About me

I am a 41-year-old female living in Los Angeles, CA.



In 2004, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 34.



At the time I had full coverage health insurance through COBRA as I had recently become happily self-employed. I was fortunate in having this insurance (BC/BS of CA) during the entire course of diagnosis/treatment and follow-ups.



In 2006, I was abruptly dropped (my former employer had changed plans) and subsequently found myself unable to obtain insurance from any carrier anywhere in the US. I have been essentially "naked" since 2006, paying for what I can out of pocket and going to any free clinics that I can find. I went to a Remote Area Medical free clinic here in LA in May 2010 and even became a guinea pig for a pharmaceutical company in 2008/2009 just to get a modicum of care.



My greatest hope is that America will eventually have Universal Health Care for All. We are the only industrialized nation on Earth that does not care for the sickest and weakest among us. If you are sick and don't have the money and don't qualify for state or Federal programs, like myself, then you are shit out of luck.



Since losing my insurance I have been subjected to a lot of ill-treatment from health care professionals and just a tiny fraction have been sympathetic. The lack of compassion I have met on this journey is truly shocking. Sometimes I find it hard to believe I am in America sometimes.



This blog is my small way of trying to document my struggle and hopefully get the word out that the system, as it stands now, is only meant for the insured and wealthy among us.



"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." - Dr. Martin Luther King









Thursday, April 16, 2009

Cancer survivor without health insurance? You're screwed!

Yes folks, once you lose insurance or your employer doesn't offer any and you have a preexisting condition, you are essentially on your own and treated like crap!

Yes, I said it, total crap. Sure if you are self-pay you might get a 20-30% discount like I do at UCLA, but it doesn't even make a dent in the bills, and when you earn about $22,000 a year, a $2443.00 PET/CT is a huge chunk. Put it on credit cards? Sure, just file for bankruptcy in a year or so, what's the big whoop right?

End of rant.

By the way, got an additional bill from UCLA for a doc I've never heard of. She wants $82.00 additional bucks from me on top of the nearly $300 I already paid the lab. She probably just signed her name to a damn form somewhere and bingo, almost $100 bucks extra! Sure glad I can pay for her mani and pedi this week, too bad I can't afford to buy food.

Oh well.

End of additional rant!

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