Financial matters
Mamas on Bedrest: I Am in Favor of A Single Payor Health Care System for the US
March 28th, 2012We all knew that it was coming. Following the contentious debates over the health care bill and ever since President Obama signed the bill into law, opponents have vowed to fight the individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance or face a penalty and to repeal the law entirely. Cases have been heard in courts around the country and since none of them have come to consensus agreement, the arguments about constitutionality, whether or not the government can make citizens purchase health insurance, whether or not the government can impose a penalty on Americans who don’t purchase health insurance and whether or not that penalty is a tax is being argued before the justices of the supreme court.
The justices first began hearing arguments on Monday, March 26, 2012 and have continued to listen to arguments for three days. The arguments will conclude this afternoon and the justices will cloister together and later render a verdict. The final verdicts and written rationales are expected to be rendered before July of 2012.
I think that few will argue that the health care system in the United States is in trouble and in dire need of an overhaul. The problem is that we as a nation cannot reach a consensus as to what that overhaul should be and how to structure it so that the majority, if not all Americans are insured and have access to quality health care. To date proposed options have ranged from obliterating insurance all together and returning to a fee-for-services system, a national health care system that is funded with taxes but ensures that everyone has access to health care when needed like Canada or in Europe, complete privatization of health care and everyone is responsible for their own insurance or some other as yet undisclosed plan.
I’m going to go on the record and say that I am in favor of a single payer system that gets funded via taxes. Uh, Gasp, what????? Yup, I’ve said it. I believe that the United States should do away with insurance companies and should establish a single payer health care system which is funded by taxes. Why would I take such a stand? It’s simple. The health of a nation will ultimately determine the wealth of a nation. The United States spends more of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care than most any other country in the world. Yet, we have the highest rates of preventable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. We have the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality amongst industrialized nations (and even amongst many “developing” nations) and we have millions of citizens who don’t have access to affordable, quality health care such that when these individuals do get sick, we as a nation end up paying for them with unallocated funds. In a nutshell, we are going broke under our current health care system. Our current national health care spending cannot be sustained. As a nation, once we cannot ensure the health of our citizens, our nation’s wealth-our natural resources of people power, brain power, innovation, technology, agriculture, etc-will all dwindle away. We will dwindle away. It’s all completely preventable. We have to stop this “I’ve got mine, let the other guy get his own” mentality. We are our brothers and sisters keepers. We have to take care of one another.
When I started Mamas on Bedrest & Beyond I was quite ignorant to the plight of many women who were prescribed bed rest and the financial ruin that many families faced as a result of a high risk pregnancy, pregnancy bed rest and intensive care of premature infants. Increasingly, having a family is becoming a luxury only the wealthy can afford. If a woman works in the service industry as a teacher, a care provider, fast food restaurant manager or other such low paying, poorly compensated jobs she literally cannot afford to become pregnant-let alone have a complicated pregnancy. If she goes on bed rest for more than 12 weeks, she risks loses her job and her family is further pushed into financial constraints. Many women are having to choose between having a job and having a family while loss if either is untenable.
I could launch into a diatribe about why we need paid family leave, but I have spoken liberally about that and will continue to do so-just not in this post. In this post, I want to underscore how many women become high risk as a result of not having access to quality, affordable health care early in their pregnancies. Here, I want to underscore the hoards of women who are panicked because they are on bed rest and don’t know how they’ll make ends meet or how they’ll pay their medical bills. And I want to underscore the extraordinary costs associated with the care of premature infants and children. Oh, I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I could talk about the children who don’t receive immunizations because their parents are uninsured and can’t afford them. The women who go without pap smears and pelvic examination, mammograms or birth control because they can’t afford them and are uninsured. Yet we all pay when they become ill or pregnant and require specialized care. I would gladly pay higher taxes so women can have access to birth control pills rather than pay for unintended pregnancies. I would gladly pay higher taxes if it means that all women receive early access to prenatal care so that their pregnancies can start off well and we can potentially avoid preterm labor and prematurity and prolonged NICU stays for these infants. And with the money saved from not having to fuss with insurance claims and administration, I really think that we as a nation really can afford to provide health care to everyone.
For the past 3 days the justices of the US Supreme Court have been listening to arguments as to whether or not the Affordable Care Act and its individual mandate are constitutional and should be upheld. Many Americans want the law repealed and cite “Don’t tell me how to spend my money”. To that I say, don’t ask me for mine or anyone else’s once you get sick. As I see it, we can all pay into the health care pot and share the burden (and actually lower costs). But if you would rather not to contribute to the health care pot, go it alone, have at it. But don’t ask for “your portion” when you’re in need.
Mamas on Bedrest: Would You Abort a Baby with Genetic Defects?
March 16th, 2012My friend Mollee over at Pregnancy.org posted this piece on her blog.
“Couple Awarded $2.9 Million Dollars for Incorrect Prenatal Diagnosis
In one of the most controversial cases of its kind, a jury in Oregon has just awarded parents Ariel and Deborah Levy $2.9 million in their wrongful birth lawsuit against their doctor…The couple was told that their prenatal tests did not detect Trisomy 21, more commonly known as Down syndrome. However, when their little girl was born, she did in fact, carry the extra chromosome. The Levys said that they would have terminated the pregnancy had they known that their child would have Down syndrome. “
Wow! All I can say is Wow!
