Posted by
EWRoss on Monday, July 20, 2009 7:00:00 AM
As the debate about how we should reform the American
healthcare system rages in Congress and across the country, just about everyone
has an opinion. That opinion is largely shaped by personal experiences and by
whether or not a person has adequate and affordable healthcare insurance. Beyond
that, it’s shaped by ideology. My views have been shaped by the fact that if it
weren’t for the miracles of modern medicine and my access to them, I would have
died in 1984. I rely on that access to stay alive, and I don’t want big
government to get in the way.
In January 1985, I received a kidney transplant
at Walter Reed. The kidney came from an 11-year-old boy killed in an automobile
accident in Florida.
That was nearly 25 years ago. The kidney is now 36 and I’m 65. The side effects
and higher risk of disease the immunosuppressants all transplant
recipients must take for the rest of their lives have kept me in and out of
doctor’s offices and hospitals.
The question currently before us, with Democrats pushing
major healthcare legislation in Congress, is will it result in positive,
affordable reform, or will it bankrupt the country and produce a system worse
than what we currently have? Given my personal situation and past experiences,
I want to know if I’m going to continue to have access to the healthcare that’s
kept me alive for 25 years or, as I get older, if the government will place
restrictions on it.
Read my column at http://ewross.com/Healthcare_Reform.htm