oh boy. dare i?
what i get for living in south texas, i suppose, is an outpouring of facebook comments about socialism and comparing this country to the ussr and hatred towards obama.
i feel like i shouldn't voice my opinion because i truly don't have all the facts, and am definitely not versed in politics and all the swirling mess that is our government. but it's my blog, and that's what it's for i suppose? plus i'm intimidated to talk to anyone else about it. ....so it doesn't really make sense that i'll blurb it all here. hmm. it's a lame excuse, but we don't have a single tv channel, so i can't watch the news. this forces me to make an effort to catch up online. mostly, i'll see a headline and read up on it. sad excuse, but it's hard to have time to read about the complicated issues that go into everything...and THEN decide where i land on it and why. from all angles. so. that being said. i have a few very basic feelings towards this whole thing. forgive my ignorance.
one. i voted for obama. even if i didn't, i'd like to think i was mature enough to support my president and not hurl insults at him. even if i disagreed. strongly. handle yourselves, people.
two. he's only following through with what he promised. have we not had a president do that in so long that we're shocked? people are ready for a change. health care is ridiculous.
three. it's a step. it's a change. i don't want my kids going through this nightmare that is health care today. i can't imagine that it could get much worse. doing away with "pre-existing" conditions? yes please. if one of them gets sick, i don't want to be worrying about being dropped from insurance. do you even know what out-of-pocket premiums are these days? it's unreal. there truly are NO options for some people with sick kids, no money, and nobody to insure them.
four. the best health care i've had has been government-run. i filled out a 5 page application and within a month was on medicaid. i stayed on a month after i gave birth, and aidan stayed on a year. automatically. after 6 months, they sent me a single sheet of paper i had to fill out to 'renew' and there it was. repeat that scenario with oliver. we could have NEVER afforded to pay to have two babies. aidan was in the hospital for 3 weeks, in an incubator that alone was $600 a day. the boys are now in chips which had the same, simple application process. the only hang up i had was when we applied for food stamps because of how we get our loans. **we decided after i quit the infamous horrible job of 2009, i would stay home with the kids. in order for me to be able to do that, we decided to apply for food stamps. i know the stigma that goes along with that. nathan worked at a grocery store for 4 years and described his disgust with people who would buy prime cut steaks, and expensive foods, pay with food stamps, and have him load all that food into their escalade. he was cautious to let me apply, but it was the difference between me staying home and having a full time job. we filled it out honestly, and qualified for double what we spend in a month on food. it's a giant lifted burden. and i am thankful. i know it's for people like us, that these programs are designed. (not ONLY us...you know what i mean. not for the steak-eating-2010-escalade-driving-cheating-the-government-never-paying-taxes people. don't even get me started.) anyway. our loans come in 2 chunks in august and in january and it didn't compute in the system. i spent a whole day on hold, and it was straightened out within a week. my boys were back on insurance, and we could eat.** nathan and i have blue cross blue shield and are having trouble. we signed up for it summer 2006 when we got married. nathan's plan has always been substantially less than mine, so he's paid less. our premiums have shot through the roof in the past 4 years. they've more than doubled. and we regularly get bills for things like strep tests. i pay $180 a month for my insurance, they should cover strep tests. they don't cover birth control. they don't cover anything psychological because it's "pre-existing". and most recently....take a big breath. they DENIED me to REDUCE my coverage to hospitalization only coverage because of "ongoing psychological counseling" and "recently stopping medication". ok. ONE. i haven't filed a SINGLE psychological thing under insurance, because, DUH, they won't cover it. not medication, not doctors appointments, not counseling appointments...NOTHING. TWO. if you don't cover it, never have, and never will, is it REALLY that big of a risk to you to allow me to DECREASE my coverage??? seriously. and this is after filling out at least 20 sheets of paper. they've made us jump through all kinds of ridiculous hoops. **hi. i want to change my coverage to hospital only coverage. how do i do that.**oh just go online and print out this form and send it in. no problem.**ok. i print it. fill it. send it.**oh that's the wrong form. you're going to need to find an agent to get you through this.**ok. so i find an agent. who has to print a piece of paper that we have to sign saying that, yes, in fact, he is our agent. send that to bcbs. approved. second appointment. fill out THAT necessary paper work. send it in.**oh you need to fill out previous health-history.**are you kidding? you HAVE all of my previous health-history AND you've been my insurance provider for the past 4 years. AND i'm decreasing my coverage.**fill out the damned health-history. give it to agent. who gives it to bcbs. who calls me to do an phone interview. i answer honestly about the psychological stuff that's gone on EVEN THOUGH they haven't covered it. and it's pretty irrelevant anyway.**get a letter in the mail. OH WAIT. i'm denied. because of something irrelevant.**
i realize i only gave...well...maybe zero valid points. i got side tracked. and am now angry thinking about stupid bcbs.
