“My state is #50 in health care! Weee!”
I promised myself when I went freelance that I would buy health insurance- and one of those desk chair bicycles so my backside wouldn’t turn into a butt pancake.
Only one of these things I’ve succeeded at.
With the help of a broker, I found the cheapest insurance Blue Cross Blue Shield has to offer and I took it. Knock on wood, I’m a healthy, non-smoking twenty-something so the plan is somewhat reasonable at $117/month, but it definitely adds to the financial pinch each month. Truthfully $117 is all I can afford.
Through reviewing my policy kit and asking questions to my broker, I learned that the plan covers very little. At least I have insurance if a fleet of angry advanced beings from another planet attack.
Yesterday was the first day I put my insurance coverage to the test.
I became sick over the weekend with a high fever, sore throat and questionable delusions. I spent a lot of Friday night dreaming about cheese and periodically screaming, “I’m so confused!” in my half-sleep. On Monday, I had no fever, but the sore throat was ragin’. After my mother’s pleas Being the responsible adult that I am, I booked myself an appointment at the Austin Regional Clinic. Let me tell you one of the greatest joys one can experience in life: reading the fine print of your insurance policy while feeling like absolute shit.
I called my boyfriend on the verge of tears, “I don’t understand what any of this insurance jargon means! It’s enough to make you not want to go to the doctor!” I was feeling like a big fat whiny bitch, but isn’t that what we do when we’re sick? Shuffle around the house with our pants around our ankles making grunting noises at any phone calls, visitors or questions being hurled our way?
My boyfriend helped me decipher the cryptic health insurance language on my plan and I discovered that Blue Cross covers $300 towards preventive care, then nothing is covered until after I pay $3500 out of pocket. After $3500, I’m golden. So in essence, with my plan I can not afford more than one doctor’s visit and a yearly exam each year. Did you hear that, body? NO BREAKING DOWN EVER!
I often get frustrated with people in my life who do not have insurance. I ignorantly think, “If I bought myself insurance, then they can get insurance too!” In fact, my father is one of those people and I’ve spent many nights crying into the phone on the reasons why a 59 year-old man should have insurance. Well, insurance costs a lot more for a 59 year-old than a 29 year-old. Even at steal of $300/month for a basic plan, my Dad can’t afford it (my father is of the artist-type). I run into adults of all ages every day who don’t have insurance. Hell, it seems like once a month I get a Facebook invite to a fundraiser for an unfortunate individual who was hit by a car or ate it on their bike and didn’t have health insurance. A few of these people weren’t responsible by getting insurance when they could afford it, but most of them simply couldn’t afford it. The majority of people simply can’t afford health insurance.
This is why it’s absolutely infuriating that the Governor of Texas made the asinine decision to block Medicaid expansion through Obamacare in Texas this week. What’s worse is that he made the statement that all Texans have insurance. “Every Texan has health care in this state,” Perry said on Fox News this week. “From the standpoint of having access to health care, every Texan has that.’’ It gets worse: Perry blocked Medicaid expansion because he said it would “bankrupt” the state, though it would be funded by the federal government. Wait, actually, this is the worst of the worst: Millions of Texans are being denied majority funded health care because of Rick Perry. Oh yeah, and here is an additional slap in the face for ya: This decision coincides with news that the renovation budget for the “mysterious arson attack” at the Governor’s mansion just blew past it’s budget by $15 million. That’s 11 million school lunches, according to Bloomberg.
Perry is really a marvel of science. Scientists should investigate the fact that Rick Perry has managed to exist on an alternative plane than the rest of mankind. The Texas he lives in is not the worst state in the union for health care, not one of the top states for child and adult obesity and most definitely not a place where 1 in every 4 Texan doesn’t have health insurance.
I love the state I live in. Of all the places I’ve lived and visited in North American, there are no people like Texans. What I can’t understand is how they vote for a man like Rick Perry and why that man continues to misrepresent his own people. “We have the best interest of our citizens, not the federal government,” Perry said on Fox News. Rick Perry, if you had the best interest of your people at heart, this wouldn’t be all about you and your ego.
32 Comments
Girl, you’re preachin to the choir. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Texas but I SO hate Rick Perry.
And I feel ya on the freelancer’s insurance policy. I too have BCBS, altho my policy is more like $180/month. And yes, it’s $3000 out of pocket before they cover bigger stuff, but at least at the doctor’s office there is a copay of a more reasonable $25 each visit. Hopefully your plan is setup that way as well.
Agree completely – but Lauren, I want to know more about the desk chair bicycle!!
