On Ted Kennedy’s Dog and Other Important Matters

During my PhD defense at Amherst last year, I came across a lovely children’s book at the Campus Book Store. It was written by Senator Ted Kennedy. Being a political junkie, I grabbed it, hoping that my son would also enjoy.

Surprisingly he did! Probably because the book was written from the perspective of Ted Kennedy’s dog, Splash! The illustrations were fun and the story was interesting even for a four-year-old –especially the part about the underground tram line in Capitol Hill.

Unfortunately, Splash also passed away this past December, a year after his boss. I just learned this from a touching op-ed in NY Times, written by a staff member of late Senator.

Studying political science and being an academic for all these years have made most of us rather cynical about politicians. Yet, I can’t help but set Ted Kennedy aside from the usual band of crooks. And here is why:

For nearly a decade now, my husband and I have been moving back and forth between Turkey and the US, unable to decide where to establish our roots. It turned out that when I was 7 months pregnant, we were in the US. It was late May, our teaching jobs had just ended, which meant we longer had health coverage thorough our employer.

Before I caught the first flight back home in panic with a giant belly, my husband informed me about COBRA. This was a form of health coverage. I’ll spare you the convoluted health care jargon in America, but basically, COBRA allows you to purchase the same health insurance plan that your employer provided you, for as long as 18 months after your job contract ends.

So we began paying over $ 800 a month for health insurance. It went up to $950 when my son was born. Initially, I was outraged by this monthly bill. In Turkey, you can get decent private insurance for a year, for as little as $ 100 per month.

Oh how little did I know… As it turns out, we were privileged to have health care at such a "reasonable" price. Upon digging up further information, I realized some nasty and brutish details about the health care monstrosity in the US.

First: All health care insurance is private, meaning you have to pay for it dearly! (unless you’re over 65 or really poor and have the skills to maneuver the Kafkaesque health care bureaucracy or are a soldier)

Second: As an individual, you can’t even go out and purchase your own insurance. Yep, money can't buy you health care! Numerous studies have shown this, time and again. For the heart breaking story of the rich, self-employed lady who is denied insurance because of a corn on her toe, see NY Times here. The private insurance monopolies are just too rich and too risk-averse to insure you. So there you have it! The zenith of capitalism also means the extinction of public good.

Third: The US has the highest per capita spending on health care, and cannot even rank among the top 20 countries in any of the basic health measures. Over 40 million American citizens have no health coverage. But never mind, all the cars on the road have insurance, thank you! Isn’t it wonderful to have priorities??…

Back to Ted Kennedy: I learned that it was Ted Kennedy who fought hard at the Congress to pass COBRA. Basically, COBRA provides a nice cushion to people who are in between jobs by not terminating their health benefits the moment they get their last paycheck. And it is at a price that is significantly lower than the market rate that those blood sucking insurance companies normally charge. (Boy, do I use a loaded language against the health care industry or what…)

Once I learned all these, I really wanted to write a thank you letter to Senator Kennedy for COBRA. But when our baby was born, we lost track of time. I feel like 90% of my day was consumed by trying to keep the baby alive, fed and clean. Yet, the part of my brain that wasn’t busy with recording the daily feeding and pooping frequencies kept thinking: how great it must be, to touch the lives of so many people in a such a concrete way, by providing them this essential relief…

Now every time we read the book about Ted Kennedy’s dog, I tell my son that thanks to Senator Kennedy, he was born at a nice hospital and received proper care from doctors. I’m afraid he is largely oblivious to this. He asks when he could have a puppy like Splash…

Wishing you all generous and affordable health coverage,

The Kennedy-phile Academic Mommy