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









Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Watching Health Care Comittee discussion on CSPAN

I just had to talk about the crap that I'm hearing right now as I sit at my computer working my butt off to make a meeger income.

Firstly, there is some insurance executive explaining in detail how he raised his kids in the 60's and 70's, ZZZZZZZ, snooze fest, times have changed dude, get over it.

He is essentially elaborating the "blame the victim" mantra that's being bandied about in the media with regards to health care and the lack thereof for many Americans. I am so sick of hearing how the health care crisis is directly related to poor lifestyle choices. Yes, some folks live a bad lifestyle, smoking, drinking, cavorting, bad diet, no exercise, yeah we get it, NEXT!

What about those of us who got sick with a serious illness and yet lived a good lifestyle ? What about those of us who were genetically predisposed to getting cancer that had no direct correlation to how we were living at the time?

I do hate being lumped in with all the "baddies" and "naughty" folks who apparently are to blame for all that is wrong with the health care system.

I place the blame for the health care crisis directly on politicians and the health care industry. If they cherry pick only the healthy and deny care for their customers who get sick, aren't they the ones to blame?

How about the exorbitant costs of health care? Why is a CT scan $2400 in Los Angeles and $1500 somewhere else? Why are the uninsured charged MUCH, MUCH more than those with insurance? Why are the uninsured unable to negotiate better prices? Why aren't prices posted and known by staff when a customers who is self pay asks? Why does no one seem to know what things cost? Why do I feel like I get screwed more with costs than someone with Blue Cross? Why do my elected officials get such great insurance coverage and don't get denied for their preexisting conditions?

These issues are not being discussed on TV right now by this gentleman who is clearly living in the past. Instead, he is "blaming the victim." Gee, thanks I love hearing on a daily basis that everything is my fault, that the insurance industry and the politicians are completely blameless.
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