Why I Favor Health Care Reform

It started on March 17, 2007 at noon. That's when I was hit by a car from behind and thrown off my bicycle. It's truly a wonder that I was not seriously hurt, but that wasn't apparent to everyone until I walked out of the hospital later that afternoon.

The big surprise came a few weeks later when I got a hospital bill for $12,522.15 -- for my 2 hours in the Sutter Roseville's Emergency Department. Add the ambulance and other expenses, and the cost of the accident was over $14,000. And I wasn't insured.

Still, I wasn't worried because I knew that there was no fault on my part, so the driver's insurance company would cover these expenses. They eventually did, but it took two years to work out the details.

That big bill made me realize that, even though I'm a Christian Scientist and would not generally rely on medical means, I need a certain degree of protection from financial risks. So I signed up for minimal health coverage from Kaiser Permanente at a cost of $368 per month for 2007. They raised it to $407 for 2008; and for 2010, it's up to $490. That's a 33% increase over 3 years or 11% per year.

But wait, there's more! Ginger retired in November of 2004, with the promise from her school district that it would continue her health care benefits for 5 years. That 5 years ended this past New Year's Eve. We investigated adding her to my inexpensive plan, but Kaiser considers the ailments for which they have been treating her as preexisting conditions (and therefore not covered) if we should add her to my plan. So we're stuck paying the high fees for COBRA coverage of her plan extension.

The result? Starting this month, we're paying $15,360 per year ($9,480 for her; $5,880 for me) for health insurance -- from one of the least expensive providers in our area. That is, we're paying that figure until May of 2011 when we both turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Our situation is bad enough, but there are millions of other Americans for whom the high cost of health care is even more burdensome. That's why there's a bumper sticker on my car that reads "Health Care for Everyone." And that's why I strongly support the current efforts for health care reform in Congress, even though they don't go far enough. Medicare for everyone!