We'd like to share a great story about the importance of healthcare. It's written by CNN.com contributor LZ Granderson, and he provides some great points about the necessity of affordable healthcare for all.
Don't repeal Americans' health care lifeline
(CNN) -- I had been wrestling with eye redness for weeks. After trying nearly every brand of over-the-counter eyedrops available, I finally decided to see a doctor.
A handful of tests later, the doctor told me he had no idea why my eyes were red. But that didn't stop him from giving me a prescription.
It was odd he would assign a treatment without a diagnosis, but what choice did I have? Visine was not getting this red out, and well, he is a doctor. So I paid the co-pay and bought the prescription. After it ran out and I still had red eyes, I went to visit another doctor. He also ran a couple of tests. He also had no idea why my eyes were red. He also gave me a prescription.
Hundreds of dollars spent, and yet I still have no answers or clearer eyes. But I do have an appointment with a third doctor and an allergist.
I'm not sharing this story to complain. I'm sharing because if you know the average American makes only $33,000 a year -- which, adjusted for inflation, has not changed since 1988 -- or if you know the price of COBRA for a family of four, then you also know why a lot of Americans don't even bother to get on this hamster wheel.
They can't afford to do it.
Medicine is not an exact science; I get that. But what I don't get is what middle-class and working-poor people are supposed to do as they ricochet helplessly between doctors without getting answers -- like pinballs in a business model that thrives on people trying to find out what's wrong...
Read the rest of the story.