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Stephen Hawking credits the British Universal Healthcare system with enabling him to survive.

Let me say it again…

Stephen Hawking – you know, the guy who understands how the universe works on a level that “normal” people can’t even beging to comprehend, credits UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE for the fact that he’s survived this long after being diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in 1963 at the age of 21.  (he’s now going on 43 years from date of diagnosis.)

But then again – maybe he hasn’t really thought it through.

Of courese, in the US, the first time his healthcare insurer would have had a chance it would have determined it a “pre-existing” condition and terminated coverage.

I used to work with a guy named Sam.  Sam was a brilliant musician and engineer, a wonderful person, and one of my best friends.

Sam passed away in 2005 after a long battle with skin cancer.  He was doing well until his insurance company re-classified the treatment that was keeping him alive as “experimental” and declined further payments for it.

Sam died less than a year after that decision was made.

*THIS* is what happens when you allow insurance companies and other profit-motivated people into healthcare…

If given the choice between a government bureaucrat and an insurance executive, I’ll pick the government bureaucrat any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  Money makes humans make BAD decisions.  Every time.

Greed is *NOT* good.

I’m re-posting this in hopes that it will move some people to understand exactly WHY we need some form of universal healthcare.  Maybe what congress is currently working on isn’t perfect, but it’s at least something.  A step forward beats standing still any day of the week.

I also want to say that it amazes me that the same people who don’t want to spend $.10 extra on a can of soda to give someone who needs it decent access to a doctor, are the same morons who haven’t had a problem spending $12 million per hour in Iraq.

I’ll say that again.

Twelve.

Million.

Dollars.

Per.

Hour.

Since 2003 that amounts to roughly $630 Billion Dollars.

I’m sure glad we found those weapons of mass distruction….oh..

Well I’m glad Saddam Hussein was positively linked to Al-Quaida…oh..

Well I’m glad the war only lasted six months…oh..

I’m glad gas is cheap…oh..

You get the picture.  Read on.

Meet Aidan.  (I’m not one to use my son’s real name in a post, but this is an unusual post)

He smiles, hugs, runs, jumps, plays, is learning to read, is rocketing through Kindergarten, and is happy, like any other 7-year-old.

He even tells very bad knock-knock jokes from time to time – like EVERY other 7-year-old I’ve met.

But in some ways Aidan is not like other children.  He’s not always great at making eye-contact.  He’s definitely not good when you disrupt his routine.  He lines things up and organizes everything.  His room is spotless.

Aidan has one more problem.  He doesn’t have health coverage.  All because his dad (me) is self employed and his mom chooses to be a full-time parent.

You see – Aidan has autism.  Very high-functioning, bordering on Aspbergers.  But he still has it.  He is supposed to spend a few days a month in Speech and Occupational Therapy, and twice a year he goes down to see “the talking doctor” for his semi-annual evaluation.

When applying for private insurance, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield flat denied him for all coverage.  Because apparently a diagnosis of Autism means that he doesn’t deserve ANY  coverage.  No emergency room visits, no well-child visits.  Nothing.  All for a slight mental disorder that most people don’t notice unless we tell them.

*THIS* is why our health-care system sucks.  This is what is broken.  The execs at Anthem believe that because of Aidan’s autism he somehow poses a greater risk for health problems.  To me, this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they don’t know a thing about medicine.  When pushed for details, Anthem’s only response was that their underwriting policies are confidential.  When I applied for the coverage I fully expected a rider saying that anything related to his condition wouldn’t be covered.  But I was completely floored when they sent back the letter saying that they were more than happy to insure the “healthy” members of my family, but not him.

Here’s the rub – Aidan is the healthiest of the lot of is.  He doesn’t suffer from the chronic sinus infections that the other 4/5 of our family does, doesn’t get hurt, is growing normally and if you ignore his tendency to count things he’s a perfectly normal child..

This was brought home during the election season, the McCain campaign kept running ads asking the question: “Do you want your health decisions to be made my bureaucrats?” trying to scare people away from Obama’s plan by intimating that this would definitely be the case.

I hate to tell you all.  That’s what we have now.  A “Free-Market” health-care system puts medical decisions in the hands of businessmen, not doctors.  None of the execs at Anthem, Or Aetna, or Kaiser, have the least health background, let alone your medical best-interests in mind.

Canada’s system is by far better, doesn’t discriminate or choose who is and is not worthy of treatment, but it has it’s own hiccups too.  (Long delays for treatment being one of them)

I don’t ask for much.  What I want is basic health coverage so that should (god forbid) something happen I can take him to the ER without bankrupting my family.  One car accident and it’s done.

For more information on autism or to get involved, please visit www.autismspeaks.org for more information on diagnostics or how to get involved.  One child out of every 150 are diagnosed with some form of autism.  Get involved in helping to find the cause and cure, and especially to stop discrimination against our children.

Email me at jg (at) shredderfood.com for more information.