THE TRUE FACE OF HEALTH CARE REFORM

I was confronted by the tear-strewn face of a patient's wife today. I had spent 30 minutes explaining to the patient, Mr. W., and his wife that he needed to start shots to lower levels of testosterone, which acts like fuel for prostate cancer cells, because his cancer had recurred and was growing rapidly. That discussion and an in-depth overview of the many side effects of this form of medical castration drew no tears. It was only after the couple who has Medicare, without an insurance supplement, were informed by the clinic that their 15% share of the cost of these $4000 shots, given every 3 months, was $600 that a handkerchief was necessary. They were not able to afford this shot as they are on food stamps currently and have exhausted their savings. They left without receiving this non-curative, but life-extending and symptom-reducing anti-cancer treatment today.

The 'birthers,' 'tax patriots,' and Republican Congress talk about health care reform as an affront to humanity, as a form of socialism, and as the end of civilization as we know it. They see Obama as the enemy... as the Joker... as a shadow of themselves. They do not get it or are blinded by their own racism or desire to see the President and the Democrats fail.



Anyone who has had a recent medical bill or a serious medical illness, whether or not they have insurance, clearly understands and can explain the fierce urgency of now when it comes to health care reform. The aforementioned opponents of reform need look no further than Mr. W and his wife's tear-strewn face (and their own faces in the mirror) to see the true embodiment of those whom our medical system and society fails everyday.