What Would Gandhi Think?

“The measure of a country's greatness should be based on how well it cares for its most vulnerable populations” - Mahatma Gandhi

Cynical about the system and not invested enough to stay informed of all the issues, I’m not really the political type. That said, there are a few issues that stick out, one that got me fired up recently. I had a session with a client that left me totally helpless and wildly frustrated.

To preface, only two weeks prior, at our last session, we had both felt hopeful and excited, ironically, because my client* had finally been diagnosed with a medical problem. This may seem strange, but I have been seeing this 30-year-old client off and on for five years, and during this time we’ve spent much time working toward radically accepting his myriad of depressive and physical symptoms that, while improved to an extent, endure. Yes, we’ve had breakthroughs, some very significant, but even with the counseling breakthroughs and diligent work of my client and his naturopath, the physical ailments and depressive cycling continue.

Over the years, this self-employed young man has spent thousands of dollars on attempts that ultimately did nothing significant to improve his symptoms. He’s too old to be on his parents’ insurance, he’s underemployed so can’t be on an employer’s insurance, and because of his ailments limiting the amount of work he can perform, his finances prohibit him from buying his own plan (and if he could afford one, it would surely be emergency coverage and not full coverage). So, we’ve been chasing symptoms, slowly testing hypotheses as he saves money for diagnostic tests and treatments, each time hoping that he’d get diagnosed with something treatable. Finally, he was given a diagnosis that seems to account for most of his symptoms, beginning in pre-adolescence. “Now we’re going to treat it aggressively,” he said at our last session.

A session later, things had changed. He was despairing; certainly some of the shock had worn off and the reality of his situation was coming into view. When he said to me, “I almost wish it had been cancer so I wouldn’t have to live like this for another 60 years,” my heart sank.

Admittedly I know very little about his diagnosed illness, but knowing that there are meds out there that should help that he cannot afford, I felt angry with the system. Here this guy has been spending all he could scrape up for most of his 20s trying to figure out and fix his symptoms, and, now, with a diagnosis, he can’t even treat it as aggressively as possible! I tried to walk the line between listening and offering a few suggestions (that seemed lame to me given the situation). Look into state subsidized insurance? Maybe a medication grant from the prescription manufacturer? My own sense of helplessness was visible I’m sure. We both sat paralyzed, our palpable sadness in the room.

When I went home, I found an envelope from Providence Hospital, where I’d recently gone to the ER throwing up and hunched over in abdominal pain. I left the next morning after having bloodwork, IV meds, ultrasound, CT and ultimately surgery for a 9mm kidney stone (they suck by the way – don’t get one). My statement of benefits indicated that in less than 24 hours, I’d racked up a hospital bill of $15,897 (and I don’t think that even included the surgeon’s fee). As I opened a few more envelopes, I was relieved to find my portion was a few hundred dollars. The juxtaposition of this awful session with my client, where we both felt doomed by the system (can’t work more to get employer insurance or afford your own because of your medical symptoms, and can’t treat the symptoms because you lack insurance) and my gratitude for my husband’s employer paid insurance, left me angry and just motivated enough to blog.

So, while I haven’t been following the latest on the healthcare bill, specifically if and when it will become effective and what modifications will be made before then, I know that there are too many stories like my client's, in which someone is uninsured or underinsured and cannot afford the recommended medical treatment. In many cases, the lack of insurance is even more “costly to society” as illnesses go undiagnosed and progress, leaving individuals relying on ERs for more severe symptom treatment. And, government programs like food stamps, subsidized housing or disability are taxed, when medical problems prohibit individuals from adequately functioning and earning a living wage with insurance. Not to mention the humanity of it… in a society with medical technology and advances like ours, it seems cruel that socioeconomic status should dictate treatment access? Shouldn’t everyone have medical care? If Gandhi were watching, I think he’d be appalled. 


* Client granted permission to share his information for this blog post.