Disclaimer: I am not a political person, neither am I a journalist. I have not researched for this piece, I am just writing what I know. And also, because I am ranting, please excuse the lack of finesse.
I am mad. Really, really mad. And I can't keep quiet anymore.
We don't have health insurance. As of August 1 we had to cancel the $570.05 per month/$5,000 deductible policy. Before that I had a $919/$3,000 deductible per month policy. Neither one of these plans did me jack-shit. During the first policy I was paying $30 co-pays and getting bills for $200 or $300 for various doctor and hospital visits (my son's EEG, for example) that they would not cover. From the second policy I was paying out of pocket every doctor visit - not that there were many of them because after paying almost $600 a month I didn't have a penny left to pay for a $40 back adjustment even though I could barely walk.
So, we have made the difficult decision, that wasn't really a decision, but a forced reality, to go insurance-free. Our children are covered because Hubby's recent pay-cut made us eligible for state insurance. But, because we had purchased private insurance we now have to wait a year to be eligible ourselves. When I called the state's insurance help-line I told them of our new financial situation I was told that no longer being able to afford your premium is not an excuse. If, however, we had taken his employer's insurance at $1,200 a month and his pay was cut, then we would be helped. One problem there: If we had been paying the equivalent amount of our mortgage to some insurance CEO, we would no longer have a house to go home to die when we were unable to pay the medical fees the insurance wouldn't cover.
Yesterday, I received a letter from our previous insurance company asking if, wait for it... Tator's fall down the stairs and Little Lady's tick bite were pre-existing conditions... what madness is this??!!
And now I am hearing that there are Americans out there who think Obama is a Nazi for wanting "socialized" medicine. This statement makes me so angry! The Nazis killed people. How in the hell can anyone equate Obama and those who want to give all Americans equal access to quality healthcare to people who tried to erase an entire race?! You know who is killing people now? The insurance companies! Obama is trying to help those who, like my family, find themselves in the ridiculous situation of having to deny themselves the very care they are paying for because the insurance company is so expensive and denial-happy.
Oh, the irony.
I grew up in England. My parents never had to worry about such things. After I was born my mother didn't have to leave the hospital after two days and go home alone with no nurse to visit her or go back to work after six weeks without pay. My father didn't have to choose whether his slipped disk was something he could live with because the alternative was being in debt to the hospital for the next 10 years. For how much I love this country and have become an American in all but on paper, I wonder sometimes if I shouldn't uproot this family and plant them back in my homeland where they would be cared for like the humans they are rather than social security numbers or medical billing account numbers.
When the Opposition to the new plan starts spreading falsities (like killing grandma) it does nothing but harm the process and the people they are trying to help. Instead of spending time in these town forums getting real opinions and suggestions from The People, the politicians are having to spend valuable time refuting the crap these "fear mongers" are issuing. Why can't they share their opinion without spreading lies and hatred? Apparently, they have always had a fully-inclusive healthcare package paid for by their employer and really have no idea what us real people are dealing with on a daily basis.
Get out of way and let Obama do his job and let me go get my very overdue Pap so I don't have to leave my children without a mother because cervical cancer wasn't caught early enough (God Forbid!).
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6 comments:
What a nightmare of a situation! The health care situation in this country is a true nightmare. I really hope things turn around so you can get the insurance you need...I'll be thinking about you!
Thank you for saying it! Each day as I hear the news reports about the vitriolic protesters that gather in their little town hall meetings to scream and yell about Obama being a Nazi.... it really has me scratching my head while seething in anger at the same time. Like you, I've been trying to figure out the whole health insurance thing for a while since I work freelance and am now just $100 over each month from being eligible for Catamount. I'm so glad I don't have a family to worry about in regards to this issue. I don't understand how these folks want to deny those of us who are interested in some new ways of looking at health care - the choice to do so because they are worried about their taxes going up. You have to be kidding. If it did work out that way, no amount of taxes would equal the monthly costs in addition to the high premiums and the countless wasted hours in phone calls and re-faxing paperwork and finding out your daughter's tick bite was caused by a pre-existing condition. Oh and notice none of these people have any suggestions for a better system. They just want to poo-poo all over the proposed plan only because it is coming from the Left. It's all politics and a serious waste of time.
What a total sh*t of a situation! When I lived in the states my then husband was Air Force, so we had health coverage. Now I live in Australia and we have universal health coverage here. I have never had to feel the fear of not being able to take my child to the doctor, or what would happen if we had a major medical catastrophe. I can't even imagine :( But nearly 600 bucks a month, for a policy that covers squat is just insane.
People that carry on about socialism as related to gov't sponsored health care need to think about the Interstate system, the public school system, etc etc.. ALL of these are socialist programs. Captialism running health care = scary, because then it is all about the profit, not the patient.
I hope you coast through the next year healthy and happy, and that President Obama manages to get something done for people like you despite all the morons with their fear mongering.
It is very clear to me that it is my dear readers who should be in charge in of healthcare reform... *we* have commonsense!
Thanks for your comments and concern, everyone!
I feel the same way. I have been fortunate to have had employer-provided health insurance for most of my adult life. But there have been a few occasions where I've needed to buy private insurance (such as right now), because I am working for a small employer who does not provide it.
I pay $212 a month for the insurance. So far they have denied coverage for my birth control (wtf!?) and for a "minor surgical procedure" when I went to the dermotologist and she removed a "suspicious" mole for biopsy.
Fortunately I can switch birth control brands to one that they approve. And extra-fortunately, the biopsied mole was benign, so I don't have cancer, because God knows they wouldn't cover any of THAT.
The last time I applied for private insurance, I went through the trouble of filling out my medical history. Big mistake. Suddenly I had all these pre-existing conditions which they wouldn't cover. So I couldn't see my eye specialist for a year. Well, I could, they just weren't going to pay for it.
It is very frustrating when you have to forgo visiting the doctor because you know it will cost an arm and a leg. I have often wondered if it would be better if I just put aside money every month for health needs and then hope that it would be enough. I'm sure it's especially frustrating and scary when you have kids to worry about too.
I really hope that health care reform comes soon. We really need it!
I used to bitch about NHS waiting times, booking procedures etc. etc., until I joined a parenting website two years ago. The majority of the ladies on there are from the USA and I am in a constant state of shock about what they have to pay for and the way the whole insurance systems work. (Bad sentence, but can't be bothered to amend it!!) I can't imagine having to choose how many kids I can afford to have because of the hospital costs, as oppose to just normal living costs, - or the case of my friend whose state decided the week before her due date that midwives were no longer viable - which meant she had to pay out for a hospital birth because there was no-one to give her her home birth. The NHS needs a lot of work and reform, but by god I'd take its 6month waits over your insurance anyday of the week.
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