Today Reuben went to his four month check up. He got weighed and measured, examined and shots. We're blessed to have a healthy kid on our hands. He's in the 95% for height (27 inches) and 90% for weight (just shy of 18 lbs).
It was hard not to feel bitter about forking out more than we spend on food for a month on a 30 minute visit. And that was the discounted rate. From now on we'll be going to the health department for shots and praying Reuben can stay healthy until we get insurance again.
I was feeling really angry about the cost - I mean, I know med school is expensive BUT the docs paid those loans off 15 years ago so now all my money is paying off is their Lexus- But I talked to my Mom who helped me remember that it could always be worse. The hemophiliacs she saw at the clinic this morning had parents who had also lost their insurance due to unemployment. Hemophiliacs need medicine, lots of expensive medicine, constantly, or they die. God Help Them.
But that's the way it's supposed to be, health care is a privilege not a right; isn't that right my conservative friends?
In other news Reuben has found both his thumbs. He hasn't decided which he likes better.
17 comments:
Always stirring controversy, always stirring.
On insurance, absolutely it is broken and as Oscar Rodgers says: "FIX IT!"
In all seriousness, the question we are facing as a society right now (with the foreclosures, bad economy, high uninsured rates, etc) is: What standard of living do we guarantee everyone inside the borders of our country?
- Education? If so, how much education?
- Housing? If so, how nice a house?
- Medical care? The latest procedures? Just what the doc prescribes? Which doc?
- Retirement? When can I stop working?
On one hand we should use all our resources to care for others
and on the other you have the French writer Frederic Bastiat’s definition of politics: “The great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else”.
Although, at least on the medicine side, I'm definitely moderate, I'm biting on the "conservative friends" bait. =)
You tell them Katy. I see this daily. Now, at one job I see the "haves" (Palo Alto) and at the other mostly "have nots" (San Francisco). Both work hard and are good people and where they are economically seems more to do with opportunity than anything else. But it will never seem right to me that the "haves" appear to stay so insulated and not help others more.
Joan - you're on to something with "But it will never seem right to me that the "haves" appear to stay so insulated and not help others more."
I'm reading "Outliers" right now and Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of a town in Penn of Italian immigrants that had unusually healthy people. It wasn't their diet, genetics, or anything obvious. In the end, the researchers concluded that it was the sense of real community that these people had. The rich and poor lived and interacted together and that created 1. a safety net for the poor and 2. produced an atmosphere where high living for the rich wasn't accepted.
I hear you on the cost of health care. It is so expensive!
Reuben is such a cute "little" guy. :) He must be an awesome eater.
I had to zoom in when I saw the first picture (I thought he had a pile of noodles on his belly!!). It sounds like you had something like the experience I had when we first came to AZ and were uninsured for a couple months. Silas's exam/shots were about $400 which was super hefty on our hadn't been paid yet, had to work a month on nothing (paid once a month) budget. It's painful stuff.
I like how Reuben tries to have both fists in his mouth! I am grateful Reuben is healthy.
I don't understand how we should fix the healthcare system but I know it is broken. It's not even like we have the best outcomes--even though we spend lots on health care in this country, we have one of the highest infant mortality rates among the prosperous countries surveyed...that's pitiful.
Thanks for all the comments. Health care in the US is in a sad state of affairs as it seems we've all recognized. We pay more and get bad service. We spend about 17 %, more than Germany Canada Sweden - all the socialized countries who hang out at a rate around 10 %. (http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml)
It's bad for business. It's bad for families.
I want a solution. I'm going to be reading up on this. But I think having a more cooperative system would be better for all of us. I think of it this way: when you are seriously sick it is nearly impossible to be productive enough to earn the money needed for care, and we will all probably be seriously sick at some point of our lives. Wouldn't it be better if there was a supportive network for hard times?
That's Reuben's Paw-paw festival shirt. Best time ever, right Norma?
Ok, some great Friday viewing health care policy (not too wonky) PBS video on health systems around the world (Germany, Japan, UK, etc like you mention Katy) and how they are different/similar/better/worse than the US system.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/
Thanks Adam. Aaron and I watched that Frontline and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It's interesting to have another perspective.
I love the part they cover about Britain where the doc gets a bonus if his patients are healthy. Nothing to argue about there.
Our view of socialized medicine in England is that for most things it works fine, but if we were really sick or hurt, we would go back to the States immediately. Honestly, the bad system we have has at least produced some excellent doctors and specialists. The trouble of course is that you cannot always afford them. No matter what steps we take to fix the problem, it will be a long road, with many unexpected ups and downs. It is hard to know what trades would have to be made. A doctor we know talked about how there are some major areas of the country where certain types of doctors will not practice due to fear of malpractice suits and the ending of a career that can come with it. Clearly some malpractice suits are deserved, but in our lawsuit happy culture, there are definitely some that are not. So I am just glad that I am not in charge of healthcare reform because I wouldn't have a clue how to fix it.
Often if you don't have health insurance, doctors are willing to negeotiate lower office visit prices with you. I've had friends that have done it successfully. Health Insurance companies do it too.
This is just a part of the problem, but a pet peeve of mine.
We call it insurance, but really what we are talking about is prepaid medical care. We pay a monthly premium and then we pay a deductible of some kind when we use the service.
But that's not a smart thing to do. You should never "insure" what you can afford to replace yourself. That's why all those extended warranties on electronics are a bad idea. If you can afford to pay that monthly premium you can afford to pay the regular bills.
What insurance needs to be is coverage for the disastrous occasions that are fewer and farther between but no one can afford to pay out of pocket.
For example, we want maternity coverage. We used Aetna at my previous employer (and had maternity coverage) and then switched plans within Aetna when I decided to set out on my own as an independent contractor.
We're hoping to have more kids so we started looking at insurance policies that would cover it. Aetna won't cover maternity at all if you are self-employed. Ok - fine - be that way.
Kaiser will do it, but you have to wait a year before the baby is born. Why? If this is insurance, all I'm asking is that Kaiser pay if something out of the ordinary happens, say emergency C section, newborn birth, etc. I'll pay the cost of the birth but give me insurance. Don't take my premiums for 3 months and give me some random restriction.
Just give me insurance!
(yes this is just a small problem in a much bigger insurance problem - and would be moot if we moved to universal coverage [maybe] - but this is my rant)
ha, i recognize that paw paw shirt.
Check out ehealthinsurance.com you can purchase a Unicare policy just for your baby at a very reasonable cost. Typically covers well visits, shots, a number of sick visits and helps cover the cost if he gets really sick. We had to do this for Ethan because we lost our insurance when I decided to stay home with him. The health insurance issue is VERY FRUSTRATING!
Post a Comment