My wife and I have zero health insurance

[Winterblues]

My wife used to have catastropic insurance until the monthly bill went over five hundred dollars. Now neither of us have any at all. Can anyone give me an idea of how we will find any relief after the election. We have zero extra money and have to borrow to fill our fuel oil tank for heating our home. Does Obama's plan offer any relief at all and if so how? I understand it is some sort of plan to make the insurance companies accept all comers no matter if they have pre-existing illness or not but does it do anything to mitigate the expense? I understand it will still be up to the insurance companies what to charge..

[Xenotime]

1. Sorry to hear about your suffering..

I do hope Obama's plan will work for you.

[Winterblues]

2. I hope so as well but I do not have a clue what it is.

That was the purpose of the post,to gain some information from someone that has been payiong more attention than I have.

[napi21]

3. I'm sorry to say that Obama, nor anyone else, has a magic wand

and ANY HC plan will take time to push through congress. Believe me, the ins. companies are not going to accept any gov't plan quietly!

Is there any possibility that either you or your wife could find a job that offers HC as a benefit? That's the only thing I can think of that would help you quickly.

[Greyhound]

19. HR 626, (I think it's been re-numbered). Not a magic wand, just a change to an existing program

already in place, and could be totally implemented in a few months. Obama & Co. aren't talking about it because the Insurance industry fears this more than any of the other "solutions".

All the other plans are just more corporate welfare in various disguises.

[Pastiche423]

37. Off topic -

Every time I read one of your posts and look at the beautiful photo in your sig line, I still think...............what if?

*BIG sigh*

[Greyhound]

40. You and me both.

People are just so hooked into that damn tube, nothing else gets through anymore.:grr:

I like Obama and hope he does well, for all or sakes, but I know the system he came up in (IL=corruption central) and we've seen him fail to stand up time and again. I'm afraid we may end up with another four years of gridlock and/or quarter measures that just make it hurt a little less while the perpetrators walk away with our future.

[Pastiche423]

41. I feel the same way you do

[tazkcmo]

4. Sorry, no answers for you

I Do know you're not alone. I have none either. I also know I don't like all this talk about inscurance. I want heath care. If we as a nation were to simply buy our health care like alot folks buy their weed; Chipping in on a large amount among several buyers and cutting out that middleman who adds his own take and is useless once a provider/buyer relation is established, we might actually be able to afford real health CARE. Screw inscurance.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Everybody's either in league with or afraid of the power of the insurance companies

which are hated by patients and doctors alike.

If you read the European press, you find out that people complain about not getting some elective surgery or not getting an experimental drug on their national health plans. Here people complain about not being able to afford health care at all, not even for preventive and diagnostic care.

And yes, yes, yes, I know that European-style health care isn't "free" and is paid for by taxes. But if the "insurance group" is the entire country, it's ultimately cheaper for all concerned, and more importantly, either free or low cost at the point of service.

In my ideal health plan, we'd have a combination of the Canadian and British systems with an extra twist. That is, we'd have both private physicians paid through a reformed Medicare-like system (reformed in the direction of simplicity) and a network of public health clinics in areas where doctors don't like to settle. School for any health-related career (from doctor to x-ray technician and respiratory therapist) would be tuition-free for students who agreed to work in one of these poor or remote rural health clinics for a certain number of years. (Obviously, the longer the training required, the longer the obligation.)

This would have a number of beneficial effects:

1. Underserved areas would have well-staffed clinics that were not out of reach of the local people

2. Students from low-income areas with an aptitude for health careers would know that they could both get valuable training and serve their communities if they did well in high school and undergraduate school

3. The extra supply of doctors would lower doctors' salaries and sense of entitlement, and omit one of their excuses for their high incomes, which is that they have to pay off medical school loans.

At the end of their period of obligation, some doctors or other health professionals might want to move on, but others might want to stay, particularly if they were working in their communities of origin.

