Overcome the fear and see the reality

It’s really all about fear, isn’t it? Fear that those who have “good” insurance will lose it; fear that those without insurance will never have any. Many are concerned about the cost to taxpayers and that we’re all becoming a bunch of commies.
Let’s talk about reality for a moment. The reality is that most Americans even the relatively affluent ones are one major illness away from bankruptcy, and I’m talking about insured people. With every passing year, insurance provides less benefits, is more expensive and increasingly difficult to get.
Though most are talking about the 65 million uninsured in this country, I want to talk about those families who are insured. We all live with the fear that our insurance company will not help us in our time of need. The paperwork is onerous, impossible to understand and please don’t forget the fine print. The only true responsibility that insurance companies have is to their shareholders. This is our shared reality.
 Maybe you don’t think a public health insurance option is a good idea but myself, I’ve always been a fan of competition. Not the kind where companies offer the same bad options to a captured and dependent market but the variety where consumers have a real choice. I know I have to pay for health care regardless; however, if the outcome of a public insurance option was that I received quality treatment without worrying whether my insurance had approved the procedure first, wondering if the doctor had filed the paperwork correctly, and praying that the insurance company wouldn’t find a loophole to stick me with the bill in end, my life would be less burdened and greatly improved.
 The system we have today has never offered this and never will. Please don’t let your fear of change prevent a new future for us all. Our health care system can be more equitable and efficient if we are willing to set our fear and prejudgments aside to believe in the possibility of a better way.

Shawna Turner
Shawnee