by: Chris Lassiter from: The News Leader, October 23, 2004
We asked five area residents to tell us how health care affects their
lives, and whether they expect the results of the Nov. 2 presidential
election will improve their situations. Dr. Robert Roberts, a political
science professor at James Madison University then reviewed their
stories and offered a larger perspective.
Pamela Argenbright
Disability checks don't cover costs
Pamela Argenbright has bad nerves, emphysema and a cyst on her stomach.
The last thing the 42-year-old Staunton resident needs is more stress.
But when her disability check isn't enough to meet her medical bills and basic living expenses, life is tough.
Her health condition is such that she has not been able to work for the past 24 years.
"It's hard to function in the morning. I can't do it," Argenbright said.
"It's very tough. I have to let my bills go, because I don't have the
money to pay them. I don't go anywhere. It makes me really depressed."
Doug Cole
Father of two hit hard by health care
At one point, Fishersville resident Doug Cole had both of his adult sons in wheelchairs.
The older son, Douglas, was run over by a truck and left paralyzed. The
younger son, Darrell, was also in an automobile accident which ended
his college football career.
Darrell is out of his wheelchair, but Douglas isn't. The older son
wants to receive stem cell treatments, which may mean raising $200,000
and going to Mexico.
To make matters worse, Douglas had just come off of his father's insurance. He was uninsured at the time of the wreck.
"Health care's a big problem in this world," the father Doug said. "It's getting out of hand."
Dr. Gunther
Sub-par insurance a major problem
Pediatric physician Dr. Robert Gunther says health insurance issues can
take a toll on medical professionals as well as the people who need
their services.
For instance, Gunther said people may begin trying to suffer through
ailments they normally would have been treated for in the past.
It hurts the doctors financially -- but even more importantly, routine
illnesses can grow in to major health problems when patients wait
before being diagnosed.
"They stay at home, and their conditions get more complicated," Gunther
said. "Sometimes they end up with visits to the emergency room that
might not have had to take place. From my standpoint, it really
prevents us from taking good care of the patients in our practice if
they don't have adequate insurance."
Dr. Moore
Advances in field great, but expensive
Country physician Dr. Lynn Moore can't cure high health costs.
He rejoices at the advances which have been made in the field of
medicine, but winces at what the technological advances have costs
individuals.
"We can do so much more to treat patients, but the treatments are expensive," Moore said.
"I don't quite see how people are affording the medicines they need if they're going to get optimal treatment."
Moore has patients who can't afford the prescribed medicine. He's not sure how the health care crisis will be solved.
"When you've got medical insurance, companies have to charge enough to
make ends meet, so their premiums have got to go up," Moore said. "I
don't know anybody who has any answers for it."
Vashia Wade
Uninsured mother struggles with costs
Waynesboro resident Vashia Wade is a single mom trying to raise three
children, including 7-year-old Josaiah "Mueki" Wade-Jones.
Mueki suffers from spina bifida -- or schistorrachis -- a congenital
defect in which the spinal column is imperfectly closed so that part of
the spinal chords protrude. It can result in neurological disorders.
Wade doesn't have insurance, and money's tight. She provides for her kids often at the expense of herself.
"I had an abscessed tooth, and I just sat here and cried," Wade said.
"I can't go to the emergency room. It's just an extra bill."
The expert weighs in
The serious problems faced by Pamela, Vashia and Doug provide vivid
examples how the health care crisis has profound impacts on the lives
of Americans. At the same time, Dr. Moore and Dr. Gunther face the
problem of practicing their healing profession with a larger and larger
number of patients without the means to pay for increasingly expensive
care.
President Bush argues that the best way to increase the availability of
quality health care is to create tax free health savings account,
expand the existing network of community and rural health care centers
and expand the eligibility of the children of low income Americans for
coverage under the State Children Health Insurance Program.
Bush also points to the new Medicare prescription drug benefit as
evidence his administration has worked hard to expand health care
coverage for all Americans. To increase the availability of doctors,
President Bush also proposes to cap medical malpractice awards.
Sen. John Kerry, in sharp contrast, promises that the passage of his
health plan by Congress would provide ninety five percent of all
Americans access to the health plans that members of Congress now
select from and at the same time cut family health insurance premiums
by up to $1,000 a year.
Equally important, Kerry proposes to give small business tax credits to
permit them to help pay for the premiums of low to moderate workers.
Kerry would also seek congressional approval to allow the importation
of drugs by Americans from Canada.
Both the Bush and Kerry plan have faced criticism from objective
observers. Critics argue the Bush plan would still not help millions of
Americans who either cannot afford or cannot obtain medical insurance
coverage. Critics question whether Senator Kerry can deliver his
promises without raising taxes to pay for a large increase in
government health care expenditures.
If anything is certain, whoever wins the 2004 election, the health care crisis will not end quickly.
Professor Robert Roberts has taught political science at James Madison
University since the fall of 1982. He has published extensively in the
area of law and public administration, employee rights and
responsibilities, and public ethics in public administration.
Original web page: http://www.newsleader.com/news/stories/20041023/localnews/1464165.html
