Reason #6348 Why the American Health Care Industry Needs Reform

So, apparently, nine states allow domestic violence to be considered a "pre-existing condition" and thus to cancel or deny healthcare coverage. This is both disgusting and predictable. It is true that victims of domestic violence (which does escalate over time) are more likely to be in need of future care.

Amanda Marcotte sums it up best:

Besides the immediately obvious bad effects of this---particularly since a woman who has been abused before is in serious danger of getting severely hurt by the abuser, especially if she tries to leave---there are a number of unintended consequences. Obviously, the major one is that the fear of losing insurance coverage might drive victims to avoid reaching out for help, and it may even mean that they don’t get treatment for their injuries after an abusive incident. And of course, the less a woman reaches out for help, the less likely she is to get out of the situation.

Health insurance is not about saving or improving lives--its about profit. Healthcare, ideally, should be about saving and improving quality of life. Domestic violence victims shouldn't have YET ANOTHER thing to fear by reaching out for help, but the profit-driven system of care is in conflict with patient centered care.

So, here's another reason to contact your Representative or Senator and appeal for comprehensive healthcare reform.

Here are some of the most important points to remember when writing your public servants:

1. Non-discriminatory laws that would not allow insurance companies to discriminate on the basis of age, gender (women's health insurance is always more), pre-existing condition, weight, etc.
2. Demand a public option to provide real competition and a model of low-overhead in order to demand efficiency in private insurance companies.
3. Move toward salaries, rather than per-procedure payment models for doctors to bring down costs and make our system more efficient.
4. National standards for regulation of health-insurance rules and procedures.
5. Subsidize low-income and modest income households for their health insurance or in the public option or in local non-profit coops in order to relieve the burden. 13% of one's income for health insurance is TOO MUCH. Yet, that's where the average American will be very soon if nothing is done. (I should mention that one pays 1/3 in taxes and 13% in healthcare costs, one is being way over-burdened compared to say a French or Swedish citizen, whose excellent healthcare is covered by taxes alone).
6. Remind conservative or Blue-Dog Democrats that if a Healthcare reform bill fails, it will most likely be their districts that go Republican in the next election. Liberals are safe, but those muddy-middletons are the ones that need to deliver!!!