Please help me, I'm a HealthCare babe in the woods

[lcdnumber6]

Hi DU'ers -

I need help. You will see from my profile that I'm a longtime lurker, regular contributor but infrequent poster on DU, so this is pretty much going to be a "here is my comment and I'll hang up" sort of post.

Of the many issues that I have contemplated over the past 8+ years - with the help of many great discussions on DU - I have remained intentionally ignorant about the healthcare issue. It seems too overwhelming for me to comprehend how the health care industry works, and what is being proposed to amend or replace it.

And frankly I have never had to face a catastrophic health care issue because I have had the good luck to be gainfully employed and insured and HEALTHY for all of my adult life (knock on wood). I have had family members go through some serious health problems, but honestly they have been so well-covered that their reaction was, "eh that procedure cost $70K but we didn't have to pay much, pass the potatoes." So, what it comes down to is that I am ignorant about this issue because, given my life experience, it *hasn't* been an issue for me. Yeah, I watched "Sicko" and it was scary, but only as an abstraction, like "wow that would suck if anything really bad happened to me. What's next to watch in the Netflix queue?"

Why should I care? While many, many other issues have successfully hit my compassion/overall-implications-to-society/this-is-just-stupid radar, the health care issue has missed the target for me.

So, tell it to me in layman's terms. What are you fighting for in health care reform, and why?

Thanks in advance for your help.

L

[lcdnumber6]

1. kick before bed

love to see some thoughts tomorrow...bon soir!

[Lex]

2. Are you saying that you aren't concerned because it hasn't affected you directly?

"Why should I care?" because you haven't been harmed yet?

Look these two words up: compassion and empathy

[lcdnumber6]

3. if you read my post...

you would see that, yes, somehow this issue has has missed my compassion radar. So, I was hoping that people would be kind enough to tell me how they feel about this issue, not just wag their finger at me.

[Lex]

7. Sorry, I'm just astonished that something has to happen to you directly

in order to make it onto your "compassion radar."

[lcdnumber6]

10. I am trying to engage in an honest discussion here

and yes I am exposing a Machiavellian part of myself but I want to learn more about the subject and I thought DU would be a safe place to do it. so tell me something useful please.

[Maru Kitteh]

12. I will join that sentiment. It's alien to me that one can see the suffering of so many and say

"whatever, pass the potatoes. It doesn't hurt ME."

[lcdnumber6]

15. okay that obviously hit a nerve.

and it wasn't said by me. can you please tell me your take on health care reform? thanks

[lapfog_1]

4. I think you aren't telling us the whole truth.

You obviously have had a major medical problem in the past...

someone removed your heart.

[lcdnumber6]

6. cute.

anything productive to add to the conversation?

[lapfog_1]

22. Well, try to walk in someone else's shoes for a minute.

I didn't ask to have a congenital heart defect when I was born, only to have corrective surgery for it some 40 years later (when they could FINALLY fix things, for the first 40 years, it was routine trips to the ER to have my heart rebooted so I didn't DIE). The surgery was wicked expensive, but I had insurance... so I ONLY had to pay about $10K. But hey, it did fix things. Oh yeah, Literally, waiting for me when I got home from the hospital was a letter from my insurance... "we can no longer continue to have you as a client". Shopped around for another plan. HA! BCBS quoted my a policy that had a $10,000 deductible, a $500,000 lifetime cap, and ONLY would cost me $1200 a month. And, oh, BTW, it wouldn't cover any other problem related to my heart defect (pre-existing condition!) and THEY get to decide what might be related or not.

So... for the last 8 years, no insurance. Pay for every doctor visit out of my own pocket. Had a scare two years ago when I discovered a mole on my chest that was red, irregular, and growing. Scared the shit out of me (cancer would have bankrupted me). Even the biopsy was a few hundred bucks. Fortunately, it wasn't a mole, it was a vein loop. But I sweat it every damn day. Dental work... same thing. Vision, yup. I've been paying about $1500 to $200 a year for routine medical stuff. out of pocket. Been unemployed now for more than 8 months... so no money to even pay for routine stuff.

But, that's me. Sounds like your life is just peachy. So why should you have to pay for me. No reason. Were the situations reversed, I would pay for YOUR health care... but that's just me.

