Guest Opinion: Health-care bill a step in right direction
Maybe you saw it in The New York Times: Libby is a “winner” in the U.S. Senate’s health-care reform bill.
The Dec. 21 Times article took a close read of the bill and found several last-minute amendments to the legislation, including a proposal that grants Medicare privileges to Libby residents suffering from asbestos-related illnesses.
Yes, the article shows that senators paid some special attention to “narrow” interests when preparing the bill. That’s what politicians often do in their efforts to help their constituents back home. You certainly won’t find me or many other Libby residents complaining about it.
The fact is that people in Libby and throughout Montana have a lot to be thankful for in this bill. While there’s definitely room for improvement, the legislation contains many proposals that will help people and businesses in the state.
My own life might have been much better if many of these much-needed changes had happened years ago. Back in 2000, my husband, Dan, developed Hodgkin’s lymphoma. We couldn’t afford insurance and, as a result, racked up devastating medical bills for his care. Ultimately, we were forced to sell our family ranch near Libby. Dan died in 2006 with all of our bills paid, but with no property to pass on to his family.
The whole experience was heartbreaking, but it’s also not unusual. Surely, most of us know others who have struggled with medical bills and lack of insurance.
And in rural Montana, accessing health care can be as big a barrier as the cost of insurance coverage. For example, Montana has a shortage of primary care physicians because so many have retired and only a tiny percentage of medical students choose to practice primary care, let alone in small communities like Libby.
And, as we all know, Libby has its own special set of health-care problems. As a community, we were poisoned by asbestos-laden vermiculite. After we lost our lawsuit against W.R. Grace earlier this year, it seemed that our chances of relief from our lingering health problems were slim.
Some national newspapers, like the Times, took issue with the amendment inserted by Sen. Max Baucus that will allow Libby residents suffering from asbestos-related illnesses to enroll in Medicare.
But if you’re familiar with the communitywide legacy of our environmental hazards here, you’d see that this move makes sense. As do reforms to promote competition in the insurance industry and to build a level playing field for working families and small businesses that want to get health insurance.
Right now, many Montanans and state small businesses can’t afford insurance. Anything that can be done to rectify this is vital.
The Senate bill also will put an end to discrimination due to pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies could no longer drop people or deny coverage to people due to past health conditions. And it will expand prescription drug benefits for seniors and make wellness and preventive health care available to more people.
As I mentioned, the bill isn’t perfect and I’m hoping it can be improved to strengthen affordability provisions before it becomes law. However, even with flaws, this health-care reform is a giant step in the right direction.
(Patricia DeJong is a home care provider in Libby who has been an active proponent of the need for affordable, high-quality health care for farmers and ranchers).