Health reform and one man's struggle
Filed under: Budgets, Entrepreneurship, Insurance, Saving Money, Health
Health care reform means more than wonk talk to Jeremiah Hansen
Hansen, 28, has no health insurance. He worked for years as a waiter, but the restaurant didn't provide coverage, and he couldn't afford a policy on his own pay as a waiter.
Then, in 2007, Hansen was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Every health insurer turned him down for coverage. His out-of-pocket costs for diabetes treatment, meanwhile, run into the thousands of dollars per year.
As health reform heats up in Washington, D.C., and across America, policy wonks and politicians are debating how to pay for an overhaul, and what role that government will play.
Beneath the rhetoric, though, lies a vital but often-overlooked feature of reform: Proposed legislation would prohibit health insurers from rejecting people who have pre-existing medical conditions, anything from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis.
People like Jeremiah Hansen.
The American Diabetes Association says 18 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, and many can't get affordable coverage -- or any coverage at all.
America's Health Insurance Plans, a major trade group, has agreed that if everyone is required to have insurance, the industry would no longer refuse to cover people with chronic conditions. And no longer would insurers charge a person higher premiums based on their health status. Those changes would hit Hansen's sweet spot.
He now owns the restaurant he used to work for, a barbecue place in Holly Hill, Fla. The business is just breaking even. His condition, though, remains a constant financial worry.
Hansen has pursued creative ways to save money.
Buying two bottles of insulin would normally cost him a total of $375 per month, but Hansen found a pharmacy online to buy them from Canada, where prices are much lower: $120 per month.
He purchases his diabetes test strips also online, through a wholesaler, at $60 for 100 strips. He uses eight to 10 a day to check his blood sugar. Then there are needles and alcohol swaps to buy."That's just basic survival,'' he says.
Still, Hansen hasn't seen a physician in more than a year. A doctor visit, along with the bloodwork, would cost him at least $500 every three or four months, he says.
"I'm rolling the dice.'' he says. "Hopefully nothing is wrong with me.'' He recently used a $20 home kit to do an A1c blood glucose test. "My body hurts a lot,'' he says.
When he took over the restaurant and sought group insurance for himself, his wife and children, and three managers, the cost was $2,200 a month, with a high deductible. And it wouldn't cover any of his diabetes care for a year. After that, it would cover only 20% of his insulin cost.
The National Federation of Independent Business, a trade group, says that while it opposes some reform proposals, ending insurance discrimination practices against people with chronic disease would be a big help to small firms.
Health reform could mean Hansen obtaining insurance at an affordable rate as an individual. Reform could mean buying a reasonably-priced employer plan as well. "I'm not asking for the best care in the world, but just something,'' he says. "We all should receive care without having to fight to survive.''
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-25-2009 @ 3:36PM
Mary Collins said...
Jeremiah and I are in the same boat, although I'm in SC. I could get a SC Blue Cross/Blue Shield high-risk policy with little coverage for $12,000/year. So I roll the dice and do my best by myself.
Politicians have to realize the games they play have consequences for real people. If they're not willing for all of us to have affordable access to health care, they should forfeit the tax-payer-provided policies they enjoy.
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8-04-2009 @ 2:58PM
christal said...
I am widow who was caught in the mortgage crisis when my husband lost his job in 07 we lost our house, heathcare coverage and evenually i lost my husband from cardio vascular disease. The stress caused his blood pressure to up shot sky high and we didn't have proper health insurance so we used county hospitals and emergency rooms to provide care but because his care was divide into various hospital stays some information was not followed up by the doctors. His last hospital stay on 08/08 he was given nitro gycerin introveinous and tolded he needed to be on a heart meds he also was told this med was expensive and to see if he could get it through the county he was given the information to take to his county doctor from the hospital this doc looked at the instructions but did not call as intructed. He ran a couple of test on my husband and determined he would not put him on the meds and 4 weeks later 09/18/08 my husband was on his way to work at a new job he had a heart attack while driving and died instantly I am now left to pick up the pieces with our children. he was our primary source of income. healthcare reform should be a primary focus for america.
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8-04-2009 @ 8:08PM
sfcat said...
In the uninsured boat myself, after having a completely cured non-recurrent cancer. Sigh.
My doc is great about seeing me, but the cost of labs tests is a huge problem. I found a site out there www.mymedlab.com ( My Med Lab dot com) where you can buy the lab tests directly. The last time my doc did a TSH panel, over $600. Their price is 140. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.
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