Living Without Health Insurance

Hello everyone; this is my first dairy so please be kind.  I am not the best writer or a very computer savvy person, so if I have made any mistakes please let me know.

Yesterday I read a diary by nyceve, called First She Asked the Price Then She Left--Without Her Medicine( I apologize for not knowing how to provide a link)that got me thinking about how alot of people don't know what it's like to have no health insurance so I thought I would share my story.

To start I will give a little background as to why I don't have health insurance.  First, I am a struggling artist; no health insurance there.  Second, I am a full-time student(again) at the age of 38; no insurance provided there.  And third my husband's job doesn't provide health insurance; so no insurance there either.

This wasn't always the case.  My husband did have a very good job that provided insurance for the both of us; until he was laid-off a few years ago (and yes it happened under bushco's reign).  We thought it was only a temporary lay-off ( my husband had been with the company for 13 years) so we decided not to accept C.O.B.R.A. to keep out insurance.  Not that we, or anyone for that matter, could afford the huge payments anyway.  It turned out that the lay-off wasn't temporary and it took my husband almost 2 years to find another full-time job, and I am still looking.  The new job of course doesn't provide any insurance, and he also took a 50% pay-cut so we can't afford to buy insurance on our own.

I am sure that most of you can imagine what it is like not being able to pay for doctor visits, prescriptions, tests, hospital stays, etc.; but it's what happens after that that most people don't know about.

As luck would have it; I started having problems with my stomach during that long period of unemployment.  Because we didn't have insurance I put off going to the doctor to see what wrong.  And like alot of uninsured people I ended up in the emergency room.  After many, many expensive tests I found out I have acid reflux disease, a bad gall bladder, and the beginning stages of an ulcer (brought on by stess I am sure).

Of course by this time our savings were gone.  We even sold our house to try to pay all the medical bills but it still wasn't enough.  The bills we couldn't pay of course ended up in collection.  Now I know some of you are thinking why not just declare bankrupcy, but is it fair to have to declare bankrupcy for something that I should have a right to?  Hell no!  I am just too damn stubborn to throw it all in.  
We did everything we were suppose to do; we had savings, we worked hard, we owned our own home, we didn't spend frivolously, etc.  So why did this happen to us?

We are now trying to get out of a hole of quick-sand.  But, this is where it branches out into everything else.  I have gone back to college in hopes of getting a good job that provides health care for us, but having medical bills is making that harder too.  Everything is affected by credit.  Now imagine how much worse our credit would be if we had declared bankrupcy like so many people are forced to do.  I am having trouble getting student loans for school.  Our car insurance has increased by over 60% in the past few years.  Some employers don't want to hire people with low credit scores, which is why I think it took my husband so long to get a job.  Alot of people, myself included, choose to live with not feeling 100% well because the thought of being harrassed by medical bill collectors is too much to bear.  You see this is what having no health insurance does, it affects your ENTIRE life.  I have heard people say that health care should be a right not a privilege, but I don't think even that goes deep enough.  It's more than not getting the prescription you need, or getting routine mammograms.  The whole health thing spreads out into everything else like a disease.  I know you more articulate people can probably think of a better way of trying to express what I am trying to say.  But, you can see how not having health insurance can ruin everything in your life, not just your health.

•  Link

  If one of you more computer savvy people out there could post a link to the dairy I mentioned above I would sure appreciate it.  I haven't a clue how to do it myself.

  by angrybird on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:08:59 PM PDT

  •  When you are writing a diary, if you open another

    window besides the first one, and then click on a "reply to this" link under a comment in another diary, you get the box with all the html code buttons on the bottom. "bold" "italic" "link" etc. Then you can just click on each one and get:
    strong>  is bold
    em>        is italic
    blockquote>     is a highlighted quote box
    a href=             is when you put in a link to another thing

    I left off the front <  bracket and the slash/end bracket so they would show up here.  This makes a handy quick reference to use when you are writing the diary, or you can try to cut and paste from one window to the other in your diary.  

    I think you were more than articulate, you were just about perfect writing this, because your perspective is of it is personal, not theorhetical.