[lcdnumber6]

24. lapfog_1, yes I have had a peachy life....

and frankly it's been very sheltered when it comes to health care issues; please take whatever comfort you can in knowing you're opening someone's eyes to other people's realities. My jaw is on the floor reading your story.

[SammyWinstonJack]

48. +1

:spray:

[gateley]

5. Look at recent history -- do you think the insurance companies are going

to STOP charging more and giving you less? As Thom Hartman says, by LAW, it is a corporation's responsibility to make a profit for its shareholders. I'm thinking they are doing their job very well. It just seems goofy to pay money to a corporation/industry whose main goal is to make a profit -- not give you fair coverage for a fair premium.

It may not have affected you yet, but if left unchecked, it will definitely affect you or a family member -- I would venture to guess in the not-to-distant future. Then you won't need anyone else to explain it to you.

Edit -- spelling

Edit #2 to add: -- I understand your not getting involved given your circumstances. I think (at least when I had good insurance) that those that didn't were somehow taken care of by someone somewhere. It's difficult to understand unless you're closer to it, so I commend your desire to learn more about the world beyond yours. :)

[lcdnumber6]

8. thank you, gately.

So, I have a follow-up questions since you said something that is actually helpful:

1. I hear a lot being batted around between "public option" and "single-payer". Can you point me in the direction of a good website that describes the difference? It's kind of hard wading through the Google results.

I may sound lazy here, but you know more than I do about the subject. thanks again - L

[gateley]

13. I would search DU posts, or post one asking the difference because you've

missed the previous ones. I always ask at DU first because there are some really knowledgeable people here and they can explain it in a way I can understand.

But my basic -- limited -- understanding is that Single Payer is essentially like Medicare. That's a single payer system -- all the bills are sent to Medicare for reimbursement. I think a public option COULD include a single payer option, but additionally they are talking about providing several different carriers/coverages from which to choose. You might opt to stay with Blue Cross (or whomever) while I might opt for a different plan. Options!

[Maru Kitteh]

28. That's damnably easy. Single payer would uncomplicated, fair and efficient

Unfortunately that's not going to happen right now.

Public option will provide affordable access to healthcare mostly to the working poor, self-employed and those paying more than 12.5% of their adjusted gross income for insurance premiums. It will not be available to everyone, just those who the insurance industry routinely rob and deny right now.

[lcdnumber6]

31. Hi Maru

I'd love to see some links to your synopsis of single-payer. Thank you.

[Maru Kitteh]

38. That's easy. You can do it yourself. Google "world healthcare GDP"

[subterranean]

41. Link to single-payer information

This provides a good overview:
http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_resources.php

(Also see the Single-Payer FAQ)

[walldude]

9. I'll make this as easy as possible for someone who apparently has no stake in

this race. I make decent money. Near 6 figures in a good year. I can't get health care at any price. Why? Because people are sick in my family and there is no profit in insuring us. My wife has genetic heart disease, I have a son with autism and an adopted son with MD. Insurance companies won't touch us because of pre-existing conditions and I make too much to get Medicare. There are few options for me in my state, my kids and wife see doctors on a sliding pay scale, I haven't seen a doctor in 25 years. There are plenty of people out there like me and plenty of people who just can't afford health care. If you are self-employed, which is supposedly the American dream, you are screwed if you have sick people in your family, you are screwed, if you are poor you are screwed.

You ask why should you care. Well you don't have to, but if the shit ever hits the fan for you as it has for many of us don't come bitching because no one cares.

One thing you used to be able to count on was the generosity and spirit of the American people. When the shit hits the fan we come together in spite of our differences to work together to solve our problems. At least that's how it used to be. Now it's "I got mine, fuck you." The hilarious thing is the people screaming "Fuck you" didn't really get theirs, they are just too stupid to figure out that they have been played into thinking that Rush Limbaughs interests are the same as theirs.

[lcdnumber6]

14. walldude -

wow, I can't even comprehend what you are going through, and you have much more courage than me. Thank you for sharing your story with me.

I totally agree that it's atrocious that people are screaming "fuck you" in all of this, and I certainly hope I'm not coming across like that. I am very, very ignorant on this subject so I need to hear what's really going on with people in different circumstances than me.

