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In reply to the discussion: VOX: This Trump voter didn't think Trump was serious about repealing her health insurance [View all]Ms. Toad
(34,069 posts)I got home last night and my daughter with her $40-60,000/year health care costs told me she had bad news. She walked out of her job yesterday (a job that gave her $45/month health insurance with a $1,500 annual out-of-pocket cap). To be fair, she had a panic attack - which is part of her disability. I get that.
It was her nonchalant,"We'll just get insurance somewhere else," attitude that made me blow a gasket - there's COBRA avaialble.
She blew through my yearly out of pocket max by February, picked up her own insurance in July - blew through that cap by August, and now for the 3rd time in 12 months she's likely to have another new out of pocket max to hit before insurance picks up the cost. COBRA - which would keep her from more out-of-pocket costs until next July is likely to run $350/month. But if she takes COBRA, she can't switch to an ACA plan until a year from now.
Assuming ACA isn't repealed - in which case she has no options at all.
Crossing my fingers that they will treat her panic attack as part of a disability (even though she hadn't disclosed it) and will take her back. She is one of the most reliable workers they have - but when her evil boss goes off on her, the stress triggers a panic attack. This is only the second time in the 18 months she's worked there.
I guess the bottom line is that if my very bright daughter doesn't "get" the implications of the election, I have no trouble understanding how Trump voters didn't get it.
My daughter has been been vaguely aware of how challenging access to health care is for her, with 22 years of experience as a chronically ill patient (at age 26), and 8 years as an adult listening to me expressly talk about the affordable care act and what it meant to her personally. She was an adult when it started to take effect. She watched and listened as we went through the court cases, agonizing over what they meant. She knows that once the last court case cleared the Supreme Court I finally gave her my blessing to be a starving artist (whereas I'd been strong-arming her to study something that would get her a job with insurance attached). Yet, last night, she still didn't get what November 8 meant for her life - and felt free to casually jetison her health insurance.
I don't like it. But i get it.