    Try switching from coffee to green tea for the reflux, and cutting down dramatically on carbohydrates, which is another way to ease acid reflux that conventional doctors don't tell you about. The acid blockers neutralize stomach acid but they also may cause odd side effects plus they make you more vulnerable to lung infections because they change the pH (acidity) of the stomach, which changes the bacteria that can survive, and the bad bacteria may then start taking up residence when you need the good ones to keep them in check. Also, if you are popping a lot of "Tums", try switching to a different form of calcium such as calcium citrate because too much calcium carbonate changes the levels of bicarbonate in the blood and that can lead to kidney stones.

    by AmericanRiverCanyon on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 10:27:27 AM PDT

•  The U. S. system is a human rights violation.

  I moved to Europe in 2005.  We had been lucky enough to have health care coverage in the U. S., but each year, the deductibles and co-pays grew right along with the insurance company's willingness to deny coverage.

  We registered a company here at a cost of a few thousand dollars.  That gave us residence and put us in the same boat as this country's citizens.  For less than $100 a month, our whole family has complete coverage: major medical, dental including orthodontics, prescriptions and eyeglasses.  When people are unemployed here, their coverage remains in place.

  Is the care any good?  My spouse suffers from a chronic illness that requires medication and regular tests.  In the U. S., our out-of-pocket for these costs grew steadily until they were approaching $100 a month.  On top of that, her doctor dropped her because he didn't like her health care coverage (as a state employee!).  In fact, he made more money doing quickie surgeries than treating chronic conditions like my spouse's.

  Here, she found a doctor who did more to explain her condition and her medications in the first visit than her U. S. doctors had done over the course of several years.  He modified her treatment, and her condition has improved.  The test equipment here is more modern than what was used in the U. S.

  Doctors here tell us that they still respect the U. S. medical profession for its expertise and abilities at the cutting edge of medicine, but they also think the American is driven by greed.

  Things don't have to be the way they are in the U. S.  Nearly every First World nation has much better health care than the U. S.  But I expect things to get much worse there before they get better.

  by goinsouth on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:19:55 PM PDT

  •  Well

    Here is another trend. Increasingly many practices are no longer taking insurance at all! That is, they make their patients pay upfront. They provide the patients with the receipt, leaving it up to them to arrange for reimbursement (usually at out-of-network rates) with their insurance companies.

    From the doctors' standpoint it enables them to save money and overhead. Instead of having a large administrative staff to process claims, these doctors now only need maybe one receptionist and one or two file clerks to handle the paperwork. They save money and cut on overhead.

    by jiacinto on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:00:10 PM PDT

•  Your diary

  is so heartbreaking and is a testament to how awful healthcare in this country is and how lack of it (and for some how poor the quality of some of the affordable healthcare being offered is) does indeed impact every other area of people's lives.  My heart and blessings go out to you and your husband.

  Here's the
  link you requested for nyceve's diary yesterday.

  by Dreaming of Better Days on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:21:31 PM PDT

  •  Thank you

    by angrybird on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:24:25 PM PDT

•  just fill in the address of the diary..

  ..that you like and plug it in. that's all there is to it.

  as to bankruptcy-- you should still consider it. they've made it a little more expensive to file-- and now you have to get counseled but lots of stories have pointed out that the number of people, the rate of filing, has not dropped at all since the new law went into effect.

  the key thing though is you have to go get counseled. if you don't do that step, you don't get through bankruptcy.

  your credit rating actually improves after you go through bankruptcy-- because you don't owe anybody anything and are therefore a better credit risk. and the relief you feel after getting rid of the tens of thousands in bills you will never be able to pay-- is worth it. the process is not hard-- get a book by Nolo Press on the process. Don't hire a lawyer. Do it yourself. in most states you can keep your house, so long as you are paying the mortgage. if you're not, that's a different issue.

  the nolo press book on bankruptcy has a realistic view of the guilt and shame issue that the counseling services, which are funded by the credit card companies, try to foist on you. after you file, the credit card companies try to cut a deal with you but don't go for it. blow them all off in bankruptcy. then start fresh, like a new born babe. first thing that happens is you feel terrific feeling of freedom from debt. second thing is credit card companies try to get you to pay $39 or $150 for new cards. Hold out. Don't fall for it. live without cards for awhile. Get on your feet and don't rely on credit if you can help it. Hold out until Capital One offers a no-fee card. They will eventually. Use it responsibly. Don't live on credit cards again because the new law will grind you into the ground and try to make you responsible for all your old bills if you file a second time for bankruptcy. (That's a stupid rethug law that will never hold up in real time.)

