Value of Good Health Care - For Everyone

Not once, but twice in the last two days my family has benefited from having health insurance AND access to a quality health care system.

On Thursday, I went to the iNOVA urgent care center in Vienna after seeing my fever spike and feeling totally awful. About two hours later with a diagnosis of sinositis and a handful of prescriptions, I was out the door. Today I woke up feeling almost human, went to work and carried on with my life. Total cost: $53.29 (includes co-pay, prescriptions and a liter of Diet 7-Up).

Then this evening around 6:50, right after giving the boys a bath and getting ready for our usual Friday movie night (Sadie was with the grandparents seeing High School Musical at Wolf Trap, her B-Day present), Liam knocked his noggin on his bedroom door. Not sure exactly what happened, but my guess is that Liam and Patrick playing and one thing led to another then ... bam. I was in the bathroom cleaning up and heard his cry and saw the cut, the blood and immediately assumed he was going to need stitches.

So, I made a call to a friend (Kerry was out for her school's open house) who came and got Patrick (thanks, Nellie!) and then after patching Liam up took him to the iNOVA emergency center on Chain Bridge Road. Sure enough, Liam needed three stitches. And boy was a he trooper, never crying one bit as he underwent the procedure. He loved nurse PJ and all of the attention and stickers he got. Total cost: $20 (copay)

My point of telling this story is two-fold: First, I am so grateful that both Liam and me were able to access to great care and that we were treated quickly and have recovered. I'm thankful, too, that Liam's injury wasn't anything more serious and that he bounced back so quickly.

Second, I'm very grateful that I have a good job with great benefits such as health insurance that essentially took the fear out of both of these instances. That is, it took the financial fear out of the situation. For a total of roughly $70, my son and I got some of the best health care in the world that would have been far more expensive without the insurance.

Yet, there are millions of Americans who still live in this fear. This fear that if they get sick, if they have a fall or if their child gets a cut they won't be able to pay the bills. Therefore, they may not seek the treatment they deserve. Health care is a right. And as the debate rages as to whether or not we should have health care reform, I wanted to point to these two small personal incidents as examples of why health care reform - with universal coverage, to boot - is a necessity for ourselves as individuals and our economy.

Yes, we want to lower costs and want to ensure people have the highest quality of care. But as I noted earlier, for $70 I was able to see a doctor for myself and son, which both got me back up and running and thus, back at work AND take care of my son without impacting my work. In other words, there is a financial benefit to business to having universal coverage. Think of it this way - with health insurance, people get well quicker and back to work faster, which then makes them more productive. And if they have children, they know that their most valuable treasure - their child - will have the care they need, if they need it. That is piece of mind that helps a worker stay focused.

I understand that this is a complex and emotional debate. But I do believe that now is the time for us to stand up and work together as Americans to bring health care to all of our fellow citizens and take away the fear that lingers over far too many Americans.