Skier's Death Shows Lack of U.S. Healthcare Coverage (for 1/30/12)

Sarah Burke, a famous skier from Canada, died on January 19th from injuries in a skiing accident nine days earlier in Utah. If her accident occurred in Canada, it would have been covered. Canada has universal coverage, otherwise called single-payer healthcare. Therefore, it was not covered. She received donations of over $300,000 from fans worldwide to cover her medical bills of around $200,000. Medical bills annually bankrupt 700,000 American families, who often lose their homes in the face of serious illnesses or a catastrophic injury like Sarah Burke's. Healthcare reform curbed some of the worst insurance company practices, such as denying people insurance on the basis of pre-existing conditions. But, it did not deliver single-payer healthcare necessitating donations like Burke received. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10274212-iconic-skiers-death-points-out-us-health-gap