I have been very lucky the past 10+ years to have good health care thru an employer- the first couple years of that was my own employment, then thru my husbands employer.
But now I am learning how screwed up our system truly is! When my husband left his job, that caused us to lose his insurance the end of that month- that was 3 days ago. His new employer does not offer health coverage yet, new company still working these things out.
So my first step was to contact our previous insurance provider about COBRA. Holy hell! they want more than double what we were paying to continue our coverage! That option is out!
So because I am disabled and receive disability benefits from Social Security, I decided to look into the Medicare option. What a freaking joke! Online, then call- told to call another number, hold 45 minutes, told to call a different number... that's the number that told me to call you! UGH! Apparently I have hospital coverage standard with my SSDI, but I have to subscribe to Part B and Part D- whater the hell those are! I try asking these questions and I get no explanations that make sense, only a bunch of mumble that I'm sure only makes sense to them! Finally take to someone who can help me understand what these are, and then I'm told the ridiculous amount of money they want for a DISABLED PERSON to get medical care! I get a minimal amount of money each month from the government, that I paid in. And they want me to give about a quarter of that back just for basic medical coverage- to be able to see my doctor! And that doesn't include the prescription coverage- that is an entirely different plan with a different cost, based on where I live. And I can't just sign up, no, that would be way to easy for these people! They want a form from my husbands employer stating I can't get coverage... since when does my husbands job have any thing to do with my disability and my need for coverage? They said something about signing up without penalty... wtf does that mean? They never did answer that question in a way I could understand it. Penalize me for trying to take care of my health? For trying to survive? Seriously, screw them! One woman asked if there was anything else she could do to help me... I said shoot me, and hung up.
I am honestly thrilled with what i thought would be the worst option of the three. The Healthcare Marketplace, or whatever they call it. I went online to check that out, entered my info and had a phone call before I was even done looking over the options. The guy was very nice and very helpful, he explained things in a way that people can understand and gave me the options I currently have... and they are the least expensive of all the options as well!
I am really upset over the whole thing with Social Security. I understand all the politics, and I hear people screaming for free healthcare, but there is a difference in someone who gets less than $1000 fixed income each month and someone who makes more than double that in a week. Disabled people should get free healthcare, at least the basic crap that is related to that disability. My medications cost roughly $500 a month without insurance- just the 2 that I need to be able to have any kind of quality of life, the 2 that keep me from being bed ridden. And my doctor won't call in prescription refills unless he sees me every 6 months, and that office visit is not cheap.
I am frustrated and fed up.
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