EDITORIAL: Saturday Readers share experiences with health insurance
If you're sick, it dominates your life.
If you're sick and you can't afford medical care, it can send you into bankruptcy.
So with
IT COMES IN WAVES
A family being without adequate health care creeps me out because I imagine what would have happened if my immediate family had to cope with such trouble.
As it is, in my cousins' families, we had:
--A severe case of polio for a 2-year-old cousin and problems from its aftermath until the cousin died at age 19.
--A 7-year-old cousin was hit by a drunk driver and in a coma for two months. Never quite right. Suicide at age 29.
--A 20-year-old cousin suffered head trauma and was in a coma for two months due to an auto accident. Still around.
--A 5-year-old cousin was severely burned and treated in a military hospital.
--That cousin's 17-year-old daughter had a stroke at
One family was no better off than we were, but they were very close knit with their church, so assistance was forthcoming.
Others had military health coverage.
My immediate family was lucky, but we were not immune to any of the above problems.
RIPPLE EFFECTS HIT HARD
My family was very negatively affected by the surprises in Obamacare.
I have had a part-time job for over 20 years that I depend on to help support my family of five. With it I have enjoyed participation in the company's health plan.
But one of the effects Obamacare immediately had on my family was to reduce my part-time hours from around 35 each week to a maximum of 25.
Thus Obamacare reduced my income from this source by 25 percent, thousands of dollars each year, while at the same time causing the increase of my monthly premium and copays.
The plan I was under was no longer offered by the insurance company at that time, so everything -- including the doctors I was supposed to be able to keep --suddenly changed after many years.
Why does the left now require so much detailed knowledge or "sunshine" about health care reform when they were so pleased to keep the nation in the dark just a few years ago?
multiple health issues
I've had my prostate removed, I've had a tumor removed from my bladder, I wear a pacemaker to regulate a slow heart rhythm, I have sleep apnea and I'm in the early stages of multiple myeloma.
All of these maladies require regular follow-up care. If we did not have good health insurance, we would be deeper in debt than the
At the time I made the career decision that established my entitlement to health care for life, health care was the farthest thing from my mind.
I am thankful every day that the career decision I made at the age of 21 is saving us from ruination today.
I am really disappointed that members of
EMPATHY FOR FRIENDS
I have friends who cannot afford insurance. Even small families of three or four who are not destitute cannot spend one-third their income for minimal coverage.
They suffer with hernias and neverending simple maladies because that is just the only way they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table!
If
HELPING PARENTS OPENED my EYES
I have firsthand information in regard to health care issues from dealing with issues on behalf of my parents.
My parents were blue collar, hardworking people who paid their bills, never bought anything they couldn't pay for and tithed 10 percent of their income to their church.
They lived a simple life and were always concerned they would have enough money to care for themselves when they were no longer able.
My mother was in hospice care for a week (paid for by Medicaid) before her passing with renal failure.
The next year my father entered nursing home care. He paid for this care from his savings and the sale of his beloved home.
The last year of his life his funds were depleted and he had to go on Medicaid. He was in nursing home care for over four years.
Without the safety net of Medicaid, I don't know what I would have done as I was the only person he had to care for him and his finances. He had dementia plus many other health issues.
I could not have cared for him.
If this safety net is done away with, there will be countless tragic stories.
My congressman,
I think we need to show Yoho the exit sign.
BLAME OUR LIFESTYLES
I have a membership at the
It's cheaper than my health insurance.
And I use it more often.
The ongoing debate about health care reform is a smoke screen hiding what's really consuming quality of life and picking our pockets. The real issue is our unhealthy lifestyles.
Our national leaders should be legislating physical education, healthy consumption and personal vice reduction.
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