There are many reasons why I want Barack to be our next President. The health care issue is just one of them. Here is my story...
My husband and I are solidly middle class people. He works as an engineer and makes decent money, and has health insurance for us through his job. However, the insurance company in question, which shall remain unnamed, is horrible. We pay out the wazoo every week for it, and we get almost nothing but aggravation in return. They go out of their way to get out of paying for ANYTHING at all. Our previous insurance company, one of the better ones, was one we never had a problem with. Mike's company switched to the cheaper plan in order to save money.
It has been a nightmare since Day One. Mike had to have his appendix out a couple of years ago. They found some cancer in the appendix. Although they surgeon said he thought he got it all out during the appendectomy, he recommended a colonoscopy. It was scheduled and done.
But then we got a bill for $900 for the anethesiologist. Sorry, not in network, we no pay, we were told. WHAT? He was supposed to let the doctor stick whatever up there with no anesthesia? We had to fight and fight eith this insurer to get it paid for. Meanwhile, our credit was getting bruised from being turned over to collections and all. We didn't have the $900 sitting around to pay the bill, and why should we? We have the stinking insurance, we pay for it. Therefore, they need to pay.
Oh, it gets better. Earlier this year, I was having some strange symptoms, which I later learned were due to hormone fluctuations in menopause. These can often mimic the sypmtoms of a heart attack, so I thought I was having one. I was home alone one day, things were really bad, so I called 911, and an ambulance came and took me to the hospital. They kept me overnight, ran a bunch of tests, and sent me home. There was nothing wrong with my heart, and they had not yet figured out the hormone thing. It took me two more trips to the ER until someone would tell me that this is what it was.
Meanwhile, I was getting bills for the ambulance (I only took the ambulance once, the other two times I made Mike come home from work and drive me), the cardiac tests, and other stuff. I turned off my phone due to harassing phone calls. I GAVE them the insurance info when I was there, but when they saw what company it was, they figured they might have better luck collecting from me than from the insurer.
Once again, we fought and fought to get these bills settled.
Once it was finally realized that my symptoms were due to hormone-induced panic attacks, I was prescribed anti-depressants and was told to find a personal care doctor to see. I had never bothered to have one before. It took me forever to find someone who took this lousy insurance plan, but I finally did. When I went to the first appointment, she sent me for a mammogram. I'm 48 years old, I guess it was time.
A week or so after the mammogram, I got a call wanting me to come back for a second one...probably nothing, but they wanted to make sure. I did not go, because the bills were still coming in from other stuff, and I knew that in Massachusetts, insurance is only required to pay for one mammogram per year. So I was pretty sure that this second one would not be paid for. If, on the off-chance it was, and it turned out that I had cancer, who knows what would be paid for then? I knew I did not want to sit in some hospital, probably getting substandard care, due to who our insurer is, worrying about dying anyway and leaving Mike mired in debt. All of this while he was paying hefty premiums for insurance at work.
We are required by law in Massachusetts to carry insurance, so we could not just cancel it. We also found we couldn't afford any good policy on our own, especially if pre-existing conditions were involved. Even on our income, it was too much. Not if we wanted to eat and pay our rent and all.
Oh, and it gets even better. The doc put me on generic Prozac for the anxiety because that was all the lousy insurance would pay for. It was fine for a while, then I started suffering horrible side effects. I was hesitant to go back to the doctor for several reasons...for one, I was too sick to get up and go on my own, and I didn't want to make Mike take so much time off of work...he'd already done enough and I didn't want him to lose his job. I also didn't want to hear a lecture about not going back for the second mammogram, some of these doctors seem to think we have unlimited funds for this sort of thing. We don't. We also make too much money to qualify for MassHealth or anything.
And then I got a letter from the insurance company, telling me that I was no longer able to see this doctor anyway, as she had decided to stop taking the insurance we had. So I could not go back if I wanted to, not unless I had the cash to pay out of pocket. Which I don't. It took me forever to find this doctor, I knew it would be almost impossible to find another who'd take it. I guess I could have gone to Mike's doctor, but I really don't like the guy.
I weaned myself off of the Prozac and am doing much better now. I'm using OTC herbal stuff to deal with my menopause symptoms, and they work just fine. But there's still that mammogram thing to worry about. Luckily, this story may have a happy ending after all...Mike's company says that they are getting rid of the lousy insurance and going back to the old one that we never had problems with. So now I can get any treatment I might need, I hope. We shall see.
Barack understands this sort of thing. I remember how he talked about how his mom was dying of cancer, and she was more worried about the medical bills than in concentrating on getting well. Nobody should have to go through that. No doubt that worry over money kills more patients than any disease out there.
Barack says that every American should have the same quality health insurance that he and his fellow Senators and Congresspeople enjoy. I truly believe that when he becomes President, he will work hard towards meeting that goal. Health care should be a basic human right, not a luxury that only the wealthy can afford.
And that is just one reason why I support Barack Obama. Thanks for reading!
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