After the birth of our second daughter here in Michigan, I received a letter from our health insurance company and I was curious about charges and co-payments we as parents had to pay especially because I grew up in a country where everyone has universal healthcare coverage and for children (0-6 years of age), there are no co-payments for seeing a primary care physician nor do parents have to pay for kids medications.  Luckily, I was sitting down when I opened this letter because it stated that I owed more than $250,000.  I have never in my life received a bill that huge!  This was the combined total amount for childbirth as well as surgery I received 2 weeks after the birth of our child.  I fully understand why some parents and individuals in this country declare bankruptcy due to healthcare costs because I could have been in a similar situation.  Fortunately, this bill was sent to me by mistake and our health insurance paid all the charges but I will always remember that feeling of total shock at seeing the amount owed – just over $250,000 with my name on it.

Last week, a Michigan woman shot herself because she was desperate for healthcare services.  Kathy Myers joined the over 1.2 million residents here who are unemployed and many of them do not have access and cannot afford to pay for health insurance.  She was experiencing excruciating pain from her right shoulder but she could not be treated without insurance so she took the drastic action of shooting herself in the shoulder in the hope that she would be treated for the underlying cause of agonizing pain she had suffered for more than 1 month from a torn rotator cuff.  She is quoted as saying “pain will make you do silly, crazy things… I thought maybe they would fix me.  I guess I should have shot a little lower.”

Will federal healthcare reform deliver and indeed ensure more affordable health insurance premiums and better healthcare coverage for families and children?  I guess we will have to wait and see but I am very optimistic and I truly hope so!