The following article is by Susan Smith from The Wisconsin State Journal.  It is a very good background on our problem.

WHERE NATION HAS FAILED, SMALL TOWN PEOPLE STEP IN

Printed Sunday, April 7, 2002 - Byine: Susan Smith

Susan Lampert Smith writes about the people and places that make Wisconsin unique. Send her story ideas at ssmith@madison.com or care of the Wisconsin State Journal, Box 8058, Madison, Wis., 53708.

This is a story about what's great about living and dying in a small town. And about what's really wrong with our country. Writing it makes me sad, grateful and angry -- in equal parts. Anyone who's read the travel brochures knows New Glarus is America's Little Switzerland -- nouveau chalets, cowbells and front lawns so neat it looks like they've been vacuumed. Anyone who's visited here knows it boasts more great restaurants than other little towns its size. One is Deininger's, located in a pale yellow Queen Anne house that crowns a steep corner lot like a Victorian dowager. Inside, the lace curtains and crisp linens made it seem like you're eating in Aunt Millie's parlor. Except that the food is a lot better -- understated European-style wine sauces, veal schnitzels and spaetzle. And the lively service provided by the Deiningers' daughter, Michelle, kept it from seeming stuffy. The Deininger family -- dad, Roland, is a native of France, mom, Ursula, a native of Germany -- moved to this little Green County town six years ago from Chicago, where Roland was the longtime chef at The Tavern Club. They liked the European flair of New Glarus and wanted a chance for the family to work together -- son, Rene, also works in the dining room and his wife, Sandy, does the books. 

Now for the sad part. About a year ago, Michelle, then 34, and a world traveler who speaks several languages, starting feeling ill. She didn't go to the doctor right away, in part because Deininger's had lost its small business health insurance when its last health-maintenance organization pulled out of Green County at the beginning of 2001. 

In May, Michelle Deininger found out that she had colon cancer -- and that the business' new insurance didn't cover the costs of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation that she needed. So now, in addition to the horrible pain that keeps her lying down most of the time, Deininger has what her mom describes as a shopping bag full of bills. 

During her hospital stay, the hospital informed Ursula that the new insurance wouldn't pay for radiation, and Michelle couldn't have radiation treatments unless Ursula signed to take responsibility for the bills. So Ursula did what any mother would -- and now the family faces medical bills that could ruin them. 

Ursula Deininger has the face of a worried mother who's watching her daughter struggle with severe pain. "My daughter is a tough girl," says Ursula. "I'm a German mother, I spanked, and she never cried. "Now the tears are always there." Her doctor has prescribed pain pills, but they cost $25 apiece -- and she's supposed to take three at a time. "She said, I'm not swallowing $75,'" Ursula says. "She has constant worries about her insurance." Here's the nice thing about living in a small town:

Roberts Drug Store donated a gift certificate to cover some of her medications, local businesses and individuals donated items for a silent auction, and the area's fabulous restaurants are chipping in for a "stone soup" dinner. The name comes from the fable about the wonderful soup produced when everyone chips in an ingredient. "We saw the stress and thought there has to be a way to help," says Connie Baquero, one of the organizers. "It's heartwarming to see how the people in town are coming through." Michelle and her family are touched. "This never would have happened in Chicago," says Michelle, who talked with me by telephone because she was too sick to come into the restaurant. "I want people to know that I'm grateful to my heart for all the kindness."

And I want people to know that I'm angry. I'm angry that Michelle is suffering and worrying about the cost of her pills. I'm angry that hard-working people like the Deiningers who did everything right -- paid their bills, paid for insurance -- are stuck in a situation like this. I'm not the only one who's angry. 

Randa Gabel, who wrote about Michelle's fund-raiser for the New Glarus Post Messenger, is mad, too. "I literally cover one of these benefits every month," she says. "They're all people like Michelle -- they work, they have insurance, and when they get sick, they have all these bills."

So is Nancy Potter, who owned the New Glarus Bakery for almost 25 years, until she sold it last year. Potter was another small business owner who lost group coverage when their HMO pulled out -- and couldn't find another affordable insurance. The least expensive option would have cost her another $50,000 a year for her 20 employees. "Looking my workers in the eye and telling them they would no longer get health insurance through their job was one of the hardest things I've ever done," Potter writes in information put out by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to publicize the problems of the uninsured. The foundation sent Potter to Washington, D.C., to testify in February, and she came home disillusioned. Everyone on the national panel -- representatives of unions, businesses, hospitals -- had something to lose if the current system changes. Meanwhile, people who own or work at small businesses can't afford decent health insurance. "This really bothers me because Michelle did everything right -- she was young, she had a healthy lifestyle, she had insurance, she took care of herself," Potter says. "This could be you, next." 

The Deiningers say their relatives in Europe can't believe the troubles the family is having. "There, everything is covered," Ursula says. "America is a beautiful country, but this is something that should change." Until then, people who pay for their own insurance are lucky when they can count on the kindness of their neighbors. 

If you go,

Other events: A silent auction at the event includes donated products ranging from local beer, meat and cheese to nights at a bed and breakfast. A second silent auction of antiques donated to help Michelle Deininger was held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 13 and 14 at 108 Fifth Ave. in New Glarus, next to the Roberts Drug Store. 

Copyright 2002 Jim Salter
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Last updated: May 16, 2002.