  But the bottom line is this-- bankruptcy is a good thing if it is all that you can do to get back on your feet. It is not your fault what has happened. Don't let them guilt you. The system is at fault, not you.

  If you want to see some articles on what has transpired under the new bankruptcy law, click on my name, see my dkos page and email me. I will send them to you.

  Chin up!!

  Oh, and about that acid reflux-- eat papaya or get papaya tablets-- both help a lot. look into alternative medicine. that's what most of us who haven't had health insurance for more than a dozen years do. We keep ourselves healthy. Don't  buy them new but look up some books by Rodale Press for starters.

  by skywriter on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:30:17 PM PDT

  •  Thanks so much...

    for all the information.  I will talk to my husband about everything you said.  And as for the papaya tablets; where do you get them?

    by angrybird on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:35:41 PM PDT

    •  health food store

      fresh papaya is very good too for settling stomach if you can find it.

      by skywriter on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:08:29 PM PDT

  •  Nolo.com for bankruptcy books.

    worth plunking down the 40 or so bucks for their take on the new law. nolo is a legal press that supports decisions not to hire lawyers. they tell you all you need to do this and a lot of other stuff yourself.

    by skywriter on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:10:46 PM PDT

•  The state of health insurance in this country

  is a disgrace! I cannot imagine working people in this country that are trying really risking chronic health problems and even death because they can't afford health care/insurance!

  by FrankieB on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:32:58 PM PDT

•  going south is right

  the whole system in the US is based on greed and profit.  Our situation was similar to yours, laid off for 18 months, wife had kidney stones, no insurance, lost a house to a con artist (a christian...yeah sure) who preyed on laid off people....etc, etc.  Cronyism changed it all on the job front but it came with a price.
  It is extremely stressful.  All of this is why my name here is what it is.  repugs are non-existent on domestic issues, dems are scared of being called protectionists....its a disaster of political correctness while citizens suffer...the guns in Iraq are pointed at the wrong enemies of the US.

  by FreeTradeIsYourEpitaph on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:36:08 PM PDT

•  Thanks for writing

  These are the stories we need to tell. It's reality. And you tell your story beautifully.

  by Leslie H on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:51:17 PM PDT

•  Just Curious

  What do you think about the far-left wacky liberals (a/k/a an American majority) who think that healthcare is a human right?  What about the fact that no major party will champion that right?

  Just askin'.

  God bless you and your family.  You deserve better.

  by HarveyMilk on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:56:32 PM PDT

  •  Well

    I think healthcare should not be driving people to bankruptcy. While I'm not necessarily sold on national health insurance I also believe that the current system isn't working--and there should be some baseline for the poor to obtain care. Something's horrible when people are losing their life savings because they get sick.

    by jiacinto on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:01:23 PM PDT

    •  Well

      It ain't only the poor that get sick.  And, if you're not poor, I don't think you should lose the farm because you wound up being human - a/k/a getting sick.

      To this day, no one has been able to explain to me why the post office is socialized (because its so important), and healthcare isn't.

      We live in a vulgar society.

      by HarveyMilk on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:04:19 PM PDT

•  Tell me about it

  I was laid off from my job in March--and still haven't been able to find a new position. I do have some government positions in the works, but that depends on funding and is still several months away.

  Like you I wanted to take COBRA, but the payments were very expensive. I ended up purchasing a "temporary" health insurance policy for half the price of what my COBRA would have chaged me that will cover me in case something catastrophic were to happen to me. It's not what I'd like, but it's better than not having any coverage at all. I can't afford having something catastrophic happen to me and end up banrkrupt, so that is why I took out that "barebones" policy that I have.

