Guaranteed Healthcare

Dear Michael,

Patients are dollar signs to these greedy bastards, and it's been that way for awhile. The CEOs who helm these money pits don't have to worry about their welfare, or that of their families. A child shouldn't have to die because of their blatant disregard, but this has been going on for a long time.

This is what has happened to me: I have asthma which ranges from mild to severe. If anything frightens me (like last year when I nearly stepped on a large rattlesnake), I go into serious asthma attacks. Other times, if the air quality is bad, I've got problems.

So here's the fun part: (Not!) When I was on Medi-cal all of my medications were free. Then I was switched to Medicare, which then assigned me to HealthNet. I'm on Advair and have to use Albuterol sometimes. Now, in order to receive my Advair, I must pay $186.00 per month. My Nurse Practitioner was upset and decided to have me try Azmacort. Well, that was somewhere between $120-$160 per month. I'm on disability; I can't afford either of these. I've been reduced to relying on samples at the doctor's office and the staff isn't happy about that. Which means I may be cut off completely.

If I have a severe asthma attack and can't get these medications, I could die. When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, I developed pneumonia on top of the asthma. It hasn't been a fun time. I can afford to buy Albuterol; it's about $40.00.

I can't ever recall my parents having these problems. They were well insured all of their lives, and they worked hard for this insurance.

I believe that all throughout history money has been more important than living beings; but we are in a time when this is accelerating. I don't have any answers, but I believe people need to take back their rights and fight for the right for decent medical care.

Thanks so much for your time,

Megan Hamilton

So many of these stories break my heart. My mother and sister have had Breast Cancer at 40(sister) and 60 (mother). I randomly have lumps, have had several biopsies, luckily they were benign and they were covered, but now, because of this, I am 40 and I have been told because of my "History", I am no longer entitled to any coverage for annual mammograms. I recently had to pay $400 for a mammogram. If I come down with cancer (on insurance), I wonder if they will cover, or say I had a history. I have not changed insurance and have been on BCBS of Minnesota the whole time. Our State manadates annual mammograms over 40, but apparently the insurance company can still find it's own loopholes. I feel like I can no longer afford the healthcare I need and should just try not to go, for my family's fiscal benefit. I have seizures and no one knows why and I've now been referred to a specialist, who tells me the insurance will cover little if any and they can't tell me what their help will cost (????) I find this so frustrating! I can't believe it has come to this and we are supposed to be such a rich nation (something lost in the reality of the news lately). This is so maddening and I recommend we all write everyone we can think of who may be able to incite change in the system.

Kate
St. Paul, Minnesota

Healthcare reform must start and end with government fixing its own debacle of Medicare and Medicaid. These two systems are by far the number one cause of why our commerical insurance system looks as it does; why hospitals charges are what they are; and why providers are so fearful of MORE government intervention. Fix what we are currently doing and much of the "sky is falling" scenarios will go away...and we will still have our private and efficient system.
menopauza