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COURTESY OF U.S. PIRG
Michael MacQuarrie, owner of a small business in Las Vegas, traveled to Washington to urge Congress and the White House to pass health care reform. Because of a preexisting condition, he has been denied coverage by insurance companies.
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.
From right, Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, small-business owner Ken Brantley and White House Office of Public Engagement Director Tina Chen listen during a forum on health insurance reform Tuesday in Washington. One hundred small-business owners came to Washington to share their stories.
Sun Coverage
Sun Archives
- Harry Reid’s next health care test: Securing 60 votes (10-28-2009)
- How Harry Reid reached the public option compromise (10-27-2009)
- Opting out by Nevada seen as unlikely by pols on both sides of the aisle (10-27-2009)
- Harry Reid to back health care bill with public option (10-26-2009)
- Penciling out an insurance coverage mandate (10-24-2009)
- Harry Reid out to topple Sen. Patrick McCarran’s statute (10-23-2009)
- Vote on health bill a surprise to Harry Reid (10-21-2009)
Michael MacQuarrie never cared for politics. Never had much faith in politicians. “I’m from Chicago,” he explains with a verbal shrug.
But here he was Tuesday in the Capitol and, later, at the White House — part of the lobby machine on health care reform.
MacQuarrie and other small-business owners had been summoned to share their stories and press for health care reform. With the insurance and pharmaceutical industries unleashing their thousands of lobbyists on the Hill, the pro-reform groups were firing back with stories from people like MacQuarrie to tell their side.
A 20-something gave a rousing speech about the difficulty in providing health care for his growing new company. A once-expectant father told a familiar story about his how his health insurance premium skyrocketed with news of his wife’s pregnancy.
The crowd was moved. The politicians who stood beside them in the stately room in the Capitol nodded with satisfaction.
It was a confluence of illness and financial misfortune that brought MacQuarrie to the Capitol.
Preexisting condition
Like so many before him, he came West to Nevada for the dry weather his doctor said would do him good. He has a lung condition, sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder — the same one that comedian Bernie Mac suffered from, he explains.
For nearly a decade he lived and worked in Las Vegas, appraising and inspecting homes during the housing boom, until suddenly the work came to an end. The bubble burst, the company he worked for went bust and in late 2007 he was out on his own.
A licensed structural inspector, he decided to start his own business. This year Desert Home Inspection Services was born.
He is looking to expand his business into energy audits, and is teaming up with a couple of other inspectors. Now comes the tricky part: getting health insurance for himself, his family and his potential employees.
MacQuarrie said he was denied coverage by insurance companies because of his preexisting lung condition.
When his job was cut and his COBRA coverage ran out, he and his family became among the nearly 500,000 residents in Nevada who the Kaiser Family Foundation’s statehealthfacts.org says are uninsured.
He and his wife knew it was dicey going without insurance, but he paid out of pocket for care and got discounts on the 15 pills he said he needs to take each day. They would get through this.
Unlikely lobbyist
Then, several months ago, his 17-year-old stepson experienced severe pain. After a few trips to the emergency room, he said, doctors told the family the teen needed immediate surgery to remove a tumor on his spine.
The operation was performed and MacQuarrie is now $150,000 in debt.
“There’s no way I can pay that,” said MacQuarrie, a quiet man who speaks slowly and thoughtfully. The calls from bill collectors are coming now. “Eventually, there’s going to be so much pressure I’m going to have to go into bankruptcy.”
A few months back a friend sent MacQuarrie a survey from Democratic Rep. Dina Titus — the Southern Nevada congresswoman has been collecting health care stories on her Web site and in letters to constituents. He filled one out.
Another survey came from Consumers Union, the nonprofit group that publishes Consumer Reports. He shared his story there, too.
A few days ago the consumers group called, asking if he would share his story in Washington. Consumers Union, along with Small Business Majority, Main Street Alliance and U.S. PIRG (the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups), was assembling 100 small-business owners from 25 states for a day on the Hill.
“I’m not too impressed with politics,” MacQuarrie said.
