‘Changes in Health Care’

With regard to health insurance, increasingly I hear concern expressed for those who “fall through the cracks” in the system.

That is the most ridiculous expression I have ever heard--implying that a reliable health care system exists in this country, with but a few flaws. The fact is that Americans are insured for one major illness--one illness only! After that, they don’t slip through a “crack,” they fall into a chasm that stretches ahead until age 65!

Last March, I joined the 10% of women who acquire breast cancer. Fortunately, I had insurance through my job, and most of the expenses were paid--the mastectomy, followed by five months chemotherapy and six weeks radiation, cost in excess of $30,000.

I work for a small law firm, and there are only three in our group. In September, the insurance company raised our monthly rate 20%. In December, we received their Christmas card--a 100% increase in premiums. This brings our monthly premium, with $500 deductible, to $1,600.

Once a claim is made for any of the no-no’s on a standard medical questionnaire, the victim becomes a second-class citizen, teetering on the edge of the chasm. If the employer is a large firm (proof against insurance company reprisals), he or she effectively becomes an indentured slave, unable to voluntarily change jobs.

The Medicare system should be extended to cover all citizens, regardless of age or state of health.

YVONNE RADCLIFFE

Culver City