In a recent townhall with Sen. Tom Coburn a sobbing woman told the all too familiar story of yet another American who can't get help. The wife of a brain-injury victim reached out to Sen. Coburn for help at the event. What was his response?
"I can help you, but government is not the answer."
Does Sen. Coburn not work for the Government? Or was he telling her that he as a doctor will come to her home and provide her with free care and teach her how to put feeding tubes in and ensure that a nurse can come to the house and teach her husband to speak again.
It isn't clear. Sen. Coburn simply believes that rather than the government dispatching doctors and other health professionals, that instead we as neighbors are far more qualified.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, & the dream shall never die." Sen Ted Kennedy
Sen Ted Kennedy advocated tirelessly for health care reform and as his death rings through the halls of Congress surely we can hope that those efforts too will see their final conclusion.
In a press release from the DNC following the call about HCR with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (a good friend to young people and the youth movement), they emphasized the insurance guarantee that so many young people desperately need.
"President Obama recently announced eight Health Insurance Guarantees. Under the President's Health Insurance Guarantees, everyone will benefit, even people who currently have insurance, because any legislation he signs will include these iron clad guarantees - guarantees which will reverse years of unfair insurance company practices: 1) no discrimination for pre-existing conditions, 2) no exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, or co-pays, 3) no cost-sharing for preventive care, 4) no dropping of coverage for the seriously ill, 5) no gender discrimination, 6) no annual or lifetime caps on coverage, 7) extended coverage for young adults, and 8) guaranteed insurance renewal."
Surly, young people, indeed all people, deserve the kind of health care that Senator Kennedy also enjoyed. We should pass Sen. Kennedy's insurance reform bill in memory of the work he did to help everyone have access to affordable care.
No one issue defines the difference between the state's candidates for U.S. Senator this year more than how they approach the current health care crisis.
U.S. Sen. Inhofe, 73, has long been part of a federal legislative system that rewards insurance companies and health management organizations at the expense of ordinary Americans. Millions of Americans lack health insurance. Those Americans who have insurance face skyrocketing premiums, increased costs of co-payments and issues like "pre-existing" conditions. People often go without health care to pay other bills. Inhofe has sanctioned the current health care crisis with his votes, his lack of interest and Republican ideology.
State Sen. Andrew Rice, 35, the Democrat running against Inhofe, has proven he believes in a better health care system for Americans. We have seen this in his sponsorship and support of bills to require insurance companies to cover routine medial care for those undergoing clinical trials and medical costs associated with autism. We also know he has promised in his campaign repeatedly to use his position as U.S. Senator to work for an overall better health care system for Americans.
""Every family, every child and every veteran should have access to the same health care options that taxpayers make available to members of Congress," Rice said recently. This is one of the great moral issues of our time."
It is hard to conceive of a person or voter-besides a very radical fringe of our culture-who truly does not see the current health care crisis as a moral issue. Certainly, there is room to argue over the exact approach to solving the health care crisis, but can any rational person believe the insurance companies will voluntary accept lower profits to help people? Our broken system calls for government intervention. The government intervenes if someone kills or physically hurts another person. This same intervention should apply to our health system. Even an increasing number of doctors in this country-some claim a clear majority-now believe we should have some type of universal health care program.
This is from state Sen. Andrew Rice (D-Oklahoma City), pictured right, who is running for the U.S. Senate this year against Republican incumbent Jim Inhofe:
My wife Apple and I were recently reminded why so many Americans are frustrated and anxious about health care.
Our 11-month old son Parker was hospitalized here in Oklahoma City for three days last November with pneumonia. He received excellent care and, like most youngsters his age, he has rebounded very quickly from what was a scary time for all of us. But, that is only half the story.
One month later we learned that our health insurance company was refusing to pay the $10,000 hospital bill because they said our baby Parker had a "pre-existing condition." I'm not kidding. When we argued that baseless reason away, they changed their excuse to "improper notification" by the treating physician, and said it was not a big deal because the hospital would just "write it off." They don't think it is a "big deal" to avoid providing the coverage we pay them for every month, and instead have the Oklahoma taxpayer foot the bill. That tells you something about how they see the world.
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"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, & the dream shall never die." Sen Ted Kennedy