to summarize. i'm thankful for the government-provided health care (and other benefits). i'm thankful to all of you who work so hard, just to see a painful amount go back to the government. i hope you know how thankful people like me are. so so so thankful. and i'm happy to pay taxes, because of the privileged country we all get to live in.
i'm taking my soap box and putting it somewhere far far away. so you won't be subjected to this again anytime soon.
i apologize. and, again, please forgive my ignorance.
5 comments:
That's very interesting insight. I also don't have all the facts so I'm not going to go into specifics or complain too much, but here's a few main thoughts on the idea:
I want the government to be in charge of as little as possible. I don't like the idea of them deciding I'm not capable of handling my own income. For one, it makes people weaker and less independent. (please realize I'm talking about the average American, and not you or anyone else I know) Why worry about tomorrow when Uncle Sam is gonna take care of everything? This makes people lazy and more dependent on the government for other aspects of your life.
Instead of forming government run health care and making it mandatory for all Americans to have health care, they should have changed the rules that govern private run health care. Free market competition is what makes America great, and taking that aspect away from one of the largest business sectors in the country is a bad idea. Clearly I'm not an expert on private sector health insurance, but the answer is not to bog insurance companies down with more paperwork and regulations. They should simplify things instead. Think of how much money is wasted by insurance companies who have to pay the salaries of pencil pushers who are constantly filing requests like the ones you had to fill out. If they cut out all that paperwork, they'll not only make your life better but also be more profitable, efficient, and effective. Why should they care if you want to lower coverage? Just fill out one form and be done with it. It's your decision (for now, anyway. That's now a part of government controlled health care).
Think about everyone you know who's working their way through medical school, or any doctors you know. If the government gets to mandate salaries, they're not going to make near as much money. This is going to make the field of medicine much less attractive as a career. Why would anyone want to go to 7+ years of college and work terrible hours during residency to get saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans and not get the chance to make a good living at it? The average family care doctor in America is saddled with huge insurance premiums, long hours, and patients on medicare who don't bring in much money. Medicare and Medicaid both have much lower amounts they pay to doctors for office visits and medical services. Doctors who have these patients still have to see these patients, but they're barely making any profit by doing so. In some cases, they lose money for seeing a patient on government backed health care. If that type of system continues, they'll simply go out of business or refuse to take on new patients with government health care. So even if you have Obamacare, you won't be able to find a doctor who will accept your coverage.
Look at what this bill is going to do to the national debt. $900 billion dollars for this health care bill. And that's just a starting point - when was the last time a government project came in under budget? We're already trillions in debt, and now we're adding this on? Prepare for higher taxes for the rest of your life to pay for this, and realize that it's probably worse than paying higher insurance premiums. I'm fresh out of college and this year I owe the government an additional $1800 in income tax on top of what was already deducted from my paychecks.
That's the end of my rant. Yes, I agree that the current health insurance setup is severely flawed, but letting the government take everything over is definitely not the answer. Also, you and Nathan are the exception to the rule for people who need government assistance, and if everyone that was on medicaid and food stamps was like you, the system wouldn't need to be fixed. Keep it up, and be proud of what you're doing. I wouldn't mind paying taxes near as much if I knew all of it was going to people like you.
Much love to you and the family. Say hi to everyone for me.
