fiercely independent spirits - your future is lottery luck, death, or the dole

Ever wonder what it's like to live without health insurance?

Probably not, as most hold some sort of 'job' that allows them some sort of coverage. Or they have some kind of "condition", physical or mental, that gets them on the dole.

But what about the artists, the non-profits, dissidents, and the entrepreneurial innovators... people who would rather contribute than take - true philanthropists.

Oh why, cruel world, have the artists, the hard working yet fiercely independent spirits been forsaken?

For over two decades I've lived and survived (barely) as an 'underground' publisher, creator and communicator. Throughout my two decades, I have found very few alternatives to using the E.R. as a substitute for a regular doc. The funny thing about that is, my ilk usually waits until things are desperate enough, and the need for answers greater than we can stand, before heading to the old E.R..

Some might think this E.R. tactic lazy, some might think it a 'burden' on the state. Burden, maybe - lazy, not likely... how about, really fuckin scary. That fear is usually compounded if you have tattoos, piercings, or live a life outside of what is considered normal. So, as an uninsured, heathen, sorta non-profit, creative innovator and entrepreneurial philanthropist, my experiences at the E.R. have usually been depressing.

I was reminded of this when I recently made a trip to the Emergency Room. I was feeling some really bad symptoms, waiting it out wasn't making things any better, and a try at internet diagnosis just made things worse. To me, this WAS an emergency!

I received a cat scan and some sort of 'full work-up', I was then treated as a criminal for using the E.R.. Not a person liable for a bill that is 20 times the cost of a regular doctor, not a person in desperate need of answers. The doctor made it clear that his only responsibility was to make sure it wasn't an emergency and "as long as you don't drop in 2 days, I'm off the hook". In fact, he offered very few results of the tests.

Today, a friend of ours went to the E.R. with some of the same symptoms I had, only difference, they're insured. They were told about this 'crazy virus' and happily passed the information on to us - good thing we have a couple of friends with insurance, now we might be able to stop stressing and get some rest.

All in all, I guess you could say I've made bad personal choices as far as my own health... but I gotta wonder, do 'we' as a society want doctors who would turn someone, anyone out on the streets with a possible virus to spread among the chosen, the insured. For the hard working, fiercely independent spirits who survive without government assistance - your future is lottery luck, death, or the dole - there is no middle ground.