little choice about on site hours. How different if I were only able to avail myself of outpatient clinics because I didn't have the insurance coverage or the cash to indulge in the doctor's office visit with people who have my medical history and (medically speaking) my back.
I am grateful for the benefits I have but that doesn't let me off the hook of advocacy for those who do not have this kind of access. What about them Congress? As all of our elected politicians point fingers and haul out the stinky old red herring of "liberal" and "conservative" they are failing in their most sacred and essential task. To govern and to govern well so that the people of the empire are healthy, prosperous and literate. How are we the people doing? Skyrocketing obesity rates, children with medical disorders that used to only be found in adults, rising unemployment, long term unemployment, decaying industrial communities, environmental degradation, drop out rates approaching 50 percent in have not communities, dumbing down in have some communities, meritocracy in have all communities. Looks like poor marks on the congress report card. No one ever asks "can we afford a war?" but when it comes to sane ideas like universal health care, cost is almost the only thing we can talk about. Health Care reform? Lets have all the banks and financial institutions who got bail out money (because they were too big to let fall) underwrite it. That would be fair.
