Sam Gejdenson: “It seems to me that, if we go back before the battles that have raged in the last several weeks, there has to be a…”

“It seems to me that, if we go back before the battles that have raged in the last several weeks, there has to be a fundamental question of why we came to Congress. I grew up in the town of Bozrah, a town about 2,400 people. I knew that, oftentimes, those neighbors of mine could not compete when they were trying to deal with large corporations or an oppressive government. It seemed to me the obligation of an elected representative is to come here and be their voice, to fight for our friends and neighbors when they cannot do it on their own. What is our answer to what is happening to seniors on Medicaid HMO programs? What is our answer to the average family that lives in fear that the health care program they have paid for will not protect them when it is necessary? My wife went in for a 4½ hour operation. They removed a disk from her neck. They took a piece of bone from her hip. They put it back into her neck. A 4½ hour operation. She gets back to the hospital room around 5 o'clock. The doctor comes by 6:30 and says, you know, I would really like to keep you here, but I know the insurance company is not going to pay. But I am going to try. You will probably get stuck with a bill. She was all wired up with all the things that kill pain and what have you that you need after an operation. So she said fine. The next day, of course, the claim was rejected by the insurance company. That did not shock us, frankly, because we thought that was going to happen.”