Thank God It’s Friday
By Keiti | February 22, 2008
I cannot possibly express to you how relieved that Friday is finally here. It’s not so much that normal looking forward to the weekend after a long week at work - at least not how I usually view the close of Friday afternoon.
See, I spend 8 hours a day on the phones helping people with their children’s health insurance. I think it’s actually kind of a noble endeavor since the state of health care in the United States is absolutely pathetic. But it’s exhausting - far more emotionally than physically.
I’m not the kind of person who can stay detached - not in any situation. I feel things far too deeply. I empathize with those parents who are having trouble navigating the system, whose children are without health insurance for whatever reason - children who have doctors appointments and ongoing health problems. The fear the parents express, sometimes through anger, hits my core. Even those parents whose children’s health insurance has lapsed because they didn’t pay the bill. Co-workers and Supervisors constantly tell me that it’s the parents’ fault and that may very well be - but no child should go without health care. Not even those whose parents can’t get themselves together enough to remember to pay their bill.
I have to admit to having a sense of anger at those parents, though. They neglect to pay their bills (and we’re talking subsidized health care here - it’s very affordable), then have the audacity to rant and rave and go on and on about how their children’s health insurance is their top priority.
There’s something inherently wrong with a system that allows children to be the ones to pay for their parents’ idiocy.
There’s also something wrong with a system that penalizes people like me who don’t have health insurance, but who can’t get on subsidized care because they don’t have anyone besides themselves to take care of. Florida is one of those states that doesn’t offer Medicaid as an option for single people who don’t have kids or a disability; people who make above the poverty limit, but who fall far short of making barely more than enough to pay bills and don’t get health insurance offered to them through their job and can’t afford to pay for private insurance
I don’t expect a free ride. I’d happily pay as much as I could afford for health care - but without some sort of assistance, health insurance isn’t something I can afford. It’s people like me who end up using the Emergency Room for their treatment, which compounds the problem because those bills tend to go unpaid, as well, raising costs for everyone.
Frankly, the whole situation has gotten way out of control. And it needs to be rectified.
Now.
So, I’ll come home from work tonight, put on my jammies the minute I walk through the door, work on writing my blogs for next week, do a bit of research that is long overdue, and hope to God I won’t need medical services any time soon.
Topics: Life in General |
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:49 am
You’re in for a treat. I have a lot of time on my hands… ha, ha, ha.
I would argue that material objectivity as it has given our individuality an existence gives rise to parents ‘bad parenting’ skills. You can’t have morality and values of life being defined through consumerism. What’s more important; buying my kid the latest gadget or T-Shirt so that he or she has an actual spiritual identity (that means they are recognizably alive) or should I pay for healthcare so that the pharmaceutical company CEOs and medical professionals maintain high salaries and thus own all those articles of humanity… hmm. I choose life - which means to be more concerned with purchasing consumer products - if you want to defeat the terrorist then go out and shop (my favorite quote from George W.). I think when you have leaders that believe reality is found in maintaining the economic system as it is structured and controlled by close acquaintances and/or direct financial influence, I think the burden of responsibility can longer be pushed onto the plebeians… I’m sorry but I believe people like George Bush’s little brother (the savings & loan scandal mastermind) and the Ken Lays of this world should be publicly executed before any moral judgment can be passed on any parent or citizen - whether or not the parents are truly bad. Morality begins at the top and works it way down. I’ll call it the ‘trickle down theory of morality’. Morality really does only belong to leaders. It’s in their job descriptions. The job at Wal-Mart doesn’t pay for morality. The Government allowing corporations to discontinue benefits that people have paid into their whole lives because the CEOs were too busy buying real estate and flying around in their private jets to actually do their jobs - which isn’t protecting investors financial interests but it is to protect the infrastructure of society as it is the lives of people - is a message to the working people. When production is shut down and sent overseas so that investors may profit this is a message to the working people. The investors should have to then pay the healthcare for all of those employees who’ve lost their jobs - they’d think twice before they so greedily demand higher yields from their investments - but there again we all scream ’socialism’ when someone suggest taxing the rich. There is a raw and perverse violence in the way we do business which when compared to ’school shooters’ make the shooters actions look like Mahatma Ghandi acts of civil disobedience. Just because we don’t see the blood doesn’t mean that life hasn’t been brutally attacked and murdered.
My argument is reflective of my position on acts of consciousness and what it means to be alive and I am always leery of the individual because that’s where the heart of these demons roost best: The vampires and monsters. To be alive in such a manner can only be validated in external objects - in today’s world this has been reduced to the consumer item. Even you try to take the last vestiges of Being from the context of religions and you’re a smart person but you cling to the idea of Individualism as though it is truth. This truth has a lot of responsibility but because of our current leaders, this responsibility is ignored and even chastised. Even the founding Fathers of America didn’t believe that this idea of ‘individualism’ was for everyone. It had to do with land owners, the educated, white men and owners of businesses. I also believe that the lack in trying to understand and experience this kind of inter-connectedness as it is not an individual reality has led to our current situation. Sure the intellectualization of life doesn’t have the answers but if it is kept in context, then there are things to be learned.
