There was a time when I would've considered the ACA unnecessary. That I would've been annoyed by it. This was also a time where I had little to no interest in politics. It's funny how life has a way of humbling a person and teaching them something new about themselves on a regular basis. This is a story about how I ended up needing the help in order to make myself better.
"Well why didn't you just get a new inhaler?" I felt a sinking pit in my stomach. I was at a follow up visit to my doctor after ending up in the ER a few weeks before because bronchitis had made my asthma worse and I couldn't breathe. The first thing my doctor asked me was where my inhaler was when this had happened. After all, that was in my plan. I tried to explain to her that I only had one inhaler and it had been stolen the week before when I was riding the bus. Somehow, despite my explanation she didn't understand that since I was uninsured at the time, I just couldn't afford a new one. It was only after the ER trip that a friend of mine had pity on me and bought the inhaler for me.
I lost my insurance in April 2012 because I had been working at a call center that had outsourced its customer service department overseas. This was my fourth lay off in about six years. The whole time I had been trying to go back to school but in playing musical jobs I had never managed to do so. I decided to make school my focus and work secondary and deal with it.
Because I have asthma, I've never been able to get insurance without going through my work before. COBRA would've cost me over six hundred a month, and while my state had opened a high risk pool, it was still too expensive. My NP was awesome and made sure I got refills of my medication before I lost my insurance and gave me a list of community services for when I did lose it, because she knew I wouldn't be able to come back afterwards.
I did everything I could to make sure I would be taken care of. I signed up for a prescription plan at a local pharmacy, I found local clinic that was free, run on community donations. Still there are things that free clinics couldn't handle. Waiting all week to see a doctor because you got sick on Sunday and the free clinic is only open on Saturday isn't helpful when you're so sick you can't breathe. The doctors are volunteers so there's no guarantee of continuous care. In fact, the push is to get you into a local public health or community clinic, but they often were not taking new adult patients or were an hour drive away.
It was about a month after I lost my insurance when I found a lump on my right side, along the edge of the breast tissue. The free clinic provided me a referral but when I called the places they suggested I was turned away. I was told I was too young, that the office no longer provided services, or that they were out of funds for the year. I continued to fight to find a way to access services, but without a referral from a PCP I was getting nowhere. I finally took the time to bus out to one of the few clinics taking patients. They contacted a local imaging center attached to a public hospital to get me in. This started in June, I was finally in for imaging in October. In November I would get a biopsy and find out it was benign. It took me six months from start to finish to find out what was there.
It would be another year before I would get insurance again. In that time I ended up in the ER enough times the doctors started to recognize me. There really wasn't anything either of us could do. I couldn't manage my health without being able to afford regular doctor's visits and medication and they couldn't make a solution appear out of thin air. My wisdom teeth got infected and had to be removed but had to wait two months for a dentist who would help. I was on antibiotics so long I ended up with a GI infection. Bronchitis, allergic reaction, a set of second degree burns from how bad at cooking I can be. They got to deal with it all, despite the fact that most of these things were preventable.
All if this changed in January of last year. I live in one of the states that approved the Medicaid expansion and set up their own healthcare exchange. I was there on day one to shake hands with the Governor, tell him my story, and sign up. I stood up with him to others to encourage them to use the exchange as well. It is the only day of class I've missed since I started back.
Because of the Affordable Care Act I was able to get needed blood work that I had not been able to afford. Reliable access to medication. The first thing my PCP did, remembering how just a few months earlier I had ended up in the ER because I didn't have an inhaler was make sure to get me a prescription for one so I had a backup. One thing I know is I appreciate the opportunity more than I could ever express.
I know there are naysayers out there who will tell me that those things are not really free and that someone has to pay for them. One day I'll graduate and that person will be me. I seriously hope that I am paying to make sure someone gets the care they need with the money I pay into the system. It's saner than paying for what happens when they can't. The system we have isn't perfect, but it can only get better if we put effort into it.
