Bob O’Leary

With all the talk about healthcare, let me share my recent experience.

For the record, I am 49, unemployed, and a Type 2 diabetic. Since my last employer did not carry health insurance, I had to buy the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan offered through Cover Florida. It was my only option, since private health insurance companies are not lining up to offer policies to 49-year-old diabetics.

Lately, I have been having pains in my abdomen, along with other symptoms that should not be discussed in public. I saw my regular doctor, who referred me to a specialist. The gastroenterologist recommended a colonoscopy to see what was causing the pain. He charged me $200 for the consultation. My insurance only covered $50 of the cost of the visit.

For those unfamiliar with a colonoscopy procedure, it involves sticking a tube through your anal sphincter and up the Hershey highway. As uncomfortable as that sounds, it is relatively painless. You are conveniently knocked out while you are violated with medical equipment.

Seriously, a colonoscopy can save your life. It is the most effective test for colo-rectal cancer. If there are polyps found, the doctor can remove them during the procedure. Also, a colonoscopy is normally done on an outpatient basis, so you don’t have to stay overnight in a hospital.

The worst part of a colonoscopy is the preparation. The day before the procedure, your digestive system must be cleaned out. You can only consume clear liquids and laxatives. No solid foods, and don’t stray to far away from your bathroom. You will literally have a shitty day.

Since I was surprised by the amount for the consult, I asked the doctor’s office how much the colonoscopy would cost out-of-pocket. The $200 for the office visit set me back, and I needed to make arrangements to get the money.

After a few phone calls to the doctor’s office and the hospital where the procedure would be performed, I got my answer: $700 for the doctor, and $3000 for the hospital. My insurance has a $3000 deductible, meaning it could not help with any of the expenses. It was like I got the colonoscopy without the ansthesia!

I cancelled my appointment. There is no way I could afford it.  The pain in my stomach remains. I will wait until I have the means to pay for the colonoscopy then reschedule.

If I lived in a so-called “socialist” country such as Great Britain, Canada, Japan, or France, I would probably have to wait awhile for the procedure too. Government-run medicine does have waiting lists. But it would not cost me the money that it costs in the good ol’ capitalist USA. My wait time might not be as long as it is here.

A partial solution to the problem lies in Congress right now. It will not solve my problem, but it will alleviate it some. Yet, I hear a lot of crazy stories about what this healthcare will do – raise taxes astronomically, deny old people and disabled children care, and replace our doctors with government bureaucrats – and none of this is true. Healthcare is already rationed by private insurers. Corporate bureaucrats make decisions that doctors should make.

Worse yet, we pay twice as much as other most other countries. Because we have no cost controls, Americans literally subsidize the rest of the world’s healthcare. Don’t believe me? Check out this graph from National Geographic.

Until we a good national comprehensive healthcare package passed, all of us will be stuck with our current inefficient package. Financially, we all get colonscopies until this bill is passed. And those of us with inadequate health insurance will have some shitty days.