Healthcare-it’s a child’s game

Introducing our newest contributor, V. Yanez who is both outspoken on those issues he champions, as well as a “local son.” Yanez grew up in Globe and after many years of travel and work experience on the national level, has returned home…to Globe. He writes here about the issue of national Health Care. We hope you’ll weigh in with your opinions!  LCGross/publisher

A commentary on the US Healthcare System…

by: V. Yanez

The Story of Children…and Cancer

Little Billy is six years old. The picture of him is sad and sweet. He’s smiling and wearing a blue flannel shirt. He’s also bald from the chemo he’s had to endure for the past few weeks. His photo is all over town. Every restaurant has a jar to with his picture by the cash register. Every store has a box on their counter, Little Billy staring at you, asking you if you’d like to buy a bracelet of support.

You see, Little Billy has health insurance, because in America we know that children should not be without health insurance. It’s a basic child’s right to be taken care of regardless of their parents income or status in life. Unfortunately, Little Billy’s insurance only pays 80% of his medical costs, and with the cost of health care in America; doctor visits, treatments and his parents taking time off of work, Little Billy’s family owes hundreds of thousands of dollars, is near bankruptcy and is not sure when or even if he will go into remission this time around.

It’s ok though. Little Billy is somewhat of a celebrity in town. Besides the jars collecting money and the bracelets selling by the handful, Little Billy’s family lives in America, and we like to look after our own. So far, for Little Billy, we’ve had a car wash to help raise money. His church has had a bake sale and a dinner/dance. The motorcycle club has held a ride and rally that ended in a barbeque, all in Little Billy’s name. The local fire department has had two marathons, each time bringing together hundreds of people and displaying the largest American flag any of us had ever seen. There have been vigils for God to provide Little Billy with a miracle, but just in case, later this month, there is also a benefit concert being planned at the city hall to help raise money.

The All-American Attitude

It makes you proud to be an American. We all know the bikers don’t really know Little Billy, neither do the fire men and women, nor do a majority of the people in his church, or that put money in the jars or that buy the bracelet. What they do know is that a little boy needs help, a little boys family is facing one of the most trying times in their entire life and not only do we wish them a happy ending in these trying times, but we also thank God that is not us, our circumstance, that it’s not our sweet child that is smiling and bald asking for your help. And we hug our children a little tighter and thank God for our ‘luck’.

Actually, those stories weren’t all about Little Billy. It was actually different forms of fundraising I’ve seen in three different cities I’ve lived in. In Portland her name was Susie, she was three years old with adorable blonde curls. She had leukemia. In New Jersey it was a little girl named Lynn. She was a cute Asian girl. She was five and was losing her sight. In Phoenix his name was actually Billy, his cancer was back, and he was bald in his photos asking for your help. The one thing all these children had in common, they were born in a country where neighbors, churches, city groups and even strangers all got together to do what they could, help whatever way they can and give as much as they could.

This is America. We’re the most giving people in the world. We look out for our own.

Growing Up…

Little Susie will live. She will grow up and like to be called Susan. She will own her own business, and though she is doing well, she will not be able to afford health insurance. You see, she has a pre-existing condition. She had cancer as a child. Little Lynn survives as well. She has health insurance, but with constant health issues, eventually the 20% she’s responsible for will still run into enough to force her into bankruptcy. Little Billy lived as well. He likes to be called William now. He has a full-time job, but they don’t provide health insurance, nor does he make enough to afford the high cost of insurance for himself or his wife. He’s very careful though. He exercises and tries to eat right. William is a Christian and every week, in church, thanks God for his health.

When Little Billy and Little Susie smiled their cute smiles and told their sad stories, we all gathered. We prayed, we cried, we supported each other and we did what we could. We told ourselves that is what neighbors do, what Christians do and what Americans do for each other. For some reason, when Little Billy becomes William and Little Susie becomes Susan, things change. Suddenly, who is this William guy? We don’t know him. What does he do for a living? Is he lazy? Is he even a legal American? Who’s this Susan lady? Did she cause her own health problems? What church does she go to? Why isn’t she working at a job that pays her health insurance? Who did she vote for?

If we filled a room full of Little Billy’s and Little Susan’s we would want to hug each one of them. We would vow to do whatever we could to help them. We do it now, with Children’s hospitals and cancer wards. We send them toys, clowns and therapy dogs. We send them to Disneyland. We want to see them smile, for them to be happy, for them to just get through this time in life and know the beauty of growing up and falling in love and living their lives worry free.

But do we really? Once they stop being kids, they stop being cute and they stop seeming ‘helpless’ to us, what changes? Did they change, or did we change?

Just the Facts, Ma’am…

50 million Americans don’t have insurance. Sure, we can say that people are lazy and many work the system. We can say that we work hard for what we have and so should they. Let’s make it easier. Let’s say that HALF of those 50 million are lazy and just want a free handout. That leaves 25 million people who are not. 25 million people who are hard working Americans, who send their sons or daughters or husbands to war, who work full times jobs, who go to church (or not) and who don’t have insurance because maybe their company went bankrupt, or their boss won’t pay for it or they don’t make enough even with their side job or the million other stories you can read every day. Maybe they have insurance. Maybe they are hard-working and pay their way, but the insurance decides they had a pre-existing condition and dropped them when they needed it most.

25 million people can fill Sun Devil Stadium 14 times. 50 million fills the stadium 28 times. That is how many people don’t have insurance in America, 28 football stadiums full.

What I remember most was going to the motorcycle rally for Little Billy. The family was all their, as was Billy. Strangers came up and hugged them, they hugged Billy and they gave from their hearts and laughed and cried. The family was overwhelmed. They didn’t have this many friends. They didn’t know 90% of the people that showed up to support this little boy and his fight for life. There was nothing forcing these people to do what they did but a sense of community, a sense of honor, pride and empathy. We were all proud to be Americans that day.

When your child gets sick I hope you live in my town. You hope you find strangers who are so proud to call themselves neighbors, Christians or just good people. When your child becomes sick, and your medical bills go into the hundreds of thousands, I hope people will come forward, strangers, to offer their prayers, their support and their money during these trying times. They will expect nothing in return, because that is what we do for each other. And you will cry. You will cry and smile and thank them for caring for a little boy or girl they don’t even know. You will thank God for the sympathy and empathy of others. You will be proud of your fellow Americans.
But my question to you is: will you thank God it happened to your child when they were young?

A prayer for youth…

Will you thank God that your little boy or girl almost died as a child? Because as a child their healthcare was seen as a basic, human right, and as a child they had sympathy and empathy from strangers. And when they become an adult, a good portion of these ‘neighbors’ and ‘Christians’ and ‘good people’ not only will be less empathetic to their problems, but may even call their fight to just have basic health insurance in America, Socialism.

Somewhere along the way, Little Billy became a Socialist, and instead of gathering to help him get through this trying time, some people will actually march, carry signs and shout that Little Billy is not their problem, not America’s problem…and not their pocketbooks problem. Should we perhaps think about the way we do things in this country, or would it be easier for us to just pray our children get their near-death illnesses early in life, so people will actually give a shit?

By the way, that was 28 football stadiums.
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Tell us YOUR experience with Healthcare in America! We are interested.