"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Healthcare has GOT to be fixed in this country.... It's completely broken.

Personally, having had breast cancer and tachocardia, no one would insure me. I had left my previous job and was going to become a realtor, and then the bottom fell out of real estate. I tried every insurance company possible, but they all said no. In Texas, when no one else will insure you, Governor Rick Perry made sure that those people can get into the Texas Risk Pool but it was terribly expensive ($700 per month, and was going up substantially.) I had to stay on that until my current job finally purchased health insurance, and only 2 of us are on it.

Today my son found out he is being rejected from a personal policy due to his anxiety problems. In 2004 he was fine. He was engaged to be married, had a good job, and was healthy. Then he got his wisdom teeth out. Within a day, he was having anxiety attacks, which quickly got worse and ended up in what they used to call a nervous breakdown. We went to doctor after doctor, but nothing worked. He lost his job, his fiance, and his money. Finally a clinic in Dallas helped in prescribing the right medicine, and two years later he went back to work. He was fired from his job a few months ago and could not afford the Cobra coverage. So with recent 'plumbing' problems, he ended up at a specialist and ultimately the emergency room for 3 hours. He got the bill today.... $9,000. That's right. $3,000 an hour. Or $50 per minute. Yes, they did do a catscan and bloodwork, but NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS??!! That's completely ridiculous. And he's unemployed and has no insurance.

Hospitals and doctors have become very greedy. In my day, doctors made house calls and seemed to genuinely care. No more. The vast majority are in it to get rich quick. My son couldn't get any of them to spend more than 5 minutes with him. Plus, all doctors know how to do is give you a pill or cut something out. I ultimately convinced my son to drive to my small town so they would give him more time, but I know more than that doctor did. But then, I did when he had his breakdown too. I researched and researched, and learned he has panic disorder. He had all the symptoms. It's what they finally came up with.

All that to say that we're all screwed. How can we ever turn this debaucle around???