Health law not only about you

By Kay E. Graber

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I spent several hours listening to the Supreme Court hearings on the Affordable Healthcare Act. The arguments made by Paul Clement, attorney for the 26 states suing the federal government because of this act, made my physically sick and terribly sad.

Every other sentence pounded into my head the terms “coercive” and “coerciveness” until it led to more than 30 minutes of questions from the justices on what constitutes coercion and a host of examples: “Would you call this coercion? Would you call that coercion?” Clement used word manipulation that diverted every question into a negative, fear-mongering argument.

While all this time was spent trying to determine if the states were being “coerced” into something that would harm their budgets and policies, not a single word was said about the American citizens who are the heart and soul of those states.

One of the major roles of government is to provide for the basic needs of its most frail and vulnerable citizens. Protected health, particularly when people are struck with serious illnesses and accidents, is one of those needs. And for those who think they will always escape any need for extended health care, I say what fools you are!

After our 20-year-old son had a severe brain injury because of a jeep accident, he had neurosurgery, was hospitalized at four sites for nine months and needed extensive therapy and rehabilitation, a specially fit wheelchair and numerous trips back to the hospital over three years. That was 30 years ago, but can you imagine the extent of medical bills even then?!

Luckily, he was a college student and still on our health insurance. But what if he had not been? Would we not have tried everything to help him? We would have been in debt for years and possibly lost most of our assets.

Have you ever tried to purchase a separate single health care plan under the current system for a young person who isn't yet a part of any employment group? Or for a person who is between jobs and lost his/her insurance? Very few families can manage this.

The continuation of coverage of a family's health insurance policy for unemployed children up to age 26 is one of the most cherished changes already brought about by the Affordable Healthcare Act. If the bill is repealed, that benefit will go away.

I look forward to other advances in health care coverage as other parts of the bill take effect. It's not just for me - it's for the American people, and I care about them! I'm beginning to wonder how many people really do.

Kay E. Graber of Cedar Rapids is a board member of Brain Injury Association of Iowa, East Central Chapter. Her views are not on behalf of the group. Comments:

kaygraber@mchsi.com