[gateley]

18. I hear stories like yours over and over and over -- tragic and infuriating. If

you could have your druthers, what would you ideally like to see offered? I ask because I have no coverage, money, and have existing conditions, so I'll basically take ANYTHING that helps, but I don't have a family I'm responsible for like you do. I'm just curious what would best help someone in your position. Although as I type this, I'm thinking of some of the fabulous stories that have been relayed here about the wonderful system in Great Britain, and that would obviously be the best for ALL of us. But since It's HIGHLY doubtful that's what we'll get, what would be the next best thing for you?

Hugs to you and your family.

[walldude]

32. Honestly until the profit is removed from the health care industry

it's always going to be messed up. What I'd like to see is a not for profit health care system. Seriously, you ever get an aspirin in the hospital? 5 bucks. For one aspirin. You'd think it was the Pentagon or something.

Basically I'd like to see single payer. Medicare for everyone. Raise my taxes, happy to pay for it. I believe it would also attract more people to the medical field, they can be very well paid, and don't have to deal with insurance companies who's job it is to deny needed care so their stock holders and CEO's can line their pockets. It's really a sick system if you think about it, those death panels the loonies like to yell about actually exist now, and the people making judgements have a financial stake in the outcome. It's twisted.

So anyway Single Payer. Medicare for Everyone! Beyond that a public option that can't deny pre-existing conditions would be a good start.

[gateley]

46. Yeah, that's really the only way go go --all the glowing recollections of

DUers receiving exceptional health care in Great Britain while they were just there as tourists, for example!

We have one of two in the nation (so I heard on TV) non-profit co-ops, Group Health. It was usually offered as an option on company health plans, and those of us who opted for it primarily did so because our monthly premium was far less. There was always a joke about it, calling it Group Death, and the usual stories about not being able to choose your doctor, etc. I joined once and I have to say I had no complaints. My interaction with them was minimal, but the care I needed was there, no wait, free prescription. I don't know if the co-ops they're talking about now are non-profit not, but if it's something like Group Health, I'd be happy with that.

[Hello_Kitty]

11. Just from a purely self-interested standpoint

You need to be interested in this issue for several reasons:

1. You are getting older every day and with each day the chances that you will have a need for health care rises.

2. The cost of health care is outpacing inflation.

3. Employers are increasingly dropping health plans or requiring employees to pay a larger share because the cost of insurance is quickly becoming exorbitant.

[sandnsea]

16. And workers lose raises

so employers can pay for premiums. Cheaper insurance, more money in the pocket.

[gateley]

20. Yes!! nt

[SoCalDem]

49. and would-be enterpreneurs never start their own businesses

There are MILLIONS of people with a good idea and the desire to be their own boss, but if they happen to have a wife and a few kids, they cannot afford to go "bareback" for the amount of time it would take for them to become successful, so they remain cogs in the wheel, praying they skate through the next round of layoffs, and then suddenly, they are 50, and their company says "buh-byee"..we can hire two 25-yrs olds for less than we pay you (they don't actually SAY it, but...)

So for maybe 10-15 years, the guy who always wanted to start his own business is now facing a life with teenagers, a wife, a house, no job, no insurance, and some chronic illnesses he cannot afford..
This scenarios is playing out millions of times across america..

[gateley]

19. I'm saving this -- you should have heard me yammering away this evening trying

to explain the gist of this to my niece. Even I wasn't convinced! I sure could have used your sane, concise and logical explanation. Thanks for posting this -- :headbang:

[snot]

17. Here's one story:

But before I forget, what company do you work for, and who's your insurer???

I too have been relatively "well"-insured by private insurers.

For a few years, my company had insurance from United Healthcare. It seemed like everything I needed, they routinely denied. I had to waste time appealing, my doctors had to waste time writing more letters, U.H. always ended up agreeing the care was needed; but not 'til I and my doctors' had wasted hundreds if not thousands of dollars'-worth of our time arguing about it.

Then my company changed insurers every year for several years -- I'd guess 4 to 6 years in a row -- trying to contain rising premiums. Each time they changed, whatever doctor(s) I was seeing at the time fell off the new plan, and I spent hours finding and starting over with new, basic doctors. It's not like I had major health problems; I've been lucky, they've been trivial for my age; but I've been paying health ins. premiums for decades; and now, every little thing I had, that shd have been paid without question, became a time-and-money-wasting ordeal.

