My wife has MS. I'm celebrating the passage of this bill.

[WilliamPitt]

All of you who are determined to shit all over the passage of this legislation...welll...try not to land on each other when you jump out the window.

I'm celebrating today.

:toast:

[cali]

1. I hear you.

Hope your wife is doing well.

[WilliamPitt]

2. After last night,

she's better than she was. :)

[calimary]

45. Good to hear! I suspect that applies in a whole lot of America this morning.

:fistbump: :patriot: :thumbsup:

[sufrommich]

3. So am I, it's a great day to be a Democrat.

Screw the naysayers.

[Lasher]

4. So exactly how will this bill help her?

Honest question.

[GCP]

6. For a start, she won't be dumped for having a pre-existing condition

And there is no cap on lifetime benefits. Huge change for someone with a chronic life-ling condition.

[martymar64]

74. What about annual caps. Lifetime caps mean squat if you exceed an annual cap.

It's just more Enron-style accounting to deny you and me actual health care.

Health Insurance Is Not Health Care

[Crunchy Frog]

90. My understanding is that annual caps will no longer be legal

after it takes full effect.

[hlthe2b]

7. No life time caps, no longer able to drop coverage, no longer

able to exclude her from other policies, should there be a job change, due to pre-existing condition--for starters....:shrug:


I too wait impatiently for a true public option or single payer. But, I do have to look at this as a critical start.

[Midlodemocrat]

11. My husband's surgeries have reached $700K.

With a lifetime cap? God help us if he needs additional surgery.

This is a victory. A small one, but I'll take it. The ability to keep my kids on my insurance is a huge plus as well.

[eridani]

10. It won't until 2014

There is plenty of time to jack up her premiums to truly outrageous rates, and they have 4 years in which to dump her.

[Javaman]

33. That's what worries me.

I have friends with pre-existing conditions. They also are celebrating today. I said to them, don't celebrate just yet, you still have 4 years yet to go and a lot can happen between now and then.

one more reason why a didn't like this bill.

[Better Today]

47. Main reason for me, if it has all started quickly, I could probably

have bought the "it's a step, we'll improve it later." But it isn't a step for most of it, for most people who need what it offers, it's a plan for step, one that could be reversed between now and 2014

[fishbulb703]

62. +1. What good does this do me now? My chronically ill partner? nt

[elocs]

5. I have a freeper friend who was beside himself with rage yesterday about the bill

and his youngest son (42) has MS. He is covered under his wife's insurance and has to pay $200 for just one shot. Yet my freeper friend is moaning because he claims it is already costing him more for his Medicare. He just doesn't seem concerned that before his son with MS could be up the creek without a paddle if his wife lost her job and he no longer had insurance to cover his MS.

[GCP]

8. They really do think with their reptilian brain, don't they?

They cannot see 2 weeks down the road.

[pnwmom]

19. I'm sure you've noticed that there are plenty of DUers with the same problem

at least with regard to the HCR issue. They've convinced themselves that somehow they'll never need insurance.

[WilliamPitt]

9. MS is a $40,000-a-year disease

without insurance. I can't imagine where the disconnect is.

[gleaner]

70. I have MS too.....

I didn't like this bill, but I am not writing about that. I have some links which may be helpful to you and your wife which have nothing to do with politics, but which could provide some help if you wanted or needed it.

http://www.msfocus.org/ This link is to the MS Foundation. They provide access to a lot of helpful information and services. I am the only caregiver for my husband who had MRSA and is bedridden. I do OK on most things but vacuuming and moving heavy things are really hard for me as is walking much distance without resting. The hospital where my husband was treated gave me the name of the MS Foundation. They give small grants and stipends not based on income for the person with MS. In my case they gave me five visits from a cleaning company to help with the heavy work I can't do myself to catch us up. They said they will also check out and help repair our air conditioner. I am one of the 80% of MS people who are acutely heat sensitive. It has been a real help. Hopefully they could provide you with some assistance in an area where no one else can. Call their 800 number and discuss it with them. They will be able to explain their program much better than I can.

http://narcoms.org/ This is a research project. The person with MS participates voluntarily. They are assigned a blind number to protect their identity and are asked to fill out a questionnaire every six months either on line or through the mail, depending on their preference. The questions are a self assessment on MS and various MS related symptoms. It is useful because you get a good objective self view of your illness and how it is progressing. I saw a lot of symptoms that I thought were unique to me that others had and it was somehow comforting. Also they send out a report (I believe quarterly now) which goes into MS research on the illness, treatments, protocols and If you want to participate, clinical trials of various medications. It is designed to create a body of information provided by the MS people themselves for researchers and doctors to use both now and in the future.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx This link is for the National MS Society, which you are probably already familiar with, but I thought I would include it anyway. They can refer you to a local MS Society which can provide referrals to respite camps, peer groups for patients with MS and their families and they also discuss research and symptomatology. Again, a very helpful site.

