A message to all middle class Pennsylvanians about Gov. Corbett's privatization of health care
Disclaimer: Letters to the Editor express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily the opinion of WBIG ownership, management or staff.
You are all one accident or illness away from being on medical assistance. I was hit by an old woman who ran a red light and hit me broad side. Pennsylvania law only requires you to carry $15,000 in insurance which is not enough to cover my medical bills, which are now $25,000 and on the rise. My MRA and MRI were $9,000 on their own. So I had no choice but to go on Medical Assistance, which is now privatized, so they have the ability to deny you care by making almost all tests and medicine require pre-authorization.
This means that the doctors’ offices have to fight with the insurance companies to get you the tests or medicine you need. This is not the doctors’ job to be an advocate, so that leaves people without the care that is needed. All of this did not have to happen; Gov. Corbett should not have taken the $300 million tobacco settlement money that was suppose to go for healthcare and place it in an escrow account, because the courts say it’s unconstitutional for him to take the money that was suppose to go for health care for the poor, not to balance his budget. This leaves the people of the state to pay for health care.
Another way to pay for health care for the poor could be to tax the gas companies—Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that does not do so. Corbett’s story of jobs is wrong because the gas companies would come here, regardless, to take the gas which is being stolen right from underneath our feet. If not for health care, the gas companies should be taxed for property tax relief, but Gov. Corbett has his agenda, which is to take from the poor and give to the rich, lobbyists, and special interests.
So hope and pray that you don’t get into an accident or get an illness, because you might get caught up in the so-called managed health care system, or perhaps it should be called the “health care denial system.” I never thought I would be in this situation, so to all middle class Pennsylvanians: stop looking down on the poor, because some day this could happen to you and you could lose your life as you know it just like I did.
Also, Gov. Corbett is suing Penn State University over the $60 million that the NCAA fined them, but wants to give a multi-billion dollar contract to a foreign company to manage our PA Lottery system. The PA Lottery system is the number one revenue generating lottery in the country, so where do the governor’s interests lie? I will let you all figure that out for yourselves.
Wayne Thomas
