Surgical Volunteers International
Image source: Memoralhermann.org
In the United States, millions of people don’t have health insurance. Every day they fall deeper into debt because of medical procedures they can’t afford. Often, they don’t seek care because they can’t afford to pay. The system is deeply flawed. People suffer from a lack of medical coverage every day. In a country this rich, it’s shameful. Then again, it is illegal to deny care to someone in need. We know if we go to an emergency room anywhere in the country, we will get treatment. I think that safety net, while paltry and inadequate, protects us from the most heinous kind of medical neglect, and for that I’m grateful. We don’t see children going through their lives with cleft palates, for example. Early treatment spares these kids stigma, problems with speech, and infection. Treatable birth defects are treated, even if the parents are saddled with thousands of dollars of debt.
