A couple months ago, an elderly man swallowed his dentures. Well, not entirely swallowed, because they got stuck in his throat first, but he spent six days in intensive care following the surgery. The man was OK with one exception: his $106,911.93 medical bill.
This is a rare health care tale with a little humor, but for the most part, sticker shock from the price of hospital care is no laughing matter. There are thousands of stories in the U.S. just like this one, featuring unassuming patients who are generally healthy, happy and in reasonable control of their finances, until the worst happens. Over 50 million Americans are without health insurance, and after the political events this week, it appears that number isn’t going to get smaller without a fight.
How does 50 million compare to the rest of the U.S.? That figure comes out to about one in every six Americans being uninsured. If each of the new health care provisions make it through the newly red-washed House of Representatives, 32 million people out of that 50 will qualify for insurance under the Affordable Care Act in 2014. Until then, the number of people lucky enough to have private insurance is the lowest it has been since the government started keeping track of such numbers.
Let’s assume for a moment that this problem isn’t just 80 years of lawmaker ineptitude. Fortunately the elderly man who swallowed his dentures had health insurance and ended up paying $1,100 for his awkwardly shaped snack. But not many American families can weather a $106,911.93 medical bill without taking on serious water, even in healthy economic times. Getting a set of dentures lodged in your throat is not something that should ruin anyone. Yet injuries and illnesses suddenly cripple working Americans guilty of nothing except being that unlucky one out of a group of six.
While what remains of the middle class deals with debt and foreclosure, someone out there is pocketing a large sum of money. It’s rather mysterious actually. For instance, how did over 95 percent of our elderly man’s bill disappear into thin air? When you compare the health care systems of the world, the job of the insurance provider represents a pretty superfluous industry. Other countries cut out that middleman, with government-subsidized health care.
The difficulty here is turning a major, for-profit business into the public right it should be. It’s essentially telling a multi-billion dollar industry that it isn’t allowed its cut in the goods-for-services trade anymore. Not exactly the most capitalistic thing to do, one could even say it goes against what it means to be American.
So, sure, it will be a tough concept for many to stomach, but when normal people are barred from reasonable access to health care, the issue transcends party lines.
Here, we’re dealing with a basic lack of human rights. However it would be nice if someone told Congress that. I know I’m not the only who thinks this is a big deal.
Reach Sarah at swhitmir@asu.edu