My company ended up back with United Healthcare. By this time, they'd changed strategies. I and my company paid much higher premiums and deductibles. On the other hand, U.H. had stopped arguing about claims; instead, they simply required that claimants obtain everything needed from "preferred providers" who charged much more than necessary for whatever was needed -- I can only infer that United Healthcare received kickbacks? Or perhaps they were just terminally stupid and inefficient, bec. they were getting it all back in premiums?

Last year I had surgery on my foot. I had to stay completely off it for a solid month, and my doctor prescribed a knee-walker to help me get around. The manufacturer my doc recommended said they could ship one for under $500 and get it to me in 3 days.

U.H. said they'd cover it, but only if I got it through an "in-network provider."

Now, you might think the point of dealing with "in-network providers" would be that the insurer could negotiate cheaper prices; but apparently, no.

They gave me a list of over a dozen in-network providers, and I called them all. It turned out only one could provide the item – and it would take at least two weeks, partly because special authorization was required from the insurer, because this in-network provider's price to procure the item was over $1,000.

I called the appeals people at the insurer and I told them hey, we can get it quicker from the manufacturer and you'll save $500. They couldn't have been less interested. They'd pay the $1,000, and I'd have to wait two weeks.

When the knee-walker finally arrived, it was an inferior model from a different manufacturer.

I have to at least ask whether the insurer and its in-network provider weren't splitting the mark-up at my employer's and ultimately all of our expense – i.e., they require me to accept an inferior product at twice the cost, then the insurer recovers the cost through premiums, plus collects a kick-back from the "preferred provider." (Not to mention the delay and other detriment to my well-being).

The VA is running a great single-payer system, and Medicare is running a great public option. I would gladly trade my private insurance for either.

(I'd rather have a bureaucrat between me and my doctor than someone who views my illness as a looting opportunity.)

Meanwhile, I'm afraid to speak frankly with my doctor for fear something I say might be used as an excuse to deny coverage.

Our healthcare money isn't lengthening our lives (we in the U.S. pay twice as much for healthcare than people in 26 other nations, yet our life expectancies are much shorter; see chart at http://c-cyte.blogspot.com/2008/01/healthcare-costs-in-us.html from ucsc.edu).

So, where is the money going?

Private insurers in the U.S. have had decades to show they can provide decent healthcare coverage, and have failed. Surprise! – they won't do it unless they HAVE to.

Theoretically, yeah, government could regulate private insurers into decent coverage. But as any "free marketeer" should concede, that would be the LEAST efficient way to do it! We'd have to actually regulate, we'd have to staff up enforcement, etc.

I'm pretty sure, the MOST efficient way is to give private insurers some COMPETITION!

[lcdnumber6]

21. snot, I'm not gonna tell you who i work for!!!

But i will tell you that my insurer is blue cross/blue shield.

That is awful that you are afraid to speak up for what transpired with your knee-walker.

Ugh, I had no idea: "Eliz. Edwards on TDS tonite (May 20, '09) said, out of every $700 paid for to United Healthcare, $1 was paid to the CEO"

Thank you for some evidence as to what's going on. I will research what the VA and Medicare are doing right in their programs.

[laughingliberal]

26. Some of what Medicare and VA are doing right

Medicare has very low administrative costs about 3-4%. They do not pay $1 out of every 700 to a CEO and they do not have entire departments of people working full time to find a way to deny your claim or cancel your policy. They also have no shareholder to whom they have to pay dividends. They do not need to show a profit. Therefore, more of the money paid in goes to pay for care.

VA does many things right. One, in particular, is they negotiate just as insurance companies do for lower prices on prescription drugs. Medicare is not allowed to do this under the Medicare prescription plan passed in 2005.

