Do you have medical coverage for yourself and your family? Are you middle income and do not have medical coverage? What are your options? Read on. I am furious with this wonderful country we live in the United States of America which it seems has turned its back on the very people who support it. I had wonderful medical care through my husband's employment for many years and just took it for granted. I worked most of my adult life now I am divorced and unemployed and do not have any medical care. Join with me in exploring what options are available for an ordinary person who is a member of the middle class. What happens when this ordinary person needs medical care? I thought like everybody else that everybody in this country was entitled to medical care but that is not what is happening. WHY IS MEDICAL CARE FOR EVERYBODY NOT HAPPENING? HIGH INCOME PEOPLE: If you have the money you can purchase medical insurance for yourself and your family. It can become a problem if there is a pre-existing condition of one or more of your family members. Maybe, all they have to do is pay higher premiums and that problem is solved or not. Employment is the way most people obtain medical insurance for themselves and for their families. Today employers in some cases expect their employees to pay a portion of the escalating monthly premiums. Many employees choose not to be covered simply because they can not afford the escalating monthly insurance premiums. If an employee had to choose between food for their families and monthly escalating premiums food wins hands down. So what good is the medical coverage if the employee cannot afford it? Now what do they do for medical care? What about the thousands of employed people who do not have medical insurance options. These people fall under the category of part time employee or their employer can not afford medical coverage. What about the employers that feel their employees should be covered under their spouse's employment? But what if you don not have a spouse or your spouse does not have medical coverage? Now what are your options? LOW INCOME FAMILIES: (1) MEDI-CAL There are tight restrictions on Medi-cal. It is dictated by income, bank account and diagnosis. (2) COUNTY MEDICAL SERVICES (CMS) There are also tight restrictions on this plan. It is dictated by income, bank account and diagnosis. CMS is also difficult to obtain. MIDDLE CLASS: For the middle class just barely hanging on by their fingertips NOTHING, a big fat ZERO, unless you have medical coverage through your employment or through your spouse. (3) FREE CLINICS ON A SLIDING SCALE: There are a few free county clinics that work on a sliding scale by income. $35.00 is the highest amount you can pay. If your need is greater than a fast trip to the doctor for a prescription, you will have to pay for that additional care. I recently visited one of these clinics. The doctor told me I needed a program of Physical Therapy and I would have to pay for it. I am not employed. Physical Therapy is very expensive and I was out of luck. But the bottom line is I needed the physical therapy so I would once again be employed. I was given a prescription and had it filled at Sam's Club. I was told it was the most reasonable place to purchase prescription medication when you do not have medical insurance. I did not need a membership for a pharmacy visit. 4) HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOMS: Thousands of people now flock to the hospital emergency rooms for everyday medical care. They wait long hours clogging the flow of real trauma cases. It is not unusual for some people to give bogus personal information; therefore, they will never receive a bill. The hospital does require every patient show a form of identification for your file. What about the people that are honest with there personal information? They can receive a huge bill and if x-rays and lab were obtained at the time of the visit --look out. What if you require emergency surgery or need to be admitted to the hospital. Your medical bill can become an astronomical amount. If you can't afford to pay this bill you will go to a collection agency and maybe lose your home or business. 211 TELEPHONE NUMBER: If you have any questions about any of the information listed above call 211. It is a wonderful new information line for just this information. The phones are manned by volunteers. WEEKLY POPULAR TELEVISION SHOWS: Have you noticed that many popular weekly television shows are now creating shows about medical insurance issues? I just watched Desperate Housewives for the very first time. The story line was one of the housewives was divorced and she did not have any medical coverage. She needed surgery to save her life. The plot was she marries somebody immediately and that could provide insurance coverage and then later get divorced. What do you think about that? What is this country coming to? It is making honest people lie, cheat and commit fraud so they can obtain the medical coverage they so richly deserve. WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? We start by educating the public about this enormous problem and what it involves. A little bit of knowledge is very powerful. Then we start at the local, state and then onto the federal government level. WE NEED CHANGE NOW! IF THE SYSTEM IN PLACE NOW DOESN'T WORK CHANGE IT! MEDICAL CARE FOR EVERYBODY - NOT JUST A FEW. We could all move to Canada. They have free health care for everybody but what about the good old USA? The system in place right now is a joke. I wonder what kind of medical coverage the president of the United States and his family have, plus all the other government officials? Aren't we entitled to the same? One thing I can do as an individual to fight back is to write articles and to blog. I have already written several articles on varies aspects of medical insurance problems, maybe someday somebody will stand up and take notice. I hope you enjoyed my article. Please feel free to check out my other articles. Copyright 2006 Linda Meckler |
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