An apple a day keeps the doctor away (they're cheaper, too!)

I post about a lot of various issues and personal happenings. This film focuses on an issue that I really haven't devoted a great deal of time to, but that is a looming elephant in all of our lives. What happens if we get really sick? Will our insurance cover everything? How much will it cover if not? How much of what it doesn't cover will I be able to afford before I'm in serious trouble?

If you've never asked yourself these questions or if you don't think you'll ever need to, then you have to see this movie. Even if you know that you'll never be faced with having to ask or answer these questions, you should see the film, because under the main theme are some pretty far reaching questions:

If we as a society are measured by how we treat those members who are the worst off (think uninsured people who have to seek treatment in an ER, or worse, those who were unlucky enough to be in New Orleans twenty two months ago), then who are we?

How did we get here (this one is answered pretty easily and clearly in the film thanks to Tricky Dicky's obsession with archival documentation of the magnetic type)?

And it also raises the specter of why we don't do anything about it, namely that:

The best way to exercise and maintain control over a people is to keep them in three states: fear (the terrorists must be fought over there so we don't have to fight them over here), poverty (below poverty line minimum wage, anyone?), and demoralized (it doesn't matter if I vote or not, the crooks will always be in power in Washington/Austin/(insert county seat here)).

I don't know what will happen if I get sick or get in a serious accident. I'm not very confident, in part because of what I saw earlier tonight but also in light of the flap over which the GURD medication my insurance company would pay for even after being prescribed by my doctor and having him argue with the insurance company in a three way conference call. Formulary, non formulary, pre-certified, their all just words that mean nothing except for what color ink and how much of it ends up at the bottom of a balance sheet at the end of the day.

I can remember one time I got top notch free care after a serious accident: After I hit a telephone pole with a Postal jeep while on a collection run during the holiday season one year when I was in college and working as a Casual letter carrier during the Christmas break. The jeep only had a lap belt, so my face hit the steering wheel about as hard as the jeep hit the pole. About $5000.00 of oral surgery later, I had seventy stitches in my face and the right side of my upper jaw wired with braces. All courtesy of the USPS workman's comp insurance. So, unless you work for the government or a government connected entity and are smart enough to get hurt or fall ill on the job, you should probably stay on your toes and keep all your bases covered.

Oh, and please see the film. Keep an open mind, and SEE THE FILM.