[laughingliberal]

23. Really excellent examples of the problems with the system

Thank you for writing that. One of the main problems with the current system, as mentioned already, is that workers' wages have been stagnating for over 2 decades now largely due to the rising cost of health care. Employers are paying higher premiums every year to cover their employees. This stifles the ability of the company to pay you much more money. Your raise went to the health insurance company who raised their premium by 20-40%. So, you got a lot less than you would have. In addition to keeping salary increases down, it has been necessary for most companies to pass more of the cost of the premium on to you. Last year, perhaps, you paid $200 per month of the cost. This year it's $250. So you got a raise and you need to deduct $25 from that to see your net gain. But wait! Your copay for a doctor visit went up $5 and your deductible went up $100. If you need to use your insurance you can deduct all that from your raise. For most of us the amounts our health care costs go up outpace our raises or they, at least, eat most of the raise up. If you do find yourself sick you may find, as the poster above, that you are spending time fighting with the insurer over claims they decide not to pay. They may pay them after a fight but there goes your time and energy doing a job for which you are not being paid ie: acting as the collector for the provider who needs to be paid for their service. The impact on the economy at large is the consumers, upon whom the economy is largely dependent to survive, have less money to spend every year. Health insurers doing great but retailers, car dealers, not so much. And I know no one thinks this will happen to them but if something happens to a person's job the price for carrying COBRA is shocking. If you are without coverage for 60 days and then get a job with a group plan, they can exclude preexisting conditions for 12 months.

This is a lot of rambling but perhaps I have been able to say something to illustrate how this affects everyone. If costs are not brought under control we are about a decade away from health care costs eating up about 40-50% of the average workers' wages.

[tjwash]

25. Because we are supposed to be a civilization, not a collection of selfish jerkoffs?

It's kind of tough to not give you a snark-filled answer, after you all but admit that you don't give a shit because the plight of millions of people without health care just does not affect you. It actually must suck to have to bother your beautiful mind with the question in the first place, and all that...

The situation surrounding for profit health insurance is getting worse yearly. Even people that are actually covered under work plans are getting dropped from coverages, or denied needed coverages and treatment, simply for things like pre-existing conditions, or because a cube rat in Omaha did a background check after a claim and found that the applicant forgot that they had their tonsils removed 35 years ago. People are losing their houses, and their savings and are being crushed by stifling debt simply because they commited the cardinal sin of getting sick, and stopped being profitable for Cigna or Blue Cross.

And those are the lucky ones that HAVE insurance. It could be you next. It could be me.

Millions of people have no coverage at ALL. No way of getting coverage, and no way of affording coverage. In short...they have no hope. What are we supposed to do? Obviously if you go by the "who gives a fuck it doesn't affect me, why the hell should I care" model, we could just replace all of aforementioned programs with big old "BRING OUT YOUR DEAD" wagons. Which, as I read and hear more and more crap from spoiled assed neo-cons and libertarian bastards at these town halls, is what they are really after.

What did all the people that you don't care about or have to bother with seeing now, did before there were social programs to help them (also known as civilization)? They died of disease and malnutrition.

So what huh?

[lcdnumber6]

27. do NOT compare me to Babs!!!!

Come on! I'm not a narcissistic sociopath draped in pearls!

So...can you tell me what you think is a good option in all of this? Again, I am totally overwhelmed by the (mis)information being disseminated. I am relying on DU'ers to help me navigate this issue. Thx

[Greyhound]

44. The profit motive is antithetical to health care.

So, the first option is to eliminate profits outright. This is what is done through various means in all of the industrial world and they all have better systems than we do.

You will hear about "insurance companies" in Germany and Japan, but if you look into it, none of them are for profit. They provide jobs and salaries for their employees and they pay the bills, but they do not keep excess income and cannot deny needed care.

The basic truth is that it is far more profitable to collect premiums and withhold care than to provide care.

[usregimechange]

29. Preventative care and expanded coverage access

To save lives while we save money.

[demodonkey]

30. Simply look up the story of Andy Stephenson, and the hell DU went through...

...raising the funds he needed for his cancer operation. He had no insurance, and then in the end he died anyway. Yes what happened in between was pure hell for so many of us on this very forum, but most importantly it was worse than hell for Andy during his last days.

NO ONE SHOULD EVER, EVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH WHAT ANDY STEPHENSON DID.

And also, FYI, I personally am one of the millions who have NO healthcare at all. I have been fighting for the past three years to get my mother the care she needs. She had a stroke and has great insurance, but it's a constant fight to get the insurance to keep paying and covering her. She really hasn't gotten the full care and therapy she needs at all. And she's been sued, threatened with JAIL (at age 89) and more. It is hell for us both; some nights I can't sleep at all for worrying about her AND me (what would I DO if I need an operation or something... die, I guess.)

