Here's a link to an article I wrote last year...it's finally made it's way to the world wide web. It's weird reading something that I wrote so long along, it still feels very real and accurate:)
Enjoy!!
http://tinyurl.com/ylbzml9
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
You have a pre-existing condition...no life insurance for you
The past few weeks have been pretty busy in a good way, but the main reason I've been away for so long is that I just didn't know what to say. The coverage of the health care debate has literally given me hot-flashes, it frustrates me to no end. I feel completely powerless. Even when I was going through treatment for Ovarian Cancer I felt like I had power. Yes, cancer was attacking my body...but I still had my mind and where my body was failing me, I could always rely on my mind to catch me when I fell.
We definitely need REFORM, there's no question about that. Prime example---I received a call yesterday from an insurance broker regarding my business. His records showed that I had recently started a small business and he wanted to know if my insurance needs had been met. I let him know that I had business insurance and health insurance(if my husband loses his job, then that's another story). He then asked about life insurance...annoyed that I'm not eligible for life insurance, I seized the moment...I took out my frustration on him. I let him know that I'm not eligible for life insurance because I have a pre-existing condition, his response..."oh okay, thank you so much". Unbelievable....
Deep down I know that the passing of the health care bill was historical. I also know that it's the furthest we've ever got in the movement. I know all of this, yet I still feel defeated. My concerns lie with the concessions we had to make to get there. Anyone with pre-existing conditions should be eligible for affordable/quality health care. You should still be able to feed your family and put a roof over their heads without worrying about how you're going to afford health care coverage. Children with pre-existing conditions will be eligible for heath insurance without being discriminated against once the bill becomes active, adults will have to wait a few years and in the interim they will be placed into a high-risked pool with other's just like them. If you do not have insurance, you will be required to purchase it at an affordable rate and family's who meet certain income levels will be eligible for a tax credit to help offset the cost. Last I checked, many of us are living paycheck to paycheck and are one check away from poverty. Where is this extra money coming from to purchase "affordable quality insurance"?
The argument that people die waiting for medical attention in the UK and Canada as a reason why we shouldn't have a public option doesn't fly with me. Mainly because people die while waiting for medical attention here in the US as well, but people seem to turn a blind eye to that. Maybe people turn a blind eye because the majority of people affected by this happen to be people who don't have advocates, people who live below the poverty level...people who aren't deemed a valuable part of our society.
Here's a link to the White House website where they've provided details on the reform and what it will mean to us...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting
Check it out, education is power and keeping ourselves educated helps to control the rumor mill!! I have no problem with those who share their opinion, we're entitled to do that and guess what, our opinions don't have to match our neighbors and we can still get along. That's the beauty of free speech! What bothers me is when people share their opinion, present it as gospel, and haven't done a bit of homework to educate themselves. That's when the hot-flashes kick in and I stop listening.
We definitely need REFORM, there's no question about that. Prime example---I received a call yesterday from an insurance broker regarding my business. His records showed that I had recently started a small business and he wanted to know if my insurance needs had been met. I let him know that I had business insurance and health insurance(if my husband loses his job, then that's another story). He then asked about life insurance...annoyed that I'm not eligible for life insurance, I seized the moment...I took out my frustration on him. I let him know that I'm not eligible for life insurance because I have a pre-existing condition, his response..."oh okay, thank you so much". Unbelievable....
Deep down I know that the passing of the health care bill was historical. I also know that it's the furthest we've ever got in the movement. I know all of this, yet I still feel defeated. My concerns lie with the concessions we had to make to get there. Anyone with pre-existing conditions should be eligible for affordable/quality health care. You should still be able to feed your family and put a roof over their heads without worrying about how you're going to afford health care coverage. Children with pre-existing conditions will be eligible for heath insurance without being discriminated against once the bill becomes active, adults will have to wait a few years and in the interim they will be placed into a high-risked pool with other's just like them. If you do not have insurance, you will be required to purchase it at an affordable rate and family's who meet certain income levels will be eligible for a tax credit to help offset the cost. Last I checked, many of us are living paycheck to paycheck and are one check away from poverty. Where is this extra money coming from to purchase "affordable quality insurance"?
The argument that people die waiting for medical attention in the UK and Canada as a reason why we shouldn't have a public option doesn't fly with me. Mainly because people die while waiting for medical attention here in the US as well, but people seem to turn a blind eye to that. Maybe people turn a blind eye because the majority of people affected by this happen to be people who don't have advocates, people who live below the poverty level...people who aren't deemed a valuable part of our society.
Here's a link to the White House website where they've provided details on the reform and what it will mean to us...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting
Check it out, education is power and keeping ourselves educated helps to control the rumor mill!! I have no problem with those who share their opinion, we're entitled to do that and guess what, our opinions don't have to match our neighbors and we can still get along. That's the beauty of free speech! What bothers me is when people share their opinion, present it as gospel, and haven't done a bit of homework to educate themselves. That's when the hot-flashes kick in and I stop listening.
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