Healthcare and Vulnerability

Nursed a cold down at VPC last week with their chicken noodle matza ball soup and their festive decorations. They seem to have gotten the memo that you can have decorations up and not play the same Christmas CD on repeat all month. Happily the Beatles are on the airwaves. I'm keeping a nice little zone of personal space around me with my nose blowing.

Sarah MK posted a great article of facebook today that I want to share here. Elizabeth Edwards wrote the article in August 2008.

For the most part in this hopefully short season of voluntary unemployment I'm mercifully nearly free of worry about the future and not afraid of whatever is ahead job wise. More than that I'm excited! I feel at peace with my decision. I'm relieved and 3 months in free of regrets. I haven't seconded guessed myself once. I think these are signs of a good decision (and a pretty privileged life). I've had an amazing Fall and am enjoying a quiet Advent.

However, it does bother me to be nearly uninsured. I think about it at least once a day. Somedays I think about it several times a day.

Most of my friends have been through uninsured seasons. Long ones. Some of us have paid monthly for catastrophic coverage and paid for doctors visits out of pocket, some have not. Some voted to pay for their kids coverage instead of their own. All of the people I know who are or were uninsured put off medical attention for non-catastrophic ailments until they were insured again. Livable, but painful!

The main reason I feel vulnerable is my allergies and my lungs. I have allergic asthma, which means that my asthma is trigged by the things I'm allergic too. Before I left my job I was getting two allergy shots once a month. I am allergic to enough things to fill two vials of serum. I've had allergies since I was a little kid. Bad enough that I spent half of first grade home from school with bronchitis and strep throat until the doctors figured out that I had allergies not juvenile diabetes or arthritis. I was still susceptible to bronchitis and I've already written about my experience being hospitalized for pneumonia in highschool. I got allergy shots for about 10 years and then I didn't start getting them again until 3 or 4 years ago. Some people grow out of their allergies. Changing locations helps too. After being out here for over a decade they started creeping up again so I went back on the shots. My allergies and lung health have been very well maintained. Through environmental choices and self care and insurance coverage. I loved my last allergist, Dr. Butler and his nurse Sheryl at Group Health. The nurses at the injection room knew me by name.

I took a risk when I left my job and therefore my health insurance. At first I though I would be able to continue paying for my health insurance and allergy shots through COBRA. Not the case. Because the firm was under 20 employees when I left we (the 6 of us who left) didn't qualify. But, it was still worth it to me to leave. My last job was becoming detrimental to my health. I cracked 3 teeth last year and lost quite a bit of sleep due to stress induced insomnia. I feel like I traded my overall health and well being for health insurance.

Even with dental insurance that I paid for myself while I was employed I paid $800 out of pocket to fix my cracked teeth. And $500 out of pocket for my night guard to stop cracking my teeth. For reasons I don't understand cracked teeth are not an insurable. reason for a night guard. Whatever.

I have used my inhaler every day for the past couple of weeks. And it's clear to me that getting back on health insurance is a high priority for me in the new year. Allergies are not cancer, but it is a priority for me. I'm responsible for these lungs of mine.

I do not believe that affordable health insurance should be tied to employment.

I'm going to repeat that, I do not believe that health insurance should be tied to employment. And I don't think it should have to change, along with your doctor, every time your job changes or your employer changes plans!!

I could go on and on here - the cost, community health, etc. But, I want to write about something else today in a different post.

I got into a heated conversation recently with a friend of a family member. Meeting him for the first time we got to talking about politics and healthcare. He sited this letter. I was practically shaking during our conversation. We ended up hugging goodbye at the end. I believe in dialogue and sharing experience and listening. But I do have a little righteous, some may say self righteous, anger in me too. I think the conversation would have been more "productive" if I went into Shanti mode and asked some open ended questions instead of turning red and defensive. Live and learn.

Thankful for my body and my health and the possibility of getting back to the allergist in the New Year.

One more link - I listened to a great interview with T.R. Reid this past year on NPR. I think it's worth a listen.

I hope to see good, fair Universal Healthcare in our country in my lifetime.