The face of health care reform
Pull up a chair, ladies & gents, I'd like to tell you a story. It's someone else's story, but I'll try to get the details right.
Meet my friend Margaret. Last night I took some Amish friendship bread over to her house to check on how her husband was recovering from surgery.
Over ten years ago now Chris had a good job down in FL at a bottling plant. But then he was laid off. COBRA for a family of five is prohibitively expensive, and you can only get it for a limited time. He wasn't able to get a new job by the time it ran out.
Lapse in coverage.
Why didn't they obtain private insurance, you ask? After all, the Republicans would have you believe that it's easy as pie to get. Because her oldest son is deaf. And all three of her sons were born with that genetic condition where they don't clot blood.
Pre-existing conditions.
When she finally found someone who was willing to cover them the monthly premium was so atrocious they couldn't afford it (remember, husband still out of work). Then Chris found a job - yay! Employer kept him at 39.5 hours a week, so that he wouldn't qualify for health insurance. And before you squawk 'labor violations'and 'why didn't he report it?' let me assure you that this sort of thing goes on * all the time * in hourly wage retail jobs. And if you're desperate, and that eight bucks an hour is all that's keeping your family together, are you really going to risk it by speaking up?
All of Margaret's employers kept her as 1099, contract labor, so no benefits.
They moved to MN and were able to get their kids on MN Care. You know, a public option that (in my limited experience) seems to work. But the adults in the family don't qualify. Two months ago Chris was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
If they hadn't been able to find a charity to pay his medical bills they vould have lost everything. The house they struggled to buy after digging their way out of debt from the surgeries to restore Anthony to 5% hearing. The time he broke his back, or when Dommie fell out of a tree and broke his arm. Everything they've had to fight to give their children.
One piece of bad luck - a layoff. One piece of bad luck that could happen to anyone.
One unpredictable health problem - child being born deaf. (one is enough).
And they haven't been able to get health insurance since.
That needs to change.
- D
Meet my friend Margaret. Last night I took some Amish friendship bread over to her house to check on how her husband was recovering from surgery.
Over ten years ago now Chris had a good job down in FL at a bottling plant. But then he was laid off. COBRA for a family of five is prohibitively expensive, and you can only get it for a limited time. He wasn't able to get a new job by the time it ran out.
Lapse in coverage.
Why didn't they obtain private insurance, you ask? After all, the Republicans would have you believe that it's easy as pie to get. Because her oldest son is deaf. And all three of her sons were born with that genetic condition where they don't clot blood.
Pre-existing conditions.
When she finally found someone who was willing to cover them the monthly premium was so atrocious they couldn't afford it (remember, husband still out of work). Then Chris found a job - yay! Employer kept him at 39.5 hours a week, so that he wouldn't qualify for health insurance. And before you squawk 'labor violations'and 'why didn't he report it?' let me assure you that this sort of thing goes on * all the time * in hourly wage retail jobs. And if you're desperate, and that eight bucks an hour is all that's keeping your family together, are you really going to risk it by speaking up?
All of Margaret's employers kept her as 1099, contract labor, so no benefits.
They moved to MN and were able to get their kids on MN Care. You know, a public option that (in my limited experience) seems to work. But the adults in the family don't qualify. Two months ago Chris was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
If they hadn't been able to find a charity to pay his medical bills they vould have lost everything. The house they struggled to buy after digging their way out of debt from the surgeries to restore Anthony to 5% hearing. The time he broke his back, or when Dommie fell out of a tree and broke his arm. Everything they've had to fight to give their children.
One piece of bad luck - a layoff. One piece of bad luck that could happen to anyone.
One unpredictable health problem - child being born deaf. (one is enough).
And they haven't been able to get health insurance since.
That needs to change.
- D