Healthcare, Not Health Insurance
From Media Mobilizing Project –
Everyone gets sick, but not everyone can access healthcare when they need it. The Affordable Care Act has expanded access, but millions are still left out, and most people with insurance still struggle to afford the care they need. In Pennsylvania and in states across the country, a growing movement is demanding that healthcare become a human right that’s accessible for every person. What will it take to make this happen? Three leaders on the front lines of this struggle share their insights and experiences.
A conversation with Nijmie Dzurinko, a leader of Put People First PA, Mark Dudzic, national organizer with the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, and Marty Harrison, a nurse and member of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP).
Everyone who is not a brainwashed Democrat or a completely brainless Republican already knows that Obamacare is subsidizing the insurance industry and one still has to afford co-pays and deductables. I signed-up with Caresource, which is only available in Ohio, and has a $300 annual deductible and my premiums and co-pays are sudsidized so my costs are very low but then again, when I read the policy there are many things that are left out of my “Silver Plan.” Unfortunately, the policy is so long and I just do not have the time to plow through it. I am afraid this is what one can expect, even from a so-called Non-Profit, like Caresource. The policy is fine as long as me and my wife are healthy and want to stay healthy. But what happens if either of us should have a major illness? Also the policy has a limited network that revolves around OSU hospital in Columbus, Ohio. We do not like OSU Hospital because of the traffic and expensive (unvalidated) parking. So the policy allows us to go to Riverside Hospital for emergencies but then if they order any elective test we still need to go to OSU Hospital. I am never clear on what is an “elective test.” Who does know? But this is what I have come to expect from Democrats and if Republicans have a go at healthcare who knows what expensive Rube Goldberg design they will come up with. Unfortunately, our one Democratic US Senator in Ohio, Sherrod Brown, just does not understand why many of his constituents do not like the ACA and want Single-Payer. For the life of me, I do not understand organized labor, or what there is of it, supporting people like Sherrod Brown or Obama. Why not at the very least a social democratic party like Canada or Britain? Is it any wonder they have healthcare and the US does not?
Ronald above says it all. My domestic partner’s deductible used to be $2000 annually until he got a different plan.