By now everyone with media access knows the Komen Foundation defunded Planned Parenthood this week. I wish I could say it leaves me shaking with anger at Komen, but what it does more is underscore my belief that the private sector cannot be depended upon to be fair to people across income levels -- and therefore healthcare should not be run by the private sector.

We need universal healthcare, defined as:  a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.

If we don't have universal healthcare, organizations like Planned Parenthood that provide services -- of which abortion is only 3% -- depend on private donations. So private donations by wealthy people determine whether or not a woman like I was immediately post-college gets to have a pap smear or a STD test that year. Private donations determine whether someone like your mother gets her mammogram if she doesn't have health insurance. Private. Donations. Other people's generosity. 

People are fickle.

Private donors can be influenced by politics or emotion. They can decide no one's taking care of them, why should they take care of other people? They can get swayed by religious beliefs about when women want to have children -- and don't get me started on why women's health can be influenced by religion but not men's -- and decide because they don't agree with what's happening with 3% of an organization's legal health care services that they'll defund 97% of the cancer screenings and women's health services provided to women who can't afford to go anywhere else and will otherwise go without health care in the richest country in the world.

And the only one -- unless things go as intended in 2014 -- without universal  health care: 

Thirty-two of the thirty-three developed nations have universal health care, with the United States being the lone exception [1]. 

People got so upset about "Obamacare." I got upset with the people who are upset, because it's completely clear to me when one women's health organization can defund another's so easily that all health -- but especially women's health, the only health tied to religious issues -- hangs completely in the balance unless it's universal. Women are held captive by their reproductive organs, which like any organs can get cancer and you know, kill you. Women can be held back from medical care for those organs if they're too poor to afford to go anywhere but Planned Parenthood and then Planned Parenthood doesn't have the money to help them because the private sector got honked off about something and refused to fund them. 

This whole Komen/PP issue reinforces for me so clearly all the problems I have with pure capitalism: People can be selfish fools who only care about themselves. I believe when we live in a First World country, we don't get to behave like prigs. When we hold ourselves up to a higher standard and pass judgment on other countries and step in to "help" them see the error of their ways, we have to be a shining example of democracy and capitalism and freedom ourselves, or why the fuck are we telling anyone else how to behave?

AND WE ARE NOT.

We don't take care of our own very well. We argue over "the food stamp president." We deny our women healthcare because their reproductive organs got tangled up in religion, whether we or they follow those religions or not.

We have to change!

We can't depend on the generosity of the private sector for something as important as our health care. It is clear, and I hope the events of this week make it crystal clear for anyone questioning why we need universal health care.

What if it was your cancer screening, your mother's, your daughter's -- because it could be, anyone's, any time. Everyone under this current system is one health nightmare away from poverty. And that's ridiculous and scary and this is America and it has to change. Part of the luxury of living in this country with all its shining highways and FDA regulations should be contributing to the health and safety of every single citizen. We neglect each other, we neglect America, we neglect our future.

Have I mentioned yet how much I love my new job?

OKAYILOVEMYNEWJOB.

Here's one reason why: I get to focus on issues that matter to women. On Friday, we found out that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is available at 8:30 a.m. Central (9:30 Eastern, 7:30 Mountain, 6:30 -- eek -- Pacific) (as in RIGHT NOW) to answer our questions about healthcare reform.

Over the weekend, we rushed to collect your questions for Sebelius, and after hearing us call out for questions on Twitter, Facebook and BlogHer, you responded.

And then D.C. became buried in a snowcalypse.

But the White House? They don't care about little things like snowstorms. Sec. Sebelius is still answering questions like the good Kansan she is. (Go, Kansas.) Listen to her healthcare reform live feed on BlogHer with BlogHer's Morra Aarons Mele now.

If BlogHer's stream doesn't work for you, you can also watch on the White House's Facebook page.

Scene: 9:20 a.m. The pediatrician's office. I got home from my business trip to Boston at 2:45 this morning.

Nurse: Blah blah blah THIMEROSAL-FREE INDIVIDUALLY PACKAGED INJECTION blah blah NO MORE SEASONAL FLU INJECTIONS blah blah SEASONAL FLU MIST blah blah TWO INJECTIONS BUT DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL GET ENOUGH

Little Angel: Mommy! I don't want the shot! Mist! MIST!

