Today, my brilliant pal Rob Delaney posted this moving piece on the importance of protecting the
Affordable Care Act. As the mother of the twin preemies he mentions, I can attest that had we not had insurance coverage, we would've
been hit with medical bills totaling nearly a million dollars. I'm not
exaggerating, my husband and I added it up and it's literally ONE MILLION
DOLLARS. Imagine how many houses we could buy with that money. At least one in
LA!
We are fortunate to have fairly
decent (and wildly expensive) insurance, but a few years ago, I wasn't so
lucky. In 2005, I suffered a debilitating seizure that left me unable to
work for over a year. My shoddy but cheap HMO plan often didn't cover the
many various doctors I needed to see or the necessary treatments. Other times,
I was made to wait weeks, while in horrible pain, waiting for authorizations. Unable to work, I lost my apartment and I found myself trying to heal while
living on a friend’s couch- depressed, scared and riddled with debt. As the
bills piled up, I had no other option but to
declare bankruptcy. In case you missed that, I had insurance
and I still had to declare bankruptcy.
Things did get better. I got better.
I will always deal with my "pre-existing condition," but I have a
great support system including a shiny new husband that I'm super into and our
two previously mentioned former preemies who stole my sleep but rip my heart to
shreds on a daily basis.
Remember when you vote next week how
vitally important it is that we protect the principals of the Affordable Care Act- keeping costs lowered,
guaranteeing choice and making sure ALL Americans have access to quality care-
not just rich white dudes.
*That's me in my best
vest back in 2009 speaking to City Hall in support of the Affordable Care Act.
Man I wish I knew what happened to that vest.
1 comment:
What is even worse are the stories you never hear. I am without insurance and have been suviving a brain tumor, thyroid cancer and congestive heart failure without meds or treatment for 5 years. I chose this path rather then allowing my parents to go bankrupt trying to pay my medical bills. I was turned down for public aid, as they felt "certainly I was well enough to find some kind of job to support myself". I didnt ask for money or food stamps, all I wanted was the health insurance. I applied three times and denied each and every time even with notes from all seven doctors I had been seeing. Something has to give. I have worked all of my life and always had insurance, up until I became ill. Ive lost everything I owned, unable to pay my bills. My doctor told me if I continued this path of going untreated, I would be dead before my 40th birthday. I turned 39 two weeks ago.
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