Great News, Terrific News. My friend, who I am calling Claire, had to be hospitalized. Yes, the chronic genetic illness along with depression combined with the complete cold turkey absence of meds thanks to our medical insurance system, got her in the hospital for a week and all-day outpatient care for a lot longer.
And while there, the hospital took care of her State Insurance application, straightened out the screw-ups on the State's end, and stabilized both condition and depression. For the first time in two months, when I spoke with Claire, she was there. Really there. Her humor, her strength, her joy.
So. Really? We really think it's wiser that the State had to incur her hospitalization costs than that they make sure applications get taken care of in a timely manner? (And of course, let's not forget that we're one of the few fortunate states that provides necessary medical insurance to parents of young children.)
We really want people off their medications rather than considering the dreaded--'gasp" Socialized Medicine? (As in Socialist, as in somewhere on the continuum between Flat-out "Caveat Emptor" Capitolism and "Everything Belongs to the State" Communism.) We really want her three young children to now have to wrestle with the impact of a mother's hospitalization, to deal with the consequences of that for the rest of their lives, rather than provide families with children--whether single parent or couples--with the support that they need?
I suppose we do have one up on Les Miserables, at least in this state. We still have a wonderful hospital system. If this had been one of our major cities that have gutted their public hospitals, my friend would have been really screwed.
And of course, in the 1780's and 90's in France, a hospital was a psych ward where people went to be tortured and die. Progress. . . I suppose.
And while there, the hospital took care of her State Insurance application, straightened out the screw-ups on the State's end, and stabilized both condition and depression. For the first time in two months, when I spoke with Claire, she was there. Really there. Her humor, her strength, her joy.
So. Really? We really think it's wiser that the State had to incur her hospitalization costs than that they make sure applications get taken care of in a timely manner? (And of course, let's not forget that we're one of the few fortunate states that provides necessary medical insurance to parents of young children.)
We really want people off their medications rather than considering the dreaded--'gasp" Socialized Medicine? (As in Socialist, as in somewhere on the continuum between Flat-out "Caveat Emptor" Capitolism and "Everything Belongs to the State" Communism.) We really want her three young children to now have to wrestle with the impact of a mother's hospitalization, to deal with the consequences of that for the rest of their lives, rather than provide families with children--whether single parent or couples--with the support that they need?
I suppose we do have one up on Les Miserables, at least in this state. We still have a wonderful hospital system. If this had been one of our major cities that have gutted their public hospitals, my friend would have been really screwed.
And of course, in the 1780's and 90's in France, a hospital was a psych ward where people went to be tortured and die. Progress. . . I suppose.
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