Obama unleashed his own views on health care reform these past couple days in hopes of reviving enthusiasm prior to tomorrow's health care summit.
He has finally pulled the insurance big guy vs. sick little guy card.
He is recommending, again, tax increases for the rich and a regulatory board to supervise insurance company practices.
As some of you may or may not know, insurance companies have enjoyed freedom from regulation through their exemption of anti-trust laws.
Anti-trust laws, according to Wikipedia, are laws that promote or maintain market competition through regulating anti-competitive conduct, such as dumping, purging, price fixing, refusing to deal, and monopolizing.
A great study researching the pros and cons of repealing 1945s McCarran Act is here: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj8n3/cj8n3-11.pdf).
This news comes right alongside my favorite new year pass time: taxes and itemizing all my previous year's health expenses.
The tally so far from my health insurance company alone is $856,000 paid to providers and over $20,000 billed directly to me (thankfully, I never saw these bills. My fragile health couldn't take the stress. They went unseen by my eyes directly to Aunt B).
These costs do not include co-payments (specialists at $25 a visit and medications up to $150 a prescription), travel (round trip to Dana Farber is 267 miles), food, hotel, lodging, parking or even the $400+ monthly we pay as a family just to have the coverage.
UGH. Even with these incurred costs, my insurance disability company purged me in May, refusing to pay the $566 monthly I was receiving for long term disability.
Reliance Standard is now claiming overpayment of this monthly amount from Oct. 2007 to May 2009.
Do the math. How can I pay that back?
I can't.
Hopefully something is coming through the political pipeline soon by way of protection for the sick and cost control all all around.
I'm getting ready to join the active treatment ranks again with my photopheresis.
Luckily, I have options for treatment centers, but I will have a new appendage attached, again.
I'm talking about some sort of venous access site for six whole months.
This was at the forefront of Dr. Alyea's mind. I've had so many central venous lines and medi-ports I've lost count, but my body certainly hasn't forgotten.
I have the scars to prove it.
A picc line is out of the question due to the length of the line internally.
1 comment:
I is horrible that we cannot, as a community and nation, figure out how to care for all without being pissed off with the recipients. We have become very selfish and disgruntled folks ready to blame everyone. If we "have" we do not want to care for the "have not's" why? I suspect because we think that we PAID to have and so should they. What we fail to see is that in the blink of an eye we can be part of those who do not have. Many of us, even in the middle class are one paycheck away from disaster. And the insurance companies spend millions to get rid of us the minute we are down. Just look at Toyota and their "win" column. A win was screwing the consumer out of safety. Hilary you have educated and reminded me today to get active again. Thanks.
Post a Comment