Realizing this is Christmas week and everything, I wanted to get this off my chest and also have it serve as an update on what has been going on with my own situation regarding health care. This happens to be the "deadline" for signing up. Notice I haven't posted anything here over the past weeks, and though speculation may have been other than reality it's for the simple fact I ran out of energy through having to deal with this mess and sign up for a 2014 plan.
Basically, as anyone can see or hear in the reports, it's not working out. It's making things worse for people who have been "doing the right thing" to borrow a phrase, and what you hear from the supporters and designers of this plan just isn't true. Let me restate that: They're lying to us about this plan/law, in spite of the facts which continue to come out, and they have been lying to us for over three years.
Do we allow this to happen? Do we accept the outright lies which were told, often with emphasis in the form of a "period!", in order to not only deceive but to try to "sell" something to the public which they knew was something other than was being advertised? If you say something which you know is false, it's a lie.
If we settle for this, and continue to allow it to happen, then we deserve exactly what we get...but that doesn't work for me, either.
In the past month, the feel-good cheerful "holiday season" no less, I have spent hours on the phone dealing with my health care plan. I had a good plan, one which fit both my needs and my monthly budget pretty well, only to see it stripped away by this new "law". Millions of others saw the same thing happen, but that's old news and I reported this back on page 1 or whatever it was in this thread.
I spoke with the insurance company, at least three or four departments including sales and a special "Affordable Care" division designed to answer questions related to the new laws. I spoke with a handful of employees at the small-business organization which has been the broker for my plan for 6 or 7 years. It reached the point several times where I was literally shouting into the phone, and where even the "experts" could not answer basic questions. If I had a dollar for every time one of these workers said "sorry" I'd be rich. It got nowhere.
Bottom line - The plan I had is gone, and I have to settle for something which is a piece of sh*t with high deductibles, reduced coverage, higher premiums, and overall the feeling that I've been ripped off in the name of the "greater good" that this new law will bring forth.
One word: Bullshit. But that's old news, again back to page one of this thread.
Let me explain a few things you might see in your own health care situation soon. remember there is a delay on the employer mandate which lasts a year...so those who are saying "My plan hasn't changed...", *Do Not* be fooled into thinking your plan will not change within the next year. It's just being delayed, by one of close to twenty "revisions" added by a president and administration acting with little or no executive authority to make random changes to a law seemingly at will whenever they feel like doing so.
I live within 10 miles of two good hospitals. I was born there, had surgery there, been to the ER there, and my entire family has been treated there for everything from cancer to broken bones. All of my and my family's doctors were affiliated with these two hospitals. Here's the catch: If I were to need emergency care, and an ambulance would be called, all three of the ambulance services which cover my area would go to either of these hospitals as a general rule. It's set up just like the way fire departments are dispatched according to areas of coverage, where one company is the first-call for certain areas.
So when I was on the phone for those hours, a plan was presented to me as an option to replace my plan which I had taken away. What they failed to tell me originally was that the plan would not cover the only two hospitals in my area, and that I would be on the hook for potentially thousands more dollars should anything ever happen to me where I had to go to the ER.
Yet, a few of these phone reps actually tried to sell me on the plans by listing hospitals which are at the minimum 45 minutes away. Why? Because my zip code and county is in the same region.
News flash: I live in one of the larger counties in my state, bordered by another very large county. I'd need to drive over an hour if not more to reach the full span of these counties...and none of the ambulance services cover and transport to these hospitals.
But they're hospitals covered in this plan, you should be happy! Again, bullshit. It's not reality, it's not even possible to affect that kind of coverage when any ambulance or ER type situation would find me at one of two area hospitals. They simply won't go 45 minutes or an hour outside of the coverage.
Yet I'm supposed to "settle" for something like this, where a trip to the ER as I had to make in Fall 2008 would see me hit with a bill for $14,000 plus to cover the bill?
How is this "affordable"?
When I went to that ER, and got everything from an MRI to an EKG to a spinal tap to treat the serious symptoms I had experienced, I had a plan where I paid a copay of something like $250 and the plan covered the rest. Again, I had gotten bills totaling over $14,000 for this ER visit and I was covered after the 250 copay.