Heck, I don’t even believe a school shooter has committed any heinous crime, how am I suppose to believe there’s such a thing as a bad parent or someone should pay their own healthcare? If my words didn’t hold any truth then we should see the same amount of daily violent crimes in very affluent areas of society and not just in the poor and impoverished areas because the morality your trying to defend would be independent of economics. And my argument with school shooters is that the disconnect has become so defined that life and actions are longer related: The violent rage is an attempt to live - the white kids are getting angry. The suicide shooters or bomber are looking for one single moment of affirmation that actions have context. Unfortunately for the poor of any country this is called the daily grind.
Of course though, we all just shrug our shoulder and say ‘oh well, that’s the way it is’ when the Ken Lays and little Bush’s get caught being bad rich people. We even have different prisons for white-collar criminals. Bad parents and healthcare? I don’t get it.
It’s too bad Ron Paul didn’t get the nomination. Although I do not believe in his overall ideology the man understands the complexity of the issues and how they effect our ability to make moral judgments.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:28 am
I might agree with you on not holding parents accountable for not paying their bills if we were talking about paying for private health insurance in the United States - the premiums are ridiculously high and are more often than not unaffordable. But we are talking about subsidized health care - most families pay $15 or $20 a month - that is certainly affordable for most people - for those whose finances make even that a serious strain, Medicaid is available, fraught with red tape as it is. It still provides health care coverage where there would otherwise be none.
And to imply that no one should contribute to their own health care is ridiculous. Even in countries that offer socialized medicine the people contribute, mostly in the form of taxes. So even “free” health care isn’t truly free. There’s always a price to be paid somewhere. The money for health care isn’t going to simply be pulled out of the air - it has to be paid for somehow.
Does that mean those in our government and the insurance and pharmaceutical companies shouldn’t be held accountable? Absolutely not. Everyone has their part to play in order to make any system work. Just because the U.S. government hasn’t gotten off its butt and fixed the problem, and just because the insurance and pharma companies have gotten too wrapped up in the almighty dollar doesn’t mean there isn’t some accountability left for anyone else to accept.
As for our priorities in terms of consumerism - you’ll get no argument from me that we have fast become a country that values materialism over all else. But when we’re talking about affordable health care (”affordable” being the key word here) it’s sort of a moot point, not to mention a completely different argument.
So, yes, I do find that I have very little pity for parents who rant and rave about their health care being canceled based solely on the fact they neglected to pay their bill - in this case it’s the children who pay the ultimate price and the parents need to get their heads out of their respective asses. Believe me, they are given ample time in which to pay their monthly premium - above and beyond what most companies would allow.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 am
The problem is that materialism has assumed the role of religion - and this was done intentionaly. After WWII there were some Government meetings to determine the nature of developing the US econonmy so that it would surpass all other economies; and it was decided that the best way was to turn ‘materialism’ into religion (to some it up the doctrine). You have to understand everyone is not you or I and most people are not capable of seperating these things and internalizing them so that there still remains a value to life which goes beyond the objects - if this wasn’t so, then consumerism would fall flat on its face. This is business. Even a one cent pay-in represents a religious tension that has been manipulated. I’ll do some searches to rechieve the documents, but if I recall correctly it was a doctrine written by Keyenes, the greatest US Economist… yup, he had vision for American business.
My point is that for every ten cents of disrespect you have for that parent refusing to pay even $20 dollars a month, then you should have a million dollars of spite for the leaders of the USA - it’s what they wanted and what keeps us, as a people, from actually becoming political. The trickle down theory of morality.
ha, ha, ha. I just have a lot of time on my hands today.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:43 am
Keith,
Did I or did I not say that there was plenty of accountability to go around? That includes government, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies AND parents. Not to mention each person of legal age who is in charge of making their own decisions.
I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea of varying degrees of accountability. My point was that *everyone* (again, of legal age & consent since children are, at least theoretically, under the care of their parents and are not responsible for paying their own premiums) has some level of responsibility.
I think it’s safe to say that you and I agree on this point.
K~
P.S. I wish I had a lot of time on my hands today - have to head off to work in a minute.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I agree that accountability has to be spread out, but patience and perspective should always be applied when trying to gauge a situation that you are experiencing via phone and paper.
Some parents are just undeniable idiots, but they usually aren’t the ones who bother to call and try to find out why there is a problem with their child’s insurance. In a very philosophical and roundabout way, Keith touches on some valid points. Many of the parent who require subsidized healthcare, have a minimal amount of education and are working low wage jobs with odd or long hours. They often do not have good support structures. Many of these low income earners also move frequently.
There are any number of possible explanations, for why a person hasn’t paid a long overdue bill, that don’t necessarily have anything to do with being irresponsible.
The beginning of a solution to this healthcare dilemma would be a mandated universal healthcare system that is based on income level. This type of system also solves the problem of emergency room visits that go unpaid and end up raising costs that burden insured individuals.
I find it ironic that Hillary Clinton is presenting just this kind of plan, yet she’s being politically lynched in many corners because people don’t feel that they should be “forced” to pay into healthcare. If the insurance is income based and subsidized, like Clinton’s plan is, than what the hell is the problem? I keep hearing Obama bitch about the “mandate” portion of Clinton’s plan and how she said that garnering wages was a possible way to make sure the money was paid by resistent individuals. This would solve the problem of the parents that truly are idiots.
Also the parents who just can’t seem to keep up with things wouldn’t have to worry about a bill, if the deductions were automatically taken from paychecks, welfare checks, etc.
But that’s just my thoughts on the matter.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Your blog is being a pain in my ass tonight!