I have a story that unfortunately involves maths - a tale that when spun will reflect the true state of health care in this country. It's a story that isn't being told, isn't being acknowledged, and quite frankly, is making me sick to even think about it. So I'm going to share this story with you, dear readers, in hope that you also get sick.
I hope you have insurance.
Here's the story: a friend of mine recently started having these weird pains in her upper abdomen. She went to her doctor, who referred her to a specialist, who took an ultrasound of her entire chest area and decided that she was fine. The pains went away on their own. Diagnose as you will.
Either way, happy ending - right?
Except she then got her insurance bill, which she shared with me today, and which immediately gave me chest pains as I read it. The bill stated, quite clearly, that the hospital put a price tag of $2,700 on the ultrasound, an event which took all of 5 minutes to unfold (I know, because I took her and waited in the waiting room and didn't even get 3 paragraphs into a magazine article before she came bouncing out, saying she was ready to go drink beer).
The insurance bill then went on to say that the "negotiated price" for this event - for the insurance company - was $700. The insurance company then stated that my friend had to pay nothing - they covered this procedure - which is what we pay insurance premiums for in the first place.
Happy ending, right?
Wrong.
Let me be clear - this means that the hospital bean counters and the insurance company bean counters agreed that this procedure, which would cost you nearly three thousand dollars if you came off the street and asked for it - would be worth a quarter of that when payed for by the insurance company.
Let me restate this again, just to be clear. The hospital stated that the cost for this preventative measure - something that is designed to ensure the health of the hospital's patients - was a lot. The insurance company charges those same patients a monthly fee to ensure that they don't have to pay this amount. People who pay insurance companies a monthly fee don't have to pay anything, as they have worked out a deal with the hospital to ensure this.
Or, put another way, you run a convenience store on some corner in some city. Doing so, you run the risk that hoodlums from the area may or may not decide on any given day to come into your store and randomly smash the items you sell with a baseball bat, rendering them unsalable. This, of course, would impact your profits negatively, and directly affect your ability to buy a Porsche for yourself. Or, you would have to raise your prices, and your customers would suffer. The Mob comes along, and guarantees that if you pay them a monthly fee, they will insure against hoodlum debauchery.
Nevermind how they can do this, they just can.
That, in Federal Government lexicon, is called "Racketeering". And it's punishable by many, many years in jail.
So can somebody please explain to me why this is legal when it's called "Insurance"? And worse still, why are we still even considering electing people to office that condone this type of behavior?
I'll go ahead and answer this for you. It's because everyone that runs for office is somehow oblivious to the fact that this is actually illegal behavior. The Republicans don't give a shit if people have to pay $700 or $2,700 for a procedure that might save their lives, as long as businesses don't have to pay out of pocket for it. And Democrats are trying to pass laws that require everyone to have protection, not thinking about who pays for it or whether it's really even needed or even legal in the first place.
We are the Greatest Country in the World, but also the last civilized country left that structurally links healthcare to our jobs. And instead of figuring out how to take care of the people that live next door to us, our organized government is arguing over who is responsible for paying the racketeering costs to keep the healthcare system running at its current high level of profit.
What the fuck politicos, do you think we're stupid????
Hmmmm. Apparently you all do.
Aaaaaand, welcome to the 2012 Presidental debates. It's an exercise in futility, so no wonder we fall back on black and white issues like Gay Marriage or Abortion when we decide who should be in charge. Because the truth is that we need to dump them all and find someone who is willing to call things like they are and fix healthcare for real and force the NFL to play even if the players and owners can't agree on whether a game is worth 3 or 4 million dollars to those who play it.
I give up. I'll be in Mexico if you need me...
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