Okay, so the title is a joke. I saw it on a t-shirt and threatened to give it to my brother, but I wanted to warn you that this is going to be a post about health insurance.
Last year for a period of time, I did not have health insurance. I went back to school and had to go part time at work. I voluntary went off of my employer health insurance because I thought I was going to be able to find health insurance. I'm healthy with no real medical problems outside of the normal things.
It turns out this whole process was much harder than I anticipated.
Almost three years ago now, I was diagnosed with systemic iritis. It is a condition that involves swelling, redness, and irritation of the eye. It is commonly related to auto-immune disease, especially when it is systemic which means that it was in both eyes. My optician was concerned that I may have the beginnings of lupus. He believed that it was related to my contacts, but because it was systemic and the specific type of iritis, pars planitis, he wanted to be thorough. I went to have all of the necessary blood work done and fortunately everything came back normal. I took the prescribed eye drops, did follow ups with my optician, and stopped wearing contacts. Within a couple of weeks my eyes were back to normal and I haven't had a problem since.
I didn't think much more of the whole thing until I started looking for health insurance.
At first, it seemed I had a lot of offers, then slowly but surely I started getting rejection letters. All of them, about 10 in all, except for one stated a pre-existing condition as the reason for the rejection. The one that did not approve me that wasn't related to a pre-existing condition was because of my job as a radiation worker. Apparently to that particular insurance company, being a radiation worker has the same safety rating as being a firefighter. I still don't get it.
Anyway, after a lot of phones calls, emails and letters, it was finally brought to my attention that the fact that I was tested for lupus was considered pre-existing. I explained that my blood work came back normal and my physicians, the optician and my general practitioner, would both be willing to testify on my behalf that I did not have lupus. This fell on deaf ears. The only insurance I was eligible for was over $700 a month. Considering that I was a student and working part time, this wasn't really an option for me. So, I didn't have health insurance for a while.
Luckily, I managed to stay relatively injury free and only needed to go to the doctor a couple of times. Also, I worked around some very understanding doctors who would write me a prescription for antibiotics when I had strep throat.
The reason why I am writing about it now is because I just added up all of my bills for my ankle. Now, I injured myself on hospital grounds, so all of my healthcare related to the fall is covered on workman's comp, so I'm not paying a dime for it. For some reason though, I got itemized "explanation" bills for the injury. My air cast alone was $300. To date, all total is almost $1500. That's right $1500 for a broken ankle that didn't even require surgery. This includes the ER visit and two visits to the orthopedic doctor. It also includes three sets of x-rays and the professional fee that you pay for the radiologist to read it.
Here's my point, had this happened this time last year and not at my place of employment. I would have been almost $1500 in the hole. Breaking my ankle was an accident, pure and simple. Trust me, there's no way I would have done this voluntarily. A lot of people my age who aren't employed by companies who don't offer health insurance have trouble finding affordable health insurance. A lot of times, we think we are invincible. We're too young, too healthy, etc. I would have never guessed that I would break my ankle by falling down the stairs.
The fact is, life happens. When it does, we need to do our best to be prepared. I feel like as human beings, we have a responsibility to make sure everyone has access to adequate health care. If I had fallen last year it is very likely that I wouldn't have gone to the doctor right away and made my situation worse. I would have been afraid of the $1500 hospital bill.
To everyone who is worried that Obama's health care plan is an abomination, I say take a walk in my shoes last year. I dare you to spend hours and hours on the phone with insurance companies banging your head against the wall with no help in sight. You be the one who cringes in your car every time someone gets too close or you have to stop suddenly. Every time you get a cough or your throat hurts you be the one to look at your bank account to see if you can afford the $150 doctor's visit. You be the one that can't even go to the employee clinic at the hospital where you work because you don't have health insurance.
I'm not saying that his health care plan is an end all to the problem, but it is a step in the right direction. The members in Congress who are trying to repeal it have obviously never been in a situation like mine.
Before you get on the opposition to health care train ask yourself, "what would you do if you were denied basic access to health insurance?"
A couple of good websites/articles:
-http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/incpovhlth/2009/tables.html
-www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/
-www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jan/20eric-cantor/health-care-law-job-killer-evidence-falls-short
-http://www.healthcare.gov/center/reports/preexisting.html
-http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/138195-key-gop-lawmaker-drums-up-support-for-repealing-key-health-reform-provision
If you get a chance, look up John Adams and the 1798 passage of a law with health care mandates. One website you can link here.
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