Miss Ginger Opines on Tonight's Big News!

Miss Ginger hasn't much to say on all the recent hooplah about "healthcare reform". But now that it has passed, she's gonna put in her 2 cents. Fasten your seatbelts: it's going to be a bumpy night!

First, she finds it unfortunate that it was billed as "healthcare reform". In Miss Ginger's humble opinion, that nomenclature turned off a lot of folks who are happy with their healthcare situation. "I have insurance. I like my doctor. I can afford my prescriptions. Don't fuck it up!" These people, a large portion of the country, Miss Ginger included, are totally unaffected by this "healthcare reform".

It probably should have been billed as "insurance reform". Really, that is what will be changed by this bill. People who have not previously had access to insurance will now have it. The government will pay for it, the same way the government pays for everything it spends: by taxing Americans. This great American way has built interstate highways, bridges, schools, buildings, monuments, parks, and a pretty impressive office building for the man we elected to manage it. Oh, and it funds a pretty nifty set of services to protect it, as well. It's how we do things here in America. Always has been. Always will be.

But really, Miss Ginger sees it as "wellness reform", not just for individuals, but for the entire nation. In the past, the under insured did not have access to basic healthcare needs at many points of life: they went without well woman care.... prenatal care.... child development screening... asthma management... treatment of occupational barriers like depression and ADHD... diabetic care... blood pressure management... cholesterol screening... the list goes on and on! While the rest of us went about our daily lives, the underinsured struggled to get by without the health or wellbeing needed to hold down a job and manage their affairs! No wonder they are poor! It's a pretty vicious cycle!

Only when their condition became critical did most of them ever see a medical facility, and then it was typically an ER. High blood pressure became heart attack, diabetes became renal failure, or depressional became a suicide attempt before anyone would say "Get this man to a hospital! He's dying!!"

And for those Americans concerned about the cost of the "wellness reform": do you KNOW what an ER visit costs? Probably not, since your insurance paid for it! It is EXPENSIVE... WICKED EXPENSIVE to staff and manage an emergency facility! Our insurance pays for our visits. The government is already using our taxes to pay for the ER visits of the underinsured.

So, here's an idea: let's use some of that money to provide insured healthcare so we can keep them out of the ER in the first place. Funny thing about high blood pressure medication- it works just as well on poor people as it does on rich ones! And poor kidneys last as long as rich ones when their diabetes is treated and managed!

"So, Miss Ginger, what's in this for me? I'm not rich enough for my taxes to be increased, and I'm not poor enough for the government to buy my insurance, so why should I care?"

Well, you selfish son of a bitch, you SHOULD care because of your compassion for your fellow man. You SHOULD care because it is right, and decent, and good for you to want dignity and good health for all humankind. And you SHOULD want wellness for all because it is good for your spirit, and soul, and piece of mind!

But, clearly you don't, so Miss Ginger will put it into selfish terms you can understand.

Say you went to the mall to do some shopping, and you were thirsty so you stopped by the food court to get a soda. The young uninsured man behind you in line appears to have a cold, and sneezes. He looks really sick, and you think "gee, he really should stay home and take care of himself." But really, he doesn't have a cold. He has bacterial meningitis. And guess what. Now you do, too. One droplet from that sneeze is all it would take for his lack of healthcare to affect you. Oh, BTW: you should probably see a doctor. That shit can be deadly!

The good news is: you can still see YOUR doctor! Your healthcare will still be provided by the same free-enterprise doctor you know and trust. It will not be privatized by the government, or run by some Obama-appointed civil servant! And most of the patients there, like yourself, will be covered by insurance. The only difference is who paid for the insurance.

As Miss Ginger says, her personal healthcare will not change one bit by this legislation. But she is thrilled to say that one of her favorite charitable organization, Legacy Community Health Services, will benefit greatly by this! Or, I should say, their patients will benefit! Legacy's funding will now go so much farther, as many of their uninsured and underinsured patients will now be covered by insurance. They will be able to see these patients with much less administration and paperwork, and without having to use private funding. This means their money can go toward helping people who fall outside of the guidelines for government assisted insurance, which there always will be!

So, Miss Ginger won't be retiring her wigs and heels just yet!!! She'll just be helping even more people with every song she sings!!