I have hoped for a serious discussion of the healtcare issue in this country. A discussion that does not involve throwing chairs or hurling of insults because this issue hits real close at our house.
My mother will have medicaid but my father who is a terminal COPD patient will have no insurance at all in the next few days.
We have asked their insurance company for five years to BUY an oxygen concentrator but they insisted on a $250 per month lease. As my parents can't pay for this out of pocket, my brother bought one, much nicer than the current leased one and BRAND NEW, for $800. So how does this add up? My math skills are pretty rudimentary but I'm coming up with 60 months x $250 = $15,000. But it only costs $800 to buy out right...
This is just an example of the horrifying waste that eats up the money available to pay for healthcare. The money saved in this one area alone would probably keep my father in medication for at least a year. Quite a bit longer than a year if he does mail order prescriptions, etc.
I do not know what the answer is, but I do know what part of the equation keeps me up at night...
angela