He boarded a plane and soon found himself standing with other small-business owners from across the country urging Congress to pass health care reform.
Personal, not political
Small-business owners have mixed views on health care reform.
Some oppose the proposed taxes to help pay for health care subsidies and the mandates that they provide health care for their workers or pay fines. Others, including many of those gathered on the Hill who have advocated for reform, say changes being considered by Congress would give them access to cheaper insurance premiums so they can provide health care to their workers at lower costs.
MacQuarrie spent all day Tuesday on the Hill. He stopped in to meet Titus. He stood at that spirited news conference in the Capitol. He joined another event with administration officials at the White House.
He did not speak publicly, but took it all in.
By day’s end he was headed to the airport.
He said he was leaving Washington with hope. This after months of believing his disease would “win.”
“I’m going to follow it more closely now,” he said of the health care debate. “For me, it’s not political, it’s personal. I need to be able to survive this and provide for my family.”
This Healthcare bill or any form that includes a public option is dead. America has spoken and the lunatics are back peddling and changing their tone. They will succumb to the taxpayer demands and throw your diehard career free loaders to the wolves; you're not sucking off taxpayer taxes anymore.
And for those who tout their snouts sucking up to this administration, your days are numbered, the gig is just about up and America has realized that the man they voted into office pulled the ultimate scam, he is going to receive a life time paycheck for screwing America over for his short term in office.
Welcome to America, only here can someone get elected, produce nothing useful or meaningful and receive a lifetime payment of $400,000.00 a year, lifetime free medical, lifetime of protection, and a free ride for the rest of his family's life.
I feel for the people in this story, but you can't please some people by giving them inexpensive health insurance by taking freedom and money away from other people. You've got to figure out how you're going to do that while preserving the freedoms of others (including the right to keep one's own money).
By Huh: Everybody pays for a civil society. There are no free freedoms. If this family or any other shows up on the front door of the local emergency room, THAT is paid out of your taxes, which have not been going down lately, now have they? You can pay a little more up front or a lot more down the road. I know you live in Nevada, hate taxes, hate the government, hate Barack Obama, but unless you're willing to live on your own desert island with lots of guns, you have to pay along with the rest of us.
He's from Chicago... Kinda tells it all. I wonder how he liked his visit to "Chicago on the Potomac?"
To its2hot:
You might think you are in the majority, and if you watch fox news, then I can see why you have been blinded by fox's biased coverage.
If fox, palin and beck were all far reaching, then why did their hand picked candidate lose in congressional district 23 in New York??
Maybe it's because there are only the few lunatic fringe that actually watch fox, beck and palin.......the rest don't buy into the fear frenzy that fox and crew keep pumping out..
You keep watching fox news, and listening to losers like beck and limbaugh, while the rest of the country laughs at the loonies who follow those dolts.
Bertsos is back with his anti FOX News rhetoric. He joins the White House and other far left extremists who want to limit free press and free speech of anyone who has a different political view then theirs.
Bertsos may be upset because no matter how much he bad mouths FOX News, their viewership continues to increase by leaps and bounds.
50% of FOX News viewers are Independents and Democrats. Bertsos and his like just can't stand that...
If democrats watch fox news, it's for the pure comedy of beck and hannity........I have to admit those guys are funny !!
I have to agree with you about Hannity and Beck. They are out there. If Hannity was any further Right, he would fall off the Earth. And Beck... I don't know what to say about Beck. He is one of a kind and will make you laugh if you don't take him too serious. I normally don't watch either one. I don't need that kind of excitement/drama in my life.
I do like Neil Cavuto. He's entertaining and gives out solid business news.
Other then Cavuto, I pretty well stick to Shep Smith and the news programs.
Something about this guy and his story that just doesn't add up...
He said he was denied insurance coverage because of his one pre-existing condition.
How about his wife and stepson? Why did he not get health insurance for them?
I think there is more to this story then what the editors want us to know...
The LV SUN re posted this editorial on Friday, November 06. This time they left out the part about this guy's wife and stepson not having health insurance. What else don't we know about this guy?
I don't think this is the type of guy I want to do business with...