It's a mess.  We're basically paying middlemen to pull as much "profit" out of the system as they can, which leads to denying coverage for any reason they can find (like typos and/or errors on your original application), not covering things that are medically necessary and life-saving if they're not in network, and well... we're all paying a lot more than we should be because that "profit" has to come from somewhere.

According to the most recent study on the topic (American Journal of Medicine, published in August 2009 on research carried out at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Ohio University) states that nearly two thirds (62.1%) of all personal bankruptcies in America in 2007 were caused by medical bills, and over three quarters (77.9%) of that group had health insurance when they first got sick.  If you have health insurance right now and you're diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, it could easily cost you $50,000-100,000.  Do you have that kind of money hanging around?

Our founding fathers felt that our "inalienable rights" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" were so important that they included a statement to that extent in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence.  This was one of the principles our country was built on.  It's hard to pursue happiness when you can't afford groceries because all your money goes to treatments, and, for me at least, "life" includes the health care that helps you keep it.  America is the only first-world nation in the world that doesn't treat health care as an inherent right of all its citizens.  It's time to change that.

If you'd like a laugh, check out Will Ferrell's public service announcement for health insurance executives.  And pass it along to your friends.  The only thing that will solve this problem for good is an overwhelming roar from "we, the people" that states in no uncertain terms: 1) the current situation is completely unacceptable, 2) we WILL be thinking about this issue and how it's been handled when future elections roll around, and 3) we will not be satisfied with anything less than REAL, effective, and sweeping reform.  It should include, at the very minimum, a public option to compete with the insurance industry to drive down prices, regulation on pre-existing conditions, maximum costs, and reasonable exclusions, and full eligibility for all, regardless of employment status, income, current health, or ability to pay.

Thanks for reading (and for helping me finally get that 5% for posting a journal).