We just got turned down for Washington Basic Health

[Missy Vixen]

They're over enrollment for the year.

We do not qualify for private insurance because of preexisting conditions, even with a gigantic deductible.

In the meantime, there are now fifty million people in the USA without medical insurance, and the White House has evidently taken single-payer (aka affordable public coverage,) off the table.

What will it take to get some action on this? :mad:

[MissB]

1. I'm sorry

I hope you write your congress critters.

[Missy Vixen]

2. Oh, I'll be writing them, and writing the President

Maybe they should have to go without their coverage, too. :mad:

[Catherine Vincent]

3. All I can do is offer you this....

:hug:

[Missy Vixen]

9. Thank you, Cat

:hug: for you, too.

[Laelth]

4. Sorry to hear about your situation.

My wife and I have been without health insurance since 2001. We have been lucky. We haven't gotten sick. No way we can afford private insurance.

And I think the number is much higher than 50 million. We need to keep writing and calling and holding the Party's feet to the fire on this. There's little more that we can do (though we've often considered moving to Canada).

Good luck to you.

-Laelth

[sarcasmo]

10. I agree that it is much higher than 50 Million. Me and the wife will be with out Insurance as of

This summer for two and a half years. She has to retire at 52 and the Pension doesn't cover us until she turns 55, she has a pre existing condition and no way do we qualify.

[sandnsea]

5. Keep insisting on single payer

and you'll stay in the exact same boat you're in.

Wouldn't it be nice to have the money funded so that enrollment is ALWAYS open.

[jimmybama]

6. Answer to your question

If you move to Canada you will be covered under their national
health care program.

[JuniperLea]

7. Or Norway... Or Holland...

One of my oldest friends broke her leg in Amsterdam while visiting relatives there, and her only charge was $7 for using the phone to call home a few times.

[jtrockville]

25. Or ANY developed nation.

[eridani]

13. Enrollment will never be open if you insist on taxpayers subsidizing private insurance n/t

[sandnsea]

18. I don't "insist" on anything

That's the point. My priority will always be getting everybody real coverage they can truly afford. If it means we subsidize insurance in the short term, then that's what we do.

[eridani]

21. We don't have the money to do that

It is absolute bullshit that the amount we are now spending (twice as much per capita as any other industrialized country) cannot be diverted to actual CARE.

It is your attitude that is responsible for the situation of the OP. Before the financial crisis, WA State Dem majorities funded Basic Health to the greatest extent possible. Afterwards, being unable to print money like the feds, they halved the expeditures they had cheerfully approved before. This is the inevitable result of incrementalism.

[sandnsea]

22. There were always waits in Washington

My step-son lives there and has never been able to get any medical help. They are still funding Basic Health "to the greatest extent possible". It's just that the extent isn't as great as it used to be. That's not my fault.

For me, I can't wait until we create a single payer Quality Healthcare Model for everyone that is fully funded through the state and federal government.

Kind of like Oregon has the Quality Education Model that is fully funded for every child.

[eridani]

23. If you want single payer quality health care, fight for it!

Why ask for less? If a minimum acceptable amount for your used car was $3000, I'm assuming that your ad would ask for $5000-$6000.

[sandnsea]

24. I want quality health care

There's more than one way to get it.

Is quality education fully funded in your state?

[eridani]

26. All we can afford right now is the cheapest way to get it

WA seems to be doing better on education than on health care. However, not going to school won't kill you, but denial of health care certainly can.

[sandnsea]

28. Look again

Education is as underfunded as health care. And do you really want the cheapest health care, the same way you've got the cheapest education you can get? What guarantee is there that we won't have to fight to pass health care levys, the same way we have to fight to pass school levys and other local levys so people can have services.

[eridani]

29. Get rid of private insurance, and cheapest is best

Single payer means NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS NEEDED, period. We are not getting CARE, because we are paying for legal theft and fraud, which subtracts a substantial amount from funds available to pay for care. The point of having a separate trust fund for health care to keep it away from yearly budget fights. (Education, being mainly funded locally, is not a relevant example here.) Putting health care in direct competition with other budget items is one thing that Canada did that we need to avoid. Sure, the rethugs attack Social Security, but it has been far easier to defend than other programs precisely because FICA taxes are put into a trust fund.

