The healthcare crisis is the most important and critical issue that we face as Americans. Enough is enough! It must be resolved as quickly as possible. It is not a Republican issue. It is not a Democrat issue nor is it an Independent issue. It is not a white, black or brown issue. It is an issue that affects each and every one of us. It is a matter of life or death for all of us.
Our President, Vice President and all elected officials of our government have health insurance provided by one of the best healthcare insurers available. As tax payers and constituents we pay for their insurance coverage with our tax dollars, yet when constituents request affordable health insurance for all citizens it is labeled as socialism, communism and other derogatory terms. What is good for our elected officials is good enough for all in need of adequate healthcare. The cry of all elected officials should be “No patient left behind.” Healthcare reform is long overdue.
Patients do not seek medical attention because they are uninsured or underinsured. Senior citizens carry bags of medicine that they can not afford. They have multiple diseases. They depend on their children to assist with the cost. Some have no one to depend on and more often than not choose to only purchase their pain medication and go without other crucial prescriptions; thereby assuring their untimely deaths. Mothers first try home remedies when their children have fever rather than incur the high cost of an emergency room visit that they can not afford. Mothers quit their jobs as to qualify for Medicaid coverage for their children who have diseases that are not covered by their health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. Wives hesitate to take their husbands to the emergency room for chest pain due to lack of health insurance. Many husbands take a chance, suffer massive heart attacks and die. The list could go on forever. Patients who are insured do not seek medical attention or postpone much needed surgery because of high deductibles and/or pre-existing conditions. Patients who have no health insurance will not seek medical attention because they can not afford it. I plead with our elected officials to recognize these individuals in the faces of their constituents and see them as members of their families or dear friends. They need to see and feel the agony at not being able to be adequately cared for due to lack of health insurance or because their deductible is too high.
Opponents of affordable/universal healthcare for everyone claim that it is the same as the socialized medicine of Canada and Europe. They claim that patients will be forced to endure long wait time and lines to obtain medical attention and treatment. Here in the United States of America, for millions of Americans, there is no line to get into. The only option available is the costly emergency room visit where the lines are only getting longer. The other argument is that we can not afford it. We have no choice but to find a way. What we can not afford is a sicker America. We are the richest country and supposedly the most compassionate and humane. One can only imagine what could be solved if the most ingenious citizens from both our private and government sector would join together to resolve our healthcare crisis, both logistically and economically.
To the politicians who will decide the future of healthcare in America; I ask that you do some serious soul searching. We Americans who are fortunate enough to have affordable health insurance, while in the comfort of our homes surrounded by our loved ones, need to reflect on the millions of Americans who do not have this luxury and are forced to watch as their loved ones suffer. We must put ourselves in the place of the American who is plagued by tears, fears and the agony of not being able to pay for medical treatment that could remedy an ailment or catastrophic illness.
Recent polls show that 2/3 of the American people are in favor of healthcare reform. It is safe to assume that the majority of the opposition is fortunate to have adequate health insurance coverage. We must get across to our elected officials the seriousness of this healthcare crisis. It is a crisis that crosses party lines and affiliations. Each hour that passes only delays the passage of healthcare reform and only adds to the number of Americans who are dying or developing preventable diseases that are costly and deadly. We must plead with our elected Senators and Congress. We must make our voices heard loud and clear and if need be at the ballot box in 2010.
I am writing you today first as an American citizen but also as a practicing Obstetrician-Gynecologist. Having been in private practice for 34 years, I have been witness to the decline of adequate health care for millions of Americans through our present healthcare system. Increasingly I listen to the horror stories of my patients and their families. I have seen and felt the look on their faces, the tears in their eyes, their despair; all due to their inability to obtain adequate healthcare, most through no fault of their own. As a physician and human being, I am frustrated knowing that I can only do so much to alleviate their pain. On many occasions, providing my services at no charge is only a drop in the bucket. There are medications to purchase and ancillary diagnostic studies to pay. It is often said that men should not cry. I can assure you that there are tears in my eyes and emptiness in my chest as I listen to these stories of helplessness and frustration. How can this be allowed to occur in a country that has been so blessed, so prosperous and claims to be humane? Americans, wake up. We must act soon without delay as we could be affected next.
***
Dr. Joe Mendoza works in El Paso.