Texas #1 state for doing business
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/11/texas-named-top-state-for-business
have you thought about relocating…maybe California or the North East?….they have plenty of welfare and medicaid. You can sing along to this video on your way out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o64Fz-KW1Dk
I’ve been employed with insurance my entire life and had zero issues. Healthcare is not a right, it is a benefit. There are no free lunches. Someone is paying for Medicaid and the 99 weeks of unemployment and all the other welfare programs. Rick Perry is asserting state sovereignty and likely saving the state from eventually being bankrupted over Obamacare….
I guess you think it is ok…just have everyone else pay a little extra to “help out” you and your Dad and anyone else who is not able to survive on their own….bravo comrade!
Seriously, move out of Texas…plenty of places that cater to people with your mindset. I’m sure you can all join hands and sing about how great Obama and gay marriage is as well.
Old School Texan
The actual facts in this case are that the Texas Legislature decided not to expand medicare coverage during the last session when working on the budget. The federal subsidy absolutely DOES NOT cover the entire cost of the expansion, which is a very common mistake. The cost of the expansion, after the Federal subsidy, was estimated at $15B. That’s Billion with a capital B. We were only able to balance the budget with medicare/medicaid/SCHIP/WIC/Texas Star (food stamps) eligibility as it is by cutting payments to doctors. It wasn’t Perry’s choice alone. Texas is not a dictatorship. The money wasn’t there and a choice had to be made. That is how it works in the real world. BTW -> For those states that are blowing their budgets up with the expanded coverage, where do you think the Fed will get the money for the subsidy? By selling bonds to the Chinese. That is assuming that they will purchase them at a rate we can live with, or ever pay back.
You’re right about not fully funded. I changed it to majority funded.
Why is it that the answer for anything someone opposes in the state they reside in, pay taxes in…to move if they don’t like it? News flash…for those that do not have insurance, those people are not able to get preventative care…who do you think us going to foot the bill once something catastrophic happens and they get really sick and need care? Yep… The tax payer.
“The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”
Margaret Thatcher
Ii..I have yet to figure out how he keeps getting elected as well. I have not yet met a single souls that admits to voting for him! I currently so not have health insurance either.. I want to, but after I pay $1025 for rent, $250 to feed a family if 6, pay $300 a month for electric, $80 a month for water, $200 a month on gas, $400 for car insurance and the payment plus my cell phone bill and the immigration lawyer for my hubby…my little check I get working as a nanny, plus his from the job he still has back in Canada for an indie art magazine..we do not have enough left over to purchase health insurance. My kiddis have it through my ex..but bit I. Once immigration goes through, I am hoping he is able to land a job with nice benefits…meanwhile..thanks a lot Perry.
fantastic post.
cmon Hipstercrite – why are you moderating my comment?
I didn’t realize the comment section was only for people with the same view as you ?
figures….at least stand up and put together a response on why I”m an uncaring asshole and I just have been lucky to have insurance…..you know, the typical Democrat response. Oh yeah, make sure and explain who Texas is #1 in the nation for doing business.
Old School Texan
EVERYONE’S comments are moderated. They go in a cache, so I can review and then approve. I went out to lunch, hence NO ONE was approved while I was away from my computer. Your comment has been approved. Have a nice day.
Thank you
Old School Texan, meet another Old School Texan. Born and raised.
I appreciate the fact that Texas is #1 for Business in the US. But you do understand the reason for that, right? Because of the tax subsidies that our State gives to these businesses to move here, ie. bailouts as they should actually be known as.
And you do understand the reason alot of Californians, NYers, etc are moving to Texas right? To take those jobs. And you want to know why? Because the education system in Texas sucks and there aren’t enough qualified ‘old school’ Texans to fill these roles.
Before you start squawking about liberals, gays, blacks, in the stereotypical rant, why don’t you take a good look around and notice how many Texans are without a job or no insurance or pregnant teenager and/or homeless and tell me how proud you are about Rick Perry. Don’t you think it would be smart to take care of your own. And by that I mean, EVERYONE in Texas. Not just the Old School Bubbas who are afraid of progress because it doesn’t look like them.
I disagree on most of your points.
1) I’m ok with tax subsidies to bring in jobs in certain cases. It has resulted in Texas being the #1 state in the USA for business. A bailout is giving money to a company that would otherwise not exist and disappear into bankruptcy, completely different.
