Paywall free Washington Post gift article.
“Ohio sticks out — for all the wrong reasons. Roughly 1 in 5 Ohioans will die before they turn 65, according to Montez’s analysis using the state’s 2019 death rates. The state, whose legislature has been increasingly dominated by Republicans, has plummeted nationally when it comes to life expectancy rates, moving from middle of the pack to the bottom fifth of states during the last 50 years, The Post found. Ohioans have a similar life expectancy to residents of Slovakia and Ecuador, relatively poor countries.”
Even before covid we were the only G7 nation with a decreasing life expectancy.
And much of that is because of our horrid health insurance system. A year before COVID hit, I developed a horrible cough. I’d be doubled over and coughing so much I’d feel dizzy.
I didn’t want to go to the doctor though. I had health insurance, but I knew I would need scans (x-rays, MRI, whatever). For those, my insurance covered it only after I hit my deductible. Even then, they covered 80% and I would have to pay 20%.
Given this, I might need to pay quite a bit and money was tight. So I put up with the cough for an entire month before I relented and went to the doctor.
Thankfully, it wasn’t something major and was easily treated. Still, I shouldn’t have needed to make the decision about whether I could afford to treat my ailment. Someone with a worse health insurance situation, worse financial situation, and worse health problems could have to decide whether they had enough money to get healthcare. That should never be the case for anyone.