When I thought about writing this post this morning I wasn't thinking about the Supreme Court decision today. I had planned it in reaction to a co-worker who made yet another snide comment about people on medicaid. Frankly I am sick of it and similar attitudes expressed by people (both those I do and don't know). Perhaps this will turn into more than one post, but I want to throw in my two cents about some recent issues.
I want to start by stating that I work in the healthcare industry. I realize that there are people who abuse the system, but the system is there for a reason. There are plenty of people who legitimately need these type of social services. I'm tired of listening to ignorant and judgmental people who look down on people who may need these at some point or another. I am talking about things like medicaid, "food stamps", and unemployment benefits. Also now that I have my own children my perspective has changed somewhat. I know that if something happened to my children I would try to move heaven and earth to help them if I had to.
And just to make a quick point, Medicare (you know insurance for those age 65 and older) is a social service. It is a government funded program. I definitely don't see the same type of stigma on the elderly. Probably because most everyone will grow old one day. To play the devil's advocate I could say that if you planned and were financially smart during your working years that you wouldn't need the medicare program or social security. But I digress.
The thing that got me so upset today was one of my coworker's remarks on medicaid patients. This patient in particular was picking up a very expensive medication to help treat their child's disease. To which my coworker says in a negative tone "our tax dollars at work". And you know what, good, this is one of the reasons we pay taxes. I do not and will not pass judgment on those who need assistance. To give you some background (well as much as I legally can) this medication was for a child. A child who has a horrible disease, who may only live to the age of 30 if they are very lucky. I do not begrudge this child's parents for seeking assistance to help pay for the shockingly expensive medication. These types of medication will add years on to their life and also make their life a little more comfortable. And I think I can say pretty confidently that this family would trade just about anything to have a healthy child who would live a long normal life; who wouldn't require financial assistance to help pay for their medical treatments than to be in their current situation.
Medicaid covers many low income families, but it also covers people in other ways. In my state medicaid also has what is called a spend down account. Essentially medicaid says we recognize that you need help for your specific situation. Although you may not qualify for the "traditional" form of medicaid we will help you. Medicaid says we believe you can afford to spend X amount of money each month on your healthcare needs, but once you hit X, we will cover all further expenses you incur this month.
Another thing they do that not everyone realizes is that they will cover people like the child I talked about who have horrible medical conditions I would not wish on anyone. They do have certain qualifications you need to meet, but they are there to help when the worst happens. Even if they normally wouldn't cover your family during normal circumstances, they can cover an individual family member. Such as if you develop cancer they can help you pay for the exorbitant medical costs. Working where I do, I have come to realize that there are so many awful diseases out there and medical expenses can add up quickly (the cost of treatments and tests these days is ridiculous). I personally know a family where the parents are hard working, college educated, professionals who have what many would consider a very good and well paying job. But one of their children was diagnosed with a rare disease and needed numerous surgeries and other types of harsh treatments. Even though they had done everything right (and had "good" health insurance), these type of medical bills can quickly become overwhelming. Because of this the child was eligible for medicaid. And I am glad that the system was there to help them. I wouldn't want anyone having to go through something like this to have to contemplate filing for bankruptcy because they can't afford the treatments needed to keep their child alive.
I am thankful that when I was pregnant and when the boys were born we had excellent health insurance. I looked over all of the bills sent to our insurance company, and was amazed at how much everything cost. When the boys were born they spent 9 days in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). The cost for their stay that was sent to my insurance company was about $25,000 EACH.
Well I suppose it's bedtime, perhaps I will make another post continuing along these lines. I need to get some sleep for my expensive medical test in the morning that I have been dreading for weeks.
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