Annie Shove: Why Women Need the Public Option

To the Editor:

Several years ago I was diagnosed with anorexia. Eating disorders are often overlooked or misunderstood; many people believe that it is something that is easily curable and can be treated relatively quickly. This is not the case. A majority of cases of anorexia result in women and men having to be admitted to inpatient care. After I was hospitalized I had to undergo extensive therapy, which consisted of constant medical supervision, daily visits with the doctor, and meeting with a therapist.
At the time of my diagnosis, I was a student at Crown College. Minnesota law required that all students in the state have health insurance, so I had been paying for a student insurance plan. When I got sick, however, the insurance company refused to cover my doctor visits and medication, claiming that my illness was a pre-existing condition and they were not required to pay for it.
I delayed getting the outpatient treatment I needed until I was so sick I ended up in the hospital for nearly a month and a half. I was hospitalized six more times, along with two years of outpatient treatment, before I recovered. This would easily have been prevented if I’d been treated fairly by the insurance company and been given the coverage I was paying for.
In North Dakota, women are more likely to seek preventative care for their illnesses than men and are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses, such as asthma or diabetes, and in my case, anorexia.  More than 11% of women are uninsured. Women are generally poorer than men, and in North Dakota earn just 69 cents for every dollar men earn. Women also use the health care system more, in part due to their reproductive health needs.  As a result, they struggle with medical debt and, more often than not, choose not to seek treatment. Currently one in ten women in North Dakota reports not visiting a doctor due to high costs.
This is unacceptable. 
It is essential that any health care reform bill include a public option, which by competing with private insurance will bring down costs and guarantee that everyone has access to quality coverage. With a public option, no one would risk losing their health care benefits if they lost their job, and no one would be told they cannot get the treatment they need because an insurance company decided it would be more profitable to deny a claim.
 
The system we have right now is simply unsustainable. We spend more on health care than any other industrialized nation—1/6 of our economy and growing.  Yet the United States ranks 37th in quality of care in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
After years of pain and turmoil, I am still faced with treating my disease, but I am now also shouldering a mountain of debt –- a debt that had the insurance companies been forced to compete with a public option would have forced costs down and made it illegal to deny a pre-existing condition. That money could have gone towards graduate school or purchasing my first home.
I encourage Senator Conrad and Representative Pomeroy to support a robust public option in health care reform. I thank Senator Dorgan for standing with the people of North Dakota and his continued support of working towards true health care reform that will benefit individuals like myself.

Annie Shove
Fargo