The Patriotic Earthling (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orbitaldiamonds) wrote2009-08-13 09:13 pm
orbitaldiamonds) wrote2009-08-13 09:13 pm
Because this needs separate pimpage.
From liz_marcs at LiveJournal:
I'm so glad she's done this. There've been conversations popping up all over LJ, DW, and elsewhere about people's experiences with health care in their respective countries, but this is a great place for people to tell their personal stories.
Anyhow, here's mine.
Category: American, Uninsured/Underinsured
In a lot of low-wage jobs, like retail, you have to have been at your job (usually full-time, part-timers tend to get little or no benefits based on the individual employer) for a year to qualify for benefits. Even to be able to use your accrued sick and vacation time.
I got sent home from the Navy at the boot-camp level because I had a pre-existing condition with my back that basic training made worse. It wasn't bad enough for me to get disability benefits, but it was bad enough for me to not be able to pass the PT test, and bad enough for me to be sent home.
Anyhow, I got out of the Navy in February of 2002. I started at Wal-Mart in March of 2002 and was there for a year. So no insurance then. Then I worked at a grocery store for about a year. Again, no insurance. After that, I started at Dillard's, where I worked for almost two and a half years. So I did get insurance once I'd been there a year.
I was incredibly lucky to not have a major illness or injury while I was uninsured. I had a few colds, but I rested when I could, drank more orange juice, and developed a NyQuil habit (half-joking).
While I was insured by Dillard's (and before, but now I could see a doctor about it) I started having this feeling of being sick-in-my-throat. My stomach didn't feel nauseous, but I had the feeling in my throat that I might be sick. I'm normally good at sucking up an illness and moving on, but this was a horrible feeling, and I really didn't want to get sick at work. It wasn't until I was nearly out of excused absences (there aren't many) that I went to see my doctor and actually use my insurance. He told me I had acid reflux, though I'd almost never experienced heartburn--though I did start to notice it after he told me I had it (wtf?).
So he prescribed three fills of a medication that my insurance brought from $125 to $75. 30-day supplies, I think. There was no way, working in retail with all my other bills (rent, car payment, food, gas, car insurance, credit cards, student loans, etc.) that I could do that. The first set, I took as directed. The second set (which I was just barely able to get), I took one every other day instead of every day. I didn't get the third set because I just couldn't afford it. And then, after a few weeks, I got really bad throat sick and I was out of absences, but even my normally cold-hearted supervisor saw how ill I looked and when I asked her if I could go to see my doctor, she said, "don't worry about the absence, I'm sending you home." So I went back and he gave me some samples of some other medication, and then told me to take Prilosec. W.T.F.
Anyhow, I'm married now, and my husband is in the US Army. It's taken me awhile to go through I'm entitled to care and I'm worthy of care (mental health issues, which I'm also getting help with through Tricare) and get care, but I've done it. Haven't gotten much help with the physical issues (though I haven't been the best at describing them), but the two prescriptions I've gotten so far--an iron supplement and Celexa--all I had to do was show my military ID and pick them up. The pharmacy at the on-post hospital doesn't even have a cash register. It's all covered by the DOD and Tricare.
Personally, I think all Americans should get at least what I'm getting. I've had two sets of labs done and didn't pay a penny out of pocket. I have the kind of Tricare that does have a cost, but it's taken right out of my husband's LES, and everything I've needed so far has been covered.
Why not have a public system that every American automatically is entitled to care under at birth or naturalization, and then have private insurance for those who want it? Everybody would win. (Except Medical Industrial Complex executives, but they've had their day.)
Project: Time for a Little Truth, Baby
This information will make you cry (Americans Only: Uninsured and Underinsured.) As it turns out, even having insurance doesn't particularly help you if you become catastrophically ill.
This information will enrage Americans (Countries with Government Health Schemes: Talk About Your Health Insurance/Health Care Here, natch.) Why should it enrage Americans? Because I imagine there are a ton of Americans out there going, "Yes, yes. We want this. We don't care which one, just pick one!"
I'm so glad she's done this. There've been conversations popping up all over LJ, DW, and elsewhere about people's experiences with health care in their respective countries, but this is a great place for people to tell their personal stories.
Anyhow, here's mine.
Category: American, Uninsured/Underinsured
In a lot of low-wage jobs, like retail, you have to have been at your job (usually full-time, part-timers tend to get little or no benefits based on the individual employer) for a year to qualify for benefits. Even to be able to use your accrued sick and vacation time.
I got sent home from the Navy at the boot-camp level because I had a pre-existing condition with my back that basic training made worse. It wasn't bad enough for me to get disability benefits, but it was bad enough for me to not be able to pass the PT test, and bad enough for me to be sent home.
Anyhow, I got out of the Navy in February of 2002. I started at Wal-Mart in March of 2002 and was there for a year. So no insurance then. Then I worked at a grocery store for about a year. Again, no insurance. After that, I started at Dillard's, where I worked for almost two and a half years. So I did get insurance once I'd been there a year.
I was incredibly lucky to not have a major illness or injury while I was uninsured. I had a few colds, but I rested when I could, drank more orange juice, and developed a NyQuil habit (half-joking).
While I was insured by Dillard's (and before, but now I could see a doctor about it) I started having this feeling of being sick-in-my-throat. My stomach didn't feel nauseous, but I had the feeling in my throat that I might be sick. I'm normally good at sucking up an illness and moving on, but this was a horrible feeling, and I really didn't want to get sick at work. It wasn't until I was nearly out of excused absences (there aren't many) that I went to see my doctor and actually use my insurance. He told me I had acid reflux, though I'd almost never experienced heartburn--though I did start to notice it after he told me I had it (wtf?).
So he prescribed three fills of a medication that my insurance brought from $125 to $75. 30-day supplies, I think. There was no way, working in retail with all my other bills (rent, car payment, food, gas, car insurance, credit cards, student loans, etc.) that I could do that. The first set, I took as directed. The second set (which I was just barely able to get), I took one every other day instead of every day. I didn't get the third set because I just couldn't afford it. And then, after a few weeks, I got really bad throat sick and I was out of absences, but even my normally cold-hearted supervisor saw how ill I looked and when I asked her if I could go to see my doctor, she said, "don't worry about the absence, I'm sending you home." So I went back and he gave me some samples of some other medication, and then told me to take Prilosec. W.T.F.
Anyhow, I'm married now, and my husband is in the US Army. It's taken me awhile to go through I'm entitled to care and I'm worthy of care (mental health issues, which I'm also getting help with through Tricare) and get care, but I've done it. Haven't gotten much help with the physical issues (though I haven't been the best at describing them), but the two prescriptions I've gotten so far--an iron supplement and Celexa--all I had to do was show my military ID and pick them up. The pharmacy at the on-post hospital doesn't even have a cash register. It's all covered by the DOD and Tricare.
Personally, I think all Americans should get at least what I'm getting. I've had two sets of labs done and didn't pay a penny out of pocket. I have the kind of Tricare that does have a cost, but it's taken right out of my husband's LES, and everything I've needed so far has been covered.
Why not have a public system that every American automatically is entitled to care under at birth or naturalization, and then have private insurance for those who want it? Everybody would win. (Except Medical Industrial Complex executives, but they've had their day.)
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