Once Upon Healthcare, A Blog About Not Free Stuff

Now it's been awhile since I've hit the blog scene... er, the blog screen? (all puns intended,) But, I felt it might be time to blow the dust off these fingers, crack the knuckles and get back to some good old writing/typing again.

You might ask yourself, what brings Julie out of retirement after well at least a year of silence?

Not the Oscars. Though, I suppose Leo Winning the Oscar would be a blog-worthy cause since he had many an Oscar-worthy performance.

Obamacare.

That cringe-inspiring word just oozes with loathing doesn't it? Are you as excited as I am for this discussion? Well let me tell you a little story about my happy trip to the doctors office recently and I will slowly unfold my experience into the new world of imagined healthcare socialism called Obamacare.

Though, I will provide a brief WARNING: This is NOT an article about Politics! Just so you know, I'm just warning you in advance that I will not say the name Donald Trump any more in this article!

Now that I got that out of the way, to provide you background story, due to unforeseen circumstances in my life;   I am no longer married and I decided to go on the open market at the beginning of 2016 for my healthcare choice  and selected a new plan instead of the one offered through my work place. Of course I selected the plan with the low deductible which, wouldn't you know is a new plan to Michigan. While it is an HMO, it offers all kinds of perks including chiropractic coverage, low copays, etc. Plus I found one of the doctors from my family practice accepted the insurance so I assumed I could add them  to the insurance since they were under the plan.

Life was grand. After many weeks of research, over 40 plans down, I was proud that I beat the Obamacare craziness and selected a healthcare plan. I was ready to go and use my health care for 2016!

Now, as you are reading along, I am going to assume that you are aware of the basic definition of the Obamacare healthcare plan. If you are not aware of the basic definition, it is to insure that all Americans are afforded the right to affordable healthcare. NOTE: That DOES NOT mean FREE. That means AFFORDABLE. The gap between the definition of those two words in the English language is huge! However, for some strange reason, in the heads of Americans, those two words seem to be synonymous. Ladies and gentleman, Free DOES NOT EQUAL affordable. Perhaps a new English lesson is necessary for folks, but the lines are blurred for many.

The reason I am focusing on the particular statement is because, you must understand, I pay a lot for my health insurance and I don't even consider it to be affordable really. To me, the line between "free" and "affordable" above in reference to Obamacare is a big fat joke. I pay nearly $300 per month and that doesn't include co-pays and deductibles. Affordable... I'm Lauging. Out. Loud.

But lets get back to my story, so here we are. My first visit to the doctor has arrived. I am excited to use the brand spanking new insurance. I arrive at my doctors office (that I have been going to for 3 years now mind you!) and I present my insurance card at the front desk. The woman at the desk takes the brand new card and examines it and then realizes its not the usual Blue Cross, Blue Shield she is accustomed to and looks up at me. There is a pause. She tells me she has to make a phone call now because she isn't familiar with this insurance. So I make the biggest mistake of all time mentioning that the insurance is new because I went through the open market and got it on O-B-A-M-A-C-A-R-E.

There is that word again. Like a leech...

So she made the phone call. It turns out that the doctor in the office that accepted the insurance was a pediatrician not a general practitioner that I could charge against. Therefore I had to go find another office. This was fine. I understood all that, though I had been seeing this doctor for three years. (Some might be truly offended by this statement! What if they had been seeing these doctors for 20 years? One might be ended a lifelong relationship with their family doctor!)

She slowly handed me back the health card and said these words in that  sad, drippy, kitty-like, syrupy voice:

"I'm sorry, but we don't take that insurance. You can go down the street and try your insurance at the pharmacy and see if they accept it there?"

(...)

Now hold on one minute. The contempt I felt after her statement could have been cut with a knife. Are you serious lady? I have a college education. I work 40 hours a week at a full time job and I pay a whole lot of money for my health care. You are telling me to go down the street and try my card at a local pharmacy as if I collect free healthcare out of a can and its no good here at your little office? This is what my $300 a month gets me?

As scenes of Pretty Woman ran through my head where Julia Robert's character is told that her money is no good in the boutiques of Hollywood boulevard, I feebly looked at the receptionist and replied that my insurance card had already worked very well at the pharmacy "thank you very much," and I walked away.

Now, wouldn't you think that someone with a job of looking at insurance cards all day and speaking to insurance companies would be well-versed in the world of Obamacare? I have no doubt that the receptionist thought she was helping me by pointing me to the pharmacy, but really it was an incredible insult telling me that the pharmacy might be my only solution. As if I had no other option? It is early in the year my friend, and there were over 200 plans on the open market, there will be so many people coming into doctors offices all over the state of Michigan with new Insurance cards. a note to all the receptionists out there, you will be seeing more than just Blue Cross Blue Shield, and No, its not just folks on welfare. Why? Obamacare, is NOT free.  

But more importantly, I write about this because its an example of a policy that is in effect and the world has seemingly reacted in a very ambivalent way. This receptionist is directly affected by this new program and isn't even aware of the information, the definition of the policy, or the impact that it has or how it will affect her.

Perhaps in my next Blog I will take this a step further and discuss what happens when we do take this a step further in the discussion of politics... what if the world were ambivalent in the next election? So how about that? Trump anyone? ...Wink.