Denise Lee Porter

The election cycle of the past two years saw health care plans being proposed by both the  Democrats and the Republicans, but now that politicians actually (once again) have a chance to vote on changes that could benefit all Americans we find the bill being used in a dodge ball fight between the have, the have not, and the don’t have a clue crowds.

I watched Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko” this week and I was moved to do something that I usually try to avoid - weigh in on an issue that is highly political. You see , sometimes even  those of us who stand on the sidelines and keep our own counsel, may find that we have to stand for something if it will keep just one person from falling for whatever the talking heads throw at them.

I was not surprised by the fact that 9/11 heroes cannot get help right here , nor was I surprised that there are people who lose everything due to the high cost of being sick. Heck, I wasn’t even surprised that the insurance companies have entire departments devoted to denying claims (c’mon didn’t you guys see “The Incredibles”? ) or that doctors are rewarded for doing the same.

I am surprised that the American people keep falling for the (as my son puts it) oski woski. Namely, that universal health care would raise taxes and make us nothing more than a communist country, that we would have sub par facilities, that the care given to us by our doctors would be dictated by the government and therefore ” less than”, that our doctors would be underpaid and we would therefore lose some of our doctors (after all who wants to study medicine for 12 years if they aren’t guaranteed a country club membership and million dollar income?), and blah blah blah.

As I was reviewing some tax documents for the IRS, it occurred to me that maybe one small  part of  the problem is that the rhetoric is targeted towards people who don’t actually make enough money to pay a lot of taxes. I pay a lot of taxes,  and then at the end of the year I get to pay a little more, and  I therefore  wonder where my money goes.  However, for many years I was a single parent of two, was able to file “head of household” and looked forward to tax time because it meant a nice fat check to be used for something I probably should have saved up for.

Never in a million years would it have occurred to me to forego the refund so that I wouldn’t have to pay $200 a month for health insurance, $500 for a root canal, and be able to get the hearing aid that I never got because no insurance that I’ve ever had fully covered hearing aids (so yeah I go around saying “huh?” and “eh?”  quite a bit).

Since I’ve come into all of this money that the IRS feels entitled to, it occurs to me that it sure would be nice to pay what I owe and still be able to get sick in peace.  I think so highly of our current health care system that I declined the health insurance coverage offered to me by my employer . Why?  Because I did the math and found that I could buy a new car at the end of the year if I banked the money instead and used my discount benefits plan for my health care needs.Not to mention that my plan provides discounts on things that help to prevent illness like stop smoking programs, diet and nutrition programs, diagnostic tests and yes even hearing aids.

I am not done with the subject of our broken health insurance system but don’t want to keep you too long Dear Reader. Next up : “Dear overpaid politicians, stop debating the pros and cons and start doing something about health care reform ” or maybe I’ll tell you why the US ranks behind many third world countries when it comes to our health care.

What do you think about the current debate on health care reform?