Healthcare story part I

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Blogging

For those who may be wondering where I've been the last five weeks, I have been experiencing the American healthcare system first hand. I now feel eminently qualified to have a voice in the public healthcare debate and have spent the last five weeks railing at the suits in Washington, Republican and Democrat because I'm exactly the kind of person that healthcare reform needs to help and they are totally missing the boat.

I should start out by saying that I have health insurance even though private health insurance companies turned me down due to pre-existing conditions that I no longer have. 7 years ago I was a type II diabetic but then I lost 150 lbs. and my diabetes went away along with a lot of other conditions. I completely turned my life around and began exercising and eating sensibly. But for all their talk about rewarding people for healthy lifestyles, I am marked for life as being uninsure-able because I had these conditions at one time.

So how did I get insurance? My insurance is courtesy of the state of New Mexico. I got my insurance through the state high risk pool--that dreaded government interference that is available in some states. If it weren't for the government subsidy I would be declaring bankruptcy today.

However, the only insurance I could afford is what they call catastrophe insurance which means I must meet a $5000 deductible before it begins to pay. Knowing something awful might happen I made sure that I had $5000 in savings but without a job it was getting harder and harder to keep that cushion.

The $5000 deductible is what kept me from getting immediate care when I first started having abdominal pains. I'd had pains like that before and they went away so a trip to the emergency room which would cost me at least $1500 was something I wanted to avoid. So I waited through three day of pain and vomiting before I gave in and went to the ER.

Of course when I got there my condition was pretty dire. I had an obstruction in my bowel. Since I couldn't hold down any liquids, I was dehyrated almost the the point of kidney failure an my blood pressure at that point was dangerously low. They admitted me to the hospital and tried to figure out, if possible, a non-surgical way to clear the obstruction.

I was hooked up to IVs for fluid and medication and could have no food or drink by mouth. I was kind of out of it, but I clearly remember day two when I got a visit from the hospital's finance office. They mentioned the $5000 deductible and wanted to know how I was going to settle my bill. In my state of grogginess, I handed over my Visa card and said "hey, at least I'll get miles for it."

The rest of this rant which I am calling "Healthcare, the good, the bad and the ugly" will continue in the next few days as I unravel that whole story.

911

In my never ending quest to find a real job, I answered an online posting for 911 dispatcher trainees at the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority (MVRDA). This morning I went to the initial meeting where a 21-year veteran of 911 service explained the complexities of the job. The purpose of this was to go through the real downside of the job--the hours, the stress, the constant re-certification process and, of course, the calls themselves.

MRVDA covers all of Dona Ana county wich encompasses about 3500 square miles and about 200,000 people from Hatch to Sunland Park. There are 7 different "consoles" that cover different areas and different emergency service providers. You have to become certified in all seven to be a full-time dispatcher so you have to know geography of the area and you have to have EMS training because you're actually what they call an EMD or Emergency Medical Dispatcher. He said giving CPR instructions over the phone was fairly common.

He covered the fact that we would be working rotating shifts over 24 hours and we would have to go through 12 weeks of training before they let you on the phones by yourself and to show us just how gruesome it can be, he played a tape of a call where the woman was on the line with the 911 operator while her husband shot himself in the head. The operator managed to remain totally calm while the woman was screaming and I know several of us in the meeting were rather disturbed by it.

So I don't know how far I'll pursue this. I signed up for the testing (which will come after I pass a background check). It's 2 hours worth of various test including spending about a half hour listening in to real 911 calls. I'm not sure I have the stomach for it but I'm going to check it out because it pays fairly well and you get benefits if you make it past the 12 weeks of training.

I just don't know if it would afford me the time I need to pursue the bath products line. I need to be able to juggle everything.

Healthcare

I now know about a half dozen people who have lost their jobs within the last six months. Their number one concern is affordable healthcare. President Obama is insistent that we address healthcare now but Congress and critics who are happily secure in their jobs with lush healthcare packages don't feel the urgency of the matter.

I keep hearing the "horror stories" of government run healthcare and the usual right wing scare tactics saying that you will lose control over your choice of doctor and that the government will step in and tell you that you can't have certain treatments. The people spreading these rumors aren't listening to what Obama says because the crux of his argument is that if you have employer subsidized health care nothing is going to change.

The urgency of healthcare reform is for people like me and my friends/family who are out of work. We need access to affordable care and the assurance that we can get this coverage despite pre-existing conditions.

The pre-existing condition factor is a difficult one that probably won't happen as long as for-profit insurance companies are running the show. To run a profitable business it makes sense to deny insurance to people who will actually use the service. But that's what's happening every day in the richest nation in the world.

Here in New Mexico we have something called the high risk pool that allows people with pre-existing conditions to buy Blue Cross insurance but these are high-deductible plans that are only good if you have a catastrophe. This is why I have this plan...it gives me some comfort that I know I will not be wiped out if I break my leg or develop cancer.

But as for everyday stuff...I had a physical recently because my policy says I'm allowed to have one physical per year. So I recieved a statement saying that the doctor's visit was completely covered but not the accompanying blood tests. The results of said blood tests showed that I am still suffering from anemia. It was suggested that I see a hemotologist but I will not because I can't afford it. I went through anemia treatments when I was covered by workplace insurance and watched as Blue Cross paid almost $10,000 for a treatment that did little for me. Now that the cost has shifted to me, I made the choice to live without the treatments because I cannot afford to pay for them.

