Update on my health insurance situation: Anthem Blue Cross and Pacificare have turned me down; Kaiser’s taking its sweet time coming down with a decision. In the meantime, I’m still paying $400 a month to continue my old USC health insurance — but even that’ll end in less than 5 months.
Think it’s strange that a physically healthy, relatively young, working girl like me can’t get health insurance — at any price? So you know, 80 percent of those without health insurance work. That’s one of the important facts in the new documentary Critical Condition, which aired on PBS this week. Trudy Lieberman provides a review of the film, which I’d totally watch if PBS streamed it online –
Even those with insurance sometimes can’t get coverage for the very medical conditions they need the insurance for in the first place. Glenn Hall pays $8400 a year for a Blue Cross Blue Shield policy — but still isn’t covered for the very things he gets sick for. Why not? Glenn had a kidney stone once — so his insurance company slapped an exclusion on diseases of the kidney and urinary tract. Now Glenn pays for full coverage though he doesn’t get it — and can’t change insurers due to pre-existing conditions.
Such exclusions are the gaps in medical coverage new Cali bills are trying to close up. 10 bills that seek to expand what insurers must pay for await Schwarzenegger’s signature. Read the article to find out how Schwarzenegger “must balance improved coverage with the risk of driving costs so high that people can’t afford it.”
Of course, for the second time, Schwarzenegger just vetoed Senate Bill 840 (PDF), Senator Kuehl’s California Universal Health Care Act — which promised full, universal healthcare for ALL Californians. Nonprofit OneCareNow, which has been pushing for SB 840, says “we’ll be back” come February 2009 — but the veto’s a bitter disappointment indeed.
And unfortunately, while McCain’s health care proposals are horrendous, Obama’s isn’t all that much better — mainly because it’s very short on specifics.
My next health care post’ll have more cheerful info ’bout what we can do ’bout all this. Promise.
Update, 10/19/08: Kaiser’s officially turned me down too.
Siel, my wife and I were paying for private BCBS insurance when living in Santa Monica. We paid $370 a month for both of us, with HUGE deductibles. But late last year, when I was first misdiagnosed with leukemia, and then this summer when I had an actual melanoma cancer removed, I have now paid out over $10K in “extra, uncovered” expenses in addition to that $370 a month. I guess my point is that since if you even do get approved you will be paying for anything major anyway like I did, could you just find a catastrophe-only insurance plan that covers you in case of dire emergency? We have a good plan now (wife is a public school teacher here in NM) but if I had known then what I know now, I probably would have just found catastrophe-only insurance, as the insurance I paid for all year barely covered anything anyway. Just my 2 cents…
Comment by David — October 4, 2008 @ 9:58 am
Hi, Siel. As a freelance writer, I get my insurance through my local chamber of commerce. Massachusetts has pretty good rules about companies not being able to exclude pre-existing conditions. (I was still shocked, however, to see that my new health plan doesn’t cover pain clinic visits. Why would they deny someone treatment for pain? I guess it’s just easier to prescribe pain meds and leave it at that. I feel lucky that that’s not a service that I need.) Anyway, if you are currently making your living as a writer or have a business of some other kind, I would definitely encourage you to check out the local chamber. I think that the American Association of University Women (I am not sure that’s the exact name) also has some sort of insurance program, or did so at one time. Good luck! It’s absurd that we live in a country where one’s health insurance is tied to employment.
Comment by Roz Cummins — October 5, 2008 @ 8:51 am
If you didn’t catch it on tv this weekend, PBS is streaming Critical Condition online until November 11: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/criticalcondition/fullfilm.html
Comment by M — October 6, 2008 @ 6:33 am
David and Roz — Thank you both for your personal and thoughtful suggestions. I will pursue both paths!!
M — Yr awesome. I’m off to watch this now!
Comment by Siel — October 6, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
David — I’ve found out those with pre-existing conditions are generally not “qualified” for catastrophic health insurance :( Blue Cross and Pacificare both turned me down for all policies, including catastrophic.
Roz — I checked with the local chamber of commerce. Not only does it not offer health insurance, it actively opposes universal health care :(
Comment by Siel — November 6, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Ugh, seriously? Hmmm… Can you join a freelancers group to get group insurance? I know there are some out there that you should check into. I will ask around to see what others have. Good luck Siel, that sucks…
Comment by David — November 6, 2008 @ 6:44 pm