My Uncle was a good man. He was loyal to his wife and patiently cared
for her quadriplegic son. He was Christian in the old fashioned sense
of being kind and generous. He worked hard as a appliance repair man,
and his customers trusted him. He was quiet and gentle and loving. And
he died six months ago.
My uncle never thought to take care of himself. He had been in pain for years, but didn't bother to have it checked out. When it became too much to bear, his wife took him to the emergency room. They told him he had cancer. That it filled his entire abdomen. That he had less than a month to live.
And then they told him they could not help him, that he should just go home and wait to die. You see, my uncle's insurance, which he had paid into for decades, saw no point in paying for care for a man who could not be saved. And he was a bit too young for Medicare. The hospital wouldn't be paid, so there was nothing they were willing to do. He went to a second hospital, and was told the same thing. He wasn't offered any additional effort, any hospice, any real help at all.
His wife was heartbroken and terrified. She had NO idea how to take care of him. What would he need? How would they deal with the pain? Was there absolutely nothing that could be done? Panicked, she got on the phone and called the local teaching hospital, and they, thank the gods, knew what to do.
They put her in touch with a patient advocate, who convinced the insurance company that they damn well were going to pay for whatever he needed. The advocate arranged to have him admitted to the teaching hospital and to have appropriate tests done. When their last ditch efforts were clearly failing, she arranged for him to have the equipment and medication he needed at home. She educated his caregivers. She let them know they were not alone.
My aunt was told that this advocate position was created by Obamacare. Most of my family is conservative, but not at all politically aware. They had thought that Obamacare was something to fear. Now they know better.
My Uncle died at home, with his family, in no pain, with no fear. His last actions were to give a thumbs up to his brother and say, "I'm good". That wouldn't have happened without that advocate's loving work. And that is now what Obamacare means to my family.
Mark E. Anderson wrote a diary today about his first experience with Obamacare being a free physical. When I read it, I knew I had to share my experience. I hope others will continue the trend. This program is about to change our lives. We should document the experience.
No matter what else the President does or does not do, I will always be grateful for this.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/21/1232709/-And-here-s-my-first-experience-with-Obamacare?detail=email My uncle never thought to take care of himself. He had been in pain for years, but didn't bother to have it checked out. When it became too much to bear, his wife took him to the emergency room. They told him he had cancer. That it filled his entire abdomen. That he had less than a month to live.
And then they told him they could not help him, that he should just go home and wait to die. You see, my uncle's insurance, which he had paid into for decades, saw no point in paying for care for a man who could not be saved. And he was a bit too young for Medicare. The hospital wouldn't be paid, so there was nothing they were willing to do. He went to a second hospital, and was told the same thing. He wasn't offered any additional effort, any hospice, any real help at all.
His wife was heartbroken and terrified. She had NO idea how to take care of him. What would he need? How would they deal with the pain? Was there absolutely nothing that could be done? Panicked, she got on the phone and called the local teaching hospital, and they, thank the gods, knew what to do.
They put her in touch with a patient advocate, who convinced the insurance company that they damn well were going to pay for whatever he needed. The advocate arranged to have him admitted to the teaching hospital and to have appropriate tests done. When their last ditch efforts were clearly failing, she arranged for him to have the equipment and medication he needed at home. She educated his caregivers. She let them know they were not alone.
My aunt was told that this advocate position was created by Obamacare. Most of my family is conservative, but not at all politically aware. They had thought that Obamacare was something to fear. Now they know better.
My Uncle died at home, with his family, in no pain, with no fear. His last actions were to give a thumbs up to his brother and say, "I'm good". That wouldn't have happened without that advocate's loving work. And that is now what Obamacare means to my family.
Mark E. Anderson wrote a diary today about his first experience with Obamacare being a free physical. When I read it, I knew I had to share my experience. I hope others will continue the trend. This program is about to change our lives. We should document the experience.
No matter what else the President does or does not do, I will always be grateful for this.
