YET AGAIN, HEALTH INSURANCE
Thu., March 4, 09:05 AM
You would think that, after all these years, I would be sick and tired of writing about health insurance. I am. But the problems persist. I am ready to ask the entire Congress to resign and start over.
The insurance companies, of course, are right on track. They’re raising prices. They’re really pushing Medicare supplements, all of which would cost me more than I pay directly for services that aren’t covered by Medicare. Even Medicare-D, the prescription insurer, which once cost me $26 per month, has gone up to $40.
Speaking of prescriptions, I don’t know who to blame for this one. Husband was in the Veterans Administration medical system for several years, and I paid $8 for any prescription he needed, brand name or generic. Now that he is in the nursing home, his meds come from the nursing home’s supplier, and I get the bills. They looked awfully high to me — one month the bill was higher than what he receives as social security! — and I began looking at the list more carefully. There are several treatments that are not available as generics. Okay. But there is one medication that we both take, same generic, same dose. When I go into the “coverage gap,” it costs me about $18 per month; for him I now pay $133 per month. As I told his nurse, I could understand if they charged $33, but $133? It doesn’t matter to me in the long run, as it goes toward the spend-down for Title XIX. Eventually, it’s the federal government that will be paying for it. Just another one of those $500 toilet seats.
It serves them right, of course. Members of Congress have medical coverage, so what do they care? Connecticut has several offices — both state and federal — coming up for election this year, and I am angry enough to have sent a letter to the newspaper. I’ll let you know if they print it.
As I listen to the candidates for various state (and federal) offices, I hear them talk about the need to create jobs. They mention how important it is to support small business. Those are excellent goals.
But I have not heard one of them suggest that we need a health insurance system that is not tied to one’s employment. The cost of insurance can be a very heavy burden for the small business. Employees are fearful of losing their jobs because they will lose their insurance but, believe me, that does not make them better employees.
If our potential candidates aren’t smart enough to figure that out, I don’t want any of them in office, wasting my money as usual. Get going, people, look at the bigger picture!
(Of course, Connecticut does have problems. There’s nothing like a company that exports most of its jobs and then complains that this is a bad economy because people here are losing their jobs.)
Just when I think I can stop spinning my wheels…
