I have some mafia-negotiated insurance though my union job. I have 80/20 for most things, plus a co-pay, and then (of course) any "specialty" doctor costs more. (And god help me if I accidentally go out of network.) So I guess I'm doing pretty good, except for the fact that I can't afford to actually go to the doctor, because nothing is free, even though I pay $600/month.
So, Medica is a new concept to me. I don't have it, but my boyfriend and my daughter both do. And they both get fucked. A lot. In the not-fun way.
My daughter had surgery on both of her feet, under MY insurance, and it didn't work. She still can't walk. Now that she has Medica, her next, necessary surgery is absolutely unaffordable. No way in hell will she get that surgery. I can't help her pay, and she exists far below the poverty line.
My boyfriend had to buy market-place Medica. He has Type 1 diabetes. Medica doesn't pay for his insulin. Let me just repeat that one more time: MEDICA DOESN'T PAY FOR HIS INSULIN!! Insulin is the one, fucking thing that keeps him alive, and this piece of shit company refuses to pay for ANY of it. Of course, they'll pay a portion of his Percocet prescription, because pharmaceutical companies need to make bank, but not for essential, life-saving medication.
(Oh, and they dropped him RIGHT AFTER HE HAD HIS FOOT AMPUTATED, without any previous warning that his insurance didn't go through. So he got up, pulled his own IV out, and hopped to his truck and drove home. Fucking predatory corporate medicine and insurance companies.)
I'm not saying that all Americans should have free health insurance, but all Americans should have affordable access to health care. Rich people should NOT get better care than people who have a regular job. Most people don't have a savings account balance, let alone a pile of money to shell out for medical procedures. And on a fundamental level, a large percentage of Americans can't afford physical therapy and mental health services. My own children don't want to go to the doctor when they're ill, because they can't afford the leftover 20% and the cost of medication, even after insurance. I am a a single parent, so I can't pay the after-bills for three people. I can barely afford my own.
Bottom line: American health care sucks right now. People are suffering everywhere. No wonder there's an opioid epidemic - the numbness from the drugs takes away the real-time pain of life. Maybe if the government would control insurance companies, big pharma, and corporate medicine, Americans could afford to take care of themselves. Until then, American's are just going to get worse, all because of the mighty dollar.
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