As a young man, I remember taking my grandfather to the VA hospital for his visits, and sitting for hours for service. I remember the delicate balancing act of making $1424 stretch to cover the cost of maintaining a home, eating, and supporting two grandsons in college. But my grandfather, with grace, dignity, and class, made it work. We never knew how difficult it was for him until he passed. We never knew that he had nothing in the bank, savings or checking, because it took everything he received monthly to pay for prescription after prescription, one pair of glasses after the next, etc. I understand him more today than I ever did in the past because I have a family now. I'm a better man because of his wisdom, and his hardships.
The "Health Care" debate is very real to me; I've been in overnight meetings, and have taking 6am wake up calls to lessen the blow of the lack of conversation concerning it up to this point. My wife and I welcomed a healthy baby boy to the world in April; we didn't welcome the burden of debt that came with him. Initially, we were given an estimation of what we would owe once the insurance paid, along with a request to go ahead and pay our projected portion in advance. As if, As if we had a couple of thousand sitting ahead to prepay for health cost. To complicate things even more, my wife developed diabetes, which required additional monitoring and scheduled appointments with an Endocrinologist. Long story short, we paid an average of $380 a month in medical bills that were not in our monthly budget the nine months she was pregnant. This cost didn't include the insulin, needles, or other supplies needed to maintain her health. Thankfully, we made it through, but not before we started receiving calls from collection companies working for the hospital or fighting the insurance companies to have claims paid that were refused the first or second time before they were finally paid.
President Obama's speech resonated with me because of my experiences in childhood as well as my experiences as an adult trying to maintain a healthy family without going bankrupt doing so. I'm a registered Democrat, but I don't care whether the solutions to our societal ills come from a Republican or a Democratic. I do, however, care about whether they are effective and efficient. It was important to me that the President referenced those across the aisle like John McCain, who had an idea fused in the melting pot of resolution. I needed to be reassured that my elected officials were more concerned about me than having their political egos stroked, or advancing their individual political agendas.
I watched his speech, so elegant and poignantly delivered, but it was not until I read it for myself that the words of the late Ted Kennedy settled in my spirit with such conviction and relevance to this debate. His question was simple, “What is the character of our country, our nation?" At the end of the day, we are all in this thing together. Differences aside, we're hurting. We all feel the daily sting of rising health care costs. With the spirits of pragmatism, civility, and compromise, we have to move forward towards creating a more inclusive society in which every life matters.
One child without healthcare should make us all anguish. One senior in bankruptcy because of health cost should cause us to be disgusted. One father, or mother having to tell a gravely ill child that a cure is available but not attainable because of cost should pierce our empathetic souls and propel use forward with such a kinetic jostle that we take immediate and deliberate action to affect change and lay the ground work for the infrastructure of communication that must take place between Democrats, Independents, and Republicans to ensure our futures are not held captive by the hope of future compromise.
Hotep!
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