It’s important to be aware of the crisis our state of Florida is in when it comes to medical insurance for our citizens. Did you know that 32% of children in our state have not visited a dentist in the past year, and that 35% of our seniors did not get a flu vaccine? 36% of citizens did not get a recommended screening for colon cancer, and 18 % of women who should have had a mammogram in the past 2 years have not. These simple screening tests, vaccinations and check ups can prevent so many more serious problems later on, yet many of us are going without them because they do not have any type of medical insurance so they are not receiving the proper health care.
Did you know that health insurance companies will deny you coverage for many preexisting conditions? For instance, if you are diagnosed by a doctor with high blood pressure, or diabetes, it can be considered a preexisting condition and many health care companies will not allow you coverage, because they would consider you a high risk individual who will cost them a lot of money. And medical insurance companies do not want to pay out more than they take in. To further complicate the issue, these individuals with these conditions did not get regular quality health care, because most of them cannot afford it. So their chronic conditions become worse, their quality of life decreased, they may continue to decline further, and by the time they do end up in the hospital or emergency room, they are in crisis. Then the bills can become astronomical. If these folks can’t pay (and few of them will be able to) the losses get absorbed by the hospitals and taxpayers. So YOU end up paying for this health care, even if it is hidden in a tax bill somewhere.
The sad part is, if all Floridians were able to have good quality preventative health care, many of these complications would disappear. There would be more cost on the front end, making sure everyone has a health care plan, but the benefit at the end point would be many more healthy indicuals who will be able to be productive, working and healthy for many years to come.
Many people are scared to change jobs, or even retire a few years early, because they are worried about having medical insurance. With health care reform, you will always have the choice of insurance. You can change jobs without worry, because there will be guaranteed coverage. The time for change is now. We need to catch up to other countries and make sure that everyone has the health care they deserve.
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