2) No, people are moving here from California and NY for multiple reasons including low cost of living, no income tax, low property tax, low home prices and most important, WE HAVE THE JOBS. I am looking around, and I see plenty of educated Texans- we have top tier universities including UT, Texas A&M, TCU, Baylor….it goes on and on. The truth is that we rank low on education because of Mexicanos flooding into the state….that is the truth and I guess I’m a racist now for saying it.
3) I don’t like Rick Perry and disagree with many of his policies. I have never voted for him. The fact that in early 2007 he signed an executive order mandating that 11- and 12-year-old girls in Texas be given the vaccine Gardasil was insane, and he should have been thrown out of office for it. I’M NOT A FAN OF RICK PERRY!
4) I am not racist and I support gay rights (I know, you are shocked…I must be racist since I don’t like Obama). Both issues are way way down on my list behind what really matters, economic policy. And yes, I get ticked off pretty quickly when I see bloggers and other liberals blabbing on about how we need to help everyone when we DON’T HAVE THE MONEY…..
5) I looked around and I see lots and lots of illegals milking the system.
http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2010/aug/23/debbie-riddle/debbie-riddle-says-more-81-babies-born-houston-hos/
6) It is not my problem if your teenager has a kid or if you want to sit at the Austin intersections and beg all day long. It is called taking responsibility for your actions. You want to help them, good for you – we have plenty of charities that will take your money. What are you waiting for? Stay out of my pockets!
7) Afraid of progress…good lord, get a freaking clue. Exploding debt, endless wars, drums beating for Syria and Iran, loss of freedoms, TSA in the airports, drones flying overhead, 8%+ unemployment for 40+ consecutive months…..
yeah, real progress…..lets focus on giving more freebies and gay rights……thank you comrade for the advice!
I’m a hard working, god fearing family man and country boy, not a some liberal Austin artsy person writing blogs and thinking how cool and trendy they are with their skinny jeans and piercings. I work hard, pay my taxes, have multiple degrees and am successful. I take care of myself and my family and have NEVER been on any welfare program.
There is a reason Texas is #1 in business and has weathered the recession so far…it is because there are more people who think like me and less that think like you!
********
When I look at my property tax bill I see the majority goes to schools. And less than half of what I pay to schools goes to schools in Austin. Most go to rural schools teaching poor white Texans who vote Republican.
Most of my road dollars go to maintaining roads in the middle of nowhere.
If these illegal immigrants are truly freeloaders as you say than how exactly are they avoiding paying property taxes when they rent apartments? How exactly are they avoiding paying sales tax when they buy things? And if they’re being paid by a scrupulous employer how are the avoiding paying social security and income tax withholding? If anything the fact that illegal immigrants are ineligible for most social services, but pay for most of them makes them the opposite of freeloaders.
The reason it is so cheap in Texas and so expensive in CA and NY is because of greenfield building. Greenfield building is much cheaper than building inside existing cities. And the great thing about it? You’re offsetting the costs till later. You want to see Texas’ future? It’s California. Except it will happen sooner, because unlike California Texas doesn’t want to pay any of its bills.
Texas is about to run out of money to float new bonds for new roads. So the existing roads are going to fall apart. And the schools are going to fail. Because we have “Old School Texans” who value ideology over pragmatism.
ok Tim – illegals are the opposite of freeloaders.
Wow, now I see it…you are right, since they are the opposite of freeloaders, that must be why we are letting them flood across our borders and then giving them a path to citizenship. Thanks for explaining that to me Tim.
And the greenfield building……oh ok…..you are right, that is going to turn Texas into California…..no new development going up in downtown Austin at all…….ok, I’m totally changing my views!
Obama 2012 and free healthcare and food and hell while we are at, why not energy and housing for everyone! That is change I can believe in…super cool dude…..you should run for office with such a deep grasp and understanding of current events and economics.
now back to reality – please for God’s sake educate yourself….I’m embarrassed for you.
last post – I don’t want to drive anymore traffic to this blog….back to blabbering about the latest trends and music.
keep Austin weird!
Hi Old School Texan, are you a libertarian? Just curious.
This response doesn’t really pertain to your political views, though. I was mostly struck by this sentence:
“I’m a hard working, god fearing family man and country boy, not a some liberal Austin artsy person writing blogs and thinking how cool and trendy they are with their skinny jeans and piercings.”
What does this have to do with ANYTHING? In your mind, is being hard working antithetical to writing a blog?
(And who said anything about piercings??)
The great thing about Austin is that country boys and “cool and trendy” skinny jeans-wearers (which I guess is a whole category of person for you?) can co-exist! If you want to have a political debate, that’s fine. Let’s talk.
