When we leave our cosseted grad student existence and go out and get a job, we will have to switch insurance. A nagging fear I've had since having our baby, who has a serious genetic disorder, is that we will be denied coverage for him for a pre-existing condition.
If we are denied coverage for him, I have no idea what will happen to our family. I have never watched a bill with so much interest in its outcome. Normally I'm concerned about a vague sense of most people out there. But this time, it could really affect how we live and how we can treat our son. Seriously. His bill at this point must be over $1,000,000. Who knows what it will continue to be. We would have to declare bankruptcy, or perhaps ruin my parents.
So, hooray for you, House of Representatives! Thank you! and Fie on you, all House Republicans except Anh Joseph Cao! And take it away, Senate! Sen. Snowe, you hold my son's future in your hands!
I'm not sure we have a right to subsidized health care. But even if we don't, I do believe its in our everybody's interest to make sure that people are protected from financial calamity due to health issues. It's a pragmatic matter. We do better as a society of people have access to treatment and do not declare bankruptcy for medical reasons. I would think Republicans could get behind this. If they want to make sure that as many babies as possible, even those with genetic conditions, are not aborted or abandoned or abused, giving as much support to as possible to parents of sick children will be a step in the right direction.
(Cross-posted at Cat's Cry)
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15 hours ago
Elizabeth, what are you going to do until 2013? No CongressCare benefits are available for another 3 years, although the taxes to pay for this will kick in about 13 months from now.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the US can protect its citizens from catastrophic medical expenses. Doing so would be a good thing. But the CongressCare bill isn't going to do that. It is going to bankrupt our children, and perhaps us. I would like to "get behind" some kind of medical insurance reform, but I can't support fiscal insanity. So I'm going to do everything I can to make sure the 2010 elections put people in office to overturn this Frankenbill if, heaven forfend, the Senate manages to drag it over the finish line. Remember, you'll get nothing from it before 2013 in any case.
Elizabeth... Can Medicaid get you through until then?
ReplyDeleteUncle Jim, we're applying for Medicaid, and we will see what happens.
ReplyDeleteAnd Gadfly, from what I read, a ban on denial for pre-existing conditions goes into effect next year. Not 2013.
ReplyDeleteMy experience changing from grad school to the real world was that if you were covered by some plan when the new job started, the new employer's plan would accept you without any exclusions. Most employers need to do this in order to get people to change jobs. I hope your transition is smooth and suprise free.
ReplyDeleteAnd, we need to kill the employer-only tax break for insurance and State boundaries. People ought to be able to take their coverage with them when changing jobs and addresses.
I wish the debate, decades ago, was about getting Americans health care instead of health insurance. Why we ever let huge companies get in between us and doctors troubles me. I hope your insurance doesn't consider your son's condition pre-existing, but I know my brother's health carrier denied coverage for both his babies because they had jaundice. JAUNDICE. Which went away as it does in most babies.
ReplyDelete[I love that the right wing is now worried about bankrupting the country by taking care of people, when it did a great job of creating the highest deficit in history by hurting people.
I know George Bush was not a fiscal conservative, but every Republican in Congress voted with him to take us so far in the red our kids are peeing blood.]