Letter to the editor: Health care nightmares

I recently awoke from a nightmare in which I had come home late on a cold winter’s night to find my grandmother sitting on my front porch with a blanket wrapped around her and a note from the hospital which she had been admitted to only hours before. The note stated that Grandma was sent home by the insurance company because it did not agree with the doctor’s orders, and that it was not going to pay the hospital bill. And oh, by the way, please pay the ambulance bill of $250 for bringing her home.

My dream was probably caused by the trials and tribulations an elderly friend had to endure recently when her husband passed away, and by the memory of the “gifts” of small animals left on our front porch when I was young and living on a farm. People always assumed kittens and puppies were welcome.

My friend’s horror story troubles me because I am now elderly myself, at almost 73, and a disabled Vietnam veteran. I fought for our country and for a health care system that should have been guaranteed not only for the rich and powerful, but for all of my fellow Americans.

Please contact your congressmen and senators and help get our health care system fixed. The insurance companies are already too rich. If you have pride in or concern for our country, it’s time you start fighting to help save it.

Terry E. Swindell

New Alexandria