No matter what Trump does to health care, we must accept an imperfect reality

Tom is a forty-three-year-old self-employed painter and father of two. He’s currently in remission from lung cancer, having been first diagnosed five years ago. At the time of his diagnosis, he did not have health insurance. Thankfully, for him, American law had finally made it illegal for health insurance companies to discriminate against individuals with preexisting conditions. Tom had to be offered insurance at community rates. And, this was a good thing for him. His medical expenses exceeded $100,000 annually for his first two years of treatment. No one deserves to go without care for a serious medical condition. *** Jenny is a married mother of two. She is employed by a local small business where she worked for the last 12 years. Her daughter has an uncommon, but treatable, blood disorder that requires occasional laboratory testing and infrequent blood transfusions. Jenny’s employer provided the health insurance of both Jenny and her daughter for the last decade. It has been a part of Jenny’s benefits plan. Unfortunately for Jenny, over the last few years, the cost to her employer to provide this plan has risen dramatically. The small business she works for has had no choice but to pass down many of these rising costs to her. Jenny now pays her employer a markedly higher monthly premium for her family to be included on her plan. Her medical deductible is 10 times what it was just six years ago. And her coverage is far worse. Forced to cut costs even further last ye...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Policy Health reform Source Type: blogs