Monday, January 06, 2014

My Letter to The White House OR Why Obamacare Doesn't Work

This is a copy of the letter I wrote to the White House and President Obama. Of course I doubt he will read it. But I am hoping others do read it as a cautionary tale.

"Let me tell you what ACA has done for us. My son, who is 24 and works full time and has had insurance from his work for nearly a year, broke his ankle. It is a complex break and dislocation. He went to the ER and they demanded $250, which I didn't question. But then the surgeon we called demanded $1400 up front. Last but not least, the hospital said that if my son couldn't come up with $1500 up front, that they would "postpone the surgery until he had the money." He works retail, he has to be able to walk or at least move. It would take him months, maybe years to save that much. This is what is happening. This is your fault. You and the Democrat have lied to us. And kids like my son are suffering and will suffer. The only people who benefit are those who are uninsured who will skip their bills. I am so disappointed."

The last six days have been stressful to say the least. ER visits usually are. My youngest son has worked so hard to get out of debt and to be responsible in paying for child care and such. He was finally looking at moving out. Then this. An accident. But he has insurance so that makes it alright.....right? No. Think again.
I didn't really think much when the ER wanted $250 up front. That's a normal think with ER visits, then you get billed later. But when after visiting with the orthopedist (and after having to hear the absolute agony of my son as they struggled to reduce the fracture which was not done properly at the ER) we got a phone call demanding $1400 up front and then the call from Baylor Hospital demanding the full amount of the deductible up front, this poor kid broke down. How are people ever supposed to get out from under debt when the costs of insurance along with the cost of deductibles rising? The irony is that if he was indigent or irresponsible, he would end up at Parkland or John Peter Smith and get the same services for a billing payment or even free.

Buying insurance is for saps. Why do we do it? It seems to offer few benefits and more liabilities. And the mumbo jumbo gibberish of the insurance jargon is enough to drive Ben Franklin insane. My blood pressure was already high. Luckily I am able to help out-but I know others that are not. What of those poor kids with $10,000 deductibles on their insurance? How will they pay? This isn't even the first week of January and it's already ugly. It's going to get uglier still.

People, I've been saying this since 2009, Obamacare is a trap. It is not about less expensive care or even more accessible care-it is a surreptitious tax on those that work to subsidize those demographic populations the ruling party find to be more deserving of services.

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