Why tinkering around at the edges of health care doesn't work

Joan McCarville is the reason why politicians at every level can no longer tinker around at the edges of health care reform. Who is Joan McCarville? She is a 44-year-old non-smoking Wisconsin farmer being punished because one of her lung transplants didn't work. You can find her story in this article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

How will those against universal health care respond to Joan? She has played by the rules and is being told she cannot have another lung transplant unless her family comes up with $330,000 first.

She works on the family farm so they can't toss her off as a 'lazy jobless' type that doesn't deserve quality health care in their mind if they aren't going to work. She has health care coverage so they can't say she is irresponsible by not paying for her own coverage. She is in Wisconsin's Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan and they are denying her coverage. And it's not the fault of the hospital. They cannot possibly be expected to pay for every person that our politicians leave without adequate care.

Our country cannot continue this health care roulette game any longer. People like Joan should not have to sell the family farm or hold fundraisers in hopes of getting the health care they need. Every politician in this country that doesn't advocate for a complete redo our of our health care system so that it provides everyone with decent care needs to go and tell Joan and her family in person why they think Joan doesn't deserve a lung transplant to save her life.