Since it hasn't been settled yet, I don't know if Obama's healthcare plan would help me pay for my anemia treatments but I'm pretty sure it would pay for my routine blood tests. Oh and I did place a challenge on the Blue Cross denial of paying for blood tests that are routine screenings. The emphasis is supposed to be on preventitve care and a simple CBC would detect problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and yes, anemia.

Progress

Look at this tomato. It's the same one that was pictured a couple of posts ago as the teeny tiny tomato. And...I have 11 more at various stages of growth.

My new business is moving along. Today I got my tax ID number so I'm ready for my orientation. I also picked up some gift packaging ideas at the Dollar Store so I can offer gift sets of my products. Also making more bath bombs. There's an exact measurement to follow...not too dry (or they won't stick together in the molds) and not too wet (or they start fizzing before they hit the bath). I'm getting the hang of it. Luckily the ingredients aren't expensive so I can afford to mess up a few batches.

On the money-saving front, I have started grinding my own hamburger meat. This isn't a huge savings but the quality is so much better than the stuff in the grocery store. I took some and made a killer sauce for some angel-hair pasta (small pasta for my small stomach) and will grill some burgers tonight.

Tomorrow is Senior Day at Albertsons so Alyce and I are going bargain hunting. We're also going to Hobby Lobby (which I think is a really stupid name for a store) since there is no actual lobby there. But I want to find small cello bags for my bath bombs.

First Batch of Bath Bombs

So...since we've learned that we can't make money the easy way by getting bank drafts in FedEx envelopes, we need to turn our attention back to business.

Having received my 5 lbs. of powdered citric acid, I commenced to making bath bombs to add to my product line. These are the first ones, with sort of a Hawaiian theme, scented with a combination of Ocean Mist potpourri and my essence of pineapple. I added the blue food coloring to give them a little ocean personality. Now they are locked inside their molds where they need to stay for a couple of hours. Then they need to cure for at least a week in a dry place. A dry place is easy to find out here.

I'm hoping that my first selling date will be June 13.

Half my samples went out on Friday and the other half will be going to the post office tomorrow. I've gotten good feedback so far and am adapting some recipes after the criticism (mostly about strength of fragrance).

My oils showed up on Friday so I'm ready to proceed full speed ahead.

Do You Think This is a Scam?

This was in my e-mail today

Customer Service:

We have been waiting for you to contact us for your Package that is been registered
with us for shipping to your residential location. We had thought that your sender
gave you our contact details. It may interest you to know that a letter is also added
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has a Bank Draft worth of $288,000.00 (Two Hundred and Eighty Eight Thousand US
Dollars). As you know, FedEx does not ship money in CASH or in CHEQUES but BANK
DRAFTS are shippable.
The package is registered with us for mailing by an official of the united nation
office in UK. We are sending you this email because your package is been registered
on a Special Order. What you have to do now, is to contact our Delivery Department
for immediate dispatch of your package to your residential address. Note that as soon
as our Delivery Team confirms your information, it will take three (3) working days
(72Hrs) for your package to arrive at your designated destination.
For your information, the VAT & Shipping charges as well as Insurance fees have been
paid by your colleague before your package was registered.
Note that the payment that is made on the Insurance, Premium & Clearance
Certificates, are to certify that the Bank Draft is not a Drug Affiliated Fund DAF)
neither is it funds to sponsor Terrorism in your country. This will help you avoid
any form of query from the Monetary Authority of your country.
However, you will have to pay a sum of £105 GBP which is equivalent to $210 USD to
the FedEx Delivery Department being full payment for the Security Keeping Fee of the
FedEx Company as stated in our privacy terms & condition page. Also be informed that
your colleague wished to pay for the Security Keeping charges, but we do not accept
such payments considering the fact that all items & packages that is registered with
us have a time limitation and we cannot accept payment without knowing when you will
be picking up the package or even respond to us. So we cannot take the risk to have
accepted such a payment incase of any possible demurrage. Kindly note that your
colleague did not leave us with any further information.
We hope that you respond to us as soon as possible because if you fail to respond
until the expiry date of the foremost package, we may refer the package to the
British Commission for Welfare as the package do not have a return address. Kindly
contact the delivery department (FedEx Delivery Post) with the details given below:
Contact Person: Mr. Richard raynor
Email: fedex1099@live.com
Tel: +234-7062266794
Kindly complete the below form and send it to the email address given above.. This is
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FULL NAMES:
TELEPHONE:
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STATE:
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As soon as your details are received, our delivery team will give you the necessary
payment procedure so that you can effect the payment for the Security Keeping Fees.
As soon as they confirm your payment of £105 GBP which is equivalent to $210 USD,
they shall immediately dispatch your package to the designated address. It usually
takes 72 Hours being an express delivery service.
Ensure to contact the delivery department with the email address and ensure to fill
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Yours Faithfully,
Mrs .chiara dallavalle
FedEx Online Management Team.
All rights reserved. © 1995-2009 FedEx.





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I wonder how many people fall for stuff like this.