That's what I paid extra for in my plan.
Now, I'm paying more for this piece of sh*t plan in 2014 which carries deductibles well over $6,000 as well as copays near $500 dollars, and reduced coverage for hospital stays and ER visits...which means I'm basically screwed financially if anything should happen as it did in 2008 where I need to go to the ER for an actual emergency.
And the new plan for 2014 is costing me more, yet offering less. But what I'm paying more to cover now includes maternity and natal services, as well as pediatric dentistry...one of which as a man I will *NEVER NEED* and the other which I pay for through a separate dental insurance plan.
No one on the phone calls could answer the questions. Not a single one. Simple questions, far from unreasonable. So I had to sign up for a lousy plan just to "comply".
Because, remember, the designers like Zeke Emmanuel and various democratic party hacks were telling me that my old plan was no good, that the new ones are better. The president himself said we could keep our plans, keep our doctors, keep our hospitals. Period.
I don't take kindly to being lied to. When it affects my budget, it offends me even more. But if people want to put ideology and support for a certain philosophy, political party, or politician above the notion that being lied to is wrong on so many levels, then 8you* will get exactly what you deserve when the full effects of this law kick in and change your own plans.
Now, the latest amendment to this plan is the White House last week saying that people like me who had their plan dissolved because it wasn't good enough can now buy "catastrophic coverage" to replace it.
For those unfamiliar, "catastrophic coverage" is the bare-bones minimum coverage which has exorbitant deductibles, little coverage, and no sense of financial security should the worst happen. That is, unless you think getting a bill for $14,000 rather than $16,000 will benefit your life in some way.
So why unload all of this now? Partially because I continue to see supporters of this law lying and deceiving and "selling" something they know to be untrue to the people at large. I see Michelle Obama telling Al Sharpton last week that we as Americans should talk about health care over our Christmas dinners and family gatherings. I see a president and his supporters still toeing the party line on this, in spite of all the actual realities that people like me are reporting as flaws and negative consequences of this plan.
Please keep in mind: You *will* be affected by this law if you currently have insurance. The delays do not last forever. Be prepared. You may not be covered for your local hospitals or ER, you may not see your doctors or specialists in your "network", and you may need to prepare for spending thousands of dollars should anything happen to you requiring emergency or other immediate medical treatment. What was a few hundred copay will now become covering perhaps $4,000 out of pocket before your own plan will kick in.
If this is "good", explain it to me. Because it's not just the opposite of "affordable", it's actually worse. And the financial effects of this could be devastating.
Where is the peace of mind? Where is the notion that I and those like me are "doing the right thing" by paying for health insurance? Where is the notion of having insurance to cover the worst case scenario and not having to worry about thousands of dollars that could force you into bankruptcy if you happen to get hit by a falling icicle or something and require care in an ER?
It's gone, vanished, stripped away in favor of a law which still to this hour could not be presented to the public in an honest way, and needed lies and distortions in order to gain even the most bare tacit approval.
I hope this law falls apart. It just may, due to relying on a business and financial model that cannot be sustained as it exists now, even with over a dozen "revisions" and counting. I hope no one has to deal with the stress, frustration, and the feeling that you are inconsequential and insignificant enough in the minds of the law's creators that you just need to comply and accept something you know is not only bad, but worse than what you had paid for in good faith in previous years.
I hope those who continue to lie to us are held not only responsible but also accountable. Ironically they will not be subject to the law. Go figure.
And I'm supposed to "Rock The Vote" and support this same group of liars and fools?
Nope.
That's it, I had to unload that stuff before Christmas. If there are people who will follow Mrs. Obama's advice and start talking health care at family Christmas gatherings, use me as an example. I've got the facts, figures, and details, and have had them since October 1st when I started this crazy thread. Feel free to mention this if anyone doubts the negative results of this supposedly great law, put forth by those supposedly forward-thinking intellectuals and idealists who know what is best for the common good. And for those who lie to cover up the truth and realities of this whole mess.
I hope it doesn't happen to you, I sincerely do, but be prepared to go through similar if not the same experiences as I had over the past few months with the new health care law.
And Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all.
