I thought things were bad with the health care situation in the state of Rhode Island when my ex-wife and I tried to get insured back in the late 90’s. She suffered from ailments considered to be precursors to Multiple Sclerosis, rendering her basically uninsurable. They were willing to insure her if she signed a waiver of coverage for a lengthy list of maladies linked to M.S. for the bargain price of over $7,000 a year! Wow! She could pay top dollar, get limited coverage and likely be denied treatment for anything serious because the precursors to M.S. were so numerous and general. What a deal! I, however, was lucky enough to be insurable, but only as an individual, and considering we were married at the time, this seemed like some sort of horrific betrayal of my wife, so I declined. Not to mention, we really couldn’t afford it anyway. Thus we joined the legion of the uninsured.

So now, years later, divorced, healthy, self-employed and reasonably successful, I have had yet another opportunity to see just how much the health insurance situation in RI still sucks. I have health insurance, though only this September; I’ve been without it for years now. I simply couldn’t afford health insurance on top of all the other bills I have to pay every month just to persist in a manner worth living for. So much for being self-employed in RI. I digress. I am referencing the events that have befallen a man named Spogga, known to many throughout this state as the one-dread, bald-headed musician who spins fire at Providence’s famous Waterfire. He’s not only a RI notable, but has made waves in NYC, LA, and pretty well everywhere else he’s been. Spogga’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and his music is just as unique and powerful. He’s is one of those rare artists who makes music his life, i.e. Spogga has no other job and supports himself solely off of his music. No surprise, he has no health insurance; it simply costs too much.

Now here’s what happened. Eight weeks ago, Spogga had the pleasure of cracking a few ribs. This came at the tail end of a foot injury that had been plaguing him for the last year. No big deal, there’s really little a doctor can do to help heal a rib injury other than prescribe some pain killers; that’s what whiskey’s for. Six weeks ago, Spogga stepped on a broken bottle while swimming in a local swimming hole. It went right into the ball of his foot, bled like a geyser and required well over a thousand dollars in hospital bills, made spinning fire at Waterfire painful and bloody, and took much of the joy out of the complex pedal work Spogga incorporates into his musical act. Two weeks ago, Spogga had a glass shatter in his hand, severing the tendons in his left pinky (fretting) finger. This required not only the initial ER visit and follow-up costing over two grand, but reconstructive surgery costing more than I am at liberty to report. If he did not have the reconstructive surgery, he probably wouldn’t be able to play guitar again; think of a carpenter crippling his thumb. A bad couple of months for Spogga…

So now, this formerly productive member of society can’t gig, can’t spin fire and is basically out of work. He also has the pleasure of knowing that he’ll probably never get coverage for any issues relating to his finger if he does ever get health insurance. Insurers don’t take kindly to pre-existing conditions, remember? No big deal, Spogga only needs his fingers a lot more than most people do to make a decent living, right?

When I read Felice Freyer’s September 13th article “Health Insurance Study Shifts Focus to Large Employers” in the Journal Bulletin I almost choked. Listen to this:

About 1 in 8 Rhode Islanders under age 65 has no health insurance. At the beginning of the century, less than 1 in 10 were uninsured…the report estimates that 1 in 5 people will be uninsured by 2010. Studies have shown that uninsured people are less likely to go to the doctor or dentist, have poorer health, and impose considerable costs on the hospitals that care for them when they fall ill. Most uninsured people have jobs and low incomes.

This story isn’t just about the proverbial starving artist, either. It’s about good people who contribute positively to their state getting treated like they’re of no value any more when they get hurt and need help. All that’s left is the private sector or the beneficence of doctors and hospitals. It’s time for a change in this state. I’ve heard rumor of RI trying to become the first sustainable state in the union. Why don’t we try for the first state with universal health care in the union. Sounds good to me.

Until that day comes, Spogga’s pledged to donate $1 from every one of his Fire on the Water DVDs to