Fri Aug 23, 2013 at 09:18 AM PDT
Kentuckians hate Obamacare but love it by another name
Kentucky is geared up with their health exchanges. They are now informing residents of how to get access to health insurance. They market their Obamacare state exchange under the Kynect name. The following reported encounter with a Kentuckian shows the dangers of being misinformed.
A middle-aged man in a red golf shirt shuffles up to a small folding table with gold trim, in a booth adorned with a flotilla of helium balloons, where government workers at the Kentucky State Fair are hawking the virtues of Kynect, the state’s health benefit exchange established by Obamacare.More on Obamacare—or Kynect—below the fold.
The man is impressed. "This beats Obamacare I hope," he mutters to one of the workers.
“Do I burst his bubble?” wonders Reina Diaz-Dempsey, overseeing the operation. She doesn't. If he signs up, it's a win-win, whether he knows he's been ensnared by Obamacare or not.
Right Wing Republicans have so maligned the Affordable Care Act
(Obamacare) that they actually began to believe their own lying and
misinforming rhetoric. Fortunately all the data suggest that Obamacare is actually working.
Americans will now have brochures with actual plans and options to
choose from. They can now compare reality with the lies they heard.
Anyone wondering why Right Wing Republicans are in overdrive to shut the government down lest Obamacare is defunded realizes the eyes of many Americans are about to be opened. The millions that will see not a giveaway but help in getting access to affordable health insurance, screenings, and health care for the first time in years are also voters. They are voters that will wonder how a politician could be so convincingly evil to have wanted them denied something many needed for their health care or financial survival.
Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is adamant that Obamacare be defunded. But Kentucky citizens are yearning for health insurance.
The reelection of President Obama which makes it impossible to kill Obamacare before implementation is the best thing that has happened to the uninsured, the poor, and the working middle class. The pilfering of the last disposable dollar by insurance companies will eventually end. Medical bankruptcy will cease and families’ economic stabilization will begin.
Anyone wondering why Right Wing Republicans are in overdrive to shut the government down lest Obamacare is defunded realizes the eyes of many Americans are about to be opened. The millions that will see not a giveaway but help in getting access to affordable health insurance, screenings, and health care for the first time in years are also voters. They are voters that will wonder how a politician could be so convincingly evil to have wanted them denied something many needed for their health care or financial survival.
Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is adamant that Obamacare be defunded. But Kentucky citizens are yearning for health insurance.
The crush of people don't greet Diaz-Dempsey with tea party dogma or amateur constitutional scholarship. No one is there to complain about the individual mandate or heckle about death panels. They have questions.It is not all roses in Kentucky. The tea party has been calling people telling them not to sign up because they falsely claim there are no real health insurance exchanges. Many low income workers are against it because they were lied to about what the costs would be.
They wonder if they could get coverage despite having a pre-existing medical condition, how much it will cost them. They ask if Indiana has a similar program, or if this was only for Kentucky. Could they just enroll their child? They talk about their sons and daughters, neighbors going without health care, and ask about the subsidies.
The vast majority are relieved to learn about the health exchange. Linda Parrish, 47, showed up at the table and gushed to Diaz-Dempsey: "This is what I've been waiting on." Parrish has health insurance, but her best friend doesn't.
Christopher McClure hobbles through the doors, his inner thigh hurting from what he suspects are a pair of spider bites. He is not employed and does not have health insurance. His wife Michelle, 29, works as an assistant manager at a pizza chain making $12,000 a year. She also has no insurance and would qualify for the Medicaid expansion. But she's against Obamacare, convinced that it will wipe out her meager earnings. “Next enrollment season," she says, "they’re going to sock it to me.”The McClures under Obamacare would be fully subsidized. They are so misinformed that they have no clue that Obamacare is that one leg on the stool that removes a financial burden that is materially affecting their access to real financial independence. It makes sense to remove the health care anchor from people’s neck giving them the wherewithal to go seek a job or make their own job.
The reelection of President Obama which makes it impossible to kill Obamacare before implementation is the best thing that has happened to the uninsured, the poor, and the working middle class. The pilfering of the last disposable dollar by insurance companies will eventually end. Medical bankruptcy will cease and families’ economic stabilization will begin.
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