We are ALREADY PAYING for health care for every single American. We just aren't GETTING it.

[Ilsa]

8. I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your family. It isn't fair or

reasonable. Enrollment should always be open. I hope you can hang on.

[kestrel91316]

11. What will it take? Oh, I dunno. Maybe a million avoidable deaths, for starters....

[eridani]

14. 20,000 a year is clearly not enough n/t

[madrchsod]

12. i have insurance but i owe over 6000 dollars that they did`t cover

my wife pays around 3000 a year out of her paycheck a year for the two of us.

that`s almost 9000 dollars that we could spend to completely refurbish our home with the newest green technology and heat and cooling. we could have the 9000 dollars return in the next ten to 15 years. remember that`s just one year.

[pnwmom]

15. And this is just April! How many others will they turn down in the next 8 months?

I'm so sorry this happened to you, Missy Vixen, and to anyone else out there.

[eridani]

16. Things you can do right now for universal health care in WA State

Call your senators and representatives. Ask Senators Murray and Cantwell to support a the Sanders bill S 703. Only Congressman McDermott currently supports single payer universal health care, HR 676/ HR 1200. Lobby the others to do so, and ask Congressman McDermott to lobby the other members of Washington State’s congressional delegation.

Senator Patty Murray-- 202-224-2621, 206-553-5545
Senator Maria Cantwell-- 202-224-3441, 206-220-6400
WA-01, Jay Inslee-- 202-225-6311, 206-361-0233
WA-02, Rick Larsen-- 202-225-2605, 425-252-3188
WA-03, Brian Baird-- 202-225-3536, 360-695-6292
WA-04, Doc Hastings-- 202-225-5816, 509-543-9396
WA-05, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers-- 202-225-2006, 509-529-9358
WA-06, Norm Dicks-- 202-225-5916, 253-593-6536
WA-07, Jim McDermott-- 202-225-3106, 206-553-7170
WA-08, Dave Reichert-- 202-225-7761, 206-275-3438
WA-09, Adam Smith-- 202-225-8901, 253-896-3775

Log on to http://change.gov/agenda/health_care_agenda/ frequently, and voice your support for single payer health care. As FDR once said to A. Phillip Randolph, "You know, Mr. Randolph, I've heard everything you've said tonight, and I couldn't agree with you more. I agree with everything that you've said, including my capacity to be able to right many of these wrongs and to use my power and the bully pulpit." He said, "But I would ask one thing of you, Mr. Randolph, and that is go out and make me do it." Contact the White House frequently. http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ is the email contact form, and the comment line numbers are 202-456-1111, 202-456-1112 and 202-456-1414,

Sign the John Conyers single payer health care petition by clicking on:
http://johnconyers.com/transition)

At the state level, ask your representatives to support the Washington Health Security Trust, a single payer plan for Washington State. This year’s legislation will be enabling legislation only, without provision for funding. However, we do need to build support for universal health care at all levels. Contact information for the legislature is as http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature, and information about WHST is at http://www.healthcareforallwa.org/health-security-trust-summary/.

Join state legislative district action teams with Health Care for All-Washington http://www.healthcareforallwa.org/.

Physicians for National Health Care has a Western Washington chapter—you don’t have to be a doctor to join. http://www.pnhpwesternwashington.org/.

Join the Progressive Democrats of America’s Health Care Not Warfare campaign. http://pdamerica.org/articles/misc/2008-02-29-14-19-42-misc.php

Consumers Union, a long-time advocate of universal health care, is collecting health care stories. Tell them yours. http://www.prescriptionforchange.org/share_your_story.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. Me too.

I applied about 4 weeks after my son. Luckily for him, he got in.

The letter I got indicated that they expect to be able to offer enrollment again, but no guarantees on timeframe.