I hope this helps. We may disagree on politics sometimes, but MS doesn't change. It is the real enemy. I wish you and your wife all the best.

[gleaner]

72. I have MS too ..

I didn't like this bill, but I am not writing about that. I have some links which may be helpful to you and your wife which have nothing to do with politics, but which could provide some help if you wanted or needed it.

http://www.msfocus.org/ This link is to the MS Foundation. They provide access to a lot of helpful information and services. I am the only caregiver for my husband who had MRSA and is bedridden. I do OK on most things but vacuuming and moving heavy things are really hard for me as is walking much distance without resting. The hospital where my husband was treated gave me the name of the MS Foundation. They give small grants and stipends not based on income for the person with MS. In my case they gave me five visits from a cleaning company to help with the heavy work I can't do myself to catch us up. They said they will also check out and help repair our air conditioner. I am one of the 80% of MS people who are acutely heat sensitive. It has been a real help. Hopefully they could provide you with some assistance in an area where no one else can. Call their 800 number and discuss it with them. They will be able to explain their program much better than I can.

http://narcoms.org/ This is a research project. The person with MS participates voluntarily. They are assigned a blind number to protect their identity and are asked to fill out a questionnaire every six months either on line or through the mail, depending on their preference. The questions are a self assessment on MS and various MS related symptoms. It is useful because you get a good objective self view of your illness and how it is progressing. I saw a lot of symptoms that I thought were unique to me that others had and it was somehow comforting. Also they send out a report (I believe quarterly now) which goes into MS research on the illness, treatments, protocols and If you want to participate, clinical trials of various medications. It is designed to create a body of information provided by the MS people themselves for researchers and doctors to use both now and in the future.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx This link is for the National MS Society, which you are probably already familiar with, but I thought I would include it anyway. They can refer you to a local MS Society which can provide referrals to respite camps, peer groups for patients with MS and their families and they also discuss research and symptomatology. Again, a very helpful site.

I hope this helps. We may disagree on politics sometimes, but MS doesn't change. It is the real enemy. I wish you and your wife all the best.

[malaise]

12. 100% correct

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/

[NNN0LHI]

13. I am celebrating with you guys

:toast:

[eridani]

14. How wonderful for those who aren't consigned to the age-rated pile of human garbage.

Lots of us don't appreciate having second class status chiseled into law. Well, she has something to look forward to--tripling her premium when she hits age 50.

[Raineyb]

56. Lots of us don't appreciate being pushed into the high risk pool where

the insurance is really expensive, doesn't cover what you need it to, and is designed to make you want to drop the insurance in the first place since the insurance companies don't want to insure you in the first place.

[eomer]

85. The new federal high-risk pool caps premiums at 100% of standard rates.

The various state high-risk pools prior to the new law cap rates at from 125% to 200% of standard rates.

I can't tell whether you're criticizing the old status quo or the new bill, but it seems to me that this change is an improvement in the area of high-risk pools in the short term and then eliminates the need for them altogether in a few years.

[Raineyb]

88. I'm criticizing the new bill. Only 100%. Lovely. So I can play twice as much

for crap I still can't afford to use and have the policy NOT cover the condition I need it to cover? And this is a benefit how?

[eomer]

89. No, not twice as much. It is not a 100% increase over standard rates. It is 100% of standard rates.

100% of standard rates is just another way of saying you will pay standard rates.

In other words, any extra premium that you would have been charged because of high-risk will not be charged. You will be charged a rate as if you were a standard risk in the standard pool of all regular people.

Currently some state high-risk pools charge as much as 200% of standard rates (in other words, two times the standard rates), thereby passing some of the high-risk premium on to participants. But that is not the case with the new federal high-risk pool.

[mmonk]

15. There are some good things for those that have been locked out

for pre-existing conditions. It would have been better if what was provided for children with pre-existing conditions was also applied to your wife. And if all you can say to us who wanted more with this historic opportunity and honest politics in the political process is to say we are determined to shit all over passage, you're missing what we are saying. Congrats though.

[Joey Kidd]

16. "My wife has MS."

I'm really sorry that she have to endure this awful illness.:(

[WilliamPitt]

18. She's tough as nails.

Thank you.

:hug:

[DevonRex]

39. And so are you. I have a rare immune deficiency. My husband has had to be tough

to see me through some very difficult times - times we thought I wouldn't pull through. He's my rock and I know that you are Mrs. Pitt's rock.

