[:en]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO
The views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the policy or views of the IHEU.[:de]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:zh]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:fr]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:ru]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:pb]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:ar]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:es]Anya Overman, YouthSpeak February
December is the US is a time for the holidays, for family, for giving, and… for enrolling in a new healthcare plan. This is not always how it has been though. It was not until 2012 that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in Supreme Court. Instating such a policy meant that everyone would be required to have health insurance, and if they do not purchase health insurance, the government will charge them a fee– higher than the cost of just purchasing insurance.
Prior to this system, nobody was required to have health insurance as the entire industry was privatized. This meant that many people didn’t have health insurance because the private companies were able to rack up the prices to extremely high levels. Now that we have the Affordable Care Act, millions more Americans have health insurance. But… this system is still far from great.
Back in 2009, I got a kidney infection. I was 16 years old at the time and I had to be hospitalized for 3 days. The costs were astronomical – so astronomical that my family was paying off the bills for years after I had been hospitalized. From then on, it was instilled in me that I should not go to the hospital unless I was bleeding profusely or unconscious– the costs of hospital care are simply too high to go there for any lesser reason.
I am not the only American who thinks this way. When faced with a significant health issue, the majority of us are forced to choose between our health and our livelihoods. Many of us learn to tough it out when we aren’t feeling well, even when it’s not in our best interest. There have been several times when I desperately needed a doctor and instead begrudgingly chose to nurse myself back to health to avoid being slammed with the costs of my care.
This is something many people do not realize about the privatized healthcare system– it instills a low value on health. Our cultural attitude about our health is that it’s just another thing you must be able to afford in order to deserve it. And if you can’t afford it– well then you didn’t work hard enough. Your health comes at a cost in America. It does not register in the American mindset that capitalizing on a basic human right is disturbing or wrong. And this way of thinking is incredibly dangerous.
It was not until I spent a summer in London that I realized just how bad my healthcare is. As fate would have it, I got another kidney infection in London. As soon as I started feeling the familiar stabbing pain in my back, my American mindset kicked in: “Just drink a lot of water, take some painkillers, try to get through it.” I put the pain off for almost 2 weeks. My English boyfriend, who grew up with universal healthcare, kept suggesting we go to a doctor. I kept saying, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be alright eventually.” Then one morning I couldn’t handle the pain anymore and we went to A&E.
I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to have to pay as a foreigner. I didn’t know the process. The only thought I had running in my mind was, “This is my health, and it’s going to cost me a lot. That’s how it works. I guess I’ll have to rebuild my budget.”
But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I was seen and tested soon after arriving. In less than two hours, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office with a diagnosis and a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor said, “You have a kidney/bladder infection. Here’s your prescription, it should clear up within few days.” I was shocked I didn’t have to stay at the hospital like I had the last time I had a kidney infection, but I was even more shocked when I walked out of A&E without paying a single pence.
My proceeding trip to the chemist was similar. I handed them my prescription and got out my wallet. I had never not had to pay for medication. But I’m not sure if the chemist had ever received money for medication. He looked for every possible loophole to give me the medication for free, but because I was an American intern abroad he had to charge me £8.50. I didn’t mind at all because I had paid far more for medication in the States. To me, for everything I had been through, £8.50 was an absolute steal for a kidney infection.
This experience made coming back to the US healthcare system that much harder. With all the inefficient bureaucracy surrounding our system, I was unable to have health coverage for the entire first month I was back in the States. It was terrifying– a serious sickness or an injury within that month could have put me into debt for years.
This is why I support a single-payer healthcare system. As Robert Reich says, “Single-payer systems in other rich nations have proven cheaper than private, for-profit health insurers because they don’t spend huge sums on advertising, marketing, executive pay, and billing.”
I don’t want to have to raise any future children in this mess of a system we have now. It’s unethical to equate an individual’s worth with their monetary assets, so why do we Americans synonymize health with wealth? To me, there is no acceptable answer.
With 2016 being a US election year, there’s a chance we could finally change this. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to support a single-payer system. Bernie Sanders is currently America’s only hope in moving on from this terrible system. He’s our only hope for changing the cultural belief that you don’t have to have a significant income to deserve healthcare. Every person deserves healthcare. It’s a basic human right. I can only hope that the majority of America agrees with me.
Bernie 2016!!
Anya is a member of Future of Ethical Societies, Missouri, USA, and is the Social Media Officer for IHEYO[:]