Health Care Debate

I told myself I would not belabor this issue. I have posted my thoughts before, here and elsewhere. But watching C-SPAN and feeling the urgency of the upcoming vote on health care reform, I am caving in to my impulse to voice my conviction that this measure is long overdue. I am telling a story because I believe in stories. When my husband Ron was being treated for cancer at MD Anderson, he had a network of supporters who were there to help with counseling, pain management, physical therapy, and any other needs he might have. At one point we spoke with a financial counselor. Ron's fear was that his health insurance might run out and then that the expensive COBRA might run out after that. This is the fear of any cancer patient who does not have unlimited resources and is under the age of 65. At that time Ron had an apartment in Houston where he stayed during the week, and then he was with me on weekends. This lady told him to get rid of his Houston address immediately. Why? Because if they could say he lived in Houston, and if he ran out of insurance, he would have to be treated at Ben Taub. Our Montgomery County address meant there was not at that time a cancer clinic available so he could go to MD Anderson. Ben Taub is a great emergency hospital, but is the end of the line for folks who are out of insurance. Before we concluded our interview, the social worker told us a story about another man she was working with. This unlucky fellow was 64 years old. He would not be 65 for several months. He was in the position that Ron feared. His insurance and his money were running out. He actually only needed to hold on for three more months until he was 65 and would have Medicare. They had tried every possible plea and ploy to somehow get a concession so he could continue his treatment at MD Anderson, to which he was responding well. No dice. She said the bottom line was he would have to go to Ben Taub for three months, where the therapy was not available. He would probably die much sooner as a result of this interruption in his treatment. How many people have to find themselves in similar predicaments? How many is too many? I lived through the debate and passage of Medicare, when all the same dire predictions were made. They are no more true today than they were then. Ron died before his insurance ran out, but it still makes me mad that he had to worry about insurance as well as his cancer. Shameful.

And now I am back at MD Anderson. Yesterday I had my blood tested in the same lab where Ron used to get his done. That was a strange feeling. I have good insurance, and I also have a very good prognosis. I am not worried about the same things that Ron, with stage IV lung cancer had to face. But still...

My Spring Break

Here I am in a lovely hotel with every amenity you could imagine...nice restaurant and bar, snack cafe, Starbucks, free chair massages, pool, exercise center, lovely gardens, and more. Some of the people staying here are very rich and powerful. There are some sumptuous suites upstairs, or so I have heard. Yet I am paying a bargain price. And I am here with mixed feelings. I would much rather be home in my crooked little house. So where am I? Well, I am in Houston. And while I have a nice view out my window there are drawbacks. What I see is Texas Children's Hospital. And St. Luke's, and MD Anderson, Alkeck Building. So maybe you know where I am...The Rotary International Hotel at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I will be having tests tomorrow and then will see my surgeon on Wednesday and, I hope, set a date for surgery. The sooner the better. I have had the best bad news a person could want, because I have very early detection and a good prognosis. I expect to be around for a long time.

Anyway, here's the technology tie-in. MD Anderson has a killer website! Oops maybe that's a bad choice of words. It is a really great site with all kinds of services. There are step by step instructions for everything, including walking directions INSIDE buildings to help you find your way. All kinds of FAQ's...I appreciate that stuff because it is really helpful and also because I know how hard it is to do all that. We try to tell students what they need to do in our program, and yet never seem to anticipate all the questions they have. And their online social network is great. You get all your appointments there, get your forms to fill out, check on prescriptions, and access support groups. The user-friendly factor gets a 10.

So overall I am going to do my best to enjoy my stay. Unless they add to my schedule I will be free tomorrow afternoon and have promised myself a treat. maybe a museum trip or the zoo. I do like this part of Houston. And truly, MD Anderson is a hopeful place. People come here from all over the world to get the very best care. I was in the elevator with a couple from France. I parked next to an Escalade with Michigan plates. I feel lucky that all I have to do is get in my little Honda Fit and tool down the road from Huntsville. But I will close with a bit of editorializing that I cannot resist. Suppose I didn't have health insurance. Suppose I was under 65 (well I AM under 65) and I ran out of insurance. Then, I could not come to MD Anderson. I would be sent to the charity hospital, Ben Taub. Ben Taub has a great ER, but it is not the place for cancer treatment. So even though I could SEE MD Anderson from Ben Taub, I could not be treated there. People who think we don't need health insurance reform have never had to face a situation like the one I just describe, but it happens every day. Here. Today. Think about that while our "representatives" embarrass themselves and us with their childish behavior in DC this week.

For Shame!

I don't have a way to tie this in with technology, but maybe with librarianship and certainly with education and educators in general. It troubles me that people are disrupting town hall meetings in our country by shouting and heckling to the point that the meetings really cannot proceed. This bothers me on many levels, and yes, I am in favor of health care and insurance reform, but I think I would oppose the shouting regardless of which side was acting out. Right now I am thinking about how this reflects behavior upon these people's educations and their respect for intelligent discourse. And more than that, I am concerned about the terrible example it sets for boys and girls. Political conservatives often are proponents of such "value based" educational movements as zero tolerance for misbehavior, strict adherence to school rules, school uniforms, etc. They love to talk about "back to basics" and teaching respect and strong moral values at school. Do these people feel that they are setting positive examples for their children and grandchildren when they shout and scream at speakers at political gatherings? I worked in public schools for 25 years--10 in the classroom and 15 in school libraries. One thing I tried to teach was proper audience behavior when students were given the opportunity to hear guest authors and other speakers. How would we react if students thought they could shout down an author?

When I was growing up, I was a high school debater. I even went to the state meet, where we were soundly and fairly defeated in the first round. This shows my age, but my senior year the debate topic was medicare. I was for it. My partner and best friend was against. But we learned to debate both sides. We also learned not to make any kind of statement or argument unless we could back it up with references. I did more research as a debater than I did for any other school experience. My friend and I did not get angry with one another because we disagreed on the topic. Our parents were friends, and their personal views mirrored ours. Susan's dad was a dentist and a Republican, and my dad was Chairman of the Democratic Party in our Texas county. These differences did not in any way mean we could not all be very close. If I were to call Susan today, I suspect she would be against health care reform, or at least the versions advanced by Democrats. But we could still have a friendly conversation. Where has that spirit gone? How can these disruptive people feel good about themselves when they think about the terrible example they are displaying for boys and girls? It makes me sad to see this rudeness be glorified as "free speech" or "patriotism." Alas and for shame.