These stories come from the real people who live with a broken health care system. Some have health insurance and some do not. Many of these stories suggest potential solutions* that lead to quality, affordable health care we can count on. One thing we all agree on is that the we cannot trust the insurance industry to fix themselves. To learn more about what Health Care for America Now stands for read our Statement of Common Purpose.
We wanted to give you a chance to speak for yourself, in your own voice, about the need for Health Care for America Now. Do you have something to say? Tell us your story.
for
Jane
New York, NY
I am a freelance editor in NYC; I get health insurance through the much self-vaunted Freelancers Union. My PPO from Empire Blue Shield, which "covers" me and my husband, costs nearly $500 a month, with copays of $30 for a GP visit and $50 for a specialist visit, and a $3,000 deductible for EACH of us. Last fall, I spent a deal of time appealing denied claims for labs and treatments for a UTI and then a bad yeast infection, and ended up paying most of what was supposed to be covered myself, NOT counted toward the deductible. After that experience, when I fractured several ribs in a running accident I didn't even bother to go to the doctor. Then I fractured my elbow and had to go--unlike ribs, ulnas don't heal themselves--and found that my expensive (at least I think it is) plan covered (with my copayments) the office visits and the X-rays, and would have covered a heavy plaster cast that I couldn't face wearing. Instead I payed $1,200 myself for a removable splint that took the therapist all of half an hour to construct from a piece of steam-heated medical plastic and some glued-on Velcro straps. Then I found out that my Empire plan would cover not a single session of physical therapy: even though my shoulder, arm, elbow, and hand, all of them riddled with scar tissue, would remain useless to the end of my days without it, PT is not considered a medical necessity for someone who can only afford $500-a-month premiums. And so I have been paying for that too. And that is why I believe--no, I KNOW--that "affordable quality health insurance" is a four-way contradiction in terms. The only thing worth fighting for is affordable quality health CARE for all.
*Health Care for America Now is not responsible for the content of these stories. These stories are submitted by individuals in the online audience and have been edited in some cases. Health Care For America Now does not endorse any of the solutions or policy positions suggested in the content of these stories. Health Care for America Now is a coalition of organizations that agree to the Statement of Common Purpose.
See our coalition partner list.
Read the Statement of Common Purpose.
