This article on unaffordable under-insurance was covered in a previous Quote of the Day (Dec. 8), but a new response posted on the In These Times website follows:

Health Reform Devolves Into ‘Unaffordable Under-Insurance’

By Roger Bybee
In These Times, December 7, 2011

Response by “Art As Social Inquiry”
19 Dec 2011

Thank you for this piece.  I draw similar conclusions from my informal research.  I am looking at how we access healthcare in the US by painting portraits and telling the stories of those who are using the system.  More recently, the portraits are of people who actually HAVE insurance but because they are under-insured, they are suffering great financial and physical hardships.  The great secret in the US is that millions of us are under-insured and don’t know it unless we suffer a medical catastrophe.  This secret will be exposed if the essential benefits package of the ACA is too skimpy. People will get sick, think they are insured and find that even with insurance medical bills will eat up their savings. And they will be very angry. I don’t know…this next difficult phase may be the crucial first step toward a single-payer system? The ACA will help many millions, but is it enough? The question will always be “Can a for-profit system for delivering medical care really see to the needs of a country’s greatest asset – it’s people?”

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12348/health_reform_runs_into_unaffordable_under-insurance

“Art As Social Inquiry” is actually portrait painter Theresa BrownGold.

From her website:

Health Care in the United States

Art As Social Inquiry

This is a series of what will be 100-plus paintings depicting a cross-section of Americans. The titles of the paintings designate the kind of health insurance coverage or lack of coverage the sitters have. The goal is to paint a picture of the American health care system in the faces of our country’s citizens from the very best health coverage to the most horrific of circumstances resulting from a person’s lack of coverage. Who are we when it comes to health care? Let’s not be afraid to look at real people and be touched by their experiences – from the best to the worst – as we navigate this very big issue. There is no agenda but to ask, “What’s your experience? What are your thoughts on the subject?”

http://artassocialinquiry.org/projects/healthcare/

Comment: 

By Don McCanne, MD

We have long heard tragic stories of the uninsured, but now the under-insured are joining them with their sad tales. Theresa BrownGold’s series of portraits on Health Care in the United States tells us stories of a cross section of Americans, while relating them to their insurance status.

You might take a moment to look at two extremes in her series. First click on the third portrait in the eighth row – painted in a style that indicates that the person is no longer with us. Those of us who have been in the trenches certainly recognize the description as being all too typical of when the U.S. health care system fails us miserably.

The other portrait to click on is the politician in the seventh row on the left, with blue eyes and wearing a blue sweater pulled over an open-collar white shirt. Again, many of us will recognize his description as being one of those power players who seem to be oblivious to the plight of those not well served by our health care system.

Everyone has a story, whether good or bad. We can thank Theresa BrownGold for giving us so many pictures, each worth a thousand words and more, motivating us to continue to do our best to see that all stories become good ones.

This article on unaffordable under-insurance was covered in a previous Quote of the Day (Dec. 8), but a new response posted on the In These Times website follows:

Health Reform Devolves Into ‘Unaffordable Under-Insurance’

By Roger Bybee
In These Times, December 7, 2011

Response by “Art As Social Inquiry”
19 Dec 2011

Thank you for this piece.  I draw similar conclusions from my informal research.  I am looking at how we access healthcare in the US by painting portraits and telling the stories of those who are using the system.  More recently, the portraits are of people who actually HAVE insurance but because they are under-insured, they are suffering great financial and physical hardships.  The great secret in the US is that millions of us are under-insured and don’t know it unless we suffer a medical catastrophe.  This secret will be exposed if the essential benefits package of the ACA is too skimpy. People will get sick, think they are insured and find that even with insurance medical bills will eat up their savings. And they will be very angry. I don’t know…this next difficult phase may be the crucial first step toward a single-payer system? The ACA will help many millions, but is it enough? The question will always be “Can a for-profit system for delivering medical care really see to the needs of a country’s greatest asset – it’s people?”

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12348/health_reform_runs_into_unaffordable_under-insurance

“Art As Social Inquiry” is actually portrait painter Theresa BrownGold.

From her website:

Health Care in the United States

Art As Social Inquiry

This is a series of what will be 100-plus paintings depicting a cross-section of Americans. The titles of the paintings designate the kind of health insurance coverage or lack of coverage the sitters have. The goal is to paint a picture of the American health care system in the faces of our country’s citizens from the very best health coverage to the most horrific of circumstances resulting from a person’s lack of coverage. Who are we when it comes to health care? Let’s not be afraid to look at real people and be touched by their experiences – from the best to the worst – as we navigate this very big issue. There is no agenda but to ask, “What’s your experience? What are your thoughts on the subject?”

http://artassocialinquiry.org/projects/healthcare/

We have long heard tragic stories of the uninsured, but now the under-insured are joining them with their sad tales. Theresa BrownGold’s series of portraits on Health Care in the United States tells us stories of a cross section of Americans, while relating them to their insurance status.

You might take a moment to look at two extremes in her series. First click on the third portrait in the eighth row – painted in a style that indicates that the person is no longer with us. Those of us who have been in the trenches certainly recognize the description as being all too typical of when the U.S. health care system fails us miserably.

The other portrait to click on is the politician in the seventh row on the left, with blue eyes and wearing a blue sweater pulled over an open-collar white shirt. Again, many of us will recognize his description as being one of those power players who seem to be oblivious to the plight of those not well served by our health care system.

Everyone has a story, whether good or bad. We can thank Theresa BrownGold for giving us so many pictures, each worth a thousand words and more, motivating us to continue to do our best to see that all stories become good ones.