Republican Louisiana Representative Bill Cassidy, who is running to be the party's Senate candidate for the coming elections, recently said the following in a speech given to the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association with regard to health insurance:
"[My plan] I think actually reflects the reality of who the uninsured are, relatively less sophisticated, less comfortable with forms, less educated. Those are the folks that - not all - there's a guy who goes to my church who's uninsured, who's middle-class but couldn't get it because he has Type 1 diabetes. So it's not all, but it is the folks who I think are going to have the hardest time reaching [...]"
Excuse me?!? I don't think so... What makes this quote even sadder is the fact that Mr. Cassidy is a physician. As sad as it is to say, there are many other people like the guy he knows at church whom don't have health insurance. I happen to be one of them. I happen to possess three college degrees, graduated with a 3.75 GPA (should have been higher), was given an IQ test by a teacher in college and told it tied the highest score the he had ever seen, won a spelling bee, several math awards, etc. What's my problem been? Health, unfortunately. From complications at birth (six weeks early and weighed in at less than 4 lbs.), to being diagnosed with epilepsy, to suffering a grand mal seizure and being told I had a brain tumor, to suffering a seizure in a college Spanish class and deciding to undergo surgery to remove the tumor that following summer, to scoliosis, to temporomandibular joint, to a bizarre two-year virus the doctors never truly concluded on - but informed me I may have a slight case of small-fiber sensory neuropathy and arteriovenous malformation around my spinal cord, to a gallstone and gall-bladder surgery etc., I was dropped from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield a couple of years ago due to being unable to pay my premium for one month (after having done so for I don't know how many years), and when I applied to other insurance companies, I was rejected due to pre-existing conditions. When I did have healthcare and was being bounced around like a pinball between Columbus and Cleveland, as doctors and specialists were attempting to uncover what my condition actually was for a couple of years, my premium doubled from $150 to $300. Unfortunately, even though most of the costs of plans under "Obamacare" are less than $300 per month, it's still too much for me to afford, so chances are, I'll go without healthcare for another year and have to pay the fine in 2015.
The level of education a person has under their belt isn't the main factor in whether or not he or she has health insurance, Mr. Cassidy. The biggest factor is the costs of insurance. As a physician and a "well-educated" person, I'd think you'd know that...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/26/3419558/republican-louisiana-senate-candidate-the-uninsured-are-less-sophisticated-less-educated/
"[My plan] I think actually reflects the reality of who the uninsured are, relatively less sophisticated, less comfortable with forms, less educated. Those are the folks that - not all - there's a guy who goes to my church who's uninsured, who's middle-class but couldn't get it because he has Type 1 diabetes. So it's not all, but it is the folks who I think are going to have the hardest time reaching [...]"
Excuse me?!? I don't think so... What makes this quote even sadder is the fact that Mr. Cassidy is a physician. As sad as it is to say, there are many other people like the guy he knows at church whom don't have health insurance. I happen to be one of them. I happen to possess three college degrees, graduated with a 3.75 GPA (should have been higher), was given an IQ test by a teacher in college and told it tied the highest score the he had ever seen, won a spelling bee, several math awards, etc. What's my problem been? Health, unfortunately. From complications at birth (six weeks early and weighed in at less than 4 lbs.), to being diagnosed with epilepsy, to suffering a grand mal seizure and being told I had a brain tumor, to suffering a seizure in a college Spanish class and deciding to undergo surgery to remove the tumor that following summer, to scoliosis, to temporomandibular joint, to a bizarre two-year virus the doctors never truly concluded on - but informed me I may have a slight case of small-fiber sensory neuropathy and arteriovenous malformation around my spinal cord, to a gallstone and gall-bladder surgery etc., I was dropped from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield a couple of years ago due to being unable to pay my premium for one month (after having done so for I don't know how many years), and when I applied to other insurance companies, I was rejected due to pre-existing conditions. When I did have healthcare and was being bounced around like a pinball between Columbus and Cleveland, as doctors and specialists were attempting to uncover what my condition actually was for a couple of years, my premium doubled from $150 to $300. Unfortunately, even though most of the costs of plans under "Obamacare" are less than $300 per month, it's still too much for me to afford, so chances are, I'll go without healthcare for another year and have to pay the fine in 2015.
The level of education a person has under their belt isn't the main factor in whether or not he or she has health insurance, Mr. Cassidy. The biggest factor is the costs of insurance. As a physician and a "well-educated" person, I'd think you'd know that...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/26/3419558/republican-louisiana-senate-candidate-the-uninsured-are-less-sophisticated-less-educated/
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