TPM Cafe: Letter from an Uninsured Woman

Letter from an Uninsured Woman
By Elizabeth Warren | bio

It is easy to ignore the uninsured if you have insurance. But Donna Smith, who appeared in Michael Moore's SICKO, makes it a lot harder to turn away. She gives an eloquent personal statement about what it means to face the world without any back up. Her essay begins:

I am the one. 47,000,000 and one. As 2008 dawned, I joined the ranks of those people in our nation who have no health insurance coverage. For the first time in my life, I have no way to seek medical care in this nation. No government program will cover me, and there is no private insurance available to me that I could afford.



In my family, I am the only one now uninsured. Children who make more have good policies and coverage, and even children who make much less qualify for some government help.

My husband is covered by Medicare and by the supplemental plan we carry for him. But I am many years away from qualifying for that program. When I picked his prescriptions up from the pharmacy yesterday, I was grateful to pay just $50 for his portion of that bill.

I have already begun weaning myself off the prescription medications I have. I do not think I can ever get away from the thyroid medication I have taken for many years, but I told the pharmacist to put back another medication last week when I learned it would cost me $30 without coverage. I stopped using the Advair inhaler for my asthma almost three weeks ago, and I will just use the rescue inhalers I have left. And no more cancer checks or preventive care of any kind now until I find a way to secure some coverage.

I heard presidential candidate Mitt Romney say last night that a high percentage of those without health insurance can afford the coverage and just choose not to buy it. I do not believe that. I heard him talk about forcing people to take personal responsibility for their health care costs and coverage. I have done that for all of my adult life. In fact, I made sure all of my six children and my husband never went without coverage, even when some of the children's biological parents remained absent from any effort to support their offspring. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/warrenreports/2008/jan/07/letter_from_an_uninsured_woman