There were so many striking points in this article that I recommend that each mama read the article for herself and draw her own conclusions. Whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is such an intimate, important and often times gut wrenching decision I don’t think any of us could ever know that depths of the decision without being faced with it.
My husband and I faced a similar decision when we began having children. I gave birth to my daughter just weeks before my 37th birthday and I was 40 yrs and 4 months when I gave birth to my son. For this and other medical reasons both my pregnancies were high risk. In particular, I miscarried before each successful pregnancy. When I became pregnant with my daughter and the pregnancy actually progressed, my OB suggested that I have an amniocentesis. I flat out refused.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, Amniocentesis carries a risk of miscarriage of 1/400 women to 1/200 women depending on the facility performing the procedure (Those facilities that perform many amniocenteses have rates closer to 1/400.) As a woman who had already miscarried and now had a “viable” pregnancy, there was no way that I was going to risk the pregnancy by having an amniocentesis. My husband initially wanted the procedure so obviously we were at odds. We met with my OB to get answers in order to make an informed decision.
“An amniocentesis is a diagnostic test,” she told us. “It will tell us definitively if there is a problem with the baby. However, it is not a therapeutic test, meaning that once we diagnose a problem, especially a genetic problem, we can’t treat it.” With that information, we both decided against an amniocentesis. Neither of us would abort our child, so why risk it? However, we did want to know if there were other, less invasive ways to detect genetic or other developmental abnormalities. Turns out there are several prenatal screening tests that can give an indication that there may be a problem. Parents can then decide how they wish to proceed.
We had the First Trimester Risk Assessment with both of my pregnancies. High level ultrasounds provided a clear visual of each of my children showing their normal musculoskeletal deveopment (including normal head formation and no cleft palates). Blood tests showed very low risks for genetic abnormalities. This was a great choice for us and provided a high leve of comfort and relief. Other screening tests are available. Do discuss with your OB you options for prenatal screening tests.
I don’t know how I would have responded if one of my children, despite the screening tests, was born with Down’s syndome. I’ve seen so many kids with Down’s Syndrome do so well, yet I know of many others that have chronic health issues, developmental delays and learning disabilities. I don’t think that I would have sued the perinatal group that performed the test or my OB, but who knows? Children with Down’s Syndrome require a lot of additional care that is expensive. Again, I don’t think any of us can predict how we’d react unless we’re in that situation.
I encourage all pregnant mamas and their partners to read the blog post on Pregnancy.org, to read through the references and citations provided here and have a frank discussion with your OB if you have not already done so. As always, knowledge is power and the more you know, the more you can act from a position of strength and wisdom instead of react out of fear and outrage.
Mamas on Bedrest: Who is Ban Ki-Moon?
March 9th, 2012
International Women’s Day was yesterday, March 8, 2012. International Women’s Day, helps to culminate The United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), 2 weeks of meetings during which world leaders come together to discuss the status of women and girls around the world. The meetings are wrapping up this week.
The head of the UN is Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. To mark the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Secretary General noted gender equality and the empowerment of women are gaining ground worldwide, but urged governments, civil society and the private sector to continue to commit to gender equality and the empowerment of women as a fundamental human right and a force for the benefit of all in his statement to the UN counsel and partners.
I have only recently began to study Mr. Ban and I am heartily impressed. This man is a staunch advocate for women’s rights and well being. One of his primary initiatives as Secretary General is empowering women. Here is what he has done during his tenure as Secretary General:
The Secretary-General pressed successfully for the creation of UN Women, a major new agency that consolidates the UN’s work in this area. His advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality has also included the “Unite to End Violence against Women” campaign, the “Stop Rape Now” initiative, the creation of a “Network of Men Leaders” and the establishment of a new Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Within the UN itself, the Secretary-General has increased the number of women in senior management positions by more than 40 per cent, reaching the highest level in the Organization’s history.
How fantastic is it that a man with such global power has such a heart for the health and well being of the world’s women? One could argue that Mr. Ban is inspired by his wife, Madam Yoo (Ban) Soon-taek. Since 2007, Mrs. Ban has devoted her attention to women’s and children’s health, including autism, the elimination of violence against women, and the campaign to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. So maybe his interest stems from her interest, her “whispering sweet nothings in his ear”?
That is not the impression that I get. In his own words, Mr. Ban says, “I grew up in war” (Mr. Ban was born in the Republic of Korea (South Korea)) and he knows first hand the destruction and hardship people often endure. He also knows the importance of global help in order to rebuild a nation and its people. But even more key, Mr. Ban recognizes that for a nation to be strong a nation must tend to the care of all of its people and when one or more segments of the population are not thriving, the nation and subsequently the world, cannot thrive.
I am thrilled that I am learning about his plans for global women’s empowerment. I think that it behooves all of us to learn more about the United Nations’ initiatives on women’s empowerment and to see what we each can do to help move these initiatives forward-after all, they will impact us all in one way or another. There is something for everyone to do. For some of us, it will be making financial donations. For others, it may mean becoming involved with one of the many partnering organizations. I think most of us will work in our immediate neighborhoods, towns, cities, states and nations to effect change. There is nothing wrong with that. We are not all called to perform on the global stage as Mr. Ban does, but we are all called to serve.
