Growing up, I always had great respect for those in the medical profession. I knew that becoming a doctor or nurse was no easy task. Doctors and nurses go through years of school and training before they’re able to care for patients
All this hard work culminated in a rewarding, respected career. People would be told to become a nurse. It was a common romantic trope to “marry a doctor.” Somewhere along the way, all of this training and practice became less important. Today, the list of people who make your health care decisions is growing longer — and your doctor is moving down the list.
Now, legislators at the state and federal levels are making life-and-death decisions regarding reproductive health. And just about everything else? Well, that is decided in offices hundreds of miles away by individuals concerned less with your care and more with the profits of their employer. Speaking of employers, the Supreme Court has opened the door for employers to determine what is covered and what is not covered by employer-sponsored health insurance policies.
In fact, it seems that the only people not involved in major health care decisions anymore are the individuals and their doctors or nurses. How does that make sense? In our state and several others across the country, we are seeing doctors and nurse practitioners, especially those who practice maternal medicine, leave the state in droves out of fear of prosecution under new laws.
It does not end there. Like millions of Americans, I am diabetic. I have spent the better part of three weeks trying to get my diabetic care covered by my insurance. The issue? We have controlled this chronic disease so well over the last two years that my insurance company no longer feels that I am “diabetic enough” to warrant further treatment. It is baffling to both my doctor and me that the insurance company would punish me for achieving the goals determined by my doctor to be in my best medical interest. Apparently, the insurance company is willing to take the gamble that higher A1C levels will not cause “that much” harm in the long run.
As a parent, my children depend on my ability to go to work every day and earn money to provide for my family. This is the way that it is supposed to work in this country. However, when our health care system is focused less on well-being and more on increasing profits, we put that responsibility at risk. Higher A1C levels put me at greater risk for blindness, amputation or heart problems, among other things. In the long run, all of these will cost the insurance company and society significantly more.
It is time to put these major health care decisions back in the hands of those who are most greatly affected, the individual and those who are specifically trained to advise and make these decisions, the doctors and nurses.
David Roth is a higher education administrator and member of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.