Health care reform vote: why this is important

Health care reform vote: why this is important
November 7, 9:31 PM
Atlanta Special Needs Kids Examiner
Katie McKoy

As the debate and possible vote on the health care reform package approach, I cannot help but to speak up and say something as a parent of two children with special medical needs. Please think about this on a human level rather than political. Illness and disability do not care about political affiliation.

The health care system in the United States is broken run by health insurance companies who care only about profit and not about patients. Families of children with special needs in Georgia find themselves in an epic battle with insurance companies. Treatment for autism, cerebral palsy, speech delays, and any developmental issue is a war with the deck stacked against the child. While there are outside resources to help some families, the crux of the issue is that families who are paying for health care coverage are not getting what they paid for. Health insurance companies in Georgia employ tactics such as dropping patients, delaying payment, and denying claims for no valid reason as a method of driving up profits. The Georgia Department of Insurance provides little to no protection for patients. All the while, the cost of health care skyrockets and families go into a monstrous amount of debt as they try to care for their children. Our legislators meanwhile are cutting programs like special education and Medicaid making the hardship even worse.

It is obvious that the health care system needs an overhaul. However, the devil is in the details. Is a state run plan for everyone the best idea? No, because the government is not exactly the best thing when it comes to its current disability and low income plans like SCHIP, Medicaid, and SSI disability. However, everyone can agree that regulation of the health insurance industry needs to happen now. Health care coverage needs to be more affordable and required for everyone. Expanding Medicaid and Peachcare (SCHIP) eligibility to low income adults along with co-pays and premiums based on income is an idea that could work. High risk pools for patients who have pre-existing conditions needs to be implemented nationwide. Currently in Georgia, no such thing exists. Insurance companies need to be forced to cover therapies for developmental disabilities. They also must be held accountable for denials and dropping patients. Doctors, patients, pharmaceutical companies, health insurance companies, and politicians should all be included in the dialogue on how to fix this system before it breaks the nation.

After all the talk about death panels and other hype, people failed to see that insurance company executives are making decisions on who lives and who dies as we speak. We have bureaucrats who only care about profits deciding who lives and who dies. Sometimes they decide to deny a sick grandmother chemotherapy or an organ transplant. Other times, they decide to deny a sick infant a bone marrow transplant based on a loophole or technicality. Other times they decide to drop swine flu victims of coverage if they get too sick and max out a policy. Either way, people are getting sentenced to death every single day by health insurance companies.

Reforming health care and health insurance immediately is vital for the future success and recovery of the US economy. Cancer, disability, and illness do not care about political party affiliation. It is time for the politicians in Washington, DC to come together, set aside their differences, and work on a plan that is good for the entire nation. For special needs kids and all kids in Georgia and all over the nation, this reform needs to happen now.

Please put politics aside and realize that this is necessary for the future health of our children and nation.