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[Ms. Toad]

655. Let me assure you that the cake is considerably tastier and more nourshing

post ACA than it was before. Speaking as someone with a child whose medical bills are $60,000 a year - in a good year. As much as I would love to wave my magic wand and make everything better, it ain't gonna happen.

People with chronic health conditions have more challenges than those who don't - for a whole host of reasons. Nothing that anyone can do will change that. And people with chronic health conditions have to protect themselves because people and systems created by people are imperfect - and no one else is in a position to protect them, or will. Even with the best of intentions, and good training, my daughter's doctors are going to be two steps behind her, and a step behind me in assessing what changes in how her body mean she may have acquired one of the dozen or so cancers she is at risk for. No matter how perfectly the insurance companies perform in claims processing, people (and computers programmed by people) make mistakes. Even if we get a Medicare like system, there will still be mistakes - my father has been battling over a coverage dispute for months. And, no matter which system we have, no one is going to spoon feed you that cake. And when the cake doesn't make it to your mouth, and you have a chronic illness, it hurts more.

You can give up and let things happen to you (and then get mad when not even cake makes it to your mouth), or you can be proactive and utilize what is available to the greatest extent possible.

I've been living with this reality daily for two decades - "them" is me. And I'm thrilled to finally at least have more nourishing cake - and a bit cranky at people who don't take simple steps to protect themselves (like checking formularies - which anyone with a chronic illness who has had health insurance should be well acquainted with) and then blast the cake - because blowing it to smithereens only serves those who want things to go back to what they were. Which sucked a whole lot more.