I have both sarcoidosis and a skin cancer that has to be removed. There is no way that I can do my follow up x rays, and no way that I can afford Boniva to offset the effects of the Prednisone, nor can I have the surgery to remove the cancer. The reason? My Cobra coverage through my former employer was cancelled due to a returned check. When I contacted Ceridian/Cobra/BCBS to explain to them what was happening and request that they redeposit the check, they assured me that there would be no problem. One week later, I was cancelled and told that due to a “federal rule”, they could not redeposit my check, nor do they take debit cards or credit cards, but I was “welcome to get my own Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage, privately”. Oh, really? With what? My unemployment check? Because the guidelines for Medicaid are so antiquated and out of step with the times, I do not qualify for that program. I make too much on unemployment.
My doctor says I cannot wait to have the surgery on my nose, to remove the basal cell carcinoma. Due to the sarcoidosis, I require follow up medical treatment in the form of follow up visits, blood-work, x-rays, and medication. I am still on steroids which leave me vulnerable to a host of infections. I cannot afford my medication. Steroids make it necessary for me to take Boniva, to offset osteoporosis, (a side effect of steroids) and that one pill a month costs $60.00 I can afford to pay for none of these things now.
Even when I had coverage, my deductible was $1200.00. And I had to pay a large piece of my salary for this (Several of my former co-workers took no coverage as they could not afford it and pay their mortgages.). As usual, there were the fights over the “pre-existing condition”. And, if I could afford BCBS privately, that would still be the case. They would refuse the removal of the cancerous tissue, as well as the x-rays, blood-work, etc. for the sarcoidosis. I have to ask this question: isn’t EVERYTHING a pre-existing condition, or else you would not be at the doctor’s office in the first place?
We need the public option. I cannot stress this enough. The Republicans who oppose this bill with their lies and fear-mongering ought to be taken out of office, as they do not serve the people, only themselves. They do not have your best interest at heart. They want to keep the power at any cost, even if that cost includes human lives. If by some chance, they aren't lying, then they are simply too stupid to serve. In fact, someone should drive them home, as they probably do not possess the intelligence to operate a motor vehicle.
There are no "death panels". Read the bill. If you are not intelligent enough to understand that you are being offered counseling to help you make a choice should that need arise, then get someone smarter to read it to you and explain it.
The word "option" means "choice". You have a choice to either stay with the insurance you currently have, or choose a new one. The government is not picking it for you.
To those of you who argue, ineffectively, that the government needs to stay out of your life, and should not be involved in your medical program, I have to ask you: what do you think Medicare is? Does this mean you do not want this program for yourselves when the time comes, or that you do not want it for your elderly parents, grandparents?
To the people who want to “go back to the Constitution as it was written by our forefathers, I have to ask: you don’t want Social Security? Women: you don’t want to vote?
To the Republican congressman who suggested that "neighbors will help neighbors", I have to ask: how? In what way? Is my neighbor going to perform the surgery on my nose? Is the guy across the street going to give me an x-ray? Does someone in my neighborhood manufacture Prednisone or Boniva? Will they trade that for tomatoes from my garden? IS THIS MAN COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH? Oh, I just answered my own question.
I know that this form of health care is long overdue, having witnessed my dying father in tears over bills that were not being paid, and coverage that was being refused, having had to pay enormous amounts myself because some accountant with no knowledge whatsoever of health care, medicine, or my body decided we had gone over the "usual and customary". HOW DARE YOU! I believe that my doctor knows better than a CEO any day of the week, what kind of care I need. The CEO's of these companies never have to worry about paying medical bills. Neither do the senators and congresspeople opposing this bill – they have the best health care available at an exceedingly affordable rate.
My story is not the only one like this. There are thousands of us struggling to pay rent, mortgage, and medical bills. We are not "living beyond our means". How much further down would you have me go? I live in a mobile home community. Not a townhouse, not a luxury apartment. We are trying to survive. Without a public health care option, it is an impossible situation.
Elizabeth Sutor
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