It’s a cold rainy day and the temperature is supposed to drop even more during the night. In all likelihood there will be sheets of ice on the walkways and roads by morning making it treacherous to move around outside. I am trying to enjoy the time of hunkering down like a bear hibernating inside a cave. Perhaps it is the dreariness or maybe the silence that is making me pensive but some might say that I seem to be pensive all of the time. For now my mind is jumping from one thought to another without landing on a topic that will control the many thoughts racing through my head.
I am about a week away from surgery for a total knee replacement and because I am rarely sick and have had few medical emergencies in my lifetime I am a bit anxious about what lies ahead for me in the days and weeks after I have an artificial knee inside my body. I have been coached on the seriousness of what is going to happen and the need for my attention to all of the little details that I must be certain to follow to make my recovery as quick as possible. It can all be a bit overwhelming in spite of my confidence in the doctor and medical personnel who have been working with me.
I’m not supposed to go outside into the yard or the garage for the next many days lest I pick up an infection or hurt myself before the surgery. Normally I would be outside helping my husband prepare for the big freeze but this time I have done very little to assist in the process. Instead I have relied on people like my eldest grandson and the men who mow our lawn to assist in moving potted plants and covering the more fragile ones that grow in the ground. I’m obeying my orders but feeling a bit useless as I watch my husband checking things outside to insure that all will be in good shape for the onslaught of winter which usually comes only in brief spurts in my part of the world.
While all of this is happening I am reading about the courageous citizens of Minnesota who took part in a general strike by the tens of thousands. It amazes me that they took to the streets in sub freezing weather just to show their concerns about ICE using questionable tactics with their neighbors. They spoke of their first amendment and fourth amendment rights as citizens, echoing the determination of our nation’s founders who wanted to live with the freedom to speak their minds and to be safe inside their homes. I want them to know how much I admire and support them knowing that at least for the coming weeks I won’t be able to emulate their protests in my own town.
I read an article in theNew York Times this morning describing the costs of healthcare in the United States for those not covered by Medicaid or Medicare. I thought of how little I have been paying for my own health issues and how I am able to schedule a knee replacement because I am well covered only because I am an older citizen. I think of how I mainly see retired persons when I visit any of my doctors and I feel that the main reason is that younger folks mostly use medical visits for emergencies because the rising costs are too much for them.
I have compared what I pay for routine visits to what my daughters pay for the same kind of interactions with their doctors and it is stunning. Their costs are always thousands of dollars more for something that only cost me twenty dollars or forty dollars. When I hear such things my sense of fairness begins to question our entire system which at the present time seems to be disorganized and broken. It only appears to be working for Americans depending on how old a person is and even where that person lives.
I certainly would not deny older Americans the level of medical care that I and my peers are receiving at costs so much less than those who are younger but the fact that other Americans are struggling under the weight of increasingly expensive fees with no help from our government is appalling. My ninety six year old father-in-law has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care in the last couple of months, most of which will be covered by Medicare and an insurance plan from his place of work that has never cost him a dime to carry. While it is wonderful that he has so much coverage I can’t help wondering why our system is so unbalanced that a young American with the same medical circumstances would be drowning in debt.
The United States is one of the few first world nations in which the citizens are not covered by a universal healthcare system. We have always feared the idea of standardizing the care by insuring that everyone can enjoy medical care without bankruptcy. We worry that there will be long waits for services or that the level of care will deteriorate. We consider the cost and how much it will increase our taxes. These are all legitimate concerns but right now we are ignoring a vast swathe of Americans who are drowning under the cost of medical insurance that they only use for emergencies. Even then they will be left with huge debts based on deductibles that would erode most incomes. How can we call ourselves a great nation knowing that we are ignoring the needs of so many? How can we repair this problem with a spirit of fairness and a willingness to change for the greater good?
These are my musings and I believe that they should be considered by everyone. We take care of our elderly but we turn our backs on the young. It’s time that we listen to their needs and find ways to make certain that nobody has to sell their homes or dip into their retirement funds just to stay healthy. Those of us enjoying the luxury of a system that takes care of our every need should be leading the way to guaranteeing the same kind of access for all.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 