Matt Kemp
you have some really good points, and i very much understand what you're saying and where you're coming from. i am worried about the gigantic impact this will have on the future. and i am aware of how ridiculous our debt is at this point. is it terrible that i just want health care for my family that's less hassle than what we're dealing with now...but i don't really care who's running it? by hassle i mean mountains of paperwork and insane premiums.
we had a block of time when we didn't have insurance for the boys, and when they got sick i literally couldn't take them in to the doctor because we couldn't afford it. we finally did take them because it got bad enough, put it on the credit card, and ended up spending over $500 out of pocket to cover all the doctor visits for them. only within a few months. what parent wants to hold off taking their kids to the doctor because they can't afford it? i felt so terrible. i know i could have asked for money from family, but it's hard to do that.
i'm so irritated by our current state, and i've read so many stories about families with sick children who are rejected by health insurance companies...it just makes me sick. and i'm ready for a change.
i'm not throwing all my weight behind this thing, and i believe there are major problems with it, but with the state things are in now....it's just unreal to me. hard working families who can't afford health care...sick children...completely unreasonable premiums...it's so overwhelming. at the same time, i know the government isn't in any kind of position to be equipped and ready to take on such a gigantic project.
i'm bouncing back and forth too much, i know. i'm just frustrated, tired, and stretched thin with the situation as it is now.
good to hear from you, matt! glad to know you read my blog. hope to see you sometime before our high school reunion. (if i'm even invited...ha!) hope all is well in austin!
Hilary, you make some valid points about how much of a hassle insurance is. It always has been, it always will be. Being in a family where chronic illness reigns supreme in cause for a job, it's heartbreaking to see people denied because of pre-existing conditions, no matter what the cause.
I can see where people are in support of the health care bill. I think it has good ideas in theory. I also think you and Nathan are using government run programs the way they are supposed to be used - maturely and correctly without abusing it. I'm thankful you opened up about it.
I realize that health care reform is going to be a part of our generation's future. The reason I hesitate so strongly when asked if I think it is good or bad, is because there are so many issues that need to be ironed out. Small business will practically be sold out because employees will be forced to give their employees insurance when they can't afford it.
Also, it makes me hesitant because doctor's will not be making as much profit as they do now. It's such a catch 22 because we can't afford bills because they charge so much, but we are treated exponentially faster because they charge so much and realize the benefits of personal profit. For instance, in Canada it can take up to a month [or more] to get a CT scan for confirmation of diagnosis when here you can get one the next day. It's not because of lack of technology or work force, it's lack of government financing.
I do think that premium's are out of this world, but the premium's I see are miniature compared to what I would pay out of pocket for my health care. I am still developing my thoughts about how to go about making the reform better, in my mind but when I spend a couple hundred dollars a month compared to a few thousand, I can't see how insurance is bad the way it is. Those with pre-existing catastrophic conditions [I am quoting my insurance company], can't get on government funding UNLESS they don't work. I cannot get any type of government aid because I am deem too healthy to work. However, if I quit working I could go on disability and have government run health care and not pay a penny out of pocket for my health care.
It is such a sticky situation. I am not completely opposed to the idea of health care reform; I am, however, completely opposed to the bill the way it is. I really do think that there can be a "happy medium" because extreme right wing and left wing politics concerning the health care reform, it's just seeing whether or not Congress is willing to take the time out to sort through them. I'm afraid the momentum that it has gained has put rose colored glasses on largely Democratic Senate and Congress.
Thanks so much for opening up about this. So many people our age don't talk about this for fear of being wrong. There is nothing wrong about having an opinion. Thank you for expressing it respectfully and I hope I made sense.
yes, i understand you katelyn. i'm sure this will affect you and your children a lot. i can't imagine how much you have to pay for insurance now...but even more so, how much you'd have to pay out of pocket with out insurance.
it seems like it's one extreme or the other. i wish there was a way for the government to force change on health care and insurance companies with out taking over completely. seems like too big of a bite to chew. but the ball is rolling.
I didn't know we had a high school reunion coming up. Guess it's been five years huh? I don't know if I'd be going to that anyway cuz the only people I've kept in touch with are you, Tricia (a little bit), and Trey (a little bit). I think it's been over a year since I've been back to Abilene. Weird... It's just easier to meet the family in Austin or at Grandma's I guess.
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