  At 28 my major risk is catastrophic care. That is, my biggest risk is being in a random car accident or suddenly collapsing. I don't have any major chronic conditions to worry about. Thus, this temporary, high-deductible policy works for me in the short term. It's not what I want--I'd rather have comprehensive coverage; but, as long as I am protected from freak accidents, it will suffice until my employment situation improves.

  I know the feeling. I've had to live off my credit cards and unemployment. Pretty soon, hopefully, in the next week or two, I will be temping. I'll only be making $12 an hour; but, at the very least, it will be more than uemployment. As my unemployment is about to run out anyway any income is better than no income.

  I am also burdened by student loans from graduate school and college. I made the mistake of going to graduate school straight out of college. I regret not working a year or two, saving money, and then going to school. But I was afraid that if I didn't go immediately, once in the workforce for one or two years, I might never return. So I went to school.

  My first job out of school paid me dirt--at least for DC, that is. I stayed there year for about a year until another company offered me $17,000 more. I ended up going there and was laid off in March when the contract I was working on wasn't renewed.

  So, finally at that last job, I was in a position to  start paying everything back. I had made a plan to start paying down the credit cards and the student loans. Then the axe came in, and I've fallen further back into the hole.

  Thus I fully sympathize with your plight. I really understand what you are going through. It honestly takes one period of long-term unemployment, a sudden illness that insurance won't cover, disability, or natural disaster to wreak havoc on someone's financial well-being. I've seen it happen to me firsthand. And I'm going through that right now.

  I do have one question. Does your university offer insurance for students? Every school I've attended has required students to either show proof of their own insurance or obtain coverage through the college/university's health center. The policies that those universities offer are usually barebones and limited to catastrophic incidents, but they are at least something.

  Although I can't mitigate your suffering what I can tell you is that you are hardly alone. Your plight is being felt by many Americans in this country, me included.

  by jiacinto on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 10:56:46 PM PDT

  •  COBRA

    I would like to know who came up with the COBRA thing to begin with?  I am not good at searching for info on the internet, but I wonder if it's a Rethug thing.  
    As for the college insurance thing, I am attending a Community college for now and they don't offer any insurance.
    BTW, what state do you live in?  We are in Michigan and my husband was/is in manufacturing.  So many of those types of jobs have left for other countries that that made it so much harder to find work.  
    Oh, and I am so sick of hearing "r" people trying to spin being laid-off as somthing positive. I always hear; " now you can try/learn something new".  Uggh!

    by angrybird on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:09:51 PM PDT

    •  Well

      Here is some information on the history of COBRA:

      COBRA Wikipedia Article

      An Employee's Health Benefit Guide to COBRA

      From looking at the Wikipedia article it seems like COBRA has its origins in the Reagan years. Apparently the plan first came into being then.

      In response to your question I live in Washington, DC. I have lived in the DC area for all but maybe 4 1/2 years of my life. The one good thing about where I live is that there are (supposedly) tons of jobs in a whole variety of industries. There are also tons of government jobs.

      Right now I'm trying to get into the government. The current industry that I am is government contracting/consulting; but, after what I've endured, having been laid off when the client decided not to renew the contract, I want to work for the people who give out the money--and not for those who are dependent on those who give out the money.

      Have you thought of perhaps moving toward the East Coast when you graduate? You and your husband might have a better chance of finding work in a place like DC.

      by jiacinto on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:15:59 PM PDT

•  bankruptcy new and old

  http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...

  http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...

  by skywriter on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:20:25 PM PDT

•  whoops ---here's the intended link

  med bills and bankruptcy from newsweek

  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

  by skywriter on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:21:43 PM PDT

  •  Yeah

    I read that article. It is horrible how illness can push families toward financial bankruptcy.

    by jiacinto on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:55:23 PM PDT

    •  it's the main way

      families are pushed toward bankruptcy. that's what the credit counseling services are saying, which in effect, are the mouthpieces of the credit card companies themselves.

      by skywriter on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 03:21:23 AM PDT

      •  Well

        Credit Counseling companies are to be best avoided. I haven't heard good things about them.

        by jiacinto on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 10:56:53 AM PDT

        •  They can not be avoided

          when filing bankruptcy.

