New 110th Congress FIX the HMO FIASCO ~ Reasonable and Affordable Universal - Social Health Care for the Citizens

 

Note: My Brother In-laws family from New Orleans, is still exiled to Texas......50 plus people - five generations of homeowners and renters that "Still" cannot get back to their beloved New Orleans.


....she has been forced to go to work "Full time" (though she should not be working full time - it is documented) to try to keep her house. She is trying to keep her life, her home and her dignity. The new health care plan through her employer will not cover her because of her preexisting conditions -- Which is what she needs medical care for.

.....he was not allowed to receive coverage for anything heart related for one year.

Published: January 14, 2007 By MILT FREUDENHEIM NYT Company Clinics Cut Health Costs
Emailed 12/27/2006 and 12/28/2006
I wrote Senator Harkin, Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and former Senator Edwards. Let's see which one, if any truly care at all. I give up on Ophra, after 10 years of writing her about my Sister. Cross your fingers, cross your toes and send out a prayer to the universe, this letter has got to get someones attention.

Dear Senator:
My widowed disabled sister is a person with radiation damage to her internal organs from treatment for cancer, a survivor of over 10 years; existing in her tired, pained and symptomatic body for the rest of her life. The second time the cancer came back she was radiated three times the amount an individual should have. Yes, it did the trick, but she is a prisoner to the after-affects of the radiation.

She is an amazing 46 year old woman, one of my three top hero's in life. My Brother In-law passed away 5 years ago from cancer leaving her a small life insurance policy. They had had some hard times and hard knocks along their 20 year marriage, plus the loving moments and good times. She promised him that she would buy a home with the life insurance, so she wouldn't have to live under the type of landlords they were basically forced to have.

She did and now she has been forced to go to work "Full time" (though she should not be working full time - it is documented) to try to keep her house. She is trying to keep her life, her home and her dignity. The new health care plan through her employer will not cover her because of her preexisting conditions -- Which is what she needs medical care for.

She can't afford to pay for private health care, she buys off the shelf medicine and gets free samples from her long time doctor, but can't see him for the most basic help, preventative treatment or for emergency care -- she instead eats, pays property taxes (late now), house payments, utilities, etc.

This woman has spent a great deal of her adult life dealing with doctors because of the past two cancers that were initially misdiagnosed and the radiation damage to her internal organs.

Endless - endless years of barriers, red tape, discrimination and negligence. As well as the use of very disturbing practices to determine eligibility for services.... From Iowa's Social Security office, Dept. of Human Services and the Dept. of Rehab Services.

My Sister has given back to society a thousand times over, she is the kind of neighbor one loves to have and she would give her last dime to help someone else. And she did just that -- for her deceased husbands family when they lost everything in Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans.

She pushes her body to brink's that we take for granted and give no second thought to....like eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom and walking. I think that is why she is still here. I love her, she's my little sister and she deserves better.

I want my sister to be among millions of the healthy, the heard and the headed towards better. Not to be among millions that are hovering, harmed and headed to homelessness or worse.

By the way, my sister is also one of the women that Dow Corning is hoping will go away too -- a sham class action suit started over 16 years ago, that just waits for all of its victims -- women to die.

Please, can anyone or anything seriously help her without sending her into another health crisis? What is the answer? Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
____________________

Sister Of
_____________________

PS....People like my sister deserve so much better.

CC: Senator Harkin, Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and former Senator Edwards

~END~

Note: We are scraping together some money towards my sister's property taxes....our families finances have been extremely strained this year. Otherwise, I would do what I have always been able and allowed to do....help my family with their financial concerns or crisis. This year did not get better, for many, many people.

Note: When my husbands employer changed their health insurance company several years ago, he was not allowed to receive coverage for anything heart related for one year.

Even though his heart attack and treatment had been five years prior, with only a routine checkup to have his Cardiologist check his stints, we had to pay out of pocket for his visits, otherwise he didn't go. It was like living on HMO egg shells for basically one year while we could only hope that he didn't suffer anything heart related.

The reason he needed health care...to prevent problems to his health. How in gods name could we prevent a medical problem with his heart, if it was going to happen, it would happen. Couldn't seal him in a bubble.

I was appalled that my husband had to sign a form for the new (corporate HMO) essentially agreeing with the company -- that he not receive health insurance for this one thing.

One thing that is related to other health needs. Oh like teeth for instance, he lost all of his. I wanted to fight this absurd insurance restriction, but because my husband was stressed by the clause and worried he'd be denied other help, I had to back down.

HMO's need to be dissolved, Universal - Social Health Care needs to be instituted by a source not driven by profits and greed. The rich will buy their own anyway, because they can. HMO's simply keep people on a sick merry-go-round, while getting richer.

Everyday I witness the disparity caused by HMO's; the cost of it, the lack of it, the restrictions of it and the "Accidentally On Purpose" intermittent lapse of prescription med's because the insurance company disagrees with the doctors treatment...all thrust upon people who "Need" health care to thrive.

Cobra is an expensive Oxymoron and Comprehensive monetarily targets the preexisting condition.

Yep, it's time for Universal Social health care. Everyone pitches in, that means the top 1% too. Social safety nets do make healthier lives, do add quality of life and do what reckless profit driven CEO's and greedy politicians cannot. They cannot exercise true mercy, deep compassion and reasonable empathy for "The Many."