02-28-2011, 02:12 PM
Pam,
I saw many single moms in Oregon stuck on the horns of the welfare puzzle: do I take the low paying job that means after paying for childcare I will have the same income as on welfare, but no medical coverage for my kids, or do I stay on welfare, with the accompanying low self esteem, bad example for my kids, and endure the humiliation imposed by burnt out cynical case workers, but my kids will have medical coverage. The loss of the welfare check and food stamps were not the issue for these women, the lack of health care coverage for their kids was a HUGE issue though.
Before anyone jumps in and says that in an emergency the kids would be taken care of anyway, I experienced being turned away at an emergency room with a 3 year old with a split open head, severe bleeding, and what turned out to be a serious concussion, until my friend wrote the hospital a rubber check for $500, so the good Sisters of Charity at Sacred Heart Hospital would admit my daughter and get her head looked at. We spent 2 hours hassling with the billing people because I did not have insurance, or a credit card, while my daughter slipped in and out of consciousness and bled all over the floor. They would not even take her pulse until we paid them some money.
This is what the single moms on welfare I knew were afraid of, the choice between a life of soul sucking dependency, or a risking the lives of their kids in a medical emergency.
A sensible system would have covered the children of low wage workers whose employers don't provide access to health care benefits, so people can at least get onto the bottom rungs of the ladder of success. Sure, in an ideal world nobody would have kids until they have a solid financial setup, with medical benefits. But life isn't like that: fathers sometimes shirk their duties, people lose jobs and benefits, and sometimes pregnancies happen unplanned; but once the kids are here it would be cheaper in the long run to provide medical coverage so their moms aren't afraid to take a low paying job with no medical coverage.
Carol
I saw many single moms in Oregon stuck on the horns of the welfare puzzle: do I take the low paying job that means after paying for childcare I will have the same income as on welfare, but no medical coverage for my kids, or do I stay on welfare, with the accompanying low self esteem, bad example for my kids, and endure the humiliation imposed by burnt out cynical case workers, but my kids will have medical coverage. The loss of the welfare check and food stamps were not the issue for these women, the lack of health care coverage for their kids was a HUGE issue though.
Before anyone jumps in and says that in an emergency the kids would be taken care of anyway, I experienced being turned away at an emergency room with a 3 year old with a split open head, severe bleeding, and what turned out to be a serious concussion, until my friend wrote the hospital a rubber check for $500, so the good Sisters of Charity at Sacred Heart Hospital would admit my daughter and get her head looked at. We spent 2 hours hassling with the billing people because I did not have insurance, or a credit card, while my daughter slipped in and out of consciousness and bled all over the floor. They would not even take her pulse until we paid them some money.
This is what the single moms on welfare I knew were afraid of, the choice between a life of soul sucking dependency, or a risking the lives of their kids in a medical emergency.
A sensible system would have covered the children of low wage workers whose employers don't provide access to health care benefits, so people can at least get onto the bottom rungs of the ladder of success. Sure, in an ideal world nobody would have kids until they have a solid financial setup, with medical benefits. But life isn't like that: fathers sometimes shirk their duties, people lose jobs and benefits, and sometimes pregnancies happen unplanned; but once the kids are here it would be cheaper in the long run to provide medical coverage so their moms aren't afraid to take a low paying job with no medical coverage.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb