Health and Human Dis-Services
I want to talk about health care.
Let me just admit upfront that there is a lot I don't know or understand about the health care debate in our country. I am no expert on the subject of reform, and you would be wise to look for insights beyond this blog before forming any sort of hard and fast opinions. I do, however, know what it is like to go years without having health insurance. I know what it is like to watch friends and family members be denied work and/or health coverage because of a pre-existing condition.. And I have seen numerous people from every walk of life suffer immense emotional and physical pain because of our current system. So let's talk, shall we?
I was six years old the first time I understood a) what health insurance is, and b) that our system is broken. But to understand that story, you'd first have to know that three years before I was born my Dad lost his vision due to medical malpractice. This incident, which I have neither the time nor the energy to do it justice here, radically altered the course of my families life. One (very) small way it affected me a child was that I knew my family was different from other families. My Dad wasn't allowed to drive- though he often did for short distances - and he didn't go to work. It's not that he didn't want a job or try to get one - he did. But he was often passed over because employers feared having to pay higher labor and insurance costs to accommodate his disability. This is what he told me when I asked why he didn't have a job, Whether or not it was actually true of him, it is true for many people with disabilities in America.
Thanks to many studies done on the subject, we now know that hiring people with disabilities is no more financially or litigiously precarious than hiring able-bodied people. Unfortunately, perception is everything. So, instead of looking outside for work, my Dad became a self-employed personal trainer and volunteered his time with organizations such as Lighthouse for the Blind, teaching computers and horticulture to people with visual impairments.
The story of what my Dad made of his life after he lost his vision is a long and complicated one. he was not a hero and he was not a bum, just a flawed, loving person trying their best with what they have been handed. A person much like myself.
I lost my health insurance when I was twenty-seven years old. I would have lost it the year before, but Obamacare had just extended the age one could be on their parent's insurance to twenty-six. The year my insurance ran out I was in school, but my seminary didn't offer insurance for students. Working full time while pursuing a 90 credit hour degree wasn't an feasible option, so I stuck to working part time jobs that couldn't offer benefits. I graduated with my Masters in 2015 and immediately began looking for full time jobs.
It will not surprise anyone to hear that Christian ministry is a shrinking field. What were probably full time positions a decade ago, are now half time, quarter time or part time jobs. Still passionate about working in ministry, I got three part time jobs and lived without health insurance for two years. Thankfully, I had no serious health problems in that time, but not everyone is so lucky.
Family and friends with "secular" careers often poke fun at me for making basically no money. I am amused by these friendly jabs, as they are made innocently and in appreciation of the fact that I am not in ministry for the money. What I can't stomach are comments from people within my profession, clergy and other leaders who chastise me for working too much, or not giving my full attention to one thing when they are unwilling (or unable) to meet my basic economic needs. I had this encounter again last last year. Knowing I was overwhelmed and stretched too thin, a well meaning supervisor told me to stop overworking and quit one of my three part time jobs. At first his feed back made me feel shame - shouldn't I know better than to over extend myself like this? But after a few days of wallowing, I realized that I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I couldn't quit my job at Georgetown because it gave us housing. I couldn't quit my church job because it gave us healthcare. And I couldn't end my internship, because without it I couldn't pursue my desired career path.
Rock. Me. Hard place.
Now that I work in a hospital, I see the extent of our broken system up close. For example...Our emergency department is always more full at the end of the month. People without insurance wait until the last minute to get help because they are afraid of medical debt. I've seen the same handful of patient's experiencing homelessness numerous time throughout the year. The story is usually the same. A disability kept them from working, one thing led to another, and they ended up on the street. Without adequate housing and nutrition they get sicker and sicker. Sure, some have government subsidized insurance, but many don't. The standards for qualifying for Medicaid and keeping your coverage vary from state to state. You can be denied outright or fail to reapply by the appointed dates. It's also possible your State did not accept the medicaid expansion under Obamacare, so your particular issue is simply not covered. Which leads to the problem of inadequate coverage. I once visited a woman who needed a specific medication to manage her chronic pain. Her insurance did not cover the medication so she had to take a different one instead. She was supposed to be discharged the next day, but she had a life threatening reaction to the other medication, and had to stay in the hospital another 10 days until they sorted it out.
The flaws in our system and misguided beliefs about who does or does not "deserve" health care cannot be understated. The system itself is sick, which is why it is exceedingly unfair to shame and blame people who do not, or cannot, get access to it.
So how do we move towards a more equitable future? I don't entirely know. As the great clergyman William Sloan Coffin once said, “It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, “Let justice roll down like mighty waters,” and quite another to work out the irrigation system.” I don't know how to fix this issue, but I know where to begin. We (activists and decision makers) must listen to patients and heath care professionals, consult with world leaders and experts in the field, and we must reclaim health care as a moral issue. Ultimately, the government must be willing to acknowledge the current problems and work to create a better tomorrow for all Americans, because the status quo is not an option.
