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Now we just need homeowners insurance reform. You see, my house burnt down. I’d like to have insurance fix it but they won’t insure it. Because you know, insurance is not a business, it’s there to fix problems I already have so I don’t have to pay full price, right?
Hey, dbag. Thanks for your comment. I think you’re trying to draw a comparison between pre-existing medical conditions and what I think you would call pre-existing damage to your home. The comparison doesn’t feel accurate to me though. If you don’t have personal experience with being rejected for pre-existing conditions–which, not to be presumptuous, but it sounds like you don’t–it is definitely difficult to understand how the old system worked. I know this, because before I was rejected for the first time for health insurance it was something that never crossed my mind. Not to get too in-depth about my medical history, but I have something called Chronic Prostatitis. It flares up once or twice a year for about a week, but is a fairly minor disorder that effects millions of otherwise healthy men . For me, it usually requires one doctor’s visit a year. Because I make my living in an industry that doesn’t generally offer health care*, I have had to apply for individual insurance. Because I suffer from this condition and because I have also seen a psychologist in my life, no insurance company will cover me. I have been rejected numerous times over several years by most of the major insurance companies. I was not offered coverage with exemptions or coverage with an extremely high premium to compensate the insurance company for whatever additional risk they thought they were taking on. I would have taken either of those options. No, I was rejected completely and totally. As I am a generally healthy individual and don’t see the doctor much, this is not a huge problem for me. What is a huge problem though is, if–God forbid–I was in an auto accident or had a stroke or any other horrible medical condition that happen to millions of previously healthy Americans every day, my family and I would be forced into bankruptcy. There is no possible way for any individual (except for maybe millionaires) to pay for catastrophic medical care. It just can’t be done. So, because my prostate makes it difficult to urinate a few times a year and because I have sought therapy with a psychologist (as millions of Americans do each year), I was being put in a situation where one day, God-forbid, my family and I might have to chose between getting me life saving treatment and being homeless. That to me is an unacceptable choice. For me, this has not been, and never will be about trying to force companies into giving me something for free. It is about trying to make sure that Americans like myself can pay fair rates to help ensure the health and security of our families. Like I said, in the comic, I don’t think this healthcare reform is perfect. As any compromise does, it involves taking the good with the bad, but it is a step in the right direction. In three months, when the first step on banning exclusions for preexisting conditions goes into effect, I will join the millions of Americans breathing a sigh of relief.
*I was fortunate enough to work on a union job in my industry last year, so I now have actual real medical insurance at least for the next year, but for the 6 years before that when I was working full-time I was not provided insurance through my employers.
This is sad but im 22 and i too have a chronic prostate infection and have been denied coverage, sadly mines been here for over a year and wont go away . I love this on so many levels!
Matt, yeah, I hear you buddy. It can be pretty uncomfortable. And then to be denied on top of that is infuriating. I’d ask your doctor about prednisone (it’s a steroid). It’s the only thing that I’ve ever found really works for me.
So, because you have this issue, which I am sure is rough, it is all our responsibility to take care of you. And you want insurance companies to give you a fair rate. Who defines fair?
You I bet.
I’d like to define fair on any number of things I need, but since it is just me, that’s not fair.
Sorry, but, also happy for you that you got your way this time. Not happy to be paying for you, not happy that our country has degraded to the point that an independent spirit and drive to succeed has been sickened by folks with their hands out, crying “ME ME ME ME, give ME!” Just happy you and your poor prostate can feel all better now.
Just a fair warning though. At some point, ‘I’ run out of money, so do me a favor and start saving up for when that happens. I don’t want you to be back in the position of needing me when I’m not there for you. That would be sad.
Welcome to the discussion. And thanks for sharing your thoughts. In response, I feel like either I didn’t express myself well or that you misread what I was trying to say. I made it very clear that I am not asking for a handout from you or from anyone. What I want and have always wanted is the ability to purchase health insurance. As I said in comments above, I was not given that option. I was not offered insurance at a fair rate or at unfair rate (as defined by either party in the negotiation). I was not offered insurance for a thousand dollars a month or a million dollars a month. I was told flat out that this product would not be sold to me. What I wanted and what this new law now affords me is to buy a product that will save my life and save the livelihood of my family if, god forbid, anything catastrophic would happen to me. If anything, I would think that from your comments about independent spirit and drive to succeed, you would be happy about this. I am now able to pay my own way, from my own pocket, from money that I have earned through my own hard work. Thanks again for your comments.
I think that anyone who disagrees with the health reform is fairly low on the IQ scale. Personally, if I had an illness, I’d want to be able to get medical help without spirally helplessly into debt, which I think is fantastic for people with hereditary illnesses or obesity. Luckily, in Ireland, the state provides health cover for free, but you get shit treatment. But due to EU regulations, you must be accepted by private insurers regardless of your health (obv. the premiums will be higher), and you get top notch treatment (Yay!).
