Backward-looking health care debate

I wrote several letters while the Affordable Care Act was being debated and called the offices of my representatives. I thought it was the least I could do to get past the craziness of only being insured when I was healthy.

My main issue at the time was to beg for an end to the pre-existing condition madness that meant my career with Peace Corps, the U.N. and as a contractor with the Department of State left my family exposed when every new assignment drew a line in the sand on what would be covered.

But now I'm writing because my sister passed away from a condition that may have been related to poorly treated high blood pressure. She went without insurance for years as her career as a speech pathologist for autistic children and stroke patients did not insulate her from the realities of having to beg for coverage when she joined my family's small business.

But high blood pressure was not only a pre-existing condition; it also put her in a pool where she could simply be denied coverage — and treatment — at any cost. After a series of explosive nose bleeds early last year, she passed away in November from an aneurysm. We discovered later that she had been consumed with a headache in the days leading up to her death but refused to go to the hospital due to the financial burden her previous episodes had created.

Watching the current backward-looking debate is like watching someone deflate a tire you just changed. I would like to swear and cry at the same time. It's cheaper and better to have everyone covered.

And, Congressmen, we all know that you all have health coverage we can only dream of. Fix the problems with health care that keep mine from being like yours.

William Pryor

Naperville