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A Citizen's View on Health Care Reform in America
More than two decades ago, I met an amazing woman with a powerful story of
loss and courage. By that time, Gracie Parker had already endured 20 operations from a
catastrophic car accident two years earlier. Conversely, my knowledge of the health care
system could fit into a syringe.
Without so much as a broken bone or a noteworthy scar in my entire medical history, I
married Gracie and took on a massive health crisis that would shape the rest of my life.
We carried her parent's insurance policy into our marriage, but the conversion clause in
the policy caused it to expire within two years. The responsibility of her care fell on
my shoulders, so I made career choices where health insurance trumped personal ambition.
Two-dozen years later, I have cared for Gracie through an additional 50 operations –
including the amputation of both legs below the knee. Throughout this process, she's
regularly treated by one of more than 30 different specialists at six different hospitals in
the Nashville area. To date, Gracie's worn nearly 30 different prostheses. Prescription drugs
expenses have soared past seven figures – sometimes more than $10,000 each month.
Estimating the total cost for this ordeal is a daunting task, but to my best knowledge, the
amount is fast approaching $9 million. Throughout this ordeal, I’ve never lost
one appeal with an insurance company (in fact I once convinced a major, for-profit,
US insurance company to pay for a full-time maid for six months!).
At no point have we received any funds from a third party lawsuit or entitlement benefits from
the government – including disability payments: no Medicaid, no Medicare, no welfare, no
food stamps – not one dime from any government program.
Since embarking on this journey, our annual household income averaged less than $70,000, and
our total debt for Gracie's medical care: $0.00 That’s right …we owe nothing.
The question everyone asks is, "How have you done this?" The answer is simple, but
not easy: We made responsible choices.
Responsible health, career and business decisions are what make the medical system in our country
the envy of the world. Physicians make responsible choices when they take their grades seriously
in high school to qualify for a good college and medical school. Hospital executives make
responsible choices to ensure their organizations remain viable. Nurses make responsible choices
while attending school and pursuing their career path. The company fabricating the prosthetic
limbs Gracie uses to live an active life makes responsible choices that create amazing products.
But when it comes to individual health care needs, do Americans make responsible choices? Most do,
some don't – and others can't. The media and administration constantly refer to the "40
million people without health care coverage." I reject the premise of the number. Applying an
objective search, America would discover a great deal of that population group chooses not to have
health care coverage. Under closer scrutiny, the simple excuse of "not being able to afford
it," often reveals a reluctance to sacrifice for health coverage. I feel no sympathy
for individuals unwilling to make the same responsible decisions I made.
During the second presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Obama stated that "
… health care is a right." He is wrong; health care is not a right
– nor is food, clothing or shelter. They are commodities, and even necessities, but not
rights. America is a compassionate country that cares for individuals struggling with basic
necessities by placing safety nets for the needy. But safety nets are not meant to be ways of
life, or opportunities to create a constituent base. A society leaves liberty when it forces
those who sacrifice and make responsible decisions …to subsidize those who are unwilling
to do the same.
To accept that the president and congress are serious about health care solutions and not just
buying votes with tax payer dollars …requires a “willing suspension of disbelief.
” An earnest desire by any elected federal official to improve health care in America
must contain a willingness to confront the existing national health programs the US government
is currently charged with administering: Medicaid, Medicare, and the VA. Make those
programs models of efficiency, and then come to the American people with the goal of taking on
other issues.
One afternoon, putting pencil to paper, I identified three easy steps for my state of Tennessee
to realize more than $200 million in health care savings … every year. That's just the
beginning. My plan is not complicated, but it is challenging. Export this same model across
the country, and we strengthen a system that can bring better care for everyone.
If this administration wants to seriously make improvements in the health care system of
this country, I will eagerly share this plan with any member of Congress, or even the
White House. I know more about health care than they do. It’s not a
vocation for me …or even an economic theory. Without my knowledge, dedication
and persistence …my wife would die. I’m a stakeholder, and I deal with a life
and death scenario …every day, all day long, three hundred and sixty five days a year.
So, if America wants solutions, don’t go to politicians; ask me
… I thrive in it every day without their help.
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