I’m scared.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the Affordable Care Act, which means a ruling will come next week.
I’m scared.
What if I have to worry about reaching a lifetime limit on coverage?
I’m scared.
What if we have to file bankruptcy because I got sick?
I’m scared.
What if I get kicked off my current coverage due to my pre-existing condition?
I’m scared.
This is what keeps me up at night.
Dear Republicans against this ‘compromise’ legislation…please tell me what YOU think should be done. And when I say ‘should be done’ … I mean now. Not as time goes on and Congress votes and blah blah blah blah. Because time is not something I have when there is a stack of bills on my desk.
I want to know what YOUR solution is for RIGHT NOW, because if SCOTUS claims ObamaCare is unconstitutional I will be screwed. What will the millions who are now insured, who will no longer be insured, DO?
As I prepare for treatment next week, treatment that currently I can afford to pump into my body to keep me healthy…I am wondering if those of you hell-bent on repealing this legislation are preparing for the millions of us that can no longer sleep at night because we’re overcome with fear over what with happen.
I am scared. And you are playing politics with my life.
As you vote, as you give your speeches, as you gather at the local diner to shake hands I want you to remember that there are millions of us scared as hell, holding our breath, and hoping beyond hope this historic legislation stands.
But I’m guessing you have no idea what that’s like.
And if I am wrong, by all means, tell me. Explain to me how I will be better off in the long run – because right now the long run looks rather bleak with your repealing of the only thing between many of us and losing it all.
Do you understand I need treatment? I need my medication? I need a home to live in that requires, as do the majority of American homes, TWO incomes? Do you have ANY idea the red tape that goes one when you try to apply for social security disability or long-term disability through private insurance? I’m lucky, I still can manage to think and fill out forms and make calls. Most people who truly need these services and money can not.
So I want to hear your solutions. And I want to hear your reasons for leaving so many of us without a safety net that comes with the Affordable Care Act. Do you truly not like what is in the Act? Do you even KNOW? Have you read it? Tell me what part of it pisses you off most. Is it where I can get coverage despite having Lupus? Is that it? Or is it the part where you have to purchase it, like auto insurance or home owners insurance? Because from where I sit I will gladly pay what I need to make sure this body can get the care it needs to remain a wife and mother. No really, have you READ IT?
I have. Which is more than many Congressfolk.
And it’s a start. It’s not perfect (due to many of those dead set against it bitching for ages) but it’s a start. And we need a start. Because I have been in this system now for two years and I can tell you it’s not pretty. We’re facing losing our home. We have debt up to our eyeballs as I pay bills from whatever doctor or whatever doctor’s doctor was in the room when they did that one thing in the hospital that I was charged a gazillion dollars for.
So give me those solutions. And look me in the eye and tell me what you will do when you win this ‘fight’ over health are in America and I am left scared, sick, and with nothing.
Better yet…look them in the eye:
I’m waiting.
I want to hear their answers to these questions as well!
I want to hear their answers, too, but I sincerely doubt they have any plans at all other than sweep it all under the rug and continue with business as usual.
I can’t even imagine the stress you’re under from the medical bills. I’m worried that if/when we lose our group plan health insurance again we’ll be unable to buy private insurance (again) due to minor pre-existing conditions. And I’m worried for my daughter, who could then be denied several treatments if they can even remotely link it back to autism. (Like not covering anesthesia for dental work that other kids could endure, or her anxiety, or any number of other issues.)
Should the SCOTUS choose to play politics and strike down the law, I recommend sending copies of all of your medical bills – every single one of them, including the follow-up reminders to pay when you don’t have enough money to pay it all right away – to your congressional representatives. If you can’t afford the postage, send e-copies (one email per document to flood their e-mail servers). If everyone in your situation, or even less serious situations, did that, demanding action and asking their representatives how they’d recommend you pay these bills or get treatment to stay alive and stay productive in society, it would be an avalanche of papers.
I’d like to hope it might make an impact on them. Then again, some of these people would rather see poor children starve to death by cutting social services programs to divert money to funding their CEO sponsors’ projects, so I’m not so sure they have hearts to begin with.
I’m with ya. And I’m bracing for the impact.
What should be done for REAL healthcare reform? That is a good question and a very important one.
First of all, repeal Obamacare because, truthfully – this bad plan puts beaurocrats in between YOU and YOUR doctor. Need surgery? The Healthcare panel will have to decide whether or not you can can get the surgery. The regulations are chasing our doctors out of the medical profession. Woudn’t it be sad if there was no one qualified to perform the operation that you need?
Here is what we should do – open health insurance up to the free markets. It is a proven fact that the free markets know how to run a business and the government does not (Solyndra).
Jason,
The free markets have been running health care since before ObamaCare and we have MILLIONS of people who are uninsured, people being kicked off their insurance due to pre-existing conditions, people who can’t GET insurance, people who can’t AFFORD insurance, not to mention the lack of lifetime caps, the college kids who aren’t covered, etc. etc. etc. The free market had their shot and as you saw (and can see) it was awful. The smart thing about Obamacare is it still allows for that American way by letting each company attempt to give a better deal, including the ones required under the government mandate.
