First, there is actually no problem with Ms. Jolie's op-ed at all. In and of itself, that is. First, Ms. Jolie's
op-ed is lovely. She's a decent writer. Direct and to-the-point. And as to its content - well, she's brave, courageous, and poignant even. She chose to share something personal and intimate that frankly, is her own private family news. And she chose to share it with the world because she thinks it can make a difference for many, many, many, perhaps tens of thousands of people - women and men - together, and that should be applauded. So, hats off to Ms. Jolie. She recognizes that breast and ovarian cancers are insidious, and they affect thousands upon thousands of folks, and they affect many, many through genetics, and there are tests that can be done and then preventive treatments/surgeries that are options if people would like/choose that lessen chances...all of those things are made known through the op-ed she wrote about her own decisions and story. So, again, hats off to her. If she touched one person, if she informed one person, then her op-ed has done good. And doing good is what we all ought to shoot for in this life.
But here's the thing...what her piece also reveals is the "elephant in the room" (if you will) about healthcare in our great nation...that it is an issue of entitlement based on economy and "having versus not having"....the stark reality about healthcare that our political leaders, all of Congress and the administration, simply do not want to acknowledge and talk about, that they skirted over and over and over again as the healthcare reform was passed, that pharmaceutical companies and insurance corporations and lobbies deny and ignore repeatedly and follow as "modus operandi" because it cuts against the "bottom line" (profits profits profits!!!). Now, I'm not trying to get into a political debate, and I know emotions run high regarding this matter generally, so to stick to the subject specifically, Ms. Jolie said that the tests to show if someone has the gene that will likely lead to breast cancer costs $3000. And insurance does NOT cover it. Now, Ms. Jolie has the luxury of spending that $3000. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't deny that. In fact she doesn't deny it in the piece. And she says that she hopes in the future more and more folks will have the opportunity to have the tests. But what do you think the odds of that are? What are the chances that insurance companies are going to allow such charges at 100% coverage? Really? And where exactly are middle-class folks, let alone lower-class folks, going to find a spare $3000 for tests just to see if they have the gene? And that's just to see if they have it? Forget choosing the surgeries/treatments, which would be "elective" and therefore, also NOT covered.
And that's the problem I'm pointing out...we've become a nation where healthcare is a commodity. It's not a "right" fundamentally. And while in a crisis situation, healthcare is dispensed (hospitals can't turn someone away - that is true); the fact remains that in the situation Ms. Jolie describes, only folks in a position of "privilege" (i.e., with money and means) need line up, because for anyone else, what she describes is only a pipe dream. And surely, as so many want to invoke our founders, that is not what they envisioned, is it? I mean, really? Is it? If I'm honest, I can't really say (none of us truly knows what Mr. Washington or Mr. Adams or any of them would do or say or think!). But I do wonder. Did Mr. Jefferson really mean when he wrote that people had the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" that only those with means should be able to trust reasonable access to healthcare? I don't think so, but maybe I am wrong.
Okay, so perhaps my thoughts today are my form of a blog rant. I don't know. It's just what I was thinking after I read Ms. Jolie's op-ed the other day. I do applaud her. I'm impressed with her choices. I'm impressed that she'd share it with the world. I'm impressed with her writing prowess. She's a public figure who young women and girls especially can look up to, I think. Not knowing her personally it's hard to say for certain, but at least these things suggest a positive image, so kudos, Ms. Jolie. But at the same time, her op-ed exposes quite plainly the travesty of healthcare as a nationwide issue and how our nation's leaders have not done enough, have allowed the insurance industry (and it is an industry!!) to rule the day, to hijack healthcare based on the bottom line and profits and lining the pockets of CEO's, rather than being guided by medical innovation, science, and health decisions, is well, deplorable and ought to be criminal.
I'll end with this...recently, my husband and I watched the film, "Lincoln" with Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones. So good. It was fascinating to watch the debates in the House, depicting what surely was close to historical debates. We were talking later about how the rhetoric was so charged and how courageous some of those men really were. How hate-filled some of the speech was to our ears, and how then some of that was really what people said and thought and felt. But how prophetic some of them were, to speak against slavery and to feel so differently from the ideas of the times, especially in the South. It was interesting. And both of us were struck, thinking aloud that it sure would be nice if we had some folks it Congress today who were that courageous because lately, it sure seems like we don't. We need some political leaders who are courageous like some of them. On healthcare. On background checks for guns. On civil liberties. On a whole bunch of stuff. Folks who can see the truth and aren't afraid to speak it and act on it. In this particular case, who won't be afraid to say that insurance companies should not dictate healthcare policy. Perhaps Ms. Jolie can assert some influence. I don't know about that. But perhaps. Sure would be nice if someone could.