[LuckyLib]

17. LL, this needs to be its own post. This is how the HC system should work.

From your keys to Obama's pen! Cut insurance companies OUT of the picture!

[pinto]

6. Sorry for your situation. Any federal plan/relief is gonna take some time in Congress and is likely

to be gradual in nature, not a sweeping all at once measure. fwiw, I think catastrophic coverage will be an early gain, probably with some kind of federal subsidy. We all need to push our legislators for some meaningful action. We've had enough grandstanding. The new Congress and a new Administration is an opportunity.

(aside) I favor Medicare for all. And I realize that is a very long shot, in the short term, but that is my position.

Take care.

[yellowdogintexas]

28. I have favored Medicare or something like it for all since I was a claims examiner for Medicare B

back in the middle 1970's.

Coverage is the same no matter where you live or where you seek treatment
Everybody pays same premiums/ copays/deductibles
Nobody can be pre existed
Large pool of young healthy participants balances costs.
Premiums would be much much lower both for the insured persons and the employers, whether in form of a specialized insurance withholding or lumping into the general income taxes .

Your taxes might be higher but if you are paying for insurance, it would be way way less than your insurance costs and if you have no insurance at all you remove the fear of what a medical catastrophe would do.

Agree with you that the first emergency step might well be a gigantic catastrophic pool with sliding scale premiums, possibly with a choice of deductibles..your premium cost would be lower if your deductible were higher. Catastrophics are easy to write, easy to administer, and very straight forward.

Frankly, if I knew for certain I would have no need for a hospitalization or complex medical treatment I would just hold out for Medicare (5 years to go). I can manage my occasional doctor visits and meds if I have to. The fear of a hospital stay keeps me paying premiums...and my husband is diabetic so we have to stay covered to avoid pre ex on him.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

7. you are not alone

my family will soon be responsible for 100% of our medical insurance premiums starting in Oct, amounting to about $700 and some change per month - We formerly had employee provided health insurance, and were paying about $250 a month.

I have no idea where we will find that extra money each and every month. I am not sleeping at night, and am almost paralyzed with fear.

[SoCalDem]

8. Unfortunately for people like you, you will just have to hope

you stay healthy until you reach medicare age..and even then, if you were counting on that SS check for survival, after the medical alphabet deductions are taken from it, you'll be lucky to have enough left to pay the light bill & an early-bird special at Dennys.

I will be in a similar bind when my husband retires.. he's 6 years older, and once he retires, I will have no insurance until I "catch up"..
What HAS to happen, is for us to QUIT funding the enormous military budget, and to abort the VA, Medicaid, the government insurance plans and make it ILLEGAL for employers to even OFFER medical insurance benefits..

Then we ALL (citizens) must have as good of an ID card,as is humanly possible (to help prevent fraud), and EVERYONE IS AUTOMATICALLY medicare-worthy and enrolled..

Insurance companies might still administer the plan, but they MUST become non-profits..same for hospitals..

the days of Privateer-medicine HAVE to end..

For people who are NOT citizens, they MAY participate, but their country of origin must be BILLED a fair-market price for their care..either in actual payment, or in a reduction from any aid we normally give that country..

[Fumesucker]

23. The VA is an obligation..

I agree with pretty much all else you say but the VA is an obligation to those who have put themselves in harm's way for this country. There is no way in hell I would support "aborting" the VA, debts must be paid and we owe these people a huge debt.

[JustAnotherGen]

24. Fumesucker

Thanks for speaking up. My dad is a Korea/Vietnam vet. He's now advocating on behalf of Iraq 1 and Iraq 2 and Afghanistan soldiers coming home and having to go through the V.A.

Did you know - the V.A. TOLD big Pharm what they would spend - and Big Pharm had to toe the line?

FWIW - Why not adopt some of that chutzpah and brass balls in a National Health Care Plan. Oh - this subject makes my head spin. Especiallly when we look at what we get taxed for the NIH to do research, which they then turn over to Big Pharm, who sells us shit at far too expensive a cost. :mad:

[SoCalDem]

31. The services of the VA would still be in effect..In fact MORE services

but vets could go ANYWHERE for medical care, and not have to drive hundreds of miles (for many of them) to get medical care..

Many VA hospitals are dilapidated antiques, and they cost a shit-load of money to maintain and operate

[Fumesucker]

32. That certainly wasn't the way you put it in the post to which I replied.

I know the VA has its problems but at the moment it is the best a lot of vets have.

It might behoove you to be a little more circumspect in the way you phrase things in the future.

[SoCalDem]

33. Who are you? The behoovenator?

:rofl:.. Okay. Mom? Dad? :rofl:

[Fumesucker]

34. Just someone who cares about vets

And thinks your humor is remarkably juvenile.

[SoCalDem]

36. Gee thanks

Must be the Air Force Brat(26 years) in me ..Have a nice evening..:hi:

[Fumesucker]

39. You too..

:hug:

[EC]

9. I haven't had health insurance for the last couple years

and I'm in my late 50's, so it's my #1 priority, since finding a job with benefits at my age is near impossible. Anyway, here's Obama's plan. (I'm hoping it'll change a bit to Hillary's plan, since I think that was one of the things they discussed at Fienstein's that night)

Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All
Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have the following features:
Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.
Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles.
Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
Simplified paperwork and reined in health costs.
Easy enrollment. The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
Portability and choice. Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.
Quality and efficiency. Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.
National Health Insurance Exchange: The Obama plan will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan. The Exchange will act as a watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and have the same standards for quality and efficiency. The Exchange would evaluate plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of services, public.
Employer Contribution: Employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small businesses will be exempt from this requirement, and will receive a new Small Business Health Tax Credit that helps reduce health care costs for small businesses.



http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/#coverage-for-all

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

22. IOWs, Obama's plan covers those who NEED health CARE.

Thank you so much for offering the specifics.

Thank you! :hug:

[Ms. Toad]

10. For now, try short term catastrohic insurance

The policies generally run from 6 months to a year or 18 months, cost very little (my last policy was in the range of $200/year. You have to keep switching carriers, since you are only permitted to stick with one carrier for a short term. There are huge deductibles (~$5000, I believe), and they DO NOT cover pre-existing conditions.

Unlike traditional policies, however, they have to cover you conditions other than pre-existing ones, unless you have one of a handful of pre-existing conditions (HIV/AIDS, current hospitalization, for example).

I used these policies for 3-5 years. I figured if a pre-existing condition acted up, I was no worse shape than if I had no insurance coverage (i.e. I'd still be eligible for the "ever-so-affordable" open enrollment options some companies are required to offer once or twice a year - at around $1500 a month or so). If something brand new came along, at least my losses for the brand new condition would be limited to the deductible.

Another option would be to get a job for as many hours as necessary to get coverage at some of the places which offer health insurance for the sole purpose of obtaining health coverage (Starbucks - 20 hrs/wk and Walmart - something closer to full time if you need it more quickly (the details are harder to find)).

Personally, I'm not holding my breath waiting for Obama's (or the Clinton morph thereof) which requires some portion of the population (or everyone) to carry insurance. All that means is that I will be breaking the law if I don't pay for the insurance I couldn't afford in the first place.

[radfringe]

11. Subsidies.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/#coverage-for-all

Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All
Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have the following features:

Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.

Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.

Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.

Simplified paperwork and reined in health costs.

Easy enrollment. The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.

Portability and choice. Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.

Quality and efficiency. Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.

[shanti]

12. i feel for you

when i was a young mother, we didn't have ANY insurance. with three young boys, it was hell worrying about what might happen. thank god, my kids were healthy, so it never was an issue, but it was always at the top of my mind...anything could have wiped us out.

[Selatius]

13. Unfortunately, it will take years for any reforms to be fully implemented.

When the UK instituted its national health system, they phased it in over several years until full coverage was achieved. Likely, such reforms in the US will go a similar route if at all.