But, dude. No one’s going to listen to you if you swagger in and start condescending to people. It would be like if I came into your (hypothetical) blog and said,
“I’m an educated, open-minded woman and urbanite, not some right-wing dude from the boonies toting my gun and thinking how high-and-mighty I am with my Bible as well as my NRA membership.”
See?
🙂
ok – I’ll bite
Yes, if I had to classify myself, Libertarian would be close to the mark.
From my personal experience, Austin has a heavy dose of trendies – I find it annoying that the majority of them don’t have 2 nickels to rub together, but they have plenty of opinions on what I need to be doing to help them, and they love using the Government as the enforcer. I want the Government to leave me alone and stay out of my pockets.
Read through the comments – you got hipstercrite calling the Governor a “dick” followed by Tim trying to tell me that illegals are actually a good thing for Texas and that our state is on the road to ruin because of Greenfield building and oh yeah, Conservative are now idealogues and Liberals are pragmatic….give me a freaking break. LOL
Yes, my patience runs out quick when I read this crap, and instead of other idiots commenting how great of an article and blogger she is, I felt it was appropriate to offer another viewpoint.
BTW, I don’t have a NRA membership and while I have Christian values, I do not subscribe to a religion. I am not all high and mighty as you claim. I work hard, take care of myself and my family and want to be LEFT ALONE..that is it….do whatever you want (I support gay rights), just LEAVE ME ALONE. Call it the country boy mentality or whatever, but that is how I was raised and that self sufficient mindset is what has allowed me to live a very happy and comfortable live while providing for my family.
Liberals insists on having the government invade my privacy and my pockets to support their “just causes”.
I’m not the exception, I”m the norm. I remember when it used to be disgraceful to go on unemployment and shameful to be on food stamps. Now people run towards it……that liberal mindset might fly in Austin, but when you get outside of the capital, my viewpoint is the norm.
have a good weekend
(This response is to “Old School Texan” below; for some reason there’s not a reply button on his entry.)
Hey Old School Texan,
Hi there. Ok, so, you don’t have an NRA membership and don’t subscribe to Christianity exclusively. That’s exactly what I’m saying. To paint people in broad strokes is frustrating, because people are complicated.
(Or as the old saying goes, “Assuming makes an ass out of U and ME.” 😉 )
I understand you being frustrated by the rhetoric/dialog that had gone on here in the comments section leading up to your remarks (the one about artsy Austin people). And at the end of the day, I really do think it takes all types to make Austin/the country/the world work.
All I’m saying is, there’s enough negativity on the Internet, and it keeps both sides in an “us vs them” headlock when we start insulting each other. I think you have valid opinions and I actually find Libertarians (the people) FASCINATING, even though I don’t necessarily agree with the political principles. But I want to engage you by hearing more about your ideas, not by making big assumptions about you. So let’s (you, me, everybody) talk — but talking can’t happen if you insist on seeing whole sections of people as two-dimensional.
Kum Ba Ya,
Tolly
Thanks Tolly – btw, the picture is not of me and I have no idea where that came from…?
I don’t know if this’ll make you feel better or worse, but less than 20% of Texans voted for him in the last election. And a decent number of Republicans voted straight ticket except for Perry (he got less votes than any other state level Republican on the ballot).
The key to turning Texas blue is still just a mobilization issue. It has nothing to do with the actual makeup of the state.
I think he’s equating access to “emergency departments” as “access to healthcare.” It’s not the same thing. How does he explain the 22% of children who aren’t covered?
Healthcare is a human right, bottom line. My father, a Republican and a doctor told me this when I started medical school, “If you don’t think healthcare is a human right, you have no business being a doctor.” From the viewpoint of a provider, Obama’s healthcare plan sucks. Reimbursements are being cut and providers are being forced to use EMR programs that aren’t centralized and don’t communicate well with each other. There is no sort of provision to open more medical schools and to create more residency programs, so as people get more coverage, it’s going to get harder to see a doctor since the numbers aren’t going up. BUT, from a coverage standpoint, it’s pretty good. And I don’t think what Rick Perry is doing is going to solve the problem of no/underinsurance in this state. One of the few good things that Rick Perry has done is promote the Gardasil vaccine (albeit for shitty money reasons). It’s a great public health provision and can help nearly eradicate cervical cancer. Another is his support of the DREAM Act. Besides that, Rick Perry is basically a heartless dick. Ask Planned Parenthood and the women’s health clinics in the valley.
