A Locksmith’s Tale And Other Health Care Stories

Published December 11, 2009

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As the debate over health care overhaul goes on and on and on and on, we thought we’d slip off and visit some people who have strong opinions about insurance. Nobody’s elected them, nobody’s paying them to influence anybody. They’re just folks with their own notions. And, in some cases, rather odd notions. My friends Will Hoffman and Dan Mercadante did the interviews and shot the videos. I think they’re stunning to look at.

I Do Fine Without It

Lou Padilla’s a locksmith, and pretty good at fixing things, so when he broke his ankle a few years back, he decided to set it himself. He didn’t have health insurance, and he still doesn’t.

They Made It Impossible

Angela Prugal had to skip a lot of medical care during her last pregnancy — with a brutal outcome.

Thank God I Have It

One day, Stan Comora tripped over his own feet, and was pretty sure his life would be over in minutes. He had fallen on a saw, cutting open an artery in his face. What went through his mind?

My Son Needs It

Rick Bartlett’s son wanted to come home and work on his family’s farm. But a need for health insurance is forcing Trevor away from his family.

Will and Dan have been busy on a joint project they call Everyone Forever Now, which captures folks doing ordinary things: lying on a sunny beach, sitting on a city stoop, shooting targets at a shooting range, pumping gas. When nothing in particular is going on, Will and Dan get very interested. See all of their work at Everynone.com.

Your Comments

Re: the fight over purchasing prescription medications from Canada (and other countries).

I can’t understand what the fuss is all about. Most healthcare companies require us (insureds) to purchase generics whenever possible, and most generics are made in other countries, often by foreign-owned companies. Many of our own US pharma companies farm out their manufacturing jobs to other countries (so the corporations can save money — as we US citizens are trying to do). Thus, the US people lose jobs and can’t afford healthcare and the EXPENSIVE medications that our pharmaceutical companies sell us. Then these same companies have the unmitigated gall/greed to extort favors from our government in the form of preventing our citizenry from purchasing cheaper medications elsewhere. (Whatever happened to good old competitiveness?)

If most of our drugs already come from other countries, why shouldn’t we be allowed to purchase directly from other countries, ourselves?

Perhaps our government should require all pharmaceutical corporations that sell in the US to have all of their products made by US citizens at US locations, using as many US resources as possible and operating in an environmentally friendly way. Then, maybe I’d consider their demands a tad more reasonable.

Oh, and the argument suggesting that drugs from Canada might be tainted doesn’t hold water because drugs manufactured in other countries by US corporations can be just as easily tainted. The consumer is always taking a risk, no matter what.

Posted by Taylor Bradstreet on December 16, 2009, at 1:18 PM

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