This Is Why We Need Obamacare [View all]
Far more serious is the kind of catastrophe facing people like Richard Streeter, 47, a truck driver and recreational vehicle repairman in Eugene, Ore. His problem isnt Obamacare, but a tumor in his colon that may kill him because Obamacare didnt come quite soon enough. Streeter had health insurance for decades, but beginning in 2008 his employer no longer offered it as an option. He says he tried to buy individual health insurance but, as a lifelong smoker in his late 40s, couldnt find anything affordable so he took a terrible chance and did without.
By September, Streeter couldnt stand the pain any longer. He went to another doctor, who suggested a colonoscopy. The cheapest provider he could find was Dr. J. Scott Gibson, a softhearted gastroenterologist who told him that if he didnt have insurance he would do it for $300 down and $300 more whenever he had the money. Streeter made the 100-mile drive to Dr. Gibsons office in McMinnville, Ore. and received devastating news. Dr. Gibson had found advanced colon cancer.
It was heartbreaking to see the pain on his face, Dr. Gibson told me. It got me very angry with people who insist that Obamacare is a train wreck, when the real train wreck is what people are experiencing every day because they cant afford care.
More here:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/kristof-this-is-why-we-need-obamacare.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&
Discovered on the Obamadiary