Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Irreverin

Home
Progressive Christian
Healthcare Is Sick and Making the Economy Sicker

Healthcare Is Sick and Making the Economy Sicker

Last updated on: July 26, 2017 at 11:45 am by Erin Wathen

Healthcare Is Sick and Making the Economy Sicker 2017-07-26T11:45:51-07:00 Erin Wathen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Some folks seem to be operating under the delusion that Obamacare is some kind of welfare program. Free healthcare for everyone!

In fact, I think the president might be one of those people.

Or rather, he thinks that you can buy healthcare for $12 a year when you’re young, and then get something EVEN CHEAPER, basically free, when you’re old. Or, who knows… Maybe he thinks healthcare is a thing that only poor people need, because rich people know how not to get sick? Or maybe just women need healthcare, to deal with those pesky lady parts. The sluts.

Actually, who knows what the hell he thinks about healthcare, because any time he’s given the opportunity to speak about it, he says something utterly brilliant and insightful, like:

DFJh7j1UAAA0cj3.jpg-large

This hurts my brain on so many levels, and I scarcely know which thread to pull at first, so I’ll go with DO NOT END A SENTENCE WITH A PREPOSITION, GENIUS.

More than demonstrating that they skipped basic grammar at Trump University, this statement reveals how little he understands about the healthcare system he’s actively trying to destroy. He, who ran on a platform of repeal and replace, clearly doesn’t even know what it is he’s repealing.

While I’m by no means an expert. And I can’t begin to fathom what all this mess means for a family that is economically unstable, or a person with a serious illness. But I can tell you what Obamacare has meant for my middle class family–and what it means for us that it’s failing now.

Most folks don’t know this, but as far as the IRS is concerned, clergy are considered self-employed. Even if we get a paycheck from a church, we are considered contracted free agents.

For the past 5 years, my husband has been a stay-home parent. Until last year, we had health insurance through the denomination I serve. But due to skyrocketing costs, (and like most mainline entities,) the denomination could no longer maintain coverage as an organization. So, while my congregation still includes a monthly premium payment as part of my salary package, we didn’t have access to coverage, except through the Marketplace.

Obamacare is not coverage itself–it is a law that regulates, among other things, 1)cost; 2) access; and 3)coverage for those pre-existing conditions. While it’s not perfect, it has made care accessible for families like ours that didn’t have the benefit of a major corporate employer. We do get a modest tax credit at the end of the year, but it’s not a significant subsidy, in the grand scheme of things.

So we bought a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan–which was the only carrier available through the Marketplace in our state. For this plan, we pay $1000 a month, for coverage with a much higher deductible than what we had before.

Let me further qualify that we are young, healthy-weight, non-smokers who are active; have no pre-existing conditions in our house and nothing majorly concerning in our family history. We are pretty much a provider’s dream. And yet– $1000/ month. High deductible. And we pay a lot out of pocket for every little thing. A recent trip to the allergist for my son, for instance, is running us more than $500. Out of pocket. In addition to the monthly premium.

That’s bad enough, but there’s more. Because Sam Brownback is wayyyy ahead of Trump in the whole ‘let it fail’ philosophy, Blue Cross is pulling out of the Kansas Marketplace at the end of this year. Since they were the only carrier left, their exit means we are left with no other choices.

Other than my husband going back to work. Which, for the most part, is fine. The kids are in school now and he was ready to go back anyway. However, we’ve been going along fine with him working part time and taking classes for the past year. That is what’s best for our family right now, but since we are out of other options for healthcare, that is no longer going to fly. He has to work full-time now–in addition to my full-time schedule, which is considerable–and he couldn’t take just any job, it had to be something that offered healthcare access for the whole family.

I don’t know if you’ve been in the job market lately, but that is getting harder to come by.

Luckily, he’s highly employable, so finding a job wasn’t a problem. What’s most concerning to me is that 1) to take that job, he had to forego the possibility of more education, which would improve his long-term earning potential; 2) not every family has an extra person sitting around who can just go and get that kind of job; and 3) not every family has that $12k a year (or more) to pay for coverage, even if they can access it.

It’s happening so gradually that most people have scarcely noticed, but if Kansas is a harbinger of things to come, then here’s where we are: We’ve reached the point where every American household is required to have at least one person employed by the government or a major corporation. And let’s just call this what it is–a form of slavery.

Or at the very least– indentured servitude.

You can say that’s liberal alarmism if you want… but when you have money to buy healthcare, and still can’t access it without a corporate gate keeper, then we have lost a significant freedom– the entrepreneural spirit on which this nation was founded. And you can’t put a price tag on that.

Capitalism is winning this game, and winning big. But not in a way that is fueling the economy. Hospital administrators and CEO’s of carrier companies are not the only ones benefitting from escalating costs and reduced access now. Just think of all the ways big businesses have the American public at its mercy now. Think of how many people will be willing to work terrible hours for low wages, just to provide healthcare for their families. It’s almost as if corporations have some kind of influence in our political system; funneling money to support candidates who will elevate corporate interests over human ones.

Shocking, I know.

How does this hurt the economy, in the long run? Here are just a few of the vocations that are considered “independently employed.” People who might have to quit doing what they do, and seek other kinds of employment:

–Childcare workers

–Construction workers and contractors

-Landscapers

–Realtors

–Accountants

–Mechanics

–Artists and Musicians

–Farmers

Just to name a few. Most concerning on this list? Farmers. What does it do to the food industry when our farmers have to quit farming and go work office or factory or retail jobs… supply down, demand up, prices–off the charts. That’s what happens.

Maybe food is the next frontier of crisis… rising costs, limited access, and a growing gap between those who can attain it and those who cannot.

Or what happens when your average middle class family can’t find childcare, because the childcare workers had to go work for the Post Office or the Public Works Department to get healthcare coverage? Average middle class family has to give up an income so one parent can stay home with kids–even if that puts them in a bind, financially.

I could go on. But the bottom line is, only a very few people are benefitting from this limited access world, and in the long run, even those people are going to find their bottom line is deeply damaged by what’s happening to those a few rungs down the ladder.

It is complicated. And there is no easy answer or quick fix. But it starts with better understanding how all this works. At least, those who are making the decisions should know how it works. And who it serves, and who it’s going to hurt when they “let it fail.”

It’s time to talk seriously about a single payer system. People want to rant and rave and call that socialism, or welfare, or what have you. But in the grand scheme of things, it will cost us far less. And above all, it will keep us free to pursue careers that innovate, create, and serve the common good. If we don’t have those choices, we aren’t really free at all.

pills-943764_640

Previous Post

July 19, 2017

The Ark of Irony

Next Post

July 25, 2017 Scouts Honor: 3 Responses to... Well, You Know

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category a good week for progress Advent and Christmas Being a Person desert life faith and community Good News for Progressives Lent and Easter Marriage and Family S*^! Jesus Says sabbatical road tripping Spirituality in Culture Talking to Strangers the "Best Stuff I Ever Ate" diet travel Uncategorized writing Writing Prompt Wednesday

Select a Month January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 February 2011 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What year was the first complete English Bible printed?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1382 1535 1450 1611