Another balmy day in Chicago, and much of the country I suspect. My dog discovered that she isn't a real fan of 15 degree weather. Mom's dog, on the other hand, while not a particular fan of the cold weather, LOVES the snow. She just plunges right in, whereas my Sasha sort of daintily walks around the snow, occasionally looking up at me like it's all my fault or something.
In news, I read an article in the Post that was particularly interesting. It was about how few "high-risk" patients - i.e., those with pre-existing conditions who couldn't get affordable coverage - are enrolling in the new plans mandated under the health care reform bill. The Post gave two examples, one of a woman who liked her plan, though she complained it was expensive, and a guy who said his plan was way too expensive.
"I don't mean to be gushy about it, but they potentially saved my life," said Maureen Murray, 50, of Arlington County, who had dropped her individual insurance policy in July 2009, after her work as a freelance video producer dried up. Murray was getting ready for a gym class in October when she "felt something go down my left side." It was a stroke. She was still at Alexandria's Mt. Vernon Hospital when a CAT-scan detected an aneurysm on the left side of her brain. She was discharged two days before Halloween with a $25,000 hospital bill.Actually, both stories are pretty damn good news. Yes, neither plan is cheap, but they're also not out of line with current fees - and at least now the plans exist. Hell, the first woman pays significantly less than I do, and I'm quickly catching up to the second man.
A friend recommended the new high-risk pool. Four days after Thanksgiving, she was approved. It will cover her surgery in January to repair her aneurysm. The premiums, she said, are steep - $358 a month even after a rate reduction in January. "I'm in rough financial position, but ... I can get another job," Murray said. Without that insurance, "I might not have that opportunity."
On the other hand, Will Wilson, 57, of Chicago, said he is "really, really, really, really discouraged." After he was diagnosed with AIDS in 2002, he discovered that his insurance at the time paid only $1,500 for medicine each year. His AIDS drugs cost $3,000 a month. Paying for the rest, he ended up in bankruptcy. Now Wilson, a tourist trolley guide, gets help from the federal AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
But with no coverage for other kinds of care, Wilson remembers tears streaming down his face in February 2009, the night that he watched Obama vow to Congress, "Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year!" Wilson became an activist for health reform, circulating petitions, going to demonstrations. And the day after the president signed the bill into law, he was featured in a Chicago Sun-Times column quoted as saying, "I've had a grin on my face all day" at the prospect of the high-risk pool he could join. That was before the rates were announced in July, and Wilson discovered that the premium - nearly $600 per month - "was almost as much as my rent. It was like, no way! I was floored."
I don't think people realize that this is even available yet. It's just not terribly easy getting information about health care reform and how it's impacting our coverage. I'm trying to find info about when and how the annual limit ban is going to affect my prescription drug coverage (currently limited to $1500 a year by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield). My insurance doesn't even come close to paying for the asthma drugs I need - that's why I buy what I can in Europe, where things are absurdly cheaper than here for the same drugs made by the same companies. It'd be nice if someone would tell us what's going on with our plans, and what to expect when. That might shift public opinion.