My prayer for you is that you have someone to take care of YOU when you need it, just like I pray that I can take care of my husband when he needs it.

[Vinca]

17. There are some good things in the bill - I hope I'll be able to take advantage

of the high risk pool if it's not too expensive. The downer is twofold. #1 - human suffering is still a "for profit" business and, #2 - this was a time in history when a real overhaul of the system might have taken place which would have put us on an equal footing with other civilized nations. It was sacrificed in the name of bipartisanship. Funny, too, how we got to the end of the rainbow and the pot of gold wasn't there. Still no one around to sing kumbayah with.

[Tailormyst]

20. I was about to say how happy I was for you

and that I hoped your wife was one whom the bill helped.

Then I read the content of your post. You should have stopped at the subject line. Just another piece of divisive flamebait along with the rest this morning. People have lost the ability to behave civilly with one another.

[blueworld]

30. +1. I thought he got nicer when he married - I was wrong. LOL.

[Statistical]

21. I don't think the bill does what you think it does...

The limit on pre-existing coverage & lifetime cap doesn't go into effect until 2014.

There is also no limit on how high, how fast premiums can rise.

So that 39% premium hike by Anthem? in CA. How many of those could you afford. Say 39% per year every year for next decade.

Will it matter if they can't drop you if you can't pay the bill.

Then fun part is if you drop insurance because you can no longer afford it you get hit with a penalty = 2.5% of your income (min $695, max $2085).

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

55. Shhhhhhhhh you're not supposed to spoil the euphoria of this "win" with

logic. Didn't you know that?

[Cetacea]

22. The poor and working poor/lower middle class will now get medicaid

How can any democrat be angry about that?

[kstewart33]

23. So am I and millions others.

My youngest daughter has some health problems. We can now insure her until she's 27. That gives her more time to find a good job with a company with a good health insurance plan.

Millions of us have stories like this.

[Little Star]

24. And mybe in four years she won't be a victim of recission. That is if that actually stays as part

of the new federal law.

Only children will be covered under the pre existing condition clause.

[Jennicut]

28. It doesn't matter how long it takes. And it is part of law now, can only be repealed

with a 2/3rds majority in both the Senate and House. Kids with juvenile diabetes will be helped right away.

[MattSh]

35. That's news to me.

What law needs 2/3 majority to be repealed? Since when?

[Jennicut]

38. Sorry, Repubs would need 2/3rds majority in the both houses to override a veto

by Obama.

[Infomaniac]

25. My niece has MS. I'm celebrating right next to you.

:toast:

[medeak]

26. my husband has Parkinson's

and am celebrating too. Blue Cross offered insurance for him for $46k a year

[Jennicut]

27. As a type 1 diabetic WITH insurance, I am celebrating for all the diabetics who have been denied

insurance for having a "preexisting condition". It is a good day...eventually, everyone who has one will no longer be denied insurance because their own bodies are not perfect. And this will immediately help kids who are sick, especially those with juvenile type 1 diabetes.

[blondeatlast]

37. Fellow Type !-er here. I celebrate with you.

It's far from perfect, but having lived part of my adult life without insurance, I'm so very grateful it never has to be that way again.

Those were dark days indeed, and I have the secondaries to show from it.

[Jennicut]

40. Not taking care of the diabetes can lead to poor eye health, foot problems,

dental problems, kidney problems, etc. I think it costs the health care industry more to take care of people like us if we don't get covered properly to begin with!

[Egnever]

52. As someone with a son with type 1

I am on cloud 9 today! It has been a constant worry for us since he was diagnosed that something would happen that caused us to lose our insurance. We had a scare during my wifes last pregnancy where the insurance company said we didn't pay the premium and had ended our coverage. I have never been so freaked out in my life.

Thankfully it was an accounting error but we were panicked for a week while it was straightened out. We have been job-locked in our household since the diagnosis something that after this is signed is finally over!

And we get to keep him covered on our policies till 26! Its a great day for diabetics and millions of others with chronic conditions.

Despite all the moaning here on DU.

[Number23]

79. I think having a sick loved one is a million times worse than being ill yourself

Best of luck to your son and to Will Pitt's wife.

[Egnever]

87. Thanks 23

I agree its much worse than being ill yourself. I would do anything to have the diabetes instead of him.

[nutsnberries]

83. hey Jennicut,

my daughter has type1 too. I'm happy for you and her and all of us with pre-existing conditions. :grouphug:

[lonestarnot]

29. My kid can stay on until he's 26. Good since he can't find a job.

Donut hole closed for the Momz! :woohoo:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

94. self-delete for being misinformed.