[McCamy Taylor]

19. We easily spend half our income on health insurance plus deductables.

The only thing that keeps us going is our mortgage payment is tiny---but we had no mortgage until we were forced to take out a new one to pay our health care bills.

[roguevalley]

20. I am sorry, Missy Vixen. :(

[Ms. Toad]

27. If you have had coverage without a gap

HIPPA guarantees you can continue coverage - I am not sure how they have worked out the details, but basically any group policy gets converted into an individual policy so this doesn't happen (it may cost a fortune - but you are entitled to insurance).

>>The law guarantees access to individual insurance policies and state high-risk pools for eligible individuals. They must meet all of the following criteria:

* Had coverage for at least 18 months, most recently in a group health plan, without a significant break;
* Lost group coverage but not because of fraud or nonpayment of premiums;
* Are not eligible for COBRA coverage; or if COBRA coverage was offered under Federal or state law, elected and exhausted it; and
* Are not eligible for coverage under another group health plan, Medicare, or Medicaid; or have any other health insurance coverage.

The opportunity to buy an individual policy is the same whether a person quits a job, was fired, or was laid off.<< http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html

Another route if your pre-existing conditions aren't things that will require completely unaffordable routine expenses, you can get short term insurance with a reasonable deductible for pretty cheap (it won't cover the pre-existing condition - but at least new stuff won't bankrupt you.) http://www.short-termhealthinsurance.com/ (just one of many sites - search for short term health insurance)

But I agree with your basic rant...my daughter will be there soon. She has $5000+ expenses in a year when nothing goes wrong - the expenses were well past that by mid February this year - so she can't do the short term insurance thing. (She was diagnosed with a condition that (when it gets bad) will keep her from working and will exceed the limits on most policies. Right now she's on our policy, but if she can't manage to continue as a full time student she will be kicked off our policy.

[truedelphi]

30. If it is true we have as taxpayers allowed

Obama's economic team to pump some twelve trillion bucks to the financial cabal, then we have to ask ourselves why we are not taking to the streets.

Twelve trillion bucks is $ 43,000 per man woman and child.

Far above what it would take to allow the uninsured to have Universal Single Payer health Care.

Probably for something like 10 years!

[Missy Vixen]

31. Howard Dean said in the 2004 campaign cycle

it would cost $97 billion to cover every man, woman and child in the USA. Math was never my strong suit, but it comes out to less than $43,000 a person, doesn't it?

Plus, imagine the immediate effect of health care for all, despite pre-existing conditions, age, etcetera. Those who are currently stuck in a job or an industry they hate could make a change. Small business would immediately benefit from the private insurer dollars they aren't forking out anymore.

We are just a couple of fortysomething, middle-class people caught in the same issues as 50 million others, but seriously, what's it going to take to get some change?

[truedelphi]

32. obviously getting yet another Corporate owned guy in the WH is not gonna be the answer

President Obama still has to worry about how much campaign contribution monies he'd lose, and if it would cost him the 2012 election, if he opposed the financial rulers in the health field.

And people in our nation didn;t get taken seriously - even when so many millions of us went out and protested against the Iraqi war. Fat lot of good it did.

[truedelphi]

33. Oh and thank you for the stat on it being around 97 billion per every man woman and child, if we had

Universal Single Payer Health Care.

Wait, here's a question -was that with the Single PAyer Option? OR did that allow for the insurance companies to still be plugged in?

Also was that figure for one year? If you don't know but have a website or something I'd still be grateful.

[Missy Vixen]

34. I heard Howard Dean make the comment in Seattle during the election

He didn't specify whether or not insurance would still be plugged in, or if it would be per year. Mostly what I remember was the shock that went through the crowd at the fact it was the same amount as the first downpayment we made on the Iraq war.

I went off to Google the statement, I'm still looking, but I did find the following.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/04/

Think Progress states that just lost productivity in the US as a result of the health care crisis is estimated as (drum roll please,) $97 billion a year. In other words, the money we are forking out would be recaptured by increased productivity in the workplace...

Interesting, huh?