so i was talking to fbc former boss today (hereafter in this post known as fbcfb, b/c y'all know i love me some acronyms), who currently is freaking out about health insurance. fbcfb is self-employed and was paying out of pocket for insurance through a program offered by the state of illinois, but recently found out that said program is going by the wayside. the rationale is that once the affordable care act goes into effect in october, fbcfb and others will be able to buy insurance on the open market. fbcfb's concern both is political and personal: "what if (the democrats) lose the senate in 2014? what if this program goes away? you know the illinois legislature isn't going to vote to restore funding for this statewide program..." at that point, i had to make a joke about the illinois legislature not doing much of anything these days, which is hilarisad b/c it's kinda true.
while i was having dinner tonight, my thoughts went back to this conversation and also to this piece about the affordable care act and how it's unnecessary b/c, duh, everyone in america has health care.
hi. my name is eulalia and i don't have health insurance. i have doctors who understand my current fiscal challenges and therefore don't give me grief about coming in for checkups and tests as often as they'd like me to. they give me samples and, when they're able, discounts on my bills b/c i'm paying out of pocket. i also have a dentist who understands some of my current fiscal challenges and who gave me a discount on my last visit.
but, hey, everyone in america can just walk into an emergency room and get the care they need, right? isn't that what the governor of mississippi is saying in that article? that all of us can go to the er and, ta-da, health care!
that would resemble something that could be construed as accurate if, y'know, people didn't have to worry about how they were going to pay for those emergency room visits. i know quite a few people who have put off going to an urgent care clinic, let alone an emergency room, b/c they don't have insurance and the out-of-pocket costs are more than their wallets could handle. hell, i'm procrastinating on going back to the dentist b/c i'm pretty sure at least one of my teeth will need to be extracted, and that's an expense i just can't handle right now. my primary care doctor (and yes, i recognize that despite my current uninsured state, i am writing from a place of privilege just by having a primary care doctor) has a list of tests and blood work that i need to have done. my ob/gyn is just waiting for me to call and say that i have insurance again so she can schedule some long-overdue scans and so we can have a conversation about permanent reproductive decisions that is based in reality and not just "well, when you have insurance or when you're able to pay for this, you can do xyz."
i think that's what initially pissed me off the most about that think progress article - the assumption that receiving health care, let alone quality and affordable health care, is as easy as going to the emergency room. and yes, i know i am harping on an article that was posted months ago, but i saved it as a pdf with the express purpose of writing about it, and tonight seemed as good a time as any since i am still trying to complete this #31writenow challenge.
No comments:
Post a Comment