Some patient stories just fill me with anger and
shame. This one -- from Iowa -- is one of those stories.
By now, we all know the plot. Patient has insurance. Patient gets
sick. Patient cannot afford to keep insurance or find insurance that will
cover illness. Patient goes without coverage. Providers demand
up-front payment for cancer care. Patient calls on friends, family and
community to help. Patient grovels. Cancer spreads. Patient
grovels.
Ah, the mid-western values. This is Iowa. My mom
was born in Boone during the Great Depression. Iowa is the place many
think of when we think of those salt-of-the-earth, kind and hard-working
Americans with traditional, perhaps even faith-based values. A kind and
gentle place with a no-nonsense work-ethic. Iowa. Fields of
farmers' dreams and the stuff of mid-America at its finest.
So, why in Iowa should we allow Deb, a cancer patient who is
currently receiving chemotherapy, to beg and grovel for her care?
Is her life less valuable than her two Senators'
lives? Come on, Senators Harkin and Grassley. Fess up. Is your
constituent's life less worthy of protection and care than your
own? And what about you, President Obama? Didn't the Iowans
who braved the cold and ice of the primary day way back in 2008 help catapult
you to the presidency? Deb's vote sure as hell mattered then.
What happened? When did Deb's life become so expendable?
Do any of the leaders know what it feels like to face a
cancer fight and have to come up with $2,000 up front every single month or be
denied chemotherapy? Do they care enough to actually create a US
healthcare system that would stop this horror from unfolding in Iowa?
Come on now, boys. And girls. This is clearly
not rocket science. Other civilized countries have not abused their
cancer patient like this for many years. We clearly could stop this
through a proven and effective and enhanced Medicare for all. No more
begging, groveling Iowa patients. No more providers booting patients like
Deb to the curb to die. Just healthcare for all.
It's the ethical, moral, economical and sensible way
to go -- so why are we stuck trying to have a bipartisan measure to keep
the for-profit insurance companies, the pharmaceuticals and the big hospital
corporations happy? I'll tell you why. Because Deb
isn't invited to the summit. She's back in Iowa raising money
for her next round of chemo. Shame on us all.