Do you love your health care?

Yesterday, I was listening to the Brad and Britt show while I was out running errands. They’re an entertaining duo, kind of a more reasonable and subdued version of Hannity & Colmes – before Colmes got the boot. They do their homework and offer intelligent commentary on the issues of the day. Lately, they’ve been talking a lot about health care.

When I tuned in, they were taking phone calls, asking people “do you love your health care?” And, a surprising (to me, at least) number of people were answering “yes.”

The one call I was able to hear in its entirety (it's annoying, getting caught up in an interesting discussion on the car radio, only to wonder what I’ll miss because I’ve reached my destination), was from a father whose disabled daughter had passed away last year. Now, I realize everyone grieves in their own way, but this guy sounded too matter-of-fact (or, as Mark noted, “chipper”), given his situation. Brad and Britt sounded dubious, too, hesitantly offering their condolences.

But I digress.

The father said he loved his health care (via United Healthcare). As his daughter’s health had declined, UH had covered everything, except one ambulance ride – and that was because it had been coded incorrectly. He went on to knowledgeably describe how you can’t get all your health care services up front. You need to pace yourself. In other words, know how to work the system.

And that’s when I had my (albeit belated) A-Ha! moment.

Americans are complacent about our health care system. It’s become second nature to us to “work the system,” and if we don’t know how, our doctors guide us through it.

As noted in a previous post, it shouldn’t be this way. It’s time to turn this country around, and get us on course with the rest of the industrialized world – those countries who make it a priority to offer everyone the quality health care they need, when they need it, for an affordable price.