Personal stories

For me, health care reform is really a moral issue. I don't understand how we can limit people's access to doctors! I have so many friends who have not gone to the doctor when sick, or postponed going to the doctor, because they didn't have health insurance and did not have good enough health insurance. I have had times in my life without good/any health insurance and even today I always balance how much something might cost with what I (not a medical doctor) judge to be the severity of my sickness. So today, here are some personal stories demonstrating the need for health care reform.

Stories of the uninsured.
A nurse's view on health reform
What one family has to do to keep their daughter insured.

Isn't our health care system the best?

No! Here is some info on that:
Five myths about health care in the rest of the world.
Comparing Britain's health care system to the US.

Why reform health care at all?

Today I want to give you some links on why we should reform health care at all?
Short, simple cartoon explaining problems with our current health care system.
Harvard study finds that 62% of personal bankruptcies were due to medical costs, and 78% of those people were insured.
And, finally, health care explained on 4 napkins.

What, exactly, is in the health care bill?

I am going out of town for a long weekend, but I am still very concerned about health care reform, so while I am gone I am going to queue up some posts to give you some more info. It can be confusing, but just a little time reading can clear up a lot of myths and misconceptions.

Also, I made phone calls in support of health care on Saturday, and if anyone else wants to get involved in volunteering you can do so here.

For today I give you: (1) the actual bill with fact sheets prepared by the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
(2)Health insurance reform myth vs. facts
(3)FactCheck.org debunks some lying ads

Health Care!

People, I have been very concerned about the health care system here in the US for a long time. As a graduate student, my funding did not include health insurance. I have been paying a TON for this for a long time. Right now I am on R's insurance. He is lucky enough that his funding pays for his, but not for mine. When I start my new full time job in September my employer will give me insurance and we will all of a sudden be saving about $2000 on health insurance. Seeing this stark difference close up really makes me appreciate how lucky people are who have employers who insure them. And how bad it is for people who work slightly less than full time, or not close to full time, or who are laid off, or who have employers with bad insurance plans. Really, for my entire adult life I have always considered the possible cost of care when deciding whether or not to go to the doctor. This is not right. People should go to the doctor when they are sick -- not wait around trying to figure out if they feel really bad enough or not to make it worth it.

So I finally got off my butt today and read about the actual health care bill. Since there is so much going on with people misrepresenting what the bill actually does, I recommend everyone start there as well. Then, please write your elected representatives and tell them you support the bill. You can find those people and very convenient web forms here and here.

It won't take you very long, and it is really time we fixed health care in the US. Really, it is appalling.

My miraculous cure

Some of you may know/remember that I have a coughing problem. I have been coughing for years. Loud hacking coughs that do not stop. Awhile ago some doctor told me t was asthma, gave me some inhalers and away I went. Eventually, the inhalers stopped working so well so I went to another doctor who said no no! This is not asthma! It is allergies! He gave me an allergy shot and I took Claritin, but I still coughed, especially at night. Finally we moved here and I got access to the same health care as University of Chicago students. I went to see a nurse practitioner (I looove nurse practitioners) and she decided it was both asthma and some allergies, but most importantly it was post nasal drip. She hooked me up with some Flonase AND told me to get a neti pot. I have coveted a neti pot for awhile, especially after Maven blogged about it. But for some reason or another I never got around to it. When the NP told me too, though, I ran right to the Natural Foods store. And let me tell you. I love that thing. I seriously did not know a person was supposed to get this much oxygen in one breath. I breathe way better and I do not cough at night. It is miraculous and thanks to a $13 ceramic pot and pouring some salt water through my nose once a day.

If you have allergies/asthma/any breathing problems, get yourself a neti pot STAT. They rule.

McCain and Healthcare

If you are at all concerned about the state of healthcare in this country, read this awesome post by Sarahlynn.

Menstruation nation

Wherein I write about my vagina on the internets.

(aside: Melinda, I looked up menstruation in an online rhyming dictionary, hoping for a more clever title, and one of the words I got was 'goshen'. ha!)

A few months ago, I bought a Diva Cup. I had heard of the Diva Cups and their cousins the Keepers for many years, due to my associations with hippies and my reading of Bust magazine. For some reason, I did not buy one, mostly due to it's around about $30 price tag. While in Suriname, however, I had two colleagues who used Diva Cups/Keepers and loved them. I realized that $30 for something that I would use every month for years and years was a bargain, so I finally bought one.

I was so excited about this thing, I kept telling R about it and it was passed around (pre usage) at my birthday party. I finally got to use it two months ago and it was so awesome! Seriously, it rules! Prior to my Diva Cup conversion, I had been using tampons and had found some drying issues with them. Also, they apparently may leave cotton/rayon fibers behind. But whatever, I have been very happy with my Diva Cup. I don't need to remember to carry tampons with me all the time, I can put it in a little early to catch the beginning of my period, it can go longer between changes, it is reusable, and my girlie parts just feel generally better about the whole thing.

If you are uncomfortable with really getting your fingers up in your own bizness, or easily grossed out by looking at what is actually coming out during your period, the Diva Cup may not be for you. I really like the chance to see what is going on, though, and am proselytizing the Diva Cup to the world!