Listen up, karl. Only 50% of Americans pay fed taxes so stop acting like everyone does. And don't tell me to leave. You probably pay very few taxes.
43% pay no federal income tax, but of that 43% the majority still pay federal payroll taxes. Of the remaining 15% that pay no form of federal taxes, 10% are the elderly and the other 5% are unemployed or disabled.
How is it you think that relates to health insurance?
43% pay no federal income tax, but of that 43% the majority still pay federal payroll taxes. Of the remaining 15% that pay no form of federal taxes, 10% are the elderly and the other 5% are unemployed or disabled.
How is it you think that relates to health insurance?
ummm, Medicaid enrollment has exploded under obamacare and is federally funded, as are the obamacare subsidies
ummm, Medicaid enrollment has exploded under obamacare and is federally funded, as are the obamacare subsidies
Medicaid is funded by payroll taxes, which most people pay into (and actually "the rich" often don't).
The subsidies are tax credits, are you under the impression the majority of health insurance (employer-sponsored plans) haven't already been getting similar tax breaks? How would you reduce medicaid enrollment?
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
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ummm, Medicaid enrollment has exploded under obamacare and is federally funded, as are the obamacare subsidies
Yes, the number of people who qualified for Medicaid DID increase substantially during the first bit of Obama's presidency...do you know why we experienced a substantial growth in the number of poor people in that time frame?
Medicaid is funded by payroll taxes, which most people pay into (and actually "the rich" often don't). The subsidies are tax credits, are you under the impression the majority of health insurance (employer-sponsored plans) haven't already been getting tax breaks? How would you reduce medicaid enrollment?
You can try to convince me that poor people pay tons of taxes, but it won't work.Subsiidies are not tax credits. Poor people who do not qualify for medicaid get huge subsidies.
Oh really? Do you agree with all the rules including immigration laws?
You seem to be of the opinion that agree to means like if I'm to judge by your context. I live here, so I agree to follow the rules. If I don't like a rule is not relevant in this context. Now if I don't like a rule, there are things you and I can do to try and change it. Thankfully this the United States of America not the United States of Turtles so while neither is likes all the rules, most of us wouldn't leave over them either.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
You can try to convince me that poor people pay tons of taxes, but it won't work.Subsiidies are not tax credits. Poor people who do not qualify for medicaid get huge subsidies.
So what?
They get subsidies so that they can afford to buy health insurance from the market place so that tax payers don't have to pay for their uninsured care when their untreated HTN lands them in the ED and on the unit. The experts have determined that an insurance subsidy is less expensive for the society and improves outcomes for the citizen. Which part of that is problematic for you, that the subsidies save money or that they save lives?
That's exactly why you love obamacare. You pay very little in taxes while getting thousands of dollars in freebies.
I don't know how many times I can tell you that A. I don't love it, I like it better than the old system, B. I've paid taxes most of my adult life at the normal levels, C I still pay taxes, and D I don't, and most poor don't, get all these freebies you rant about.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
I support gun rights, protecting religious freedom, and not passing laws without figuring out how to pay for them first.
Just for the record, those are not "republican ideas".
You might recall that GWB passed a rather large Medicare related law without providing any guidance in paying for it, not very "republican" of him was it?
The ACA actually fixed a couple of problems with that law, even as flawed as it is it is still better than just going back to the way things were.
Just for the record, those are not "republican ideas".
You might recall that GWB passed a rather large Medicare related law without providing any guidance in paying for it, not very "republican" of him was it?
The ACA actually fixed a couple of problems with that law, even as flawed as it is it is still better than just going back to the way things were.
But they are all in the GOP list of values currently being espoused.
Totally agree. That is my big thing here. Things aren't perfect, but better than before.
MunoRN, RN
8,058 Posts
43% pay no federal income tax, but of that 43% the majority still pay federal payroll taxes. Of the remaining 15% that pay no form of federal taxes, 10% are the elderly and the other 5% are unemployed or disabled.
How is it you think that relates to health insurance?