A Sad Day for Me

This is a sad day for me. I was laid off in November and my company was generous enough to provide me with health insurance until 31-Jan-11 (today). I have applied for MassHealth, which has several plans, most f which is based on my income for the last twelve months. Okay, I was making pretty good money, but I am not now so this means they will want to charge me some ridiculous amount and I will have to appeal. Perhaps I will catch a break by July if I do not have a job by then.

I looked at the COBRA plan, which is aptly named since it has a poisonous sting just like a real cobra…that sting being the cost. Who can afford to be raped at the price Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) charges for the privilege of being covered by them? Not many people collecting unemployment can or will. I called several individual companies. The cheapest policy that actual covers doctor visits was $800 a month. The highest (you guessed it, BCBS) was $1,500 per month. Let me just back track a moment; the policies that are cheaper do not cover doctor visits nor offer preventive care. Keep in mind that Massachusetts (MA) requires every citizen over 18 to have health care coverage. That means that we have to pay one of the companies their ransom or be penalized by the state via our tax returns at the end of the year.

You know, when I start talking about the plight of the poor and the rights of the working class I am always, always, always accused of being a communist, a socialist, a Marxist and of wanting wealth redistribution. Yet, what Mitt Romney instilled in the MA health care bill is exactly that. It is wealth redistribution of the most obscene kind. We pay several taxes and fees here in MA, but that is not enough. Mitt made sure that his benefactors (BCBS, Tufts, Harvard Pilgrim and the rest of them) are also receiving money directly from the citizens as a more extravagant tax. This is a forced commodity and if you do not comply you will be penalized accordingly. So much for the concept of a free market system.

In addition, there is an older law on the books that requires college students in MA to have health care coverage as well. In 2006 I worked as a contractor at Biogen Idec before being hired full time. During that time I could not afford insurance so I went without. Sound familiar? Of course, a lot of people were in that boat. However, I was also in school. I was promptly kicked out of school (and my student loans came due) when that school found out I had changed jobs. The school was kind enough to offer me insurance through their program, but they wanted a lot of money up front and a good chunk of change each month. I could not afford it. Biogen Idec hired me soon after and I was able to return to school. How many other people have been denied an education when they cannot afford insurance? The poor should have Medicaid or MassHealth so this really affects the working class.

I am still in school. I now attend Northeastern. I was denied their insurance because I am not earning enough credits per semester (I am off by one). In addition, the law requires that I attend campus classes. I take on-line classes which are less expensive, better for my schedule and I do not have to commute. I should be commended for wanting to elevate myself through education, especially at my age. MA does not see it that way. If I am denied MassHealth or cannot afford the available plans for my tax bracket (okay, my past tax bracket) then I must be punished monetarily. Once again, this is a clear case of wealth redistribution. I am middle class. How dare I have any money to pay my bills. My money belongs in the coffers of health care CEOS and the politicians they buy like so many cheap prostitutes.

I will be the first to admit that I see a psychologist once a week. I am not ashamed of this. I have lived a very tough life, especially during my youth. My father was a Vietnam veteran, an alcoholic, extremely abusive and , as one friend pointed out "160 pounds of pure rage." Compound that with the brutality of high school life in the 1980s, to say I was bullied is to sugar coat the situation to an extreme. I still struggle with all of this, though I generally suffer silently. I prefer to see my shrink and sort everything out with her.Yet, her company does not take MassHealth. Today was my last session. I simply cannot afford to pay out of pocket, nor am I willing to start all over again with someone new. We have a good chemistry and she has helped me out of some very dark places. So I am sad that I cannot see her until I am working again. This is not Mitt Romney's fault, nor do I blame the politicians who passed the previous insurance laws. Consider that the health care system is currently dominated by private companies who have systematically raised the cost through the roof.

Yes they do. You know they do. The providers (your local doctor, the hospital, the labs, etc) do not seek to raise the cost. They provide a service, they bill the insurance companies who then promptly deny the claim nine times out of ten. I worked at BCBS and I have seen these people who are trained to search for any reason at all to deny a claim. Doing this forces the providers to hire a billing staff to call and fax the insurance companies to cover the service. This one simple act of denying as many claims as possible has elevated the cost of insurance by the billions. This is good business for companies like BCBS. They can rake in profits that would make the OPEC nations envious. Who benefits from these profits? Not the majority of BCBS employees. I had a family of four when I worked there and I was earning a paltry sum. We had to rob Peter to pay Paul constantly. Keep in mind that I had BCBS insurance and they charged me a lot of money for that coverage. They also gave me what is known as benefit bucks to offset the high cost of their insurance. I earned X amount, which Y amount was deducted for my insurance. Then BCBS gave me Z amount to "help" pay for the insurance they provided. I was taxed on this money. I was not allowed to take the benefit bucks. In other words, BCBS paid themselves through me. Extrapolate that with the number of employees they have and you are looking at a pretty good tax shelter for a company that already fleeces the public. Again I ask, who benefits from this windfall? The CEOs like Cleve L. Killingsworth, who earned 3.9 million dollars in 2009. Do any CEOs really need to earn more than a million per year? How about a cap on that and disperse that money back into the company to lower costs?

I hear the Tea Party groups and GOP pundits demonizing Obama's attempt at health care reform. I have to be honest, I am disgusted with their cries on unconstitutionality and socialism. We have a real problem here in America. We are the most advanced technically, our businesses are the most wealthy and we are the strongest militarily. However, we cannot and WILL NOT provide universal health coverage for our citizens. People are pointing the finger at illegal immigration and saying universal health care is unfeasible. Others point their finger at our economy and state that universal health care is unfeasible. Still more people claim that universal health care would destroy companies like BCBS, to which I say "Good!." It is about time we destroyed them. If they will not place nice with the other kids we will take their ball and Mitt away.

In conversations with the Governor's office I have learned that legislators are working on some laws to keep predatory companies like BCBS from charging a king's ransom for health care. However, that is way down the pike. I probably will be closer to retirement by then. Plus, the lobbyists and their Senatorial/Congressional dogs will be in full attack mode for that. Expect to be inundated with propaganda to manipulate us into voting against our own interests. All paid for by committees chaired by ex-politicians and funded by the same companies who stand to profit from that legislation being over turned.

Something else I learned is that the requirement for all MA residents to purchase health care coverage is not going away ever. So much for freedom of choice. You can choose your poison, but the option to not drink it not yours to make. Thank you Mitt Romney for the legacy of wealth redistribution and economic warfare that you left behind. May your dreams of the presidency never reach fruition.