Whenever the subject of health care reform pops up, there are a couple uninformed souls who dash forward armed, they believe, with the silver bullet of anti-scoailist arguments. Canadian waiting lists. Hoo boy do they shout, scream and caterwaul, the depth of their sorrow for these poor people being forced to wait on optional procedures -- it just tears them up. Would that America's poor and uninsured receive the same outpouring of emotion!
So please, to all those who think that an operative, meaningful argument, fuck off. And if you don't believe me, ask Kate. Born with a genetic disorder that caused childhood rickets, she needs surgery to repair a warped and disaligned femur bone. Not a huge deal, but frustrating. She found this out a month before she was supposed to move to DC, and instead went home to Kansas to get treatment. Now, after bouncing from doctor to doctor, she's finally found a surgeon potentially willing to look into the surgery. First available appointment? Feb. 16th.
Welcome to medical purgatory. She can't move before she has the surgery as America's health insurance forces you to receive care where you bought the plan if you want full reimbursement (this is what they mean by in.out of network coverage). Luckily, unlike so many Americans, she can pay for it, has excellent benefits, access to a slew of doctors, and is really at the top of the system. And yet? She waits. And will likely be waiting for awhile yet. This is what it's like when you're at the top of the system, imagine the hell that is the bottom. And unlike Canada, America actually has a bottom.
