TO BE OR NOT TO BE...HEALTHY?

Why do I feel like a criminal when I tell someone behind a desk that I have no health insurance? I think it sucks. I feel like a low life. I lost it when I lost my job cuz they went out of business. Insurance for unemployed individuals is so freaking expensive!

It’s kinda weird because before I got sick I was discussing the subject of socialism in America with a friend. I brought up that we should move toward socialized medicine. Then a week later I end up in a hospital myself. Politicians, especially Republican ones, have some unnatural fear of socialism. Actually, they want their campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical companies and HMOs and such. So they brainwash their constituents to have this fear against social programs. They’re so damn afraid we’ll turn into Europe. I say, what’s so bad about Europe? People are happy there--and healthy too. America is the only major industrialized country that doesn’t have universal health care for its citizens. I think that is ridiculous.

I think that the cost of prescription medicine is outrageous. Even if your insurance is paying for most of it, it is still outrageous. Medicine shouldn’t be out of financial reach for those who need it, whether we’re talking about a Rwandan or an American.

I looked up the Free Clinic of Los Angeles but you must bring your MediCal card to be treated. I don’t qualify for MediCal, cuz I am not under 18, over 65 or blind or taking care of a dependent who is. I looked up the law for charity care/partial charity care for California hospitals. The law states that an uninsured person is entitled to charity care if they had made up to 350% above the federal poverty level. I guess there is a loophole, though, which allows them to do that or only give charity care to people with MediCal. Nearly every hospital in the Los Angeles basin takes advantage of this loophole. Again I don’t qualify for MediCal. It seems I’m not poor enough or old enough or young enough or blind enough to get a little help with my health. I’m right in the middle. The middle class gets squeezed again.

Health insurance companies and hospitals are businesses. When a health care system’s priority is making profit, the patients’ best interests will at some point fall to the wayside. It sucks that for this sort of business to be “healthy,” it sometimes requires humans to not be healthy. It is ironic and idiotic. I don’t mind paying more in taxes for some kind of government run health care. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: health is in there somewhere, yes? Shall we not be entitled to a healthy life, should we not be at liberty to access the health care and medicines we need to pursue a life of happiness? I don’t think one can pursue happiness too well, when bill collectors are in pursuit of someone.

It sucks that I never got sick until I lost my job/insurance. Not ever even a full-blown cold! I had as much accumulated sick days as vacation days from my job cuz I never took the former and rarely the later. Then I get two illnesses that I would’ve gone to the doctor for even though I hate going to doctors or hospitals, so you know they were something significant.

Incidently, I did come across a couple clinics, so if you’re in need of one and if you live in SM, Mar Vista, Venice, MDR, you might qualify for the Venice Family Clinic. Care and medicine are free. Seems like a full-service place. They offer dental and vision care too. They have 7 locations. They also serve the homeless at the Rose Avenue location in Venice. They may ask for a very small donation. I also came across the Westside Family Health Center in Santa Monica. There is no residency requirement. There are fees for care and medicine, but they try to keep them low. Both have good reviews on Yelp.