[lcdnumber6]

34. Hi demodonkey -

Thank you for sharing what is going on with you and your mother. Again, I am agog and am learning fast.

(PS - I was a passive observer to Andy's tragedy. Very dark times on this forum)

[DU GrovelBot]

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[krispos42]

35. Employer-based health insurance chains workers to their job

That's one big issue. If you or a family member get a "condition", then if you change jobs or strike out on your own you lose coverage for that condition for a period of time, or perhaps permanently. It depresses wages and stunts entrepreneurship.

It raises car insurance rates; fully a third of my car-insurance cost is for coverage for my passengers and anybody that I hit.

It's a burden to small businesses. They pay higher rates than big businesses because they have less bargining power.

It's a non-innovative industry. Non-innovative industries (like, say, making paper clips or AM/FM radios or light bulbs) don't make massive profits, pay massive executive salaries, and have double-digit annual price increases unless they are exploiting a monopoly situation. And a non-competitive monopoly system is the antithesis of the free market. If it's a non-innovative, non-competitive, critical industry, then it should be run by the government if the private sector can't do it without raping the consumer.

It's 16% of our GDP covering about 80% of the people. It should be about 10%, covering all of our people. It's not, so you have to ask where that other 6% of the GDP goes. Well, it goes into a corporate bureacracy that deliberately makes the system hidiously complicated then charges enormous sums of money for the complexity. It's like a giant cost-plus contract for Bechtel.

The insurance companies with their massive profits then have massive influence into our governmental system, distorting it, minimizing the voice of the people and amplfying the voice of corporations. That's not democracy.

[ProudDad]

36. 20,000 DEAD every year...

because they didn't have health insurance. More thousands dead for health insurance company profits -- they HAD health insurance.

Imagine the headlines if a 737 worth of people flew into a mountain EVERY DAY for a reason as silly as that...'cause they didn't have mountain insurance or were under insured for crashing into mountains.

And we spend substantially MORE per person than the civilized countries that have Universal Health Care...

Something that may strike closer to home. Have you ever been afraid of losing your job 'cause you'd lose your health care too? There's a depression on, you could be axed and lose your "health care" in a day. And don't rely on COBRA -- the insurance premiums without employer help have gotten so high that it'll empty your savings in no time -- or you'd make the same choice I had to in '05 -- no COBRA -- too expensive.

Has it ever occurred to you that you'd be paid more each pay period if your employer didn't have to pre-deduct the ever increasing cost of health care before offering you a pay rate?

Universal Enhanced and Improved Medicare for ALL... Lowers costs, insures everyone, publicly financed, privately delivered.

Everybody in, nobody out. No co-pays, no deductibles, no hidden charges, no denial of care, no exclusions, accountability...

Think about it...

[Jennicut]

37. I am DAMN lucky right now to have insurance as a diabetic

I had insurance before I was diagnosed and its through my husband. Think about it in this way...you are damned lucky but could get sick at any moment. I had no idea I would end up this way, no history of high blood pressure, no diabetes in my family, my BMI is in a normal range, cholesterol normal, I was only 28 when diagnosed. You just never know what will happen, and it could bankrupt you or end your life if you were denied coverage. I am damn lucky but that luck might run out some day...

[and-justice-for-all]

39. Because it is a Human Rights matter...

Health care is right and not a privilege.

[Maru Kitteh]

40. You say babe in the woods - instinct tells me snake in the grass.

I've not been wrong often.

[musette_sf]

50. + 1

[lcdnumber6]

53. I have been called a contrarian...

if that's a snake in the grass to you, so be it.

[Greyhound]

42. You've had a few good replies and several resources provided, but here's one I didn't see.

It is an absolute, irrefutable fact that this will touch you eventually. You and everyone you know and love will have an accident or simply grow old and get sick. When the inevitable happens, you will be at the mercy of a truly evil industry that has none. You will suffer needlessly, you will be subjected to unnecessary stress on top of your illness, and the odds are that you will be denied essential care long enough that it will make you worse or kill you.

[sandnsea]

52. "at the mercy of a truly evil industry that has none"

Ya know, that's really the bottom line. As much as we all like to think of our health care givers as angels of mercy, especially the nurses, the truth is there is nothing they can do if the hospital and insurance administrators say no. And they will say no, sooner or later, to someone you love if not yourself. That's the truth. It really is an evil industry when you stip away all the pomp and pollyanna.