Nurse: Blah blah CAN'T DO TWO MISTS AT THE SAME TIME blah blah WORRIED ABOUT SEASONAL FLU NOT YET PEAKED blah blah CAN GET SWINE FLU INJECTION AND SEASONAL FLU MIST AT SAME TIME blah blah TODAY blah blah ANOTHER APPOINTMENT

Me: (God, I am so tired. AM SO TIRED! WHAT IS SHE SAYING?)

Nurse: Blah blah SO WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

Little Angel: MOMMY NO SHOT!

Me: (Don't want to come back. Need seasonal flu? Seriously? She hasn't had seasonal flu shot in three years. She didn't get one last year. Didn't get the flu last year. Uses WAY TOO MUCH HAND SANITIZER. She said thimerosal-free, right? That's good, right? The little angel is too old too worry about that, isn't she?)

Nurse: ??

Little Angel: ??

Me: (?????? How did this day start, again? Did yesterday end?)

Me: Let's do the swine flu shot and the seasonal flu mist today. That's it. That's my decision.

Little Angel: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

The nurse leaves. Returns a few minutes later carrying shot and mist. The little angel immediately begins to shriek and squirm. Nurse shoves mist up her nose. Little angel screams.

Little Angel: NO! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!! MOMMMYYYYY!!!!

The little angel begins to buck. The nurse gives me a determined look. I pull down the little angel's jeans feeling like an abusive mother. I hate that I have to pull down her pants for this shot. I hate the idea of her seeing me pull down her pants against her will. It feels so wrong. Imagine the little angel in therapy later. The nurse gets her legs between the nurse's knees and I hold the little angel's hands.

Me: Honey, I love you so much. I don't want you to get really sick. This is my job.

Me: (I AM SO TIRED. THIS IS SUCH SHIT. HATE THIS.)

The nurse holds the syringe poised.

Me: You are going to have to go fast.

Little Angel: NO! DON'T DO IT!

The nurse jabs the little angel's leg. There is no blood.

Nurse: Where is it? It's not even bleeding.

I release the little angel's arms and plop her to the ground. She pulls up her jeans, looking shocked.

Me: All done! All done!

Me: (IS THERE A NAP IN MY FUTURE, PLEASE GOD?)

Little Angel: Mommy, that didn't even hurt. Was that needle even sharp? I don't think it was sharp. Huh.

Me: (Don't Google this when you get home. RITA, BACK AWAY FROM THE GOOGLE!)

I hate vaccinations. Hate them. But this one? I think was worth it.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of listening in on BlogHer and Sunlight Foundation's conference call with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The call lasted about an hour, and there were so many questions I wanted to ask. I didn't even have time for one, though I thought the other callers asked some good ones.

As Speaker Pelosi was rattling off her talking points, she mentioned that the Senate bill was way different. Of course, we weren't talking about the Senate bill, but I found myself wondering not only what the differences are but how are we, the American people, supposed to know which will pass? And they're so different? Eeek. Methinks its time for a letter-writing campaign.

This is what Speaker Pelosi said:

• Women pay 48% more for healthcare than men do -- the House bill prevents "gender rating"
• The House bill won't allow insurance companies to deny you coverage or charge you more just because you have the "pre-existing condition" of pregnancy, a C-section or domestic violence.
• 79% of women with individual policies currently have no maternity coverage
• The public option in the House bill (there is no public option in the Senate bill) would offer income assistance to anyone making up to 400 times the federal poverty level, or roughly $80k. Insurance would be required.
• The House bill requires:
• • No dropping of coverage if you get sick
  • No co-pays for preventative or wellness visits
  • No need to change doctors or (if you like your old plan) insurance plans
  • Yearly caps on what the consumer would pay out-of-pocket
  • No yearly or lifetime caps on what the insurance company will pay for healthcare
  • No pre-existing condition refusal to pay
  • Americans must get insurance and companies must pay for insurance.
  • You can choose your insurance out of a pool in which insurance companies and the public option compete.
  • The public options allows Americans sick of insurance companies a Medicare-like plan.
• This whole thing won't add to the deficit because the public option won't require advertising, etc. and will be just like Medicare with 85% of premiums going to pay for healthcare. (WTF? I like this bill, but that is crazy talk.)

I found myself wondering if the public option would have better technology and friendlier civil servants than other government services (cough, DMV), but I do believe we need a public option. My comment on BlogHer:

I know I personally have had a hard time getting a handle on thetalking points and what they mean to both me and to the larger Americanpopulace. I know what would be best for me, but I'm also worried aboutwhat would be best for others -- particularly those whose very life ordeath or quality of life hangs in the balance when it comes tohealthcare coverage.I personally feel health and medicine can't be a for-profit businessand operate ethically for any period of time. Our current state ofaffairs evidences that every day. I'm not sure this bill will fixthings, but I want to learn more.

