I grew up in an era where women definitely were not equal. I remember working with a man who did the same job I did and earned quite a bit more money and didn't work as hard. It was frustrating. I'm sure today there is still a fair amount of discrimination in the work force.
As I raised my daughters I often told them that "Women had come a long way, but we had a long way to go yet!"
I regularly watch "Larry King Live". Last evening, ten of our female senators were on the program, a few of them chosen as spokepersons, as to the discrimination in health care for women. In only 14 states is it mandatated that insurance companies cover maternity health care. If I'm not mistaken, there are fertile women in all 50 states and most likely some are trying to conceive. Often, insurance is denied to women due to pre-existing conditions. One of those conditions is having had a pregnancy.
It is proven that a man and a woman of the same age, an example of age 24 was given by one senator, the woman will pay 48% more for the same medical coverage as a man.
Of course, there are many other issues regarding our health care. Instances where someone having been treated for something as simple as acne is denied covereage because it is, again, considered a pre-existing condition.
I am fortunate, more fortunate than most, to have excellent medical coverage through my employment. My employment, like so many, is precarious. Age 65 will be welcomed as I will have guaranteed insurance for whatever that is worth which is better than nothing.
Food for thought.........all comments are welcomed.
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Joansie, Even after age 65 the Medicare supplements vary in how much and what they will cover. My Hubby had AARP and he carried a supplement with them that covered Medicare's deductibles .I have Bankers Life and Causality Life Insurance for a supplement with the same coverage .But the prescription coverage with Medicare leaves a lot to be desired. You can't get name brands or have to pay exhortation prices for them. So many meds don't have a generic so seniors do with out a lot of times.
ReplyDeleteGood old America. I hear that the new medical insurance the president has in congress will raise seniors prescription cost a lot.. go figure We will be doing without a lot more.
What was astonishing was the case in California where a woman was dropped when her breast cancer was diagnosed for not having disclosed that she'd had acne 20-odd years earlier as a teenager. She sued and won, as well she should have.
ReplyDeleteI paid more for private insurance than my husband back when we were trying to start a family, and it made sense to me. But once that was no longer an issue nor even a possibility, that disparity should have ended right there. (Didn't apply by then to us, we had a PPO.)
It just boggles my mind! I know a lot of people are against socialized medicine, and I know the system is far from perfect, but at least I know we all have health coverage.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad. As a Canadian, I can honeslty tell you that we do not have it the best though. We get the doctors who flunked Med. school it seems, long long waits, and now they are charging for about everything outside of a quick check up. (I am in Mini America, known as Alberta) We have an ongoing shortage of doctors, so in Calgary anyway only about 1 in 4 actually have a family doctor. We sure don't.
ReplyDeleteIt is really sad but true, only the wealthy seem to get garenteed healthcare. It is all what you have and who you know. Of course, the horrors of the US make waiting 3 months for a scan or 4 hour waits in the clinic line not so bad.
Yes, things are different. When my mom became "in a family way" with me, she had to stop working in the diner as a waitress as soon as she started to show.
ReplyDeleteYes there are still far too many unfair situations. Sorry I missed that show, and hope they re-run it soon. We so need a change here in this country. I completely support What President Obama is trying to accomplish and hope people give him a chance. We might not get it right the first time out of the box, but we must try something new; because the current systems is beyond immoral in my opinion. It is awful the large number of good people without insurance. We must do a better job of taking care of our citizens.
ReplyDeleteI am one of the few who have insurance at work. That is to say, one of the few of people I work with. My coverage is not through my employer, it's through my husband's employer. I've never been without coverage; but the bulk of people I work with each and every day have never had insurance. I find it very sad, that law abiding, hard working Americans are left out in the cold without insurance because their employer doesn't offer it, they can't afford it, or they can't get it due to pre-existing conditions.
I also find it irritating that many of the people who are fighting these, saying they don't want government in health care are people who already have government health care....medicare is government run health care. I know of no one who would be willing to give up their medicare coverage.
Prescriptions are covered if you've opted for that coverage; my parents do not pay through the nose for their meds.
I also find it interesting and irritating that people who oppose this/ who are saying it's socialism are people who are expecting their SS money. A program also thought to be socialism when it began.
People need to be less fearful, they need to be more open to trying new things.
Sandy
Obama's plan is not the answer for this country. My father and husband fought for freedom and that included the right to choose my own health care provider. We do not need the government controlling any more of our lives than they already have. Everything the government has run has gone broke.
ReplyDeleteWell, Karen, if you look at who was running the country for the last several years, it's easy to understand the big hole in the ground we are in.
ReplyDeleteI am using government controlled health care, the Veteran's Administration, and it's the best health care I've had in my life. I would like to see everyone in the US have the choice, and that's the key here, the CHOICE to have health care as good as mine. EVERYONE, not just the wealthy.
It seems that most people opposed to Health Care Reform are truly uninformed, or sitting on a good thing for themselves (like members of Congress) and really don't care what happens to the rest of us.
Apologies, Joansie, if you didn't want this to become a debate.
Me to Joansie! My apologies. Let's just talk knitting, my fears are my own and I don't want to offend anyone. I support Obama, I'm just afraid of change!
ReplyDelete