We are all patients, whether in excellent health, poor health or anywhere in between. As patients, we are all consumers of the healthcare system. Our collective dollars pay for the services we both receive and do not receive. How do we pay for services we do not receive? We pay higher premiums to insurance companies whose motives are to make profits with the least amount of expenditure. We pay out of pocket for services that are not covered by insurance because of high deductibles. We indirectly pay for the huge cost of educating healthcare professionals. We pay for services for those who cannot pay, due to low income or disability, by raising insurance premium costs, by increasing medical costs and through higher local, state and federal taxes.

As women, we learn how important it is to care for ourselves and our families. Women are caregivers who learn by gleaning health information from wherever we find it - the media, magazines, websites, our mothers and our grandmothers. Women have a long heritage as instructors in the art of caring for oneself. As healthcare costs rise, women sacrifice their own healthcare for that of their family members. Women as a group are less likely to get preventive healthcare, diagnosis and treatment, and screening for chronic conditions like diabetes, thyroid disease, heart disease and reproductive disorders. To add to that burden is the fact that women are at much higher risk for chronic conditions, especially autoimmune diseases than men. Breast cancer and cervical cancer can be detected early yet many women cannot afford these expensive tests or are afraid to be tested, for fear of the outcome.

As consumers of the healthcare system we have the right to quality care for our dollars spent. We pay premiums to insurance companies expecting that our healthcare needs will be met, yet most insurance companies refuse to give us the most basic healthcare for which we are paying ever increasing premiums. Restrictive insurance rules limit office visits, decide which doctors we can see, decide which diagnostic tests we can have and which medications we can take. As the medical system exists today, many are denied coverage of the most basic preventive healthcare, such as yearly physical exams, early intervention in chronic conditions, and diagnostic and monitoring blood tests and therapies for those conditions.

We women have a tendency to be stoic, accepting pain and ill health as badges of courage while our health deteriorates. Often, because of this stance, women are finally diagnosed and treated too late and the damage is irreversible. Early diagnosis and treatment can halt and/or reverse the disease process but a lifetime of silent suffering leaves permanent scars. Look at the women around you and ask, what has the current healthcare system done to help them live healthier lives? My answer would be, not much. Even when women try to get adequate medical treatment, the medical community views us collectively as hypochondriacs. The All in Your Head Syndrome is a popular diagnosis among health practitioners.

Patients must learn to become their own best advocates for good healthcare. While it seems as impossible as Jack fighting the Giant, Jack did win, despite incredible odds, as he chopped down the beanstalk. Healthcare reform is in the hands of the consumers, so take up the ax. We can start by contacting every state legislator, every congressperson, every state and federal healthcare agency and ask what is being done to protect patients’ rights as consumers. Write letters to the editors of local, statewide and national newspapers. Contact radio and television reporters, magazine writers, talk show hosts, and anyone willing to promote healthcare reform.

Get on the internet to find out what other consumer groups are promoting and support their efforts. Research your medical condition and educate yourself and your healthcare professionals about new diagnostic and treatment guidelines. Join support groups or internet discussions about your medical condition so that you can learn how to best manage your condition with the least amount of harm and the least amount of cost. Learn about how insurance companies, HMOs and the pharmaceutical industry are pushing costs skyward and emptying our pockets.

Every man, woman and child is a patient consumer. Patient advocacy begins with the relationship between patient and doctor. Write your doctor a letter stating your position as a consumer advocate who wants the best medical care for your dollar. Talk about symptoms that are ongoing and ask what can be done to better your health. Doctors suffer from the same restrictions imposed by insurance companies and HMOs as do consumers and are equally frustrated by the present state of the healthcare system. Their hands are often tied by cost-cutting restraints and cannot adequately do the jobs for which they were trained.

Talk with your family, friends and neighbors about what they want and need in healthcare. Ask them if their needs are being met and if not, what would best benefit their needs. Talk with business and community leaders and ask for their commitment to advocate for healthcare reform. Call on community and religious groups address these issues. Advocate for health education in the schools.

Grab your ax and begin chopping down the beanstalk. Watch the Giant fall down to earth and make sure you are no longer terrorized by power and greed. Lift up your voices and let them be heard, shouting, "I am my own best advocate! I advocate for every man, woman and child!"

Best in health,

Leslie Blumenberg, Patient Advocate

Waldoboro, Maine
leslieb@gwi.net

Member, Cross Cutting Issues for Special Populations Subcommittee of the Maine Health Action Team
Director, Thyroid Disease Patient Education Project
Member, Maine People’s Alliance
Board Member, American Thyroid Patients