Maybe it's a bit early to decide, but with most of the nation bathed in sun, it could be a slow day for dotCommonweal. The comment comes from Commonweal contributor Jean Raber (most recent piece on the new Beguines here--subscribers only). Jean was responding to the following comment from Mark Proska in Eduardo's thread below:

Lets start with something we can all agree on:Every U.S citizen has access to healthcare and healthcare insurance. Those in the US who dont have health insurance fall into one of the following buckets:

1)Illegal aliens, in which case the immigration system, not the healthcare system is the problem.

2)Those who cant afford health insurance, in which case its a welfare issue, not a healthcare issue.

Mealy-mouthed whining about the lack of access and imprecise formulations of the problem are not helpful.

Here's Jean:

Help me stop whining, Mark Proska! I certainly dont want to be a drain on societys resources or sympathy!

My employer needed to cut health care costs. It has done so by moving those of us who are not represented by unions onto part-time contracts that have no benefits. Problem solved! For them.

I can afford health care for my kid, even with his asthma, so things seem to be better there.

I cant find it for myself. Im 55, have pre-hypertension (possibly self-inflicted from reading your posts, and based on newer medical guidelines that have lowered the bar for whats considered pre-hypertension), so I now have a pre-existing condition and affordable coverage is zippo, even though Ive been on the horn with all sorts of companies, legit and otherwise, who purport to offer me a good deal.

I can pay for routine doc visits, flu shots. I can get a freebie once in awhile on pap and memmo screenings, but I cant see the point, because if they told me I had cancer, I couldnt afford to have a catastrophic illness treated.

My best bet for affordable health care is to quit one of two jobs and go on Medicaid. Six- to eight-month wait on that, but, better than waiting another 10 years until Im eligible for Medicare. However, that means Ill have health care, but not enough money to meet our very modest financial obligations, and I prefer to stay solvent.

Grant Gallicho joined Commonweal as an intern and was an associate editor for the magazine until 2015. 

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