Let me just admit upfront that there is a lot I don't know or understand about the health care debate in our country. I am no expert on the subject of reform, and you would be wise to look for insights beyond this blog before forming any sort of hard and fast opinions. I do, however, know what it is like to go years without having health insurance. I know what it is like to watch friends and family members be denied work and/or health coverage because of a pre-existing condition.. And I have seen numerous people from every walk of life suffer immense emotional and physical pain because of our current system. So let's talk, shall we?
I was six years old the first time I understood a) what health insurance is, and b) that our system is broken. But to understand that story, you'd first have to know that three years before I was born my Dad lost his vision due to medical malpractice. This incident, which I have neither the time nor the energy to do it justice here, radically altered the course of my families life. One (very) small way it affected me a child was that I knew my family was different from other families. My Dad wasn't allowed to drive- though he often did for short distances - and he didn't go to work. It's not that he didn't want a job or try to get one - he did. But he was often passed over because employers feared having to pay higher labor and insurance costs to accommodate his disability. This is what he told me when I asked why he didn't have a job, Whether or not it was actually true of him, it is true for many people with disabilities in America.
Thanks to many studies done on the subject, we now know that hiring people with disabilities is no more financially or litigiously precarious than hiring able-bodied people. Unfortunately, perception is everything. So, instead of looking outside for work, my Dad became a self-employed personal trainer and volunteered his time with organizations such as Lighthouse for the Blind, teaching computers and horticulture to people with visual impairments.
The story of what my Dad made of his life after he lost his vision is a long and complicated one. he was not a hero and he was not a bum, just a flawed, loving person trying their best with what they have been handed. A person much like myself.
I lost my health insurance when I was twenty-seven years old. I would have lost it the year before, but Obamacare had just extended the age one could be on their parent's insurance to twenty-six. The year my insurance ran out I was in school, but my seminary didn't offer insurance for students. Working full time while pursuing a 90 credit hour degree wasn't an feasible option, so I stuck to working part time jobs that couldn't offer benefits. I graduated with my Masters in 2015 and immediately began looking for full time jobs.
It will not surprise anyone to hear that Christian ministry is a shrinking field. What were probably full time positions a decade ago, are now half time, quarter time or part time jobs. Still passionate about working in ministry, I got three part time jobs and lived without health insurance for two years. Thankfully, I had no serious health problems in that time, but not everyone is so lucky.
Family and friends with "secular" careers often poke fun at me for making basically no money. I am amused by these friendly jabs, as they are made innocently and in appreciation of the fact that I am not in ministry for the money. What I can't stomach are comments from people within my profession, clergy and other leaders who chastise me for working too much, or not giving my full attention to one thing when they are unwilling (or unable) to meet my basic economic needs. I had this encounter again last last year. Knowing I was overwhelmed and stretched too thin, a well meaning supervisor told me to stop overworking and quit one of my three part time jobs. At first his feed back made me feel shame - shouldn't I know better than to over extend myself like this? But after a few days of wallowing, I realized that I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I couldn't quit my job at Georgetown because it gave us housing. I couldn't quit my church job because it gave us healthcare. And I couldn't end my internship, because without it I couldn't pursue my desired career path.
Rock. Me. Hard place.
Now that I work in a hospital, I see the extent of our broken system up close. For example...Our emergency department is always more full at the end of the month. People without insurance wait until the last minute to get help because they are afraid of medical debt. I've seen the same handful of patient's experiencing homelessness numerous time throughout the year. The story is usually the same. A disability kept them from working, one thing led to another, and they ended up on the street. Without adequate housing and nutrition they get sicker and sicker. Sure, some have government subsidized insurance, but many don't. The standards for qualifying for Medicaid and keeping your coverage vary from state to state. You can be denied outright or fail to reapply by the appointed dates. It's also possible your State did not accept the medicaid expansion under Obamacare, so your particular issue is simply not covered. Which leads to the problem of inadequate coverage. I once visited a woman who needed a specific medication to manage her chronic pain. Her insurance did not cover the medication so she had to take a different one instead. She was supposed to be discharged the next day, but she had a life threatening reaction to the other medication, and had to stay in the hospital another 10 days until they sorted it out.
The flaws in our system and misguided beliefs about who does or does not "deserve" health care cannot be understated. The system itself is sick, which is why it is exceedingly unfair to shame and blame people who do not, or cannot, get access to it.
So how do we move towards a more equitable future? I don't entirely know. As the great clergyman William Sloan Coffin once said, “It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, “Let justice roll down like mighty waters,” and quite another to work out the irrigation system.” I don't know how to fix this issue, but I know where to begin. We (activists and decision makers) must listen to patients and heath care professionals, consult with world leaders and experts in the field, and we must reclaim health care as a moral issue. Ultimately, the government must be willing to acknowledge the current problems and work to create a better tomorrow for all Americans, because the status quo is not an option.
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