Another article in the "Best Country in the World" Series
Iconic Skiers Death Sheds Light on US Healthcare Systems Failure
By Kari Huus, msnbc.com - Mon, January 30, 2011
Skier Maddie Bowman wears a band on her arm and a purple ribbon in rememberance of Canadian skier Sarah Burke during Winter X Games 2012 at Buttermilk Mountain on Saturday. Burke died Jan 19 from injuries she sustained in a training accident.
"The irony is that had the accident occurred in Canada her care
would have been covered because, unlike the U.S., Canada has a
system of universal coverage," wrote Wendell Potter, an insurance
executive-turned-whistleblower who writes for iWatch at the Center
for Public Integrity. "No one in Canada finds themselves in that
predicament, nor do they face losing their homes as many Americans
do when they become critically ill or suffer an injury..."
Burke, who died at 29, was on skis by age five, and pursuing a
professional skiing career before she left high school. She
pioneered women's halfpipe skiing and was instrumental in
getting the event included in the X-Games, according to a
profile in Sportsnet magazine of Canada.
Sarah Burke at the FIS World Cup Grand Finals in 2008. Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters, file
"She was to freeskiing what Wayne Gretzky was to hockey or
Michael Jordan was to basketball, the iconic face of a sport,
wrote Sportsnet reporter Dan Robson. "She built her world by
conquering limits, both on the hill and off it."
After Burke's crash while training on the Eagle Superpipe at
Park City Mountain Resort in Utah on Jan. 10, doctors fought
to save her for nine days. She died Jan. 19, from a torn
vertebral artery in her neck that caused bleeding in her brain.
Burke's contribution to sport not to mention her youth, beauty,
charisma and fame has no doubt helped the effort to generate
donations to cover an operation, countless tests, care and
hospitalization. The fundraising page on GiveForward.com late
Monday showed that $302,535 had been raised. Burke's publicist
said that medical costs were expected to be about $200,000.
The fundraising page said that future contributions would go
to a foundation to honor Sarah's legacy and promote the ideals
she valued and embodied."
The loss of Sarah Burke is no less painful for her loved ones,
but with medical care covered through donations, the aftermath
will not bring them additional hardship.
For many Americans, the hardship persists
On Monday, Potter pointed to the plight of a 13-year-old Caroline
Richmond on life support in Alabama after collapsing from a stroke,
which turned out to be caused by leukemia. Her self-employed
parents do not have health coverage.
As it turns out, Caroline is one of more than 50 million men,
women and children who do not have health insurance in the United
States, which is why her family is in the same predicament as Sarah
Burke's, Potter wrote.
The community has launched a multi-pronged effort to raise money to cover mounting medical costs for Carolyn car washes, a bake sale, a fish fry and so on but like most people who have life threatening medical conditions, she is not famous.
An estimated 700,000 American families file for bankruptcy every
year because of medical debt, Potter said.