You'll have to forgive me...

[Ms. Toad]

41. I did something similar today -

Many of my inlaws (including most of the LGBT ones) are "like"ing Romney right and left. I have not responded because they are inlaws - and some of them children of one inlaw I got off on the wrong foot with 30-some years ago who has never forgiven me.

But today, when one posted a "can't we all get along" post, saying something nice about Obama - and requesting Obama supporters say something nice about Romney, it was too much.

Here is my response to her:

I have been avoiding saying negative things about Romney on facebook, because I have friends and family who support him. That is about the best I can do.

This election is, literally, life and death for millions of Americans - including your cousin, my daughter. The medical care that keeps her alive costs around $40,000 a year. The year she needs a transplant, the bill will be over a half million dollars - and after transplant it will be closer to $100,000 a year to keep her from rejecting her new liver. The only reason we can pay that now is because the Affordable Care Act lets her stay on my insurance plan. And, when she turns 26 in less than 4 years, the only way she will be able to obtain insurance she can afford is under the Affordable Care Act which - for the first time - does not link access to health care to wealth, health, or the ability to maintain a full time job or student status.

Romney has promised to repeal it on his first day - and his promise that individuals with pre-existing conditions will be able to get insurance is smoke and mirrors. What he has promised is that some individuals with pre-existing conditions insurance will be guaranteed access to insurance (good news for my daughter - she has insurance, and will be able to continue it - if you don't already have insurance, you are out of luck) The premiums, however, will be market based (bad news for my daughter - and everyone else - that means around $20,000 a year - before copays and coinsurance. In addition, prescription copays are generally not capped, and they are around half of her current health care costs). In other words, if she is lucky and can afford it without having any gaps (since gaps make you no longer eligible for the guarantee), she might get away with only having to come up with $30,000 a year for medical care under the plan Romney proposes. The chances that she will be able to make $30,000 more than she needs to live on, in order to be able to afford health care, are near zero.

So - it has been very hard for me to see all of the people I know who care about my daughter supporting someone whose policies will prevent her from getting the health care she needs to survive. So far I have not de-friended anyone, or even shut off the newsfeeds, but it is incredibly painful. I have not bashed Romney, and I will continue not to, but I also hope that when you vote you will think about the real impact of Romney's proposals on the people you love who have chronic costly illnesses through no fault of their own.

The ironic thing - her dad has MS, and if he loses his job he won't be able to afford the premiums if the Affordable Care Act is rescinded.