Guaranteed Healthcare

I have two minor pre-existing conditions that are controlled with inexpensive generic drugs (cost for year's supply of these drugs from Costco is about $250). Blue Cross wanted a 75% premium override to insure me and a $5000 deductible. The insurer I went with (I must buy an individual policy or go without) charges me a 40% excess premium. My new insurer requires I pay around $4500 per year for a policy that will cost me $12,500 in deductible if I go into the hospital. I pay for first $500 of my drug costs (which means they will never pay anything) with a $5000 deductible for non-hospital medical expenses. For the previous ten years, the payout from my previous insurer to doctors, labs, etc. was something over $7000 in total. I had to quit them when the network they switched to didn't include most of the doctors in my rural small town.

This is outrageous, I am 57, in excellent health (a BMI of 20) and am a competitive swimmer as well as a runner and XC skier. I am terrified of what this lousy policy will cost me when I turn 60. I am terrified of what will happen if I have an accident and end up in hospital, especially in one that is not in their network.

I lived in Australia for a number of years and the government Medicare there worked very well. The focus was on prevention and early detection because the Australian government knew that preventing or catching illness early was much less expensive than waiting for expensive diagnosis and treatment later.

In this country, expensive later diagnosis and treatment just means profit for big Pharma, doctors and for-profit hospitals and bankruptcy and death for too many Americans. Single-payer universal care is the only way to fix this. Medical care must be a right for all and not a privilege for a few wealthy.