Some more information and questions rolled in after the call, including comments about Massachusetts' attempt at public healthcare, Medicaid, disability and C-sections. Click here to sign a petition from MomsRising and contact your elected officials.

If you have opinions, pro or con the House bill, feel free to discuss in the comments and send me the posts you've written on the matter. Be aware I only tolerate civil disagreement and won't allow mudslinging on this blog.

I totally understand the need to be fully aware of what you're taking when you start taking new medication.  However, do we really need all the possible side effects read in the same friendly-announcer voice?  I saw one commercial last night listing possible side effects of a medication that included tuberculosis and leukemia.

Seriously.

That seems like a big gamble to me.  I don't know, maybe I'm crazy.  I mean, I take a few prescription drugs.  For each of them, I made the mistake of Googling possible side effects before I went on them.  And I've Googled the possible side effects of weaning off of them.  I'm afraid to go on, and once they are helping me, I'm afraid to go off.

And all this talk about side effects is part of the problem.

Not talking about them?  Not exactly the solution.

Generally speaking, we hope that doctors know enough about our health history to protect us from ourselves and not even offer us drugs that might trigger, oh, leukemia, but realistically speaking the minute our health insurance changes, then suddenly our old doctor isn't covered anymore, and we go to a new doctor.  And then that new doctor doesn't know anything at all about us, and really, don't we only spend about ten minutes with this person?

My OB-GYN is my favorite doctor in the whole world.  I've been seeing him since I was pregnant with the little angel. I'd say sum total we've spent about two hours together, including childbirth. He showed up for the final twenty minutes of actual pushing.  The last time I saw him, he repeated three times that I should take calcium because I'm "fair and slender."  It was almost as though he forgot he already told me that, or he was reciting the script the way I used to recite it when I worked as a telemarketer.

I'm not bagging on my doc -- I adore this man. He's the first doctor I've had that I felt really did listen to my concerns, and he does, but how well does he really know me?  Does he know my cheeks get really red after I exercise?  Does he know about my gastointestinal upset every time I eat Italian seasoning?  Does any of that matter to the prescription he is writing?  Who knows?

Who knows?

But is it really safer to stay completely drug-free?  What if something is wrong?

But the side effects. THE SIDE EFFECTS.  And really, the treatment is just another side effect.  We just don't think of it that way.

It's scary to realize how much of a gamble health really is. 

For example, the possible side effects of Viagra include:

Body as a whole: face edema, photosensitivity reaction, shock, asthenia, pain, chills, accidental fall, abdominal pain, allergic reaction, chest pain, accidental injury.

Cardiovascular: angina pectoris, AV block, migraine, syncope, tachycardia, palpitation, hypotension, postural hypotension, myocardial ischemia, cerebral thrombosis, cardiac arrest, heart failure, abnormal electrocardiogram, cardiomyopathy.

Digestive: vomiting, glossitis, colitis, dysphagia, gastritis, gastroenteritis, esophagitis, stomatitis, dry mouth, liver function tests abnormal, rectal hemorrhage, gingivitis.

Hemic and Lymphatic: anemia and leukopenia.

Metabolic and Nutritional: thirst, edema, gout, unstable diabetes, hyperglycemia, peripheral edema, hyperuricemia, hypoglycemic reaction, hypernatremia.

Musculoskeletal: arthritis, arthrosis, myalgia, tendon rupture, tenosynovitis, bone pain, myasthenia, synovitis.

Nervous: ataxia, hypertonia, neuralgia, neuropathy, paresthesia, tremor, vertigo, depression, insomnia, somnolence, abnormal dreams, reflexes decreased, hypesthesia.

Respiratory: asthma, dyspnea, laryngitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, sputum increased, cough increased.

Skin and Appendages: urticaria, herpes simplex, pruritus, sweating, skin ulcer, contact dermatitis, exfoliative dermatitis.

Special Senses: sudden decrease or loss of hearing, mydriasis, conjunctivitis, photophobia, tinnitus, eye pain, ear pain, eye hemorrhage, cataract, dry eyes.

Urogenital: cystitis, nocturia, urinary frequency, breast enlargement, urinary incontinence, abnormal ejaculation, genital edema and anorgasmia.

Think about the pills you do need?  And some pills, like those that control hypertension or blood pressure or migraines, we really DO NEED.

God, it's scary.