Um…. there is no ‘healthcare panel’ that decides about your surgery. None. Please cite this in the law…which you can’t because it DOES NOT EXIST.
As for your Solyndra comment- the ‘free market’ & ‘government’ did nothing there…all the government did was give them money. Are you saying the government giving them money somehow changed the free market? Did their money have some sort of magical governmental powers that did something other money doesn’t do? No seriously, because giving a company money , the last time I checked, did absolutely nothing except put more money in that company’s bank account. So how did the people running that company do anything different than any other business? Some businesses make it, some don’t. The only thing that happened there was the government gave them cash.
Sigh. So again, I ask… what’s your solution… when you repeal ObamaCare and all of those provisions I discussed go away…what will become of my family and what is your solution? Because you gave no solution. The ‘free market’ is the solution pre-ObamaCare and what it did was discriminate against me because I am a woman, it kicked me out of plans because I have Lupus, it wouldn’t put a cap on lifetime or yearly outofpocket spending so it could be MILLIONS..THAT is what the free market did. So umm…. i’ll take ObamaCare thanks.
I stand with you on this one Erin. I have been living this healthcare nightmare for 13+ years, since my son was born.
Jason, what makes you think there isn’t *already* a bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor? There is. It’s called your FOR PROFIT insurance company. And they don’t care about you, or your health. They care about making as much money as possible. So if your surgery will cut into their profits, guess what?
Open healthcare up to free markets? Seriously? That’s great for reasonably healthy people. But for people like my son, and Erin, there is no free market solution that will ever come close to insuring my son, or Erin. My son is uninsurable. Ever. No company will take him on unless they *have* to — like through a group health insurance plan.
Healthcare should not be “run like a business” since the capital involved is people’s lives.
Our insurance company owns our DME and falls under the same umbrella of ownership as the hospital. They are all one and the same.
Free Market at it’s finest.
We’ve been where you are Erin, and are about to find ourselves there again if Obamacare is rescinded. The minute it is repealed Parker will be kicked off our private insurance plan. He will have surpassed it’s cap.
Many would tell you that if Obamacare were repealed and all the money used for Medicaid no longer being ‘stolen’ from them then people would give more to charities, etc. who would then go back to pre-1960 times when free religious hospitals gave care to those in need.
You know, Ron Paul’s ideology.
Except pre-1960 kids like Parker didn’t survive. There is no way my neighbors or my Church can afford to cover Parker’s care.
Reed and I are terrified. Yes, Parker will still fall under the guidelines to receive the Travis C. Waiver. Unfortunately we live in a state where more than half the legislature would fight to do away with this entitlement. Have you seen what is going on in Illinois with their Medically Fragile Technology Dependent waiver?
I’ve had people look me in the face and ask why I’m so afraid to allow my son to die.
I’ve also been told that I should simply be able to host a BBQ to cover Parker’s medical expenses.
Jason,
For reference, please read the following: http://davidgs.posterous.com/woody-and-my-letter-to-president-obama-please
Anyone who does not understand that there are already for-profit “death panels” sitting between you and the healthcare you need has clearly:
1.) never been really sick, and
2.) never had a family member with a chronic health condition
or worse, HAS been denied treatment or seen a family member get denied treatment, and just wasn’t paying enough attention to realize what was going on.
My child has been denied treatment that our health insurance company was legally required to pay for on several occasions. My sister suffered permanent damage when a hospital ICU literally kicked her out on the street just two days after a major injury because her insurance wouldn’t cover the out-of-state, out-of-network care there. My brother once had to wait four hours for insurance to approve treatment of his shattered finger bone — and he was just a kid at the time. I myself almost bled to death at the age of 21 waiting for an emergency surgery because my insurance company was arguing with the hospital ER docs over whether it was really an “emergency,” and then when the doctors threw up their hands and did the surgery anyway to save my life, I was stuck with a $25,000 bill. Which was the reduced “charity” price.
Every other industrialized nation in the world manages to get their citizens better access to health care for less money than we spend in the U.S. Clearly, the market isn’t fixing this problem. In my opinion, the only thing wrong with Obamacare is that it didn’t go far enough to “socialize” medicine.
I’m a red-blooded American and I love my mother and apple pie and I would like a little more socialism and a little less capitalism in my medicine, actually, please. I like my “socialized” police and fire departments quite a bit. I just got some “socialized” mail personally delivered to my house by hand ten minutes ago by my “socialist” mail delivery guy. The “socialized” public schools I attended weren’t perfect, but they did indeed teach me to read and write, which I do appreciate, because I now use that power to rant on the internet. And you can pry my “socialized” public library books from my cold dead hands. (I think Ben Franklin would agree with me there.)
I am sooo sorry for all the misery and suffering here in America! (Do you think I am excluded from the realities of life?)
But I never said the pre-obamacare system was perfect. If you read my post again I asked “What could be done for REAL reform?”
