A Visit to the Doctor: Now that's Real Change

In 2003, Newsweek published an article in which I was featured, on the plight of young and uninsured Americans trying to make it through life without the benefit of parental health insurance coverage. At the time, I had been uninsured for five years, and was nursing an on-and-off again stomach disorder.  It wasn’t until two years later, and a short, stay in a California hospital, that I was finally cured of my stomach ailment. It took time, but I did finally pay off the resulting medical bills.

Now, five years later, I am still without health insurance—that’s ten years total. I haven’t seen the doctor for a real, honest-to-goodness check-up or consultation, since… I don’t know when. I think the last time I saw a dentist I was seven years old. In less than a month, I’ll turn 29.

Its election time again, and so the ailing health care system will be dragged out in the presidential debates, put on display, debated and bandied about between the two major candidates, and, with any hope, fixed by the next elected president. Don’t get your hopes up. Neither candidate likes to remind the public that the United States is the only Western democracy, and the only industrialized country in the world, to not offer a universal, health care program.

Much ballyhoo is being made over the status of healthcare in this country, but I have yet to hear from either John McCain or Barack Obama what must be affirmed: that medical attention is not a product to be marketed, bought and sold—it’s a human right. I’m looking for real courage out of our major presidential candidates on this issue, and so far the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees disappoint.

I see nothing new or innovative in John McCain’s health care plan. He seeks more competition to make insurance more affordable, but this still leaves room for increasing conglomeration, not to mention leaving behind the poor who still won’t be able to purchase coverage. He also wants to make health care insurance more portable, from job-to-job, and available to purchase across state lines, but neither option could be more portable and accessible than a universal program. In short, McCain’s plan does little more than foster a broken, status quo system.

Obama’s plan is more promising, but he too falls short of endorsing a truly progressive system, one that would benefit all, and not just most. Under his plan, individuals would be able to purchase “affordable” health insurance. But just because his insurance plan is cheaper, or does not discriminate for prior illness, does not mean that it is affordable. If Obama’s plan were to go into effect today, I would still be uninsured, because I would still be choosing to pay my rent over an insurance premium. He does call for mandatory coverage for children, alas; we still have to pay for this… but at least it will be “affordable.” Moreover, Obama claims essential medical coverage will be provided, but what does he mean by “essential”? Is birth control, for example, essential? And who decides? Individual states or the federal government? After all, his plan “builds” on the less than- progressive reforms some states are already imposing. There are quite a few questions about Obama’s plan that I need answered.

If Obama gets into the Oval Office, I have little faith that when it comes to the health care system, individuals will be given more attention than our corporate counterparts. According to OpenSecrets.org, Barack Obama is second only to Hillary Clinton in receiving donations from HMOs, while he tops the list in receiving funds from pharmaceutical companies. We need to cut out the two big powerhouses represented on K Street, the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, who benefit most from the current system. Mr. Obama doesn’t seem to think so, and that’s a real pity.

I believe electing Barack Obama to the nation’s highest office would do wonders to put this country back on the right track, at home and abroad, but for a variety of reasons he will not get my vote. Pundits and critics alike may call him a “liberal,” but for many of us on the Left, many of Obama’s policies are not progressive enough; his health care plan is just one of them.

Instead, I intend to support the more progressive agenda of the Green Party. The nominee is still to be decided, but it matters little. All of the Green Party candidates support a single-payer, healthcare system. Unlike the plans of McCain or Obama, however, the Green Party agenda would ensure that everyone is eligible to receive medical coverage, when and where they need it, no matter their income level.

Such a plan would eliminate the profit-driven gluttony behind the current, market system dominated by private insurance companies. Critics may scoff at the costs of universal coverage, but one need look no further than the proposed, 2009 record-high $515 billion dollar budget for the Pentagon—this in addition to the over $600 billion already allocated to fight two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Moreover, the Green Party’s plan for universal, single-payer health care explains how the system could be implemented, without increasing financial burdens on the state and federal governments. “Hospitals, not bombs,” seems like an easy, vote-getting mantra to adopt, but not for McCain or Obama.

Above all, providing universal health care is the humane thing to do. Democratic governments should strive to serve all people, regardless of their income level, and to ensure their health and security is looked after. When 18,000 citizens perish because they have no health care coverage, as they did in 2007 here in the United States, the government’s negligence is inexcusable and immoral. We have so much to worry about in our hyper-globalized world—whether or not we should purchase food or medicine should not be a primary concern. A little peace of mind on this end could go a long way.

A month ago I graduated with my Master’s degree. I am now in a desperate race against time to find a full-time job—a personal financial crisis looms. The economy is treading water, my groceries are getting more expensive, my sublet ends in August, and my student loan creditors are already calling. The last thing on my mind is finding health care insurance, though you can bet I am terrified of falling ill.

Furthermore, I have a new malady with which to contend. When I moved to New York City in 2006 it didn’t take long to realize that the reason I was lost so much is because I couldn’t see where I was going—my vision was failing. My school did not provide free eye exams, or prescription glasses, so I learned to live in a blurry Big Apple. It wasn’t until the summer of 2007, when taking classes in China, that I was afforded a free eye exam and not one, but three pairs of eyeglasses. Alas, because the doctor and I couldn’t speak the same language, I ended up with what appears to be three very different prescriptions, the result being that they do no more for me than make me look smarter. New York City is still a blur to me.

As inspiring as he is, Obama still does not have the vision to promote the universal health care program desperately needed by the 47 million uninsured in this country. In this respect, the Green Party has a truly, progressive, humane plan… at least as far as I can see. A visit to the doctor—now that’s real change.

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June 25, 2008