POV: Critical Condition

Last night, I watched a documentary in PBS's POV series called "Critical Condition". It takes the viewer into the lives of several families, all of which are being systematically destroyed by the lack of medical insurance. One man, a diabetic, has his foot amputated while he still has medical insurance, rather than have surgery that could have saved his foot but that would have had to take place after he lost his insurance. A woman undergoes a chemotherapy regimen for advanced-stage cancer that probably could have been treated more effectively or even cured, had she been able to seek treatment earlier. A man with non-alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver and Type II diabetes, who could have been treated easily with medications, literally falls apart because he couldn't afford the medicine.

While these stories play out, the film lays out some cold, hard facts about the U.S. medical system. For example, it points out that on average, hospitals charge patients without insurance 2 1/2 times as much as they charge insured patients. It also notes that the U.S. pays more of its GDP than any other industrialized country for medical care, yet over 47 million Americans have no medical insurance.

Every U.S. Senator and Representative should be made (forced, if necessary) to watch this truly heartbreaking documentary. There is absolutely no excuse for there not to be good medical care for all Americans. What's more, as this documentary points out, early intervention would not only have saved lives, it would have saved literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in critical care that was required when manageable conditions became life-threatening. Our medical system costs far too much for the benefits that our citizens are getting, in large part because of this focus on critical interventions rather than preventative care.

If you didn't get a chance to watch it, I encourage you to contact your PBS station and ask them to replay this important documentary. It's available for purchase, but the more people who get to see and talk about it, the better.