One of the big lies spread by Republicans opposed to national healthcare is that the 43 million uninsured Americans are mostly illegal aliens or young people who choose not to buy insurance, and thus we shouldn't care what happens to them. Leaving aside the smug, pharisaical aspects of this wrong-headed belief, it simply isn't true.
When I was home recently in Holland, Michigan, my wife and I had coffee with an old friend who I'll call Diane. She is about 58 years-old, too young for Medicare, and was two classes ahead of me at Holland High School. Diane is an educated white woman, recently divorced after a long second marriage, and working part-time in her life occupation in Holland, where she returned after her marriage fell apart. Her second ex-husband, also a friend of mine, lives in northern Michigan. She would like to be full-time, but there weren't any full-time jobs available at the prominent Holland institution where she is employed. As a result, she has no health insurance.
Current law allows employers to insure only full-time employees. It is one reason there are so many part-time jobs out there. Wal-Mart, for example, long used this dodge to increase its profits until public criticism forced it to offer health insurance to part-timers, some of whom were poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.
A couple of months ago, Diane recalled, she was doing some gardening. She was up on a pick-up truck unloading bags of organic horse manure. The day was misty and rainy, and she had muck boots on. The bed of the truck was "like an ice-skating rink," she said. "I was pulling the manure to the back of the truck and simply skated backwards off the edge." She came down hard on the pavement and broke several bones in her wrist. It could have happened to anybody.
"The swelling was amazing. And the pain brain jarring. I could not move and thought for sure I had broken my legs and worse. I've always made fun of cellphones and the fact that people use them constantly and are so unaware of who's listening. But I was grateful to be able to pull mine out of my pocket with my left hand and call Bill (name changed) to come and get me."
Bill was her long ago first husband and a physician. His name is changed because Diane worries his practice partners might be angry that he gave away care. Even as she lay there in pain, Diane was terrified of being bankrupted by medical bills. While most hospitals are required to give away a certain amount of emergency care, they will first try to collect the bill and aren't always gentle in their tactics. And there is no obligation for free follow-up care, such as physical therapy.
Bill could not give away an X-ray, so Diane had to take the chance that her bones might heal crooked. Bill advised her to purchase a wrist splint, and she was still wearing it when we saw her that day. The splint provided a degree of protection, and allowed her to soak her injured wrist in a solution of warm water and medicinal herbs that she says eased the pain. A friend who is a sports massage therapist worked on her wrist when Diane could tolerate the pain. Ultimately, she was lucky. Her wrist healed slightly out of whack, but with nearly full range of motion that allows her to continue to work. She paid cash for one physical therapy session to learn exercises she could do at home to rehabilitate her wrist.
"That and the wrist brace were my only out-of-pocket expenses," Diane said. "Thank God for [Bill's] help. I would be swimming in debt otherwise."
With the loss of her 401k savings in the recession George W. Bush gave America, she says, "I am experiencing poverty up close and personal. I've never been one to want a lot of money, as I live simply anyway, but it is worrisome to be heading into old age with no safety net except the blessings of the network of friends and family. Every one of my good girlfriends whom I've known for decades is now alone."
Think of Diane's story--and that of millions like her--the next time rightwing thugs disrupt a public meeting on the Obama healthcare plan and start mouthing their lies about "death panels" and the like. No one should be forced to depend on private charity to be treated for a serious injury or for any injury or illness. If Diane or those like her lived in Canada, France, or Britain, they would have been fully treated for their injuries at no cost, no questions asked. And yes, in Diane's case it would have been the same day as her fall. Don't believe what you hear about unreasonable treatment delays in countries with national healthcare. We need national healthcare for all. We must not surrender to fear and intimidation.