On Tuesday, the Virginia Organizing Project (VOP) showed the PBS film Critical Condition, a documentary that follows the lives of a handful of people as they struggle without health insurance. Critical Condition achieved its goal of shedding light on the issue of health care and Provost and Executive Vice President Arthur Garson’s instructions complemented the film by offering practical advice.
Critical Condition is similar to Michael Moore’s Sicko in many ways. Both documentaries follow a few cases where uninsured people have been mistreated by our health care system. The key differences were that Critical Condition did not attack health insurance companies, nor did it endorse universal health care.
What Critical Condition achieved was a horrific depiction of flaws in the health care system. Those that are most likely to be uninsured are working class families and the elderly. These groups also happen to be the ones that need medical attention the most. The real issue is that they cannot afford health insurance, something that many of us take for granted. One story was a man that had neural damage that put him in a hospital bed. The bills got to be so much that he pleaded for his wife to let him go. Preferring death rather than being a financial burden on your family speaks volumes to how much reform the current system needs. This man’s story is one that can happen to a neighbor, friend, family member or us. The harsh reality is that health care is currently a privilege for those that can afford it. As Dr. Patrick Dowling, chairman on the UCLA Department of Family Medicine, put it, “We do ration care in this country. We don’t like to hear that; people don’t like to say that. But the truth is we do ration care based on the ability to pay.”
Garson led the Tuesday night screening and offered some advice. One of the easiest and most basic things anyone can do is to convince others that health care is a right. With President Obama in office, the social contract needs to be rewritten to include health care as a fundamental right. Arguing for health care rights would have a twofold purpose.
The first is increased awareness. Most people are so concerned about the current economic state that everything else is forgotten. In actuality, the recession is having a profound effect on our health care system. Many workers rely on their jobs for benefits, the most important of which may be a health care plan. As unemployment levels have risen, more workers have lost these benefits, increasing the number of uninsured even more. Most of those laid off are the “expendable” unskilled workers that are most in need of health insurance. As Washington has spent hundreds of billions bailing out businesses that they deem “too big to fail”, 46 million Americans continue to live without insurance.
The second purpose of openly discussing health care reform is public perception. Historically, being uninsured has been seen as a personal choice rather than a financial limitation. With open and honest discussion, I am confident that many will realize that some simply cannot afford adequate coverage. Another misconception is that the cost of universal health care is too high. When Hector was unable to work after a surgery removing his foot, Critical Condition addressed the cost of work stoppages similar to this, stating that the “lost production of uninsured Americans like Hector costs the economy up to 130 billion dollars a year — more than the estimated cost to cover the uninsured.”
Another point mentioned by Garson was to be a good person and help those in need. Critical Condition featured a UCLA health fair led by medical students. This fair ultimately led to a man receiving free surgery for his ailing back pain. There are so many small things that we can do to better the health crisis that do not necessarily involve financing someone’s surgery or paying for someone’s medication. Small solutions make a world of difference, from volunteering at the Charlottesville Free Clinic to going door-to-door petitioning to Congress.
We are responsible for health concerns that we can control, but Congress should also take on some of the financial responsibility. There are many alternatives to the current condition of health care. Laws could be passed mandating companies to offer better benefits at lower prices for their workers. Allocating more funds to Medicare and Medicaid would alleviate the issue because in the end, universal health care may not be a plausible option. However, something needs to be done to give the uninsured the equal opportunities, and as Obama said during his campaign, “there’s nothing more American than that.”
Hung Vu’s column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at h.vu@cavalierdaily.com.
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