The Forces of Darkness and Evil

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and most inhumane"
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

This was recognized by Dr. King almost 50 years ago as he engaged in the Civil Rights struggle. Yet we today have been unable to address and correct this glaring inequity.
I spent with Gerda a fascinating day making the rounds of our congressional delegation to try and foster a meaningful dialogue. We was most politely received in all three offices. we spent the most time at Senator Snowe's office where we discussed health care and a range of different but related social issues. I found Mrs. Diane Jackson most attentive and interested and I do thank her for her time. Less time was spent at Senator Collins office but we were shown the same courtesy and interest by David Heidrich Jr. Sadly at Representative Michaud's, it was very different. We were told by the staffer that he could spare us five minutes and, although notes were taken, I felt that there was little interest in what we were saying. We will remember that. Whether the afternoon will make an iota of difference.............. well I do doubt it. Nevertheless it is critical for each of us to continually register our concerns.
I thought that it would also be reasonable in each of these blogs to focus on one particular problem among the myriad in our rapidly crumbling all-American system. Today's will be bankruptcy caused by medical bills. A Harvard study recently published in the prestigious American Journal of Medicine ( August, 2009 ) found that 62.1% of bankruptcies in 2007 ( before the recession ) were significantly contributed to by medical problems. The majority ( 77.9% ) had health insurance at the start of the illness. Of these 60.3% had private coverage. These folks were solidly middle class and were working at the time of their illness. Many lost their jobs and their insurance as a result of the illness. In no other developed nation does this occur. Their medical bills ranged from $17,749-$34,167 depending on the type and chronicity of the illness. As we can learn even the well insured can be devastated by high out-of-pocket costs incurred by co-payments, deductibles and non-covered services. Having two children with pre-existing conditions, we know both how hard it is to find reasonable coverage ( there is none ) and the fear engendered by going without.
And that's the news from Lake Auburn,
where the women are good-looking,
the children above average
and you had better pray that your
insurance is adequate.

Stephen & Gerda