Evie's Desk: Now's Time to Cure 'Sicko' Health SystemSeptember 24, 2007 |
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 The following opinion article was featured in the Los Angeles Daily News and La Opiñion on Sept. 20, 2007, and later in other local newspapers.In Michael Moore's "Sicko," a father whose toddler is hearing-impaired in both ears complains that his family medical-insurance provider will only pay for an implanted hearing device in one of the girl's ears because the mechanism is considered "experimental." How can the device be experimental for one ear, the father asks, but not the other? Why deny coverage for a device that is all the more critical because his little girl is learning to talk? "She has to hear from both sides of her head," the father complains. When it comes to the debate over universal health care coverage, it's time for public officials to hear stories like these - and for both sides of the political divide to listen closely to them. Even families with insurance, like the father whose deaf daughter was at a critical stage in language development and could have greatly benefited from two hearing aids, are not getting the coverage they need and deserve. Imagine what it's like for families with no coverage. Actually, it doesn't take much imagination because those families are all around us. To download the full Daily News article as a .pdf file, click here. To access the full La Opinion article in Spanish click here. To download the pdf in Spanish click here. Evelyn V. Martinez Executive Director First 5 LA ### "Evie's Desk" is a regular feature of our weekly newsletter, "Monday Morning Report". Subscribe now or view past issues.
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