If it weren’t for the state healthcare, a lot of people I know would be dead right now.
Troy, are you also gonna start bitching because your taxes paid for a highway in Montana that you’ll never use, or because it covers installation of wheelchair ramps in government buildings, or any number of things public money goes toward?
For the small contribution that you’ll have to make (probably offset by the tax cuts that Obama provided to the middle class anyway) millions of your fellow citizens get health coverage.
Your attitude is no different from a preschool brat who doesn’t want to share any toys.
Of course, if you want what’s yours to stay yours and nobody elses, feel free to cart your sorry arse to a remote shack in the hills where you can bask in the glow of your material goods uninterrupted for as long as you wish.
It’s good to see our American brothers and sisters finally getting something other than grief and embarassment from their government. I agree with the OP that this health insurance reform (which is what it is, really, not health care reform) is a step in the right direction.
What I advocate is a system like ours in Australia – a mixture of public and private. That way, seeing as everybody’s covered, nobody needs to fear a hospitalisation wrecking their livelihood, and also those with the means and desire for private care have that option too.
admin – have you tried getting catastrophic coverage and a health savings account? you might need to go to an ‘approved’ doctor to get a letter saying that your risk is minimal for catastrophic problems from your prostate, but they should have something. also, if the agent you are talking to hasn’t been around insurance for long they might not have even heard of a lot of the options you could take so ask for more options from their manager (age is not an easy way to tell, my dad has as many new agents in their 50′s as he does in their 30′s).
as for the health care bill, the biggest problems i have are the mandatory health care, which because of the requirements takes away the ability to get just critical coverage and a health savings account, in fact retired and active duty military who use tricare would have had to get a second insurance before they added an amendment to exempt federal coverage from the minimum allowable insurance. the other thing is that they aren’t setting up their own health care, instead they are taking private businesses and telling them who they can and must sell to and at what maximum prices, then again they’ve been doing that for ages, best of all is that the people making the laws and regulations are lawyers who’ve never held any real job in their lives, let alone run any sort of business.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Healthcare [comic]…
This article has been featured on Gunaxin Links…
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:49 pm
nice..,
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:21 am
How cool.
America gonna have cool things. The same we have in Europe (everywhere) and our pals in Canada.
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Now we just need homeowners insurance reform. You see, my house burnt down. I’d like to have insurance fix it but they won’t insure it. Because you know, insurance is not a business, it’s there to fix problems I already have so I don’t have to pay full price, right?
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Hey, dbag. Thanks for your comment. I think you’re trying to draw a comparison between pre-existing medical conditions and what I think you would call pre-existing damage to your home. The comparison doesn’t feel accurate to me though. If you don’t have personal experience with being rejected for pre-existing conditions–which, not to be presumptuous, but it sounds like you don’t–it is definitely difficult to understand how the old system worked. I know this, because before I was rejected for the first time for health insurance it was something that never crossed my mind. Not to get too in-depth about my medical history, but I have something called Chronic Prostatitis. It flares up once or twice a year for about a week, but is a fairly minor disorder that effects millions of otherwise healthy men . For me, it usually requires one doctor’s visit a year. Because I make my living in an industry that doesn’t generally offer health care*, I have had to apply for individual insurance. Because I suffer from this condition and because I have also seen a psychologist in my life, no insurance company will cover me. I have been rejected numerous times over several years by most of the major insurance companies. I was not offered coverage with exemptions or coverage with an extremely high premium to compensate the insurance company for whatever additional risk they thought they were taking on. I would have taken either of those options. No, I was rejected completely and totally. As I am a generally healthy individual and don’t see the doctor much, this is not a huge problem for me. What is a huge problem though is, if–God forbid–I was in an auto accident or had a stroke or any other horrible medical condition that happen to millions of previously healthy Americans every day, my family and I would be forced into bankruptcy. There is no possible way for any individual (except for maybe millionaires) to pay for catastrophic medical care. It just can’t be done. So, because my prostate makes it difficult to urinate a few times a year and because I have sought therapy with a psychologist (as millions of Americans do each year), I was being put in a situation where one day, God-forbid, my family and I might have to chose between getting me life saving treatment and being homeless. That to me is an unacceptable choice. For me, this has not been, and never will be about trying to force companies into giving me something for free. It is about trying to make sure that Americans like myself can pay fair rates to help ensure the health and security of our families. Like I said, in the comic, I don’t think this healthcare reform is perfect. As any compromise does, it involves taking the good with the bad, but it is a step in the right direction. In three months, when the first step on banning exclusions for preexisting conditions goes into effect, I will join the millions of Americans breathing a sigh of relief.
*I was fortunate enough to work on a union job in my industry last year, so I now have actual real medical insurance at least for the next year, but for the 6 years before that when I was working full-time I was not provided insurance through my employers.
