High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
If not the Voice of the People, then who?
Several of the stories belowcan be heard by the people who told them, in video formatonThe Walk for Healthcare’s YouTube Channel
For all the stories, full written consent has been granted for public posting. I am deeply grateful for allthose who have spoken with me and it is a privilege and obligation to present them to the wider world inthe interest of bringing the Voice of the People to the forefront of the healthcare reform debate. Thesestories speak to the heart and to the mind representing, in the fullest sense of the word, the spirit of,“government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Walk For Healthcare
– Illinois
The Walk For Healthcare
http://walk4healthcare.orgp. 1 ©Ogan Gurel, MD. Non-commercial use permitted.
Martha
in Chicago, IL
Martha finds it shameful that Americacan’t provide basic healthcare for itscitizens, like any other developedcountry does. “Civilized nations carefor those in need,” she said. Sheespecially noted that the connection of healthcare insurance to employmentstatus was a big problem. “It doesn’t make sense. If you getsick, you have a greater chance of being unemployed.”
Chicago, 6/27/2009
Addison
in Chicago, IL
Addison, on the right, is Martha’s olderson. He’s a student in college who, withevident pride, told me that in the pastelection he had just voted for the firsttime. As he embarks on study abroad inItaly this coming fall, he is, despite hisglowing patriotism, embarrassed thathealthcare for all, as he has learned is the case in Italy, doesn’texist here in America.
Chicago, 6/27/2009
Ron
in Chicago, IL
I met Ron along Martin Luther King Drive.He was working at painting a fence. He wavedhis hand towards the south side streets beyondand said, “Yes, there’s many people here without health insurance.” With a seriouslook, he turned back towards me. “Yes, without healthcare.”He shared a story of an old lady from the neighborhood. Shehad a change in coverage that now made it too expensive to gether insulin for her diabetes. “It was all very fishy business,”Ron told me. This lady, on Medicare, was in the hospital forsome time. An insurance salesman came to her hospital bed andconvinced her to change her coverage (Ron couldn’t recall theexact name but he told me it sounded, “Something like ‘WellCare’”). What happened was that this ‘new’ plan didn’t coverthe old lady’s particular type of insulin so, with her ‘brand-new’private supplemental insurance plan in place, she ended up now spending $129 a month, out-of-pocket, for her medication. The insurance salesman is gone and now she’s struggling, Rontells me, on top of her fight to stay well, to piece together her wrecked insurance and financial situation.
Chicago, 6/27/2009
Joseph
in Chicago, IL
Stopping by the Chicago BaptistInstitute, I met Rev. Joseph Felker, theChairman of that organization. Acrowd was gathered and they werehosting an outdoor event—a ‘Healthy Walk” event actually. He told me, “Weshould have had healthcare for theuninsured years ago. It is a travesty, a true travesty, buthopefully the change we are seeing is a start.”
Chicago, 6/27/2009
Clifford
in Chicago, IL
Sitting next to Rev. Felker was Rev. Dr. Tyler.He concurred, saying that, “Healthcare reformis long overdue. With the wealth of thiscountry, it’s a shame that people don’t havehealthcare.” They, and the others, were all very nice. They passed me a couple bottles of water and many best wishes (and prayers) for the journey onward to Washington, DC.
Chicago, 6/27/2009
Walk For Healthcare
– Indiana
The Walk For Healthcare
http://walk4healthcare.orgp. 2 ©Ogan Gurel, MD. Non-commercial use permitted.
HealthcareStories from Indiana
If not the Voice of the People, then who?
Roderick
in Hammond, IN
Roderick from the hotel told me, “Everyoneshould have healthcare and it should beprovided by the government, not by for-profitcompanies.” I asked him if he thinks thecurrent reform proposals are enough. Heshook his head, “No.”
Hammond, 6/28/2009
Chris
in Hammond, IN
As I walked along 25th Avenue (on the way toGary), I heard a honk from the road. They stopped, I looked over. “Hey, Doc—weren’tyou on TV last night?” And so I headed overto say hello and get the next story of the day. With traffic zooming on by, we didn’t have much time forchitchat. But he, Chris was his name, told me, “We need help,it’s rough out here for everybody—not just the elderly. There’sdrugs and alcohol problems, no treatment and the price of medications is too much.” I asked if he could share a specificexample. “Sure,” he replied, while the older gentleman in thepassenger seat with him nodded in acknowledgement. “My mother’s got Alzheimer’s and her medications are $500 to $600dollars a month. It’s impossible …”
Hammond, 6/28/2009
Eric
in Wheeler, IN
Eric shared his brother’s story. He had had aneye accident, lost his job on account of thatand being without health insurance had to filefor bankruptcy. “That about tells it all,” hesaid.
Wheeler, 6/28/2009
John
in Gary, IN
With parched throat, I stopped into theIndiana University police station hoping tofind a water fountain. John, the officer-on-duty at the front desk, greeted me. “It’s acritical situation,” he told me. “Especially now that people are losing jobs. But keeping pricesdown is important. Even with the insured, prices are inflated,they’re sky-high.” I nodded in reply. “So, it’s hard to stay healthy if you can’t afford health care.”
Gary, 6/28/2009
Ed
in Hobart, IN
Six miles later, now in Hobart, I stopped intoUnited States Security (a private security service) for some water. I talked with Ed, theDirector. “Definitely things need to change,”he said. “But it’s more like tweaking. I’m 100%against something like the Canadian system.” Iasked what he thought of the health care reform debate in Washington. “Well, I don’t like the idea of the upper brass fat-cats reaping rewards. They need to be dissolved or at least heldaccountable … and take another bottle for the road,” he added.
Hobart, 6/28/2009
Kyle
in Valparaiso, IN
Kyle’s story is a bit complicated. He’s asenior in college (at Purdue in Hammond) buthe started college a couple years aftergraduating from high school. Because of thisunusual transition, it ended up that he hadmissed the deadline for getting insurancethrough his mother’s policy. “I was working to put myself through college with a bunch of part-time jobs. None of them,though, provided insurance … then I got sick—very sick.” He was bedridden for several days with fatigue and fever. He finally went to his family doctor who took a blood test. Two dayslater, his mother received an urgent call from the doctor saying,demanding almost, that Kyle go to the emergency roomimmediately. Kyle told me, “it was the highest white bloodcount he had ever seen,” and he was concerned Kyle had
Add a Comment