Friday, June 26, 2015

Health Care in the USA

OK, it's time to talk about health care. The Supreme Court of the US ruled that "Obamacare" is AOK...again.
But let's stop calling it Obamacare and understand what it's really called: The AFFORDABLE Care Act. Yes, AFFORDABLE is the key word. The fight in the US seems to be over who should pay for health care and the Supreme Court ruled that it's AOK for the government to subsidize those for whom AFFORDABLE is out of reach within their income bracket. The government also imposes a tax fine for those who do not have health insurance so fair is fair in my opinion.

Health care has been the single most stressful "getting out act together" in the US thing we've had to deal with. Because traditional health care has been provided through people's employer, we were facing a very difficult situation as we returned to the US unemployed. We could've stayed with the Covenant Church in America's coverage through COBRA at a whopping $1200.00 per MONTH! Now, doesn't that seem counterintuitive...how an UNemployed person could afford $1200.00 per month for health care? Seems obvious to me that without other choices the UNemployed person would soon be UNinsured, which leads to a host of other expenses that eventually the public ends up paying for. Fortunately for us, the Affordable Health Care Act kicked in and through Covered California we were able to qualify for and afford decent health insurance. We are paying about $400.00 a month for both of us, which, while not perfect, does make it AFFORDABLE.

So here's what I don't fully understand...why are people who can usually AFFORD whatever health coverage they want, so opposed to others having access to AFFORDABLE health care? And in order for health care to be AFFORDABLE for all, who should pay the difference so that it is AFFORDABLE? 

And the other curious question I have for the haters out there is simply this: What advice would you have given Doug and me about health care when we first moved back to the US? What were our options given our circumstances? Get a job is the obvious answer, but even then, what about the in between time that would've ensued even if we had come back and pursued jobs with earnest?

Another one of the blessings of the AFFORDABLE health care act is that we can drop it now when we move to England and go on the National Health Service there. Had the AFFORDABLE health care act not created a provision that pre-existing conditions are not a valid reason for denial of insurance, we would've had to maintain our US health insurance even while being covered in another country, (as we did in Sweden for fear of getting cancer or another serious disease while out of the system and thus never being able to get care for such in the US). Talk about a colossal waste of money that it is.

So I'm quite interested in a CIVIL discussion with our very personal issues at the center of it. If you are opposed to the current situation, please give me sane and possible alternatives to AFFORDABLE health care which in my heart of hearts, I do believe is a right for all people. If people cannot AFFORD insurance, they won't get the right care, and that inevitably sets up a caste system for who has access to health care and who does not. And if you fall into the very fortunate category of being able to AFFORD health insurance, even if it's a bill you hate paying, why are you so opposed to helping others get the same?

1 comment:

  1. I was hoping that it would work for yoy and very pleased to hear you were able to get through the barge of paper work.
    Have yiy tried to use at a ohysucuans office ir hospital. U am wautunf ti hear the experience.
    I mat have to use it in the near future so I like to hear the possibilites.
    u am pleased you will be able to return to it when you return from Londin.

    ReplyDelete