I’ll take care of myself as long as it’s covered by my HMO…

Posted on October 5, 2008 
Filed Under Fear, Worry & Doubt, Health & Wellness

The healthcare system in the United States has Americans thinking and doing really crazy things. I write during the days, and teach and speak in the evenings and on weekends. This gives me time to answer Jennifer’s (my wife, the healer) telephone when I am not otherwise occupied. I do this because I have much of the same training and can answer many of the questions people would otherwise have to wait to have answered by Jennifer. But this also gives me the opportunity to listen to many different people coming from many different situations with many different problems. The biggest of which is not any medical complaint, but a mental-disconnect between their health and their financial situation.

Many people actually choose to keep health problems because they can’t afford to receive the help they need. This is a national problem, but we are not talking about an indigent population here. Jennifer’s office is on a golf course near the gate of one of the more expensive neighborhoods in our area; and many of the people who “can’t afford” to release the stress and anxiety and other psychological/emotional problems that will ultimately wreck their health and life before killing them, are really talking about insurance coverage and not about their ability to pay for what’s important to them.

You see, these same people spend more money getting their hair done, having their cars detailed, eating out, and buying alcohol and cigarettes, than it would cost to release a life-long fear that is ruining their life and health. “But, insurance is ‘supposed’ to pay for taking care of us!” That’s just plain crazy. This tendency, habit, or desire to pay other people to take responsibility for our lives has become a national epidemic. If people do not get their lives, thoughts, and health straightened out, all the insurance in the world isn’t going to help them. It is only going to help the establishments that drug them and hold their hands as their health declines and they ride the wave of stress and despair all the way to a hospital bed that may or may not be covered by their insurance by the time they arrive there.

Insurance companies are not much different from banks; and, when they aren’t making money, they won’t be there for you anymore. That’s a fact that we must all face in this economy. Insurance is an illusion that borders on being a “scam.” Insurance is a way of betting against your good health; it doesn’t pay unless you suffer – unless you lose at the game of life. “But what if something happens and I’m not covered?” That happens all the time – everyday – to millions of Americans who have insurance and thought they were covered. Even state-funded medical coverage periodically and arbitrarily strips away benefits from certain groups of people who “need” it just as much as anyone else.

Insurance companies are betting that they can collect more money than they pay out – and they do. This means that more people pay for insurance than actually need it. It also means that the insurance company will do whatever it can to NOT pay out – including spending millions on lawyers and investigators to find any reason at all not to pay. Why pay millions to keep from paying you thousands? Because there are thousands more in your exact situation; and, if the insurance company – who is supposed to be on your side – finds a way to beat you, then they can use the same technicality against others similarly situated – saving them billions, not thousands or millions. Insurance is a business – not a safety net. And it certainly doesn’t protect you from getting sick or injured; and it might not even pay the medical expenses you bought it for.

Think about reclaiming your own health and wellness. Think about living like the strong, healthy people who built this country without insurance and drug companies to “take care of them.” Look around at what our current way of living in this country has done; and then set yourself free from the madness that has been created by greed and fear – and laziness. You alone are responsible for your health. Learn about your health and how you can take a more active role in your own health, wellness, and happiness. You can do it. Others before us have; and we can too. It is only your life if you’re the one living it. You don’t need help from a corporation. And you cannot “buy” your way to wellness – no matter how much insurance coverage you have.

Comments

Leave a Reply