The Pain of Rising Health Care Costs

The Pain of Rising Health Care Costs

My individual health plan went up another $47 per month. Every week or so, I hear on the news that health care costs are going to rise and it is affecting more and more people. Here in California, one in six people are uninsured, which is higher than the national average.
There’s also the fact that I have to dish out $25 every time I visit my doctor, plus a $250 deductible on prescriptions. And it turns out that we sometimes as patients and consumers don’t know exactly if our medications are helping or hurting. Vioxx, the painkiller, turns out to be just a killer for some, since it doubles the risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes in those who take it, as any vioxx attorney could tell you.
If all of these additional costs sounds excessive, it is because they are. I am self-employed, and my biggest expense next to marketing is health care. Luckily for me I don’t have any significant health problems, nor do I have children at the present time. I can’t imagine the cost of health care for large families, and indeed it is easy to see why so many are going without.
Children should be guaranteed access to quality healthcare until they reach 18 years of age. Adults should be able to pay based on their income. That sounds like a fair distribution to me. I know it is easier to believe that everyone has to fend for himself or herself, but the fact of the matter is that if one of us loses, all of us lose.
Now I can cut back on a few movies and cd’s to meet my higher health plan cost – it will probably help me focus on getting fitter and more healthy anyway. But my heart goes out to those unable to afford good care, and I hope that our decision-makers can start to make the necessary reforms to fit the reality of those people with low incomes.

Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com