As many of us have seen the Trumpcare healthcare plan that might come into effect, there is weakened link to what might be considered pre-existing condition that might deny you health coverage. They include things such as: anemia, angina, acne (you read that right), arthritis, Alzheimer's, back pain, multiple forms of cancer, mental disorders ranging from anxiety to depression, diabetes, bypass surgeries, cellulitis, gallstones, multiple heart diseases, hepatitis, and many, many more. The list also includes such a claim that those who have been victims of rape or sexual assault would have a harder time of getting coverage for therapy or medications that they might seek out.
Of course, the internet went ablaze because it looks as if though just being alive is a pre-existing condition and the most relevant response was, “Well, I guess I’ll die.”
Beyond this completely heartless bill, to quote a recent post from Planned Parenthood: “On May 4th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the worst bill for women’s health in a generation: the American Health Care Act (AHCA or Trumpcare). This bill would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and “defund” Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers.”
When I first saw the things that could be considered pre-existing conditions of denied healthcare my heart sunk, because I saw how many of them applied to me. I saw how many of them applied to my friends and I saw how many of those things applied to women and the elderly. It was heart breaking and seeing the Republican Party celebrate such a “victory” was beyond disturbing.
Following the pending of the passed bill to the senate, Donald Trump has said, "I shouldn't say this to our great gentleman and my friend from Australia because you have better healthcare than we do." To make things clear, Australia has universal healthcare. Countries with universal healthcare include Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
I believe that this is beyond politics, universal healthcare should not be a privilege because every life is valuable. I understand that there are people out there who refuse to believe in universal healthcare and that is something that I will never understand. It feels as if though the world has lost empathy.
As someone who has undergone bypass surgery, as someone who has anxiety, as someone who has a weak heart, as someone who is pre-diabetic, if I were to try and get healthcare under this new policy I could be denied, and I would never have been able to get the life changing surgery that I had, and it would have cost me 20 thousand dollars if not more. There are things in this world that should be universal for all, and healthcare is one of those things.
