Amidst the uproar surrounding unfortunate failures of Healthcare.gov, the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare and the Republicans’ certainty that they are welcome to speak on America’s behalf, the human experience is being overlooked.
A Family’s Manifesto
Healthcare has been a bigger thorn in my side than living with and parenting to chronic disease for the past thirty years.
When I graduated college and the final strands of the placenta were severed, I knew my first ‘real’ job must equate with personal health insurance. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age thirteen; therefore backpacking Europe, following the Grateful Dead or becoming a full time rock climbing bum were out of the question – much to my dismay.
Which is why I loved this piece in Salon: “The Bright Side of Obamacare’s Slow Start – What heavy demand for affordable healthcare means: You are now free to quit your job and move around the country”.
Finding a groove over the years, I maintained my balance by ‘working to live’ rather than ‘living to work’. Diagnosed with yet another painful autoimmune disease, I found myself unable to work full time as a bedside nurse and insurance got downright ugly – starting at a reasonable $500/ month premium escalating to an end price of $1,500/ month. (If this covered my entire family it might even sound reasonable, but this was individual insurance.)
I’m high risk – you see – I exercise every day, have a normal BMI and yet have insurance rates equal to peers on dialysis. I wouldn’t care about the rate if I could afford it, but the truth is it had exceeded my mortgage. Meanwhile with a stroke of luck similar to a lightning strike – my youngest daughter was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, she was on a private and affordable plan with my husband and her sister (because we are small business owners), which we would now hold onto for dear life with a new ‘pre-existing condition’ in the family.
The Affordable Care Act
Rightfully, I do care about my privilege to affordable health insurance (contrary to what Republicans may think) as a nurse, a mom and as a patient. Stuck in this financial vice grip I had to get creative. I set out to learn more about Obama’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). This plan was set into motion to get coverage for those of us flapping in the wind until 2014 rolled around.
This was my first dip into the Affordable Healthcare Act. At the time, the website worked like a charm and everyone I spoke with was a wealth of knowledge – they were here to help me, and all I could think was:
“Thank you President Obama“.
I met all the criteria for this amazing plan except for one frightening detail - I needed to be without insurance for six months to qualify. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I crossed my fingers, stripped naked (cancelled my insurance) and dove in.
As a nurse I was well schooled on the vulnerable place I was in. I could suffer a devastating illness or accident that could be financially ruinous. Thankfully, the six months whizzed right by and amounted to a healthcare savings of $9,000. Much to my delight, my new premium with the very affordable PCIP plan was $195/ month. In the past eighteen months my health care savings have amounted to $23,490 with due thanks to Obamacare.
Healthcare.gov
As I sat back and listened to the horror stories about Healthcare.gov I scratched my head and thought – “Why on earth are people trying to log on in the first few weeks anyhow?” For coverage beginning January 1, 2014, we have until December 15th to enroll. But because we are Americans, patience and understanding take the back seat to immediate gratification, so we all logged-in the minute it went live, creating even more healthcare chaos.
I chose the zen approach (and no, you won’t find me in a mob of people flocking the front doors of Walmart on Black Friday at 3 a.m. either). Two weeks after open enrollment, I sauntered to my computer with an open mind and surfed to Healthcare.gov. With lady luck on my side I logged right on, created an account and started shopping.
This is what my future holds – freedom of choice and less financial worry. For the first time in over a decade my family will be on the same plan with a shared deductible. Without an income subsidy our end-of -year medical costs will be less with the Affordable Care Act than our current costs.
After being discriminated against for the past thirty years, I was delighted by the lone question I answered about my health - “Do you use tobacco?”
If you think Obamacare is only for sick losers without jobs, think again – no one knows better than a nurse that your future can change in the blink of an eye.