I need help that I fear is never coming

[thefool_wa]

I'm sure that there is a story of health care oppression for every word in the 2000+ page bill that has now come out of the Senate. Mine is not one of tragic disease or denied benefits, but the impact of the situation I am in threatens to first destroy my faith in humanity then destroy my family with financial ruin, and none of us are even sick.

I am a work-from-home call center worker (support staff, not phones) with a job that is not only extremely rare, but also exactly what I worked for years in the call center industry to achieve. Through perseverance and discipline my wife ad I have managed to keep our debt down to just our home and a single credit card that we pay off every year. Somehow (I'm really not sure how sometimes) we support the four of us (her, I and our 2 kids) on the meager $14.75/hour that my company has most generously capped my salary at and her babysitting for her sister for around $250/month. I feel at times like our life is a carefully balanced practice of the loaves and the fishes because somehow we always manage to have the necessities of life that we require along with a smattering of amenities (though not many) that keep life enjoyable, not just livable.

That is all about to change. Several years ago we abandoned my company's health care "benefit" as it was costing us $375/month for the entire family. The alternative we came up with was to enroll in the HRA program offered as a benefit which contributed $100/month to an account we could use to re-imburse health care costs, including separate health care insurance premiums. We enrolled in Washington State's "Basic Health" program and as of this year we were being charged $108 premiums of which my company was picking up $100 through the HRA. It had such a significant impact on my take home pay that we initially moved into a better apartment (5 years ago when we first switched over) and then 2 years ago bought our first home.

Then I got a call from our Human Resources department in November. The representative that contacted me said that the company had decided it was best for them to completely discontinue the HRA program in favor of a free "health maintenance" program that amounts to about 10 power point presentations about healthy living. The same week we got a letter from Basic Health informing us that economic impacts to the program were forcing them to increase our premiums from $108 to $168 per month. That is a 56% increase in the premium and a 2000% increase in my out of pocket expense.

On Thursday of last week, things got even worse. Governor Gregoire (D) presented her 2010 budget to our state congress. This budget includes the complete dismantling of the Basic Health program (as well as the free program that covers my kids), leaving us with choosing between my company "benefit" (which is now $400/month) or seeking private health care insurance (which will most likely cost even more). With the new health care legislation we wont even have the option of going without since it seems everyone in our government thinks its best for the country to be working so we can give insurance companies our money. Hell, even without the mandate, completely forgoing insurance and hoping that I, my wife, or either of our kids (one of which is asthmatic) doesn't get seriously ill isn't really an option as that would deprive my son of the medicine he needs to keep his asthma in check, virtually assuring that we will incur even MORE expense taking him to the hospital when he can't breathe.

I really don't know what to do. I am staring down the barrel of what will be a brand spanking new $400/month or more expense come July and, in all honesty, if there was room for that kind of expense in my budget we would have something other than our 2 15+ year old cars for transportation. I suppose I could hope that things will change enough by the final version of the reform bill that it will mitigate some of this new expense, but my understanding is that it will take until 2014 for everything to ramp up. I don't have that kind of time.

Health care reform isn't going to fix this situation, its going to make it worse, and I don't see anything coming that makes me think we will be able to endure. Gregoire has said that the budget she submitted was a a scare tactic to get congress to come up with more ways to generate revenue, but I could totally see them bouncing it right back to her and forcing her hand so that the opposition can say "See, Gregoire killed your health care, vote Republican". I'm lost, I need help, I need encouragement, but most of all I need someone out there in charge of things to think about something other than the balance sheets of corporations. Fuck corporations, they don't bleed, they don't breath, and I will be DAMNED if I stand by and let the best interest of the ultra-rich force me to choose between the abstract of health care insurance and the REALITY of food on the table.

Any suggestions, comments, or similar stories are welcome.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. How horrifying for all of you.

I'm afraid I have no suggestions, just my complete sympathy, and a very sincere hope that things will work out for you and your family.

And I hope that someone will come into your thread with concrete suggestions.

K&R

:hug:

[1776Forever]

2. Have you considered moving? I don't know if that is a good thing for you just asking.

I know we talked to my brother-in-law this week and he told us he is paying $400 electric bills a month in PA. I told him to consider moving from there too. Maybe that is what we all have to do, pick up and move to somewhere that we can believe in and hope for a better future.

I always say you gotta do what you gotta do. We moved from Florida 2 years ago because of taxes and insurance rates that were out of control. We are in a better place now. Our son who had no health insurance also had developed MS and we fought for him and paid his expenses until he received Medicaid.

Hoping for the best to you and your family.

[WestSeattle2]

3. Time to move into a different industry that pays more than

$15/hour. Part-time bus drivers for King County Metro top out at $28/hour for crying out loud; with full benefits.

Like the previous poster said, you gotta do what you gotta do, ESPECIALLY when you have kids to provide for.

I would never rely on the generosity of the government to raise my family; they can take it away at any time.

Just sayin'.......