[guitar man]

43. OK

Last year we had a combined family income of about $40k for a family of 3. Right now, I'm paying about $500 a month for insurance through my job. The company has been paying 70% of the premium and employees 30%. With the difficulty our company has been facing recently, it seems likely they will roll us back to 60/40 next enrollment period. If we get hit with similar rate increases as well, it could put our insurance in the $700 a month range.

You do the math. $40k a year gross income, $700 a month for insurance. I wonder how many other families are facing similar circumstances. It's wrong and it has to stop.

[Orsino]

45. Well, how many tens of millions of people do you want to be denied health care?

How close a friend or relation would have to be fucked over by Big Insurance and its Congressional minions?

Which diseases do you want me untreated for? Which contagious diseases do you want people near you to suffer from? Exactly who do you want the insurers and hospitals to be able to bankrupt?

[me b zola]

47. lcdnumber6, you should care. This does effect you

So it hasn't happened yet, you or a loved one who believes that they are covered only to have their rates raised to incredibly high rates or completely dropped unable to purchase any other health insurance. This happens to thousands of people everyday with health insurance. Thousands. Every day. This is the result of access to health care being treated as a commodity. A strong public option would allow people to buy into a system like Medicare that would be regulated and would serve to bring down the over all cost of health care by truly offering competition.

[handmade34]

51. You should care because I care about you

and there are others that care about me. That question, "Why should I care?" is harsh. We should all care because we are a country, a community, a family and we are all in this together. I often talk with people that can't comprehend a culture, a problem, a way of life outside of their own and I have come to the conclusion that that is one of the prime reasons we are becoming an uncivil society. Educating yourself, having an open mind and open heart is all it takes.

My story: I keep my job because that is all that is available to me now. For the past 4 years my salary was $28k pretax. and BCBS was offered through my employer. I had 3 college aged children whom I was providing health insurance for. My employer paid $300/mo towards a $1500/mo policy. I was paying $1200/mo for health insurance. I was paying half of my income toward health insurance but I was pleased because this was the first time I could get BCBS health insurance. I have always been relatively healthy but since I was 12 I have suffered from migraine headaches and I was excited that I would finally be able to get comprehensive care and help to alleviate the headaches. Well, in 4 years after paying fully 1/2 of my income towards healthcare insurance and with my employers contribution, BCBS was receiving up to $18,000/year for my healthcare. In those 4 years, my oldest son had 2 visits with a physical therapist, my daughter had 2 visits to a physical therapist (all kids are runners) my youngest son had 2 sports physicals and I had 1 visit to a headache clinic (prescription for migrainal) and 1- 1 hour ER visit for unknown severe abdominal pains ending with prescription for antibiotics. Throughout those 4 years I had piles of paperwork, back and forth with what they refused to pay and co-pays and I still have $1200 in bills that BCBS would not pay. I dropped my BCBS last December, I refuse to ever give money to a private health insurance company again and I am angry. I will gladly pay when we all can have access to care.

There are so very many problems with our healthcare system as it is. As been asked, the pertinent question is, "What does the insurance company bring to the table?" All they do is increase the cost of healthcare because they have to make money. The insurance companies make life and death decisions everyday and they do it based on how that affects their bottom line. Gov't funded healthcare would not be a worse option. But first and foremost we want reform and we care because we are an extremely diverse population of male, female, appetites, likes, dislikes, behaviors, etc, but we are a country together and we are neighbors, community members, friends and family. I could no more watch you struggle with serious health problems knowing that I could, but would not help, than if you were my sister.

[lcdnumber6]

54. thank you to everyone who replied with their stories

I am deeply humbled by your stories, and realize that I'm very naive (and say callous) on this subject. Again, I, my friends and family, have had minimal bad health care experiences so I needed to hear it from the front lines.

As for other people who only had ad hominem attacks to my initial inquiry - I hope you can see that there are people like me who are really dumb on this subject but really want to learn a thing or two. Although, your posts didn't do a lick of good in shining a light in a dark place, so I don't know where you were trying to get with your personal attacks.

I am reading more and trying to make sense of all of this - thank you gately for sending the links. I will be contacting my rep's and I want to send an email to Obama telling him to stand his ground.