This probably didn’t make much sense. I just hate Rick Perry. 🙂
Isn’t the main reason Texas is #1 for business simply that it is a huge, populous, state? Furthermore, business is not all there is to life. “The state had to make some sacrifices though, and that hurt in some categories. Texas comes in 26th in Education and 35th in Quality of Life. And while the state held the line on income taxes, the overall tax burden — including property and sales taxes — is high. That hurts Texas in the all-important Cost of Doing Business category, where it comes in 28th.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/47818860
Seems like we have sacrificed a lot to worship at the alter of almighty business.
Amen.
Girl, I’m an Aggie and proud Texan AND tend to vote conservatively and I DESPISE Gubner Gudhair…with every fiber of my being. It helps having a degree in history & knowing exactly what the framers of the Texas Constitution desired when they created the Governor & Lt. Governor’s positions…and this ain’t it. Here’s a hint, the Governor isn’t supposed to have just a whole heckuva lot of power in the state of Texas…the legislature is. Perry has acquire power via cronyism, he’s been in office for SO freakin’ long, he has a crony in every position a Governor can appoint to. So not good. Texas needs term limits y’all. Ok, history lesson over.
I think what he’s saying when he says, idiotically “Every Texan has health coverage” or whatever is that if you’re poor, you can go to some crummy county hospital and they’re required to treat you. Wow, so where does that leave us, the taxpayers? (Yes, I’m still a Texas taxpayer even though we live in AZ, Texas is our official home of record) Oh yeah, holding the bill. Our property taxes go up, our sales taxes go up and our insurance rates go up (because the doctors can’t see as many paying customers so the insurance companies have to charge more to get the same amounts.)
So, RICKY, was that brightest move? Seems to me like you cut off your nose to spite your face. Just because you hate Obama (I’m not a fan either), doesn’t mean that your constituents have to suffer. Sometimes in politics you have to compromise. It’s not all about YOU & your CRONIES.
I just love a good ‘how shite are our politicians’ story. I wholeheartedly agree by the way :). Down here in Australia, I had a similar difficulty recently – sent to hospital urgently, blood tests all over the place, and – oh wait hang on you have to pay for it all, this isn’t covered by Medicare. AND, the most insulting part for me, was that the emergency department is funded by Tattersalls, which is the biggest lotto and gambling company in this country. What are we to do? I certainly don’t want to be a politician but the ones currently in power are shit. Nice post :).
This is a great post. Thank you. I live in Massachusetts, where health care is mandated, which is fine by me, but only because I have a corporate job that gets us a really good deal and pays for it. If I had to buy health care own my own I would be screwed. It’s expensive as sh@t! The messed up thing is that just because you have health insurance doesn’t mean you can afford actually going to the doctor.
And yes, in general, Rick Perry is an idiot. Misinformed and hypocritical. He’s all about small government but is in favor of rewriting the Constitution to ban abortion. It doesn’t make any sense. Unless your Rick Perry.
I am so sorry that you’re struggling to get care. It makes me feel awful. Nobody should have to struggle that much to see a doctor. It’s just wrong.
As a Scot – the way healthcare works in the states is crazy to me! Don’t get me wrong, we have our fair share of problems in the UK too but one thing that makes living here actually ok is having the NHS and the idea that healthcare shouldnt be a priviledge just for those that can afford it but a right for everyone.
We pay excess tax (National Insurance) for that right but at least when we get sick (no matter how serious) we know we have access to the care/medication we need (for the most part) and it just makes no sense to me why a country such as America cant do the same (obviously its not profitable enough for some peoples liking to do so which quite frankly is disgusting).
Also, to Tara….”doctors cant see as many paying customers”….the idea of a sick person as a “customer” is outrageous!!! Doctors have a professional responsibility to treat “patients” (not customers), money just shouldnt come into it – this & the fact that any of you grudge paying up to provide healthcare (for everyone) is a prime example of why the world is so messed up!
He does not have clue. He is stupid and he wants to run again.
Read through the comments – you got hipstercrite calling the Governor a “dick” followed by Tim trying to tell me that illegals are actually a good thing for Texas and that our state is on the road to ruin because of Greenfield building and oh yeah, Conservative are now idealogues and Liberals are pragmatic….give me a freaking break. LOL
I hate to tell you this but many Republicans are lying on illegal immirgantion. They are only a little better than Democratics and Perry wants lots and lots of guest worker programs of Hispanics for lots of low skilled jobs, its in the Republican Texas Platform and Libertarins tend to oppose e-verify or any system that would track business that hire a lot of illegal immirgants. Also, Rick Perry is tied up with Chuck Devore who was a assemblyman in Orange County that now lives in Texas that also supports a lot of guest workers.