[Stinky The Clown]

31. Will, who is shitting on the passage of the bill as opposed to wanting a better bill and not ......

.... being very thrilled over this bill?

I wish your wife the best.

You're being disingenuous.

Had you ended your post with the OP title, we'd be in full agreement.

[Better Today]

48. Well said.

[Peacetrain]

32. I am celebrating for you, and I am celebrating for my brother who will qualify for medicaid now!

He did not before, but under the new provisions, he will finally be covered. We have been sweating bullets for him since last year..

He was denied health care because of a pre-existing condition when he lost his job and took another as a dishwasher.

SOOOOOOOOO... yes lots to celebrate!! :toast:

[bridgit]

34. Well, if they all jump out the same window they'll just form another probability curve...

That can be denied all over again :kick:


Today, I'm observing, but do hear you and so say God Bless you & yours :toast:

[blondeatlast]

36. Lifetime insulin-dependent diabetes here--and I celebrate with you. My best to Mrs. Pitt. nt

[DevonRex]

41. I am celebrating with you, Will.

I have an immune deficiency but I'm one of the lucky ones. We already have insurance that nobody can take away and that nobody can deny for a pre-existing condition. We can choose from an array of insurance companies in order to get the best coverage.

And you will be able to do the same thing pretty soon. I am so very happy for you. :hug: and :toast:

[graywarrior]

42. I am happy for all of us who need this so much.

[Gormy Cuss]

43. Try not to shit on the people who won't be helped by this legislation.

Good for you and all of the rest of us who can afford health insurance but have family members who were uninsurable outside of a group plan. I think that's an important change to health insurance regulations.

I just don't feel like celebrating a bill that doesn't have a public option and doesn't overturn the Hyde Amendment and its ugly stepchildren.

[Raineyb]

59. Really! I swear people act as though that's too much to friggin' ask.

I have a preexisting condition and my COBRA is going to run out soon. This bill isn't doing a hell of a lot for me and I need health insurance that I can actually use to keep things in check. But I'm an adult so I don't matter.

:shrug:

[undeterred]

75. +100

[EFerrari]

82. I hope this works as Will believes it will for his family.

Health insurance won't do a thing for a lot of people except add another obligation to their monthly nut.

As far as jumping out of a window, I can't afford to trigger my vertigo. lol

[shellgame26]

92. Oh but things were soooo much better before...

:sarcasm:

[Better Today]

44. And I'm guessing you have insurance and the bill will not change

your or your wife's lives one bit.

If I'm wrong please tell me how this bill is going to help your wife in the next three years? five years? ten years? Be specific please.


I just don't see it, I see nothing that will contain costs, I see nothing that will really keep chronic, pre-existing conditions affordable (okay in four years you can't be denied insurance, but the cost of that insurance will be astounding, and I think many will still be/go bankrupt), nope I just don't see where this is going to do anything but support insurance and rising medical costs.

[Dappleganger]

46. So is my sister-in-law with MS.

Her husband was just laid off from IBM last month after years of service so now they have to pay COBRA costs. This health care reform was good news for them.

[Corgigal]

49. My 17 year old son

has Central Auditory Processing Disorder. He's been self insured for over ten years. For ten years I didn't tell his regular doctor because I was scared the insurance company would find out and would bump him off the next time they could. I used the public schools audiologist for testing but I couldn't do anything more.
My son and I no longer have to worry about that. I can now take him to an ENT doctor and tell him the complete background when he has issues and now I can use a private audiologist. While I mean my son is self insured , it was under his name but my hubby and I paid his bill.

This will make our lives easier, I no longer have to fear.

[Robyn66]

50. Celebrating right with you WILL!!!

I wasn't allowed to sign up for AFLAC because of my "pre-existing condition" even though I am cancer free. And although four years isn't ideal for pre-existing conditions, its better than NEVER!

BUT my daughter's pre-existing condition (Aspergers) is covered now. So that is huge!

I have high hopes for this bill as imperfect as it is.

Give you lovely bride a hug for me!!!
Love ya both
Robyn

[WI_DEM]

51. There are many ignorant people on DU who don't understand that this is landmark legislation

and many aspects are very good for many millions of people and that it is the best we could get. They don't seem to understand that passage of a single payer plan or something like that, as much as we would like it, wouldn't happen. Look how narrow the margin is on this bill.

[Raineyb]

60. And there are a lot of callous people who apparently don't give a shit about

those for whom this bill doesn't do a hell of a lot. Four years is a long time to wait for coverage and the high-risk pool is nothing more than a ghetto for people the insurance companies don't want to be bothered with.

[mzmolