Case in point: I am disabled. I do not qualify for Medicare until October of 2014 because congress changed the laws regarding SSDI and SSI for the people who paid into this broken system. That's right, you can't collect the first six months of your hard-earned money because they withhold it, and you cannot receive Medicare until 24 months after you begin collecting your "earnings"; however, that's another issue altogether.
While I am waiting for my Medicare benefits to kick in, and because I could not really afford over $1,000 a month for private health insurance, I signed up for the health care plan from a major company under the Affordable Healthcare Act. O. K. yes, it is affordable once the government, which is fiscally broke, pays its share of the bill, and I do appreciate that and the intentions of the affordable health care act. I do not appreciate the fact that because of this new law, none of my doctors will accept this insurance, and they are somehow required by current law, not able (or willing) to accept self-paying patients!
What kind of racket it that??? No, you can't accept cash? Reallly? Yes, really. At least, that is what I have been told.
Now, I live in a state that does not accept this Health Care law, yet I am forced, by financial necessity, to have it. The only thing I receive from it is a deep discount on my medications which are prescribed by...yes, you guessed it...the doctors I cannot see because they won't accept the insurance.
I have spoken to my congressman; I have spoken to the managers at my insurance company; I have gone to the company's webpage to learn that private insurance is no longer offered! I signed up for one of the top tier plans as well, foolishly thinking that my doctors would have to accept the insurance. That is what insurance is supposed to be for, right? You've got to be kidding me!
To sum things up, you must take this insurance that is practically useless. You cannot pay cash, unless you qualify for Charity Care at your local hospital. You will qualify for it if you live at or below the poverty level, which is (in my case, a family of two), $15,730 according to the Federal Poverty Guidelines.You cannot receive your medications unless you see a doctor. You cannot continue to see doctors at places like Doctor's Care because you HAVE to have a primary care doctor. Your primary care doctor will not take the new health care plan. And so it goes...around and around and around.
Is it any wonder that people have high blood pressure, are depressed, want to scream? Of course not!
When something is this broken, it is past time we all stand up and say that we will not take this anymore!
The same people who passed this horrible plan in the middle of the night are the same ones who vote themselves raises, do very little to earn them, receive better healthcare coverage than the average American citizen, who pays for them to serve them, receives money from big corporations, lobbyists, committees, books, speaking engagements, and tell us what is best for us, while living high on the hog!
I say it is time to take back our country and stop allowing these corrupt people to "lead" us down the road to hell on their good intentions.
