Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Crisis of Health!

Health Insurance - it's a major problem in this country. If you haven't yet encountered the necessary evils and expense, hold on and I'm sure you will soon!

Lance and I have seen from a distance how health insurance has caused problems for others. We even saw closer a few years ago when my dad had heart bypass surgery. The bills are astronomical and what insurance will pay is often just a drop in the bucket. Prescriptions every month keep many people from getting their head above water or even going without necessities. Or worse yet, they don't take the meds they need because they have to eat!

Insurance has hit closer to home in the last couple of months! My company decided to no longer offer insurance as a benefit. This then becomes an extra $350/month expense for Lance and I. We are fortunate - we both have good jobs. What about those who are single moms or dads? This can be a major problem for them. Now, our church is faced with changing insurance due to changes in our provider. While we will still have pretty good insurance compared to others, gone are the days of $10 office visits - they will now be $40. This is still cheap compared to what some pay and yet it's 4X as much as before! Combine this with the increase in gas prices and everything else and it's no wonder so many folks are unable to keep up!

This is an election year and I'm not naive enough to believe that one party can fix this mess and yet....we have to honestly look at those who can see the problem. Who out there is looking out for the least of these? The working poor, who despite all their best efforts can't get ahead. Lance and I will make it and be fine - we have money for all our needs and so many of our wants. But, what about others?

As I mentioned earlier, if this hasn't affected you yet, hold on, because it will. It's a crisis and something needs to change. The rich will continue to get richer, the poor will continue to get poorer.

There are no easy answers.

1 comment:

Becky said...

Very sad and true! I'm amazed that I am still able to work part-time, making very little! God keeps providing our needs..not too many wants! Our insurance through the school district is not that great, we pay A LOT out of pocket before they kick in. We pay close to full price for prescriptions. The praise there is that we are all healthy, most all the time and rarely need anything!
I say it all the time....between gas and groceries, we have no extra for much 'fun' at all! We may or may not get A in school in yrs. before I return full time! I know that we too are fortunate, some are much worse off.