By Emily Sitton
The current health care system is outdated, expensive for patients and doctors and so confusing that only those working in health care can understand it. The health care system desperately needs reform and now is the time to support it.
As a college student, a few months away from graduation, health care is one of the most relevant political issues for me. Once I receive my college diploma, my adult life stretches before me: full of adventure, responsibility and freedom. Adult life also comes with worries.
Once I receive that diploma I will get kicked off my parent's health insurance.
You may say, "So what, I'm a healthy 22-year-old. I don't need health insurance." For the lucky few that may be true, but for many of us, we must face the facts. Health care is a necessity and not a novelty.
If you wear glasses or contact lenses, like I do, you will not only have to pay for the contacts, but also the doctor visits in order to get the prescription. If you have a family history of heart disease, like I do, you probably don't want to miss the checkup that could have detected and prevented a serious illness just because you couldn't afford a doctor's bill.
Some of you may say, "I don't need insurance because I can pay for all of those bills out of pocket."
Here are some costs for you to consider before thinking you can get by without health insurance. The following costs are for someone without health insurance coverage.
A regular dental or vision checkup is about $100. That does not include any extra tests, procedures or the cost of contacts or glasses which could raise the cost by at least another $100. My last pair of glasses cost me $280 and my contacts cost $100.
My nephew's recent visit to the emergency room, which included an x-ray, "accident treatment" for a hand injury and ibuprofen cost about $920, according to my sister-in-law.
But the cost of an ER visit can skyrocket if the injury is more serious than a sprained wrist.
Prescription drugs are also expensive. An epi-pen, which my mom and nephew need for severe allergic reactions, costs about $100 without insurance. Allegra, another allergy-related drug, costs $76 at Costco.com.
Each of these costs on its own may seem reasonable, but the cost of health care rises quickly when you have to pay for more than one health problem.
The sad truth is that unless you're wealthy, you probably won't be able to afford repeated doctor's visits without insurance.
If the costs of living without health insurance don't convince you of the need for reform, then the cost of living with health insurance should.
I hope the following facts make you think twice about saying that health insurance is fine as it is.
I was shocked to learn that my parents pay $1,152 a month for a plan that includes them and myself and does not cover dental or vision care. Their plan is an extension of the coverage my mom received when she worked for a school district.
When I graduate, I won't have to pay $1,152 a month, but I will have to navigate the murky waters of health insurance and pick a plan that fits my needs. I've searched plans on both Kaiser Permanente's and Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon's Web sites and came up with an average monthly cost of $120 for an individual plan. Plans varied in cost from $80 to $280, but they also varied widely in coverage.
The $126-a-month HAS health plan with Regence did not include dental or vision coverage, outpatient counseling, mental health treatment and acupuncture; and only 50 percent of the cost of a prescription medications was covered.
The plan included a $3,500 deductible, meaning I pay for everything up to $3,500 and then the insurance covers 80 percent of the cost and I pay 20 percent. Once I spend $5,000, the insurance covers the entire cost.
The monthly cost doesn't sound too bad until I add on my student loan repayments, grocery bills, phone and Internet bills, and heating, electric and water bills. My monthly paychecks look smaller once I add those costs up to at least a $400 monthly bill, not including the rest of the prescription cost and my contact lenses for the month that were not covered.
But the bad news isn't over yet. Once I start a family and grow older, health care costs and insurance just get more expensive and more complicated. This summer, one of my nephews went to the ER three times, and those bills added up to more than $3,000.
At this point I hope you agree with me that health care is an expensive, confusing and depressing mess that needs a makeover.
Please write to your senators and representatives about the need for health care reform because, after all, they should represent your views.
Emily Sitton is the news editor and can be contacted at sitton10@up.edu