[mdmc]

14. Nader or McKinney wont get elected this year

So we are stuck with a for profit health care system. I have health insurance, but do not have the ability to pay the co-pays that are required. So I am in the same boat as you.

Stay healthy.

[Selatius]

15. Even if a third party won the White House, Congress would still be controlled by Dems/Repubs.

And half the Dems are right leaning at that. Nevermind the Repubs. A lot of them are ultra-right wing nutjobs, and the few that are "moderate" are solidly center right.

[mdmc]

16. perhaps it would shake things up

[Kurovski]

18. Kick. (nt)

[goodgd_yall]

20. In the meantime

I hope you are able to find a free or low cost clinic nearby. I was in your situation at one time. Luckily, I discovered that our local Planned Parenthood had a low cost clinic (for everyone, not just women), but it took some hunting to find out it was even there. I could have saved some money if I'd known sooner.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

21. It's a damn shame WE have to endure such stress over basic LIFE needs.

:cry:

I try to simply not think about what would happen if I become so sick I can't function. I all ready know I NEED health care but know it's inaccessible to someone like me.

No matter what Obama (or Hillary Clinton, for that matter) seek to address the health care needs of you and me and the rest of us, the greedy mo-fos in the "industry" will block any humanitarian efforts towards our own people, without mercy.

Maybe, the question you should be asking is how much will the profiteers invest in order to deny humanitarian care to their own people.

Maybe.

[gi4obama]

25. Your story sounds similar to this couples:

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1192433.html


She will be speaking at the DNC this week.

[pengillian101]

27. That's a sad story for sure.

I wonder when she is scheduled to speak at the convention; I'd like to see it.

Thanks for posting it, gi4obama

[Kire]

26. Don't give up...

...this country is in trouble.

There are many things I am thinking of, but most of them can be upsetting to someone who isn't prepared to hear them.

My friend was telling a story about how she was worried about something and a friend took a salt shaker, poured a little bit of salt in the palm of her hand, and she said, even if that's all the hope you have, it's enough.

Maybe that's not exactly what she said, she probably said it better.

My interpretation is that if you have any hope at all, hold onto it and water it and feed it and it will grow.

Do what you can, and even if you don't, I have found that it helps to pretend that there is hope, even if I don't really believe it.

No one promised us that we were all going to be perfectly okay our entire lives. And if they did, they lied. I'm so sorry about your situation. I honestly hope you can find some help in your community, or that you are able to move somewhere there is help.

Keep us updated, if it's possible.

Bless you,
Kire

[bunkerbuster1]

29. A President Obama's healthcare plan: only as good as can be negotiated

You can bet that without a sixty vote majority in the Senate, the RePigs will fight tooth and nail to save their precious market-based healthcare system.

Seriously, the best we can hope for is that a new President and a substantial democratic majority in Congress will pass significant reforms making it much more affordable. It's criminal that it isn't, already.

(I speak as one who was on the hook for all of my own family's insurance, until a job change brought some company-paid benefits. I feel your pain.)

[yellowdogintexas]

30. are you both employed? self employed?

I should think if you are having to borrow for heating oil and unable to acquire group coverage you might qualify for Medicaid? Have you checked it out? Medicaid does take income and needs of life into consideration, I believe. Needs of life does include utility costs.

Are you over 55? AARP may be able to do you better through their very large group.

Individual insurance is prohibitively expensive, as is small group coverage.

Do you have pre existing health issues?

[Freddie Stubbs]

35. One of you should probably switch jobs to one which offers health insurance

Even if you take a pay cut, it will likely pay off in the long term.

Waiting for the government to solve your problem may be a long wait indeed. Obama's plan still needs to get through Congress.

[midnight armadillo]

38. Come move to MA

it's illegal to be without insurance here now.

[eridani]

42. How do you spell relief? HR 676!

Health care advocates need to start playing offense IMMEDIATELY after the election!