You have to be living under a rock if you hadn’t been privvy to the Health Care debate that has been sweeping the nation ever since the Obama administration started pushing for the much needed reforms. Even if the issue doesn’t interest you, I’m sure you’ve heard the talk on the news and among your friends. It is of great interest to me.

I think it is a shame that we who are living in supposedly one of the richest, most advanced and most innovative country in the world still cannot get a decent health care. Heck, there are many who don’t have access to ANY kind of health care.

Then there’s us, who are on the fringe. We do have insurance from my job but it’s never enough to cover what the doctors and hospitals charge so we end up paying more money out of pocket on top of our insurance premiums. And really, it’s nice to know that that are people in this country who can afford to pay for their own insurance and all the expenses that goes with decent health care. Hurrah! for you all. It’s really great that you want to be able to keep doing that. Keep paying for the kind of health care you want, where you want to get it and how you want your care delivered. That’s really awesome for you and I don’t blame you for not wanting to lose it.

As I understand under the new health reform plan, if you have the means, you can still do as you please with your own health care.

We who are on the fringe, are excited about this new plan because maybe we won’t have to hock or sell everything we own anymore when one of our loved ones happen to get sick and the bills start piling up. It doesn’t even have to be catastrophic medical event to throw us for a loop.

Take me, for instance, I have three very healthy daughters. All they really need is their annual health, vision and medical check ups. They have their occasional medical emergencies but they are usually all pretty minor. I have insurance coverage that is probably average for most American families and I pay around $600 a month for the premium. However, when we go to the annual check ups and occasional doctor’s office visit, I pay the co-payment fee which is to be expected; what is not always expected is the additional fees that are above the usual and customary fee that the insurance will pay.

Example: When you go to have your teeth cleaned, the usual and customary fee that the insurance will pay may be $60. Your dentist, however, charges $100. That means that you will have to pay the difference of $40.

By the time you add up all the health care related expenses, we would have spent an additional $2500 a year and this is just for wellness check ups. This does not include any major health issues like surgery or chronic treatments.

I know, for you who are earning gazillions of dollars and can afford to pay for your health care even without the benefit of insurance are probably thinking, “Well that’s not so much, and just think of what you’re getting for that small amount of money!”

Well let me tell you, that small amount of money, it’s A LOT OF MONEY to us who are living on the fringe. We make enough to get by, just enough so we don’t have to go on welfare and further burden you and your tax dollars. We wouldn’t want to anyway. As hard as it is for you to understand, there really are poor people who take pride in what little they have without having to go on welfare.

So can you understand how excited we get when someone says you can now have affordable insurance that will cover you when you get sick and provide you with the care you need if you ever need it without having to sell everything you have? You can get treatment without having to empty your retirement plan or your kid’s college fund! Is it really too much to want that in this country?

Is it wrong for us to get all excited when we hear this?

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won’t be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

If you’re a naysayer, you’ll probably say this is all propaganda, but if you’d like to keep an open mind, check out this blog post from the White House website: The Return of Viral Email.

The Obama administration is really working hard to keep the facts straight and keep those who choose to use scare tactics at bay. They just added the Health Insurance Reform Reality Check on the White House website to keep the facts straight. Check it out. If you’ve only been listening to the sound bites on the news, then you are missing out on a lot of facts and are allowing yourself to base your opinions on the bits and pieces the media is choosing to dole out and dole out in the manner that may mislead you. Get your facts straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

Are you ready for change? Do you think changes are coming to American health care? OR Do you think that everything is just fine as they are and we don’t need health care reforms?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am and is filed under health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.