I watched Michael Moore’s Sickothis weekend. Have you seen it? I would like your point of view. I like to know all that I can about an issue before I take a firm stance. Before I watched the documentary, I was aware that health care in the US was not perfect. After watching the documentary I am angrier, and validated.

I don’t get turned away by the receptionist at the check-in desk. However, I can’t see the doctor unless I see the cashier first. Even though I pay my doctor bills, there always seems to be a portion of the policy that changes, or requires more money. There is a lot of  havoc that people must go through who are “covered”. We are hazed into the ring of a whole new kind of abuse.

The hoops that we must go through, the jargon we must know in order to half-way understand they way our coverage works is almost like a cruel game that keeps changing the rules every time we get close to decoding the puzzle.

My blood boils to wonder how often I’ve been ripped off because I didn’t understand a new policy or because it was my responsibility to make a dozen of phone calls before I got treatment to make sure it might be covered. My pulse pounds when I get passed around from doctor to doctor because my ailment in question needs a different specialist or another medicine. It makes me fear the pill I swallow or want to dismiss a possible problem because I do not trust the majority of the  medical staff or the health care system that we are forced to abide by if I want to be a healthy citizen.

Please understand me, I do not think that all doctors are bad. But I feel that I am in a catch 22 because I need medicine and am thankful for the caring medical professionals that I have incurred, but I hate the means that I must got through to get it. If the health care industry would do some of the terrible things that I saw in Mr.Moore’s film, then why would they treat me any different?

 I feel that even with health insurance, the government and the health care industry will make sure that I am left in a constant state of confusion about policy, I feel that they will continue to make patients feel responsible for understanding a game that is trying to defeat them instead of designing a system that makes patients/people feel cared for. We, the patients, should be precious jewels to these health companies. They should make us feel secure, safe, and worry free in times we need it most.

Worse of all, I am afraid that we are being kept sick. I don’t believe that our recovery is in their best interest. If it were, wouldn’t they want me to try natural healing? Why so many chemicals?

I admit it, I am confused and broken hearted. I am not trying to be rude or ungrateful for what I have. I am thankful that I have medicine that allows me to live a good life in spite of a chronic illness. But the means to get the medicine seem pretty harsh. I feel guilty every day for the burden that it places on the people around me. I also can’t help but wonder if there is a cure or better way to deal with the side effects of my treatment.

I hope that there is a better solution. I pray for the people with and without insurance, that they/we get the medical attention that they need – and with little grief. This has been a general rant; I might get into specifics later.

I like to believe that people grow by helping others. I think that people discover their own purpose in life by helping others do the same – especially in times of need. How can we grow as a country if we don’t do the same? Wouldn’t we all be far better off we if helped each other instead of beating a person when they are down? Share your ideas with me. How do you feel about healthcare in the United States of America? -ed