Insurance

Obamacare. Trumpcare. It's all over the news. Which one is good? Which one is bad? I think we could debate those questions endlessly, and because we are all of different age, income, health status, and positions in employment, our needs are varying...which makes it difficult to agree on what is best.

Personally, I am not one who is big on handouts.   However, this is an area where I feel differently. I believe we ALL need access to affordable health care insurance. Fortunately, our story is living proof that quality health insurance is a necessity.

I think I used to take insurance for granted.  We were a healthy family and we rarely went to the doctor.  Yes, there were times when I most likely lost my nomination for "Mother of the Year" award because I should have taken the kids to the doctor sooner.  But, as I've said before, we (not sure if I can speak for Kevin, so maybe it's I) were more of the "Buck Up" mentality.  Many years we never even met our deductible.  I chalk that up to being healthy.

With rising insurance premiums, those who are healthy start to question, "Is it worth all of this money my employer and I are paying?" We quickly found out...Yes.  Yes it is.

For example, Kevin's initial diagnosis of a brain tumor, subsequent surgery, diagnosis and hospital stay totaled $111,223.  Imagine, over one hundred thousand dollars in less than a week.  That's half a house for many people.

Consider this scenario...it's December 11, 2015.  We are home from the hospital and know that Kevin's diagnosis is one year, plus or minus six months. However, instead of having a quality health insurance policy, we have no insurance.  Think about where our mindset would have been.  Instead of focusing on family and friends, our thoughts would have been clouded with paying bills.  Could we have managed? Yes. But we are savers and have put money into retirement that could have been tapped into.

Bigger picture...how would these initial bills with no insurance have affected our thoughts on treatment? Radiation preparation and planning plus treatments totaled $156,785 for January and February. Would it have been worth it?  I am just so thankful we weren't put in that position to have to make that decision.

Can you see how people become homeless?  When a medical tragedy occurs, how do you recover financially unless you have insurance?

I could keep going.  The Avastin infusions for the month of June were $43,713.  Every MRI was over $6000.  Not to mention the "smaller' charges for regular lab work and doctor visits.

Jump ahead to November 2016 when going in for an MRI at Mayo, they discovered that Kevin had a saddle embolism (massive blood clot) in his lungs and more clots in his leg.  The subsequent hospital stay and treatment for those three days total $74,540.

When the third week in December rolled around (just over a year after diagnosis) the decision was made to discontinue treatment and start hospice.  Although less expensive than many treatments, hospice certainly isn't cheap.  Patients are charged $271 a day whether they see or talk to hospice personnel that day or not.  Twenty-six days on hospice totaled over $6500.

PLEASE, don't interpret this as a woe is me.  I want this to be an eye opener.  I pray it doesn't happen to others, but people have to realize that a medical issue can turn your world upside down.  Not just mentally and physically, but financially if you don't have insurance.

I pore over these hospital bills and insurance paperwork to remind me of how lucky I am. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for my insurance!

So as our politicians continue to debate the health care issue, I pray that they truly look beyond Republican and Democrat to create a plan that will allow everyone the luxury of health care insurance.

So tonight I am thankful:

• for an employer who offers and contributes to my health care insurance.
• for the role modeling by both Kevin's parents and my parent's in living within our means and saving for emergencies.
• for the freedom to share my thoughts and express my opinion...and the people who take the time to read what I write.
• for a Badger game on the agenda tonight!

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, 

if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on those things.

Philippians 4:8