          If you don't get counseled during the bankruptcy process, your debts are not discharged according to the new law. there was a news story about a couple whose debts were not discharged for exactly that reason.

          otherwise, yes, you're right. the requirement in the law was a little sugar in the bowl for Rethug campaign contributors, no doubt.

          by skywriter on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 11:13:06 AM PDT

          •  Yes

            I know what you mean. The new law does require "credit counseling". Unless one is defitinely headed toward bankruptcy those companies are questionable. Frankly one can make similiar deals with the credit card companies on his or her own.

            by jiacinto on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 12:19:04 PM PDT

•  Thunderstorm

  Thank you everyone who commented and offered suggestions.  We are having severe thunderstorm warning and it's hailing so I will have to turn off the computer.  Oh, BTW, can someone tell me how the +/- thing works?  I am so computer illiterate.

  by angrybird on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:33:09 PM PDT

  •  Don't feel you are alone

      or that it is your fault. You and I are among the millions of US Americans who lack sure access to this basic human right. I have a "preexisting condition" so I cannot get health insurance that is affordable or comprehensive. The last time I tried to get it they were going to exclude coverage on so many things that it was worthless. I know that I might end up bankrupt or die prematurely but hey, in some ways the USA sucks and is a backward country. Meanwhile the Governor of my state just vetoed a bill for universal access to health care. Send his sorry ass back to Austria, I say!
      I sometimes wish that when I had a chance to marry a woman from a more civilized country that I had taken her up on her offer. Sure I'd be freezing ass in Montreal speaking francais with a bad accent, but I wouldn't have to worry about health care.

    by Zack from the SFV on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 12:02:06 AM PDT

  •  + good mojo, - bad mojo, 0's neutral

    if someone really likes what you said, they check the recomend button on the bottom of the comment and you get a + point. If someone thinks the remark is so bad it's innapropriate, they give you a - minus point.

    Click on the orange 0/0 and you will see who gave you the recomends and troll rates.

    2 -minus points hides your comment from everyone but Trusted Users. So they are very bad mojo. Rack up enough minus points and you get auto banned.  But you have to be on a real psycho binge to get that.

    Only T U's can give minus- points. So some diaries have these large threads of icky comments where there is somebody on a trolling binge getting shot full of minuses and only roughly 1000 to 1200 people can see the carnage. The rest of the diary looks better.  If you post often enough for 3 months and get enough +'s, you get 2 buttons on the bottom of each comment instead of one, and the other one says "troll" which is what you use to give - minus points.  You also get a link on the right side which says "hidden comments."  It's like a sewer pipe, necessary but who wants to go there. This is where innapropriate content as determined by your peer group goes to die.

    The numbers are rated in a system that I can't explain but works to create balance.

    There is a dKoskopedia where you can study how the site works. I had to study a long time before I even dared post a comment.  The site undergoes maintenance after midnight pacific time a lot of evenings and if you are a night owl and don't realize this you may think your computer needs an exorcism.  I am writing the most cursed short diary and have had several browser crashes and a short power outtage wipe it out several times, but at least now I know NOT to start up again now unless on paper with pen because around 1 2am it's going to go all whacko. There is nothing sadder/funnier than some hot news breaking in Europe at 2 am and a large contingent of night owls wailing they cannot up + rate or down rate  because the the site is getting tidied .  I'm leaving my mistake in there deliberately so you can also see the putting a -  mark in without a space makes a strike thru of all the subsequent words.

    by AmericanRiverCanyon on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 12:08:04 AM PDT

•  Excellent diary!

  I also write about healthcare issues and patient advocacy.

  It's important for people to understand how this impacts lives, as well as health.  You tell a powerful story, and I hope that things get much better for you and your family soon!

  by Buffy Orpington on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 04:03:39 PM PDT