HALF A MILLIONAIRE

The physician: I have spent twelve years in high school, four years for undergraduate study, four years in medical school and two years in residency, so I have the right to charge you whatever I want. My student loans total about $300,000, so I have the right to charge you whatever I want. This clinic costs me thousands to operate, so I have the right to charge you whatever I want. My malpractice insurance costs me about $100,000 per year, so I have the right to charge you whatever I want. If I make a mistake, you can take me to court. And, probably, you will be awarded millions. I did have passion when I was in school. But, in the real world, I must protect myself. And, I have the right to make a lot of money because I am a licensed professional. Not everyone can do what I do. You pay a high price to see me because I am one of the best. That is how capitalism works. You can seek another doctor if you want to save some money.

The patient: (silent)

The insurance company: If you read section IV, Part 3, Paragraph (i), Point (a), it tells you that your condition is not covered by your current plan because it is classified as a pre-existing disease, meaning you had had it for years before you bought our product. We understand that you possibly did not know about it. Or, perhaps, you did know about the disease but lied to us when you purchased our product. Honestly, had you told us about your condition, I am assuming that if you had known, we would not have sold our product to you in the first place anyway. Sorry, we are in this business to make a profit. 

The patient: That is ridiculous. I have been paying a very high premium. And, now, when I need it most, you deny to take care of me. Honest to God, I did not know anything about the condition. I am not a doctor, you know. But, the reason I buy insurance is to protect me in a situation like this one. Is there anything that I can do? Can I appeal?

The insurance company: We have to charge you a high premium to cover our costs. Again, we are a publicly traded company, so we must make a profit. Also, when you have time, take a look at your bill, last month you had a cataract surgery on your left eye, your doctor charged us ten thousands dollars. There are doctors out there who are very greedy and dishonest. They overcharged us. And, many of them even charge money for procedures that they do not perform. To answer your question, I do not know exactly how the appealing process works, but I will be glad to find out. Can I call you back in a few days?

The patient (confused and lost): Yes, please. Bye now.

President Obama: I am deeply sorry to hear your story. I know that many others are facing the same problem as you are. I want everyone to have health coverage because I believe that it is one of the fundamental rights promised to us and that is that we all have the right to pursue “happiness”. To be happy, we must feel secured about our job, our family, our retirement, our health, etc. My idea is to insert into our current healthcare system a public option that is more affordable and most importantly covers all members and their dependents without the pre-existing condition bull, please excuse my language. But, there are many cowboys and hotshots in Congress who oppose my plan because they think it will cost too much money to run. They are afraid that the government will fail because everything the government touches turns into cow dung. I just want to do it because we have been waiting for too long. So many have been suffering. Let us use tax payers’ money to take care of tax payers. I know the line will be long when you go to the hospital, but at least you know you will receive care. The doctors might not be the best and brightest, but they would be good enough to get the job done. I know that many will abuse the system to steal money from tax payers. But, hey, no system is perfect. I will fix it as I go. I hope I will be re-elected because there are so many things that I want to do for you. And, I need more than four years. And, I need your support to bring changes to America. I promise you that.

The patient (smiled and felt comforted): Thank you.

My personal opinion

I support the public option because my heart tells me that it is the right thing to do. I am willing to pay higher taxes to take care of my less fortunate neighbors. I am not trying to be a hero. Simply, I just believe that because life is short, we all need to be less greedy and more compassionate. However, I will not stop fighting to become wealthy because although money cannot buy happiness, it can buy me a lot of time. And, time is what I value the most.