U.S. healthcare - complex, expensive and for many, unavailable

I'm scheduled to go back to work next week. Yay! My problems are solved. Well, not really. In the United States, healthcare is typically paid by an employer. Unfortunately, I am finding that insurance, being tied to employment, is an incredibly bad system. This is especially true of some employers who offer either no insurance or insurance that is so bad it covers practically nothing (which is the case of my present employer).

Here was my introduction to healthcare problems in the U.S. I had been an employee at the same place for 10 years. So, I didn't appreciate how the system had deteriorated. When I was let go from my employer, I was offered the option of COBRA coverage. Only $540 a month. What a bargain (sarcasm). Taking on a new bill in spite of having no clear source of income struck me as being really ironic. So, I did what millions of working people in the U.S. do every day. I decided to go without any kind of insurance coverage.

That didn't mean I stopped taking care of myself. Since I have severe allergies, I was in a program of getting injections to try to build a tolerance to a whole bunch of allergens by getting progressively stronger injections of what I am allergic to. This process takes many years and I was not quite half way through it. Since I felt I could not afford insurance, I worked out a cash deal with my doctor to continue my weekly allergy injections for $20 a visit ($80/mo). The injections aren't too expensive. However, when I need to get a replacement dose mixed, it's thousands of dollars to do so.

During my period of unemployment, I applied for a temporary insurance plan offered by New York State (in partnership with a private insurance company). I didn't get it. Believe it or not, my unemployment insurance payments made me exceed the income limit! What amazed me was this. Even if I did get the plan they can legally deny paying for allergy injections for 12 months along with any other pharmaceuticals due to being preexisting conditions! Further, they can do it till 2014!


During the process, I filled out numerous web forms that are designed to penalize those who work for a living and don't have multiple children. I was at a disadvantage for qualifying for insurance since I'm not disabled nor am I mentally retarded other than having the feeling that working for a living is for suckers. Good news though. I'm apparently healthy enough to almost consistently get this response.

It looks like these people in your home make too much money or do not meet other program requirements for public health insurance.

So, it appears as though I need to fit into the "other program requirements" category before qualifying for healthcare. Fortunately, I think I found a plan. At $360 a month, it's like renting an additional apartment to live in. However, at least the plan is not income based. The effect being, that it won't soak me for everything I have due to the fact I'm still healthy enough to work for a living. It also has the additional benefit of not being tied to my employer. So, I can switch employers at will without totally redoing my insurance each time. (At least, that's my hope).

As expensive as the plan is, there are several conditions before I can join. First, I need to live in New York State and have a pre-existing medical condition. I suppose it's fortunate that I have a non-lethal but annoying condition that is on the list of ailments. My condition requires medicine and supplies but I've been paying cash for them. So far, I survived the 6 month waiting period. In spite of now being almost out of medicine, I anticipate being able to survive in a semi-miserable state until I am able to get medication at subsidized prices. One thing I though was odd in the application process was that I was either required to be an undocumented alien or a citizen with a valid U.S. passport. I happen to have a passport but it's rather unusual for anybody other than Homeland Security to ask for that level of ID. The application process got even more interesting at the end. It required me to fax my medical records and passport to an unlisted phone number. That requirement was a challenge for me since I don't have a regular phone line. However, I had a PC and scanner and there are still Internet fax services available. After sending off all the paperwork to a phone number with shockingly confidential information on it, there is then a period of absolutely no feedback. So, I can only conclude that I've either sent off my life's information to a healthcare provider or the mafia. Judging from how the application process went, I'm thinking that it may have been both.

I called later to see if they received my information. They did. However, I was informed that I need to wait until my application is reviewed to qualify for the plan. I have no doubt this review is to establish my financial health rather than my physical health since the whole point of the plan is to address people who have pre-existing medical conditions. Hopefully, getting this plan might allow me to avoid the fate of so many people as they go broke when they get hurt and then loose everything they have to medical bills. So, this was as much about insuring my financial health as well as my physical health too.


In my web travels, I ran across a different kind of insurance. It was for "hunger insurance" This unreasonable and expensive policy is being offered due to recent projections of food shortages. However, what was interesting was doing a word replace of "HUNGER INSURANCE" with "HEALTH INSURANCE" made it into a striking resemblance of the health insurance system we have now. Coincidence? Oh, I don't think so!