Eyes and teeth are not optional: HRC 28/100
25 August, 2016 | Index
Dear Hillary Clinton,
Gerard Mclean here, from Englewood, Ohio, just north of Dayton. There were 100 days from your nomination to election, so I’m writing you 100 letters. This is the twenty-eighth letter. The others can be found in your USPS mailbox or online at 100HRC.com
This past week, I paid $368.00 for new eyeglasses and an exam, and $1,944.00 in dental work. That is $2,312.00 in OOP “medical” bills that are somehow not really seen as medical needs under the ACA. (I’ve seen the eye and dental plans on the Marketplace… let’s be serious, here) Moreover, none of that expense is applicable to my max OOP on my health insurance.
This makes no sense!
Dental work that is not attended to promptly can lead to all sort of related medial issues, including stoke, heart disease and blood poisoning which can cause death pretty quickly. Regular eye exams not only increase the quality of life, but can uncover all sorts of other health-related including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other maladies. To segment off “health issues” to cover with insurance as “just eyes” or “just teeth” is narrow-minded and fairly ignorant in light of what we now know. The body is related; all of it.
We need SinglePayer, MedicareForAll, UniversalCare that covers dental and optometry in addition to “real” medical care. This should no longer be up for debate.
Eyes and teeth are not optional.
Regards,
Gerard McLean
cc: Sen. Sherrod Brown
