Me and Politics

I was pushing Health Care Reform in a big way on my FB page. I probably made more than a few angry at me, and perhaps people are now even hiding my posts. I'm very disappointed in what came out of this. We got a bit of Health INSURANCE Reform. I don't think it's enough, or that it will work very well. But, it's a start. I'm letting it go to regroup and come back for another day, feeling brighter that Reid has announced there will be a vote for a Public Option in a few months. I'm not holding my breath, it might be just a few words to pacify the Left.

I considered my self a Moderate until Health Care Reform. My first husband (and his family) were liberals (bordering on radical) and I had politics shoved down my throat repeatedly. I had the Bible used against me, and I learned to shut up if I didn't agree. When I left that marriage, I didn't even want to hear about politics. When it was time to vote, I read up a bit and made up my own mind in private. I supported GW Bush during 9-11. And life happened.

Desirae was born, and I had awesome insurance. I had her in the hospital where I worked, and we never received a bill. We had a few copays for all the technical procedures, but nothing we couldn't handle. Then we moved to Minn. And we found out that getting benefits for the whole family was becoming more difficult.

There were times when Desi and I were not insured at all. And just as I was getting up signed up for Minnesota Care, Dave's family went into crisis mode, and we had to move to Oregon. Dave's mom died unexpectedly, and his Dad actually got a bill from the hospital. Poor man, had bone cancer, was not going to be able to meet his mortgage, and he gets a bill from the hospital for pronouncing his wife dead. And she probably died because he refused to call an ambulance because it would cost $1000 (that's what he said). They were on Medicare with secondary Blue Cross coverage.

I took a job with Sacred Heart/Peace Health as a housekeeper, thinking that the benefits would outweigh the fact that I did not like cleaning all that much. Guess again. I got the standard $1000 deductible/80% coverage. Okay, better than nothing. I had to pay $200 a month to cover the family. Desirae was 2 1/2. Insurance sure had changed. I went from no premium/no deductible/90% coverage to this in less than 2 yrs. Then Dave secured a good job, lots of overtime, average insurance, and we felt that I could finally quit my job. We bought the house we had been working towards, and started a new life. 5 months later his company laid off 70%. None of us had insurance, and Cobra wanted $1200/month. Dave was on costly meds to control ulcerative colitis.

Life was not good for a few months. President Obama promised change, that things would get fixed, so we voted for him. And I started taking an interest in politics. On my own, making up my own mind. For the first time in many years.

We also over see the care of Dave's brother, Barry, who sustained a head injury in his early 20s. He is 48 today. So, we are responsible for Barry, and for Desirae (age 6 w/ Downs Syndrome). I started thinking about what our lives would look like without SSI and Medicaid. Because now Desirae is also covered though these programs. It's pretty difficult for me to work, having Desirae. She gets sick often, and takes longer to recover than the average child. Yet, managed those 2 years I worked at Sacred Heart. Without SSI and Medicaid, Barry would be living with us as well. He takes a cupful of meds every day. And he needs constant supervision as well. He does things like forget that he's cooking or lighting a cigarette off the toaster. He would be living with us if it were not for social programs. Not only would I not be able to work, but we would have to pay for his meds and his medical care. This is what people experienced before SSI. There are political parties formed (Regessives and Libertarians) that want to do away with SSI and Medicare. Holy Crap! Do they have any idea of the poverty that would happen?

Many other countries in the world have Universal Health Care. We send people over to study and look at their systems. I've heard no other country studies our system for implementation. That says a lot.

Recently the State of Oregon cut Medicaid benefits to people like Barry, and we were asked to pay for his dental work and dentures. I called our state officials to plead his case, and thankfully Medicaid will cover it....this time. Shortly there after, Dave was handed a $7,000 estimate for his needed dental work. It just never ends!

We arrive at our ideas because of the life we lead. I've not had a sheltered life. I've not had the help and support of family on a consistent basis. I've worked hard, am independent, and have very little to show for it. Except that I'm happy, and satisfied. I KNOW from my childhood that material wealth is a trade off with inner peace and happiness. The one area that keeps irritating me is health care. So... this should explain why I have the views that I do. And I will continue to do my part in the fight for Single Payer. However small it may be :)