I am a middle-class 60 year old woman who is individually insured because, although I am employed, my employer does not offer health insurance. My husband is on Medicare and as a disabled veteran, receives his medical care free from Veteran's Administration Healthcare; therefore I am not eligible for his medical care as a dependent.
The main reasons for my support of the Affordable Care Act that became law in 2010 are that I want access to affordable health care for myself, my family, and all Americans. I want to be able to apply for and receive insurance coverage despite “pre-existing conditions”. I want the millions of uninsured Americans to be covered for preventative care, immunizations, physical exams, doctor’s visits, hospitalization, and medicine. I think that the uninsured of our country postpone care, get sicker, develop more serious conditions, and utilize emergency rooms at a very high rate for non-emergency care and that this results in uncontrollable and unsustainable increases to both taxes and in the insurance rates of those who pay for insurance (both businesses and individuals).
Also, people who need insurance because of existing health conditions need to be in a large insurance pool to spread the risk for insurance companies and keep rates low. However before Health Care Reform, insurance companies could deny individual applicants based on “pre-existing conditions.” We had few choices after being denied by the insurance company we wanted coverage with. If we met federal poverty guidelines, we might be eligible for Medicaid. If not, we could go without insurance, pay as we go, and risk losing our assets if a major illness or accident arose. We could go with an insurance company who issues riders to not cover treatment for “pre-existing conditions.” We could go into a “high risk pool” (if available) and pay very high premiums or lower premiums with minimal care catastrophic coverage with very high deductibles Even if those in high risk insurance pools live healthy lives and manage their medical conditions, they still have escalating premiums that eat up their assets and may even drive them to bankruptcy.
Also, because of their medical conditions, many people limit their lives and their careers to stay with an employer just to retain medical insurance. I had a colleague in my company in San Diego who had a liver transplant. She wanted to change careers to nursing and spend more time with the grandson she was raising, but couldn’t think of it because her monthly prescriptions (to prevent organ rejection) were very expensive and she could not obtain insurance on her own if she left the company. She plans to work for the same company until she is 65 and eligible for Medicare. I only hope she isn’t laid off like I and eight other colleagues over the age of 50 who lost our jobs and medical coverage in 2005. My story is attached.
Labels: Affordable Care Act, Congress, health insurance, healthcare, Martin Heinrich, Obama, pre-existing conditions, Repeal of Healthcare
I am a middle-class 60 year old woman who is individually insured because, although I am employed, my employer does not offer health insurance. My husband is on Medicare and as a disabled veteran, receives his medical care free from Veteran's Administration Healthcare; therefore I am not eligible for his medical care as a dependent.
The main reasons for my support of the Affordable Care Act that became law in 2010 are that I want access to affordable health care for myself, my family, and all Americans. I want to be able to apply for and receive insurance coverage despite “pre-existing conditions”. I want the millions of uninsured Americans to be covered for preventative care, immunizations, physical exams, doctor’s visits, hospitalization, and medicine. I think that the uninsured of our country postpone care, get sicker, develop more serious conditions, and utilize emergency rooms at a very high rate for non-emergency care and that this results in uncontrollable and unsustainable increases to both taxes and in the insurance rates of those who pay for insurance (both businesses and individuals).
Also, people who need insurance because of existing health conditions need to be in a large insurance pool to spread the risk for insurance companies and keep rates low. However before Health Care Reform, insurance companies could deny individual applicants based on “pre-existing conditions.” We had few choices after being denied by the insurance company we wanted coverage with. If we met federal p
overty guidelines, we might be eligible for Medicaid. If not, we could go without insurance, pay as we go, and risk losing our assets if a major illness or accident arose. We could go with an insurance company who issues riders to not cover treatment for “pre-existing conditions.” We could go into a “high risk pool” (if available) and pay very high premiums or lower premiums with minimal care catastrophic coverage with very high deductibles Even if those in high risk insurance pools live healthy lives and manage their medical conditions, they still have escalating premiums that eat up their assets and may even drive them to bankruptcy.
Also, because of their medical conditions, many people limit their lives and their careers to stay with an employer just to retain medical insurance. I had a colleague in my company in San Diego who had a liver transplant. She wanted to change careers to nursing and spend more time with the grandson she was raising, but couldn’t think of it because her monthly prescriptions (to prevent organ rejection) were very expensive and she could not obtain insurance on her own if she left the company. She plans to work for the same company until she is 65 and eligible for Medicare. I only hope she isn’t laid off like I and eight other colleagues over the age of 50 who lost our jobs and medical coverage in 2005. My story is attached.
Labels: Affordable Care Act, Congress, health insurance, healthcare, Martin Heinrich, Obama, pre-existing conditions, Repeal of Healthcare