March 23rd, 2010 at 3:02 pm
nuff said
March 23rd, 2010 at 7:13 pm
This is sad but im 22 and i too have a chronic prostate infection and have been denied coverage, sadly mines been here for over a year and wont go away
. I love this on so many levels!
March 24th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Dear Admin is Faggot, You made me laugh out loud. I’m glad you understood what I was saying.
March 24th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Matt, yeah, I hear you buddy. It can be pretty uncomfortable. And then to be denied on top of that is infuriating. I’d ask your doctor about prednisone (it’s a steroid). It’s the only thing that I’ve ever found really works for me.
April 1st, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Agreed.
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:07 am
So, because you have this issue, which I am sure is rough, it is all our responsibility to take care of you. And you want insurance companies to give you a fair rate. Who defines fair?
You I bet.
I’d like to define fair on any number of things I need, but since it is just me, that’s not fair.
Sorry, but, also happy for you that you got your way this time. Not happy to be paying for you, not happy that our country has degraded to the point that an independent spirit and drive to succeed has been sickened by folks with their hands out, crying “ME ME ME ME, give ME!” Just happy you and your poor prostate can feel all better now.
Just a fair warning though. At some point, ‘I’ run out of money, so do me a favor and start saving up for when that happens. I don’t want you to be back in the position of needing me when I’m not there for you. That would be sad.
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:57 am
Hey Troy:
Welcome to the discussion. And thanks for sharing your thoughts. In response, I feel like either I didn’t express myself well or that you misread what I was trying to say. I made it very clear that I am not asking for a handout from you or from anyone. What I want and have always wanted is the ability to purchase health insurance. As I said in comments above, I was not given that option. I was not offered insurance at a fair rate or at unfair rate (as defined by either party in the negotiation). I was not offered insurance for a thousand dollars a month or a million dollars a month. I was told flat out that this product would not be sold to me. What I wanted and what this new law now affords me is to buy a product that will save my life and save the livelihood of my family if, god forbid, anything catastrophic would happen to me. If anything, I would think that from your comments about independent spirit and drive to succeed, you would be happy about this. I am now able to pay my own way, from my own pocket, from money that I have earned through my own hard work. Thanks again for your comments.
April 2nd, 2010 at 5:36 pm
I think that anyone who disagrees with the health reform is fairly low on the IQ scale. Personally, if I had an illness, I’d want to be able to get medical help without spirally helplessly into debt, which I think is fantastic for people with hereditary illnesses or obesity. Luckily, in Ireland, the state provides health cover for free, but you get shit treatment. But due to EU regulations, you must be accepted by private insurers regardless of your health (obv. the premiums will be higher), and you get top notch treatment (Yay!).
If it weren’t for the state healthcare, a lot of people I know would be dead right now.
Not me, though. I’m made of steel.
April 7th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Troy, are you also gonna start bitching because your taxes paid for a highway in Montana that you’ll never use, or because it covers installation of wheelchair ramps in government buildings, or any number of things public money goes toward?
For the small contribution that you’ll have to make (probably offset by the tax cuts that Obama provided to the middle class anyway) millions of your fellow citizens get health coverage.
Your attitude is no different from a preschool brat who doesn’t want to share any toys.
Of course, if you want what’s yours to stay yours and nobody elses, feel free to cart your sorry arse to a remote shack in the hills where you can bask in the glow of your material goods uninterrupted for as long as you wish.
It’s good to see our American brothers and sisters finally getting something other than grief and embarassment from their government. I agree with the OP that this health insurance reform (which is what it is, really, not health care reform) is a step in the right direction.
What I advocate is a system like ours in Australia – a mixture of public and private. That way, seeing as everybody’s covered, nobody needs to fear a hospitalisation wrecking their livelihood, and also those with the means and desire for private care have that option too.
May 27th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Now that was some comedy. Probably not as funny as the comments above, but I laughed my ass off at the comic. Thanks.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:37 pm
admin – have you tried getting catastrophic coverage and a health savings account? you might need to go to an ‘approved’ doctor to get a letter saying that your risk is minimal for catastrophic problems from your prostate, but they should have something. also, if the agent you are talking to hasn’t been around insurance for long they might not have even heard of a lot of the options you could take so ask for more options from their manager (age is not an easy way to tell, my dad has as many new agents in their 50′s as he does in their 30′s).
as for the health care bill, the biggest problems i have are the mandatory health care, which because of the requirements takes away the ability to get just critical coverage and a health savings account, in fact retired and active duty military who use tricare would have had to get a second insurance before they added an amendment to exempt federal coverage from the minimum allowable insurance. the other thing is that they aren’t setting up their own health care, instead they are taking private businesses and telling them who they can and must sell to and at what maximum prices, then again they’ve been doing that for ages, best of all is that the people making the laws and regulations are lawyers who’ve never held any real job in their lives, let alone run any sort of business.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:38 pm
oh, and nice comics.