JW: He just turned 2! That's why his thinks he's...
BW: 2-year-old Arem Williams (phonetic) does his best to keep up with his older brother. It is hard to imagine that a year ago, he was struggling to survive after open-heart surgery.
JW: Because of defects were so major, that they couldn't imagine that he would survive outside of the hospital for nine weeks!
BW: Arem's mom Jereen (phonetic) says what started as a hospital trip for a baby with the flu quickly turned into something more dire. Jereen says it wasn't an easy road, especially getting insurance to cover the hospital bills.
JW: Well, the hospital that we went to accepted our insurance, but various specialists that were called in at the hospital did not, so we started getting these, you know, surprise bills. And I thought, “Wait a minute, you know, we're insured!”
BW: The situation got worse when a doctor prescribed the common drug Viagra to treat a lung condition.
JW: His doctor wrote a full letter explaining why he needed it. We sent his medical records; and they still rejected it. And it's a very expensive medication!
With no help from the insurer, Arem's family had to pay about $600 a month for the drug. That was in addition to the $5,000 a year in doctor visits they were already paying. Like Arem, many other patients find themselves negotiating with an insurance company to get the healthcare they need. Doctor David Woolsey says the financial problem is one he sees every day in the emergency room at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami:
DW: One of the beauties of working where I work is I'm in a hospital that has every facility you can have. If there's anything somebody needs, I can do it. And, I spend half of my time talking to people about why they're not going to get it, what it's going to cost, you know, what should be done but can't.
BW: Advocates of healthcare reform say too often money is the factor, in whether someone gets lifesaving care or not. A key goal of reform is to expand health coverage to more people and make certain insurers are covering their patients. Under the current system, Dr. Woolsey says patients worry more about their savings than their health.
DW: There can't be that question in people's minds of, you know, can I afford to go get this done?
BW: Not everyone thinks the reform bill will guarantee more health coverage. Critics say more government pressure on private insurers could hurt people who are happy with existing coverage, such as reform protester Judy Smith:
JS: It could be affected because my husband's employed. It could go away. I understand that.
BW: For Arem, the insurer finally offered to pay for his Viagra only after his mother spoke out publicly. He no longer needs the drug, but his medical journey is far from over.
JW: We're still at risk, you know, of just incredible debt from being able to pay for our portion of our child's care, even though we are insured. That's a little scary!
BW: Jereen is glad her family has the insurance it does, and she knows other families are not as fortunate.
JW: I think it's safe to say that about, like, half of all bankruptcies are related to medical expenses. And that's wrong! Surely we can do better.
BW: Arem's family also worries the insurance company could drop him from the policy because of rising costs. Jereen supports healthcare reform, in part to make sure insurers could not do that to her family or someone else.
JW: There were a few hoops that I had to jump through, but ultimately his life was saved and he did get the care that he needed. I'd like to know that other American families can have that same access.
BW: Issues like these are at stake as reform measures move forward in Congress in coming weeks. Brian Wagner, VOA News.
标题
Patients Struggle to Pay Medical Bills (VOA)
视频介绍
Voice of America - September 16, 2009
Report on an American family's difficulties in navigating the U.S. healthcare system.
