These stories come from the real people who live with a broken health care system. Some have health insurance and some do not. Many of these stories suggest potential solutions* that lead to quality, affordable health care we can count on. One thing we all agree on is that the we cannot trust the insurance industry to fix themselves. To learn more about what Health Care for America Now stands for read our Statement of Common Purpose.
We wanted to give you a chance to speak for yourself, in your own voice, about the need for Health Care for America Now. Do you have something to say? Tell us your story.
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Marsha
East Woodstock, CT
I have been a board-certified family physician for the past 19 years. I have extensive experience working with medically underserved populations. I have seen the suffering of patients who were uninsured or underinsured and were unable to afford needed diagnostic testing and/or medications. I practice in Massachusetts, which has recently instituted a universal health insurance coverage law which mandates coverage, either through employer-sponsored plans, or through individual-purchased (or state-subsidized, in the case of very low income people) plans. This is a start, but far from the ideal solution to health covergae for all. Many people cannot afford even the supposedly affordable low cost plans available. Some continue to go without coverage despite the tax penalty for those who do not sign up with a plan.
Recently I had the experience of a previously-uninsured middle-aged woman coming in to see a doctor for the first time in more than 10 years. I counseled her on the preventive health measures recommended for a woman her age, including an annual mammogram. So, on her first mammogram ever she was found to have a high suspicion of advanced breast cancer, and is now in the process of further diagnosis and treatment by breast surgical specialists. Although I have not heard back from the specialists as to the details of her diagnosis and prognosis, I fear her chances of cure are poor. If only she had had insurance she would have been able to get regular mammograms and her cancer would have been diagnosed at an earlier stage when it likely would have been more curable. To me, this is a tragic situation which points up the disgrace of a rich nation which will not find a way to guarantee even basic health services to all its citizens.
Something has to be done to provide health care to all, without regard to ability to pay!!!
The next step is to make sure there are enough primary care doctors to take care of all our citizens. The current insurance system richly rewards those who perform "procedures" and skimps on payments to primary care physicians who use the skills of their minds and hearts to care for patients. As payments decline, the only way for most primary care docs to sustain their practices financially is to see more and more patients, with each patient getting less and less time for an office visit. This is not why most of us decided on primary care careers. Fewer and fewer medical schol graduates are choosing to train in primary care specialties, and more and more primary care doctors are choosing early retirement, changing careers, or closing their practices to new patients. Right now the prospect of more Medicare payment cuts to physicians is threatening to exacerbate this trend.
SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE TO FIX OUR AILING HEALTH CARE SYSTEM for the sake of doctors and patients alike!!!
*Health Care for America Now is not responsible for the content of these stories. These stories are submitted by individuals in the online audience and have been edited in some cases. Health Care For America Now does not endorse any of the solutions or policy positions suggested in the content of these stories. Health Care for America Now is a coalition of organizations that agree to the Statement of Common Purpose.
See our coalition partner list.
Read the Statement of Common Purpose.
