Health Care CRISIS

I just spent the last two days on the phone with insurance company after insurance company. My employer has been generous enough to cover my insurance benefits for the last year. This ends on August 31st. After August, I have a decision to make: do I continue to keep my current health care plan, paying a very large amount of money each month, or do I look for a new, individual plan and hope that it is more affordable?

In order to keep my current plan, I have to get approval from the school board to ALLOW me to pay them $517 each month. Yes – I have to pay over $500 a month just to keep the health care that I currently have.

I know that this is the way the cookie crumbles. Nothing is free. Everything has its costs. Health is no exception.

I began my journey towards finding a new, independent insurance company last week. I got a few quotes that were significantly less than my Group Plan; however, there is always a catch. One company said that they would accept me – which I’ll get to that in a minute – however, they will only allow 20 physical therapy visits a year and the PT copay is DOUBLE my current plan’s copay. Last year, my plan covered 60 visits, and I got an extension for 20 ADDITIONAL visits because my pain management required it. If I chose this new plan, I calculated that I would pay $1,200.00 in copays PLUS an additional $4,000.00 out of pocket JUST to get the same number of visits that I received this past year for $900.00. This does not count the $1,000 deductible. That is a total of $6,200.00 CASH for Physical Therapy visits ALONE!

But, I need it. I cannot go a week without physical therapy. I am not a person who can “get by” without health care.

I thought to myself, “There have got to be other options for me!” So I kept searching. One insurance company actually told me that I am “un-insurable.” Because of my (you all know this word, say it with me,) “PRE-EXISTING CONDITION” I am a liability to the company. They refused to cover me.

I could not help myself; I started crying. It felt like they told me that I was not WORTH insuring – as if my health and happiness is not worth their coverage.

I started looking into government healthcare. I researched Medicare, which is supposed to be for people who are under 65 years old and are disabled. That’s me, right? Finally, coverage I can afford! But wait, there’s a catch. There is always the fine print: my household needs to make less money to get more affordable healthcare. Oh wait, there's more! There is the SPEND-DOWN PLAN that the government encourages for "people like me." This plan requires that Gage and I spend every cent in our savings accounts, sell our cars and any property that we can liquidate and then, when we do not have another penny to our name, apply for government assistance. Of course, we must prove that we spent all of our money and sold every one of our belongings first. That makes sense, doesn't it? The government is now ENCOURAGING us to spend rather than save before we can get disability assistance. And, the government expects for my husband, who makes a teacher’s salary and supports his household on one income, to be able to afford independent health care which costs as much as a house payment every month. To me, there is something terribly wrong with this picture!

Gage has said this again and again, “Health Insurance should NOT be a company that is allowed to make a profit.” But, in America, billions of dollars are made each year on peoples’ diseases, cancers, pains, illnesses and even deaths.

To me, that is just WRONG!

Unfortunately, I do not have a choice. I need health care. I cannot afford NOT to spend money on insurance. I am in pain every day of my life. I am certified as a Disabled American. I take up to 12 pills and 5 supplemens a day to manage my condition. Regardless of all that, to me, it is the health care system that is making me sick.