Tim Sheehy doesn’t get the implications of privatizing all health insurance. He’s wealthy, has VA benefits and is shielded from healthcare cost impacts.
My back went bad; I couldn’t stand, could only walk short distances. I had a simple laminectomy, two hours in outpatient surgery, walked out three hours later. The pain is gone except for the incision and medical bills. Medicare limits knocked several thousand off the total, the bills still total over $17,000. And that was simple surgery. Thanks to Medicare, my co-pay will be about $600 which I can cover. $17,000 would put a major dent in my budget. For some people it could mean bankruptcy or homelessness. I now have a pre-existing condition, if all insurance was private, I would probably go into a higher-risk pool with higher premiums. Many people already can’t afford insurance, and they’re one illness away from financial disaster.
Sheehy and his wife donated $4 million to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Bozeman. I appreciate that, but that’s just the financial tip of running the unit. A preemie in NICU for a couple of weeks can run up a bill totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. That could devastate an uninsured young family.
Private health insurance is necessary, but insurance companies are there to make money by cutting benefits or raising premiums. Government insurance including Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and VA needs to stay solvent but is more focused on patient outcomes and keeping insurance affordable and available.
Jim Vashro
Kalispell