Why don’t we repeal obamacare and start over? What’s the hurry?? It does not fully take effect until 2014 anyway. This healthcare debate is really all about the demacrats “caring for us” (and reelecting them). They would not let the republicans in on the debate, and FORCED this piece of crap legislation down our throats after the American demanded otherwise.
Come on, people. Do you think these politicans really care for you??
Yes Obamacare isn’t perfect. It is compromise to get it passed. That said the critics simply keep taking pot shots at it piece by piece. Some of the “bad” stuff in there is to make the other important pieces sufficiently affordable or palatable in the eyes of enough folks to pass it. If anyone has an actual comprehensive way of keeping the coverage parts then propose it but no one does. But I wish we could stop with the straw horse easy arguments. If you haven’t had a bureaucrat at your insurance company initially deny you a drug or treatment that your doctor recommended then you are either extremely lucky or haven’t needed something expensive. I am now fighting with my insurance company who wants to pay $300 for a $2500 colonoscopy endoscopy which I needed as 4 members of my family have had cancers of the digestive tract. Seriously, and to appeal my doc will need to take his time.
Jason,
I’ve had the honor of meeting the President on several occasions. I’ve been able to raise my voice about Lupus and chronic illness to his staff. I’ve also had the pleasure of being able to sit and talk with his surrogates (including Congresswomen) and members of his staff (Including Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett) and more. I have met MANY people throughout my life, and I can tell you without hesitation and without any doubt that these people truly DO care for me and mine. They also care for your and yours, even if you hate them.
There have been many politicians I have met over the years that I can honestly say do not care about their job or the people, only the power and the paycheck. I can honestly say this administration does not fall in that category.
So to answer your question-yes, these politicians do care for me.
we cant wait for surgeries they will decide who will live and who will die we need some publicans to come into office and repeal. who is to tell me we need to all be insured screw this. if i wanted someone to tell me what to do i would live in a socialistic country i live in the usa freedom for all what about the constitutional rights they are violating. i voted for obama before but will not this time
Queen of Spain – Wake up!!!
These politicians, draconian dictators that they are, DO NOT CARE ABOUT US, THE PEOPLE!
How do I know?
Take the vote of contempt on criminal Eric Holder yesterday, for example. More than half of the demacrats WALKED OUT and did not even vote. I guess Brian Terry and his family are of no concern to them!
But WAIT!!!!!
I know – we are on the subject of Healthcare, so let us just talk about health care. OK. A huge majority of Amercans are currently and were against the demacrat plan FROM THE VERY BEGINNING (currently includes 70% of independent voters),
and many of us SHOUTED OUT our disapproval in town hall meeting after town hall meeting (do you remember them, O Queen of Spain?) Why didn’t they listen, Queen of Spain??? Why didn’t they listen?
They lied to us.
THEY LIED TO US, O QUEEN OF SPAIN!! They told us that they mandate WAS NOT a tax increase. Healthcare is FREE. BULLSHIT. They only way they could ever get this monster passed to lie and try to fool the people. It sad that many of you have been fooled.
Why didn’t they just be upfront, TRANSPARENT, out in the open and state that they must pass a huge, massive, painful tax increase on the middle class in order to pay for us? Why didn’t they honest about it instead of forcing it down our throats??
Bottom line – because they do not care what we think.
THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE
Sigh. If only people could understand things better…and be better educated about them…they wouldn’t freak out on blog posts and spew nonsense.
Oh well. Such is life on the internet.
When Obamacare is fully implemented, and the kinks are worked out, and all of us benefit…then you can come back and tell me you are sorry.
I have looked many of these people in the eye and yes, I trust them. I’ve met many people whom I do not trust and many I do…it’s not often any of those people were involved in politics. But I can tell you the President is someone I trust.
I should be better educated??????
“Let me get this straight … We’re going to be “gifted” with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don’t. Which purportedly covers at least ten million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that didn’t read it, but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a President who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, for which we’ll be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s broke! What the Hell could possibly go wrong?” – Donald Trump
When you get so desperate so as to quote Donald Trump you are admitting defeat. He is a birther nitwit. so, if you’re so incensed about beIng forced to buy insurance, Please explain your. Imports lack of outrage over being forced to buy auto insurance (or pay a penalty). Is that socialism too?
You Also Can’t Keep Your Doctor
I had great cancer doctors and health insurance. My plan was cancelled. Now I worry how long I’ll live.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304527504579171710423780446
http://www.caintv.com/house-republicans-unveil-obama
The above link – this is an example of the REAL reform that I was talking about.
Why is this link so silent?
Mrs. Queen of Spain, why are you posting all of the wonderful testimonies about Obamacare????
You mean the real reform they are already backing away from?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/31/1270417/-So-much-for-that-Republican-Obamacare-replacement-nbsp-plan
oh and btw
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/01/repealing-the-aca-could-hurt-everybody-experts-say/5055395/
and all those stories?? Let’s begin with mine
http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/believe-it-or-not-obamacare-can-save