Quick rant o’ the day:
There is a big difference between the lack of health care and the lack of health insurance. I’m sick to death of politicians and “operatives” just blithely tossing out scare stats, i.e. “x% of Americans have no health care.” They are referencing studies that show how many Americans have no health insurance. I have, at various times in the past, been one of them. “Health care” is NOT synonymous with “health insurance” and attempts to conflate the two are deliberately deceptive. Americans with no health insurance still have access to health care from a variety of sources.
1. Pay for it yourself. If you have the money, pay up. This works for minor problems, and if you have to cut back on a few nights of Domino’s and Blockbuster to pay for that office visit, you’ll get over it. I’ve done that, and lived to tell the tale. Doctors give prescription samples and will prescribe the cheapest possible generics, if you ask. Hospitals take payments. I know, because I’m still paying off a hospital stay from 5 years ago.
2. When paying for it yourself is not possible, every city has some system of charity health care. Use it. Your health care will either be free or heavily discounted. I’ve used those services. Sure, the hospital is not as fancy, and you will be in a ward as opposed to that private or semi-private room, but you will get treated. The doctor may not take the time to chitchat with you, but he or she is qualified to treat you. Again, I’ve used those services and they are adequate. Would I prefer a private hospital and a doctor who has time to chat? You bet. I’d also prefer to live in Bill Gate’s house, as opposed to the entirely adequate 3 bedroom 2 bath suburban ranch for which we’ll be paying another 26 years. That’s life.
3. If you are really, really poor, you probably qualify for Medicaid, which makes you eligible for care at a variety of hospitals.
Do those options cover every single person in every possible scenario? No, of course not. But it covers a whole lot of people who are lumped into those stats that keep getting tossed out. This is much like those poverty stats that keep getting milked for all they’re worth every election season, and are not at all indicative of real poverty in America.
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