I iz in yor howse eatin' up yor helthcarez

Last night my grandma was attacked in her house. More accurately, she was attacked in her garage by an unwelcome guest. A cat had wandered into the garage and scratched her arm, leaving a row of little, red holes zig-zagging up her forearm. Luckily, it was the neighbors', unluckily they couldn't remember if the cat was up-to-date with all its shots. My grandma packed her purse, two yapping lap dogs and her husband, and made the journey down to the hospital to get a tetanus shot.

Long story short, she'll be fine. The doctor gave her the shot she needed and wrote her a prescription for some antibiotics. She stopped at a local pharmacy to fill her prescription, but it was closed. On the next stop, the pharmacy was open but refused her medical card and sent her away. On the way to the third stop she realized either the store would accept the card and give her the medication she needed or else she'd be forced to pay $50 for a mere ten pills - just imagine if this were urgent! At the end of the night she received her antibiotics, but it cost her.

In July, my grandma will be 68, she's retired and unable to work. There's nobody who's been better to my brothers and I when we were growing up - she's a true saint. I can't fathom an acceptable reason why she should be forced to pay extreme rates to insurance companies then pay again. In a much publicized report, it's been found Americans, when compared to other industrialized countries, ranks dead last. We're spending three times as much as others in rich western countries on hospitals and twice as much on pills, yet we're receiving worse care. Remind me again, what's wrong with universal healthcare? To echo the sentiments of FDR's New Deal ethos, government must do for people what people can't do for themselves. Isn't it time to stop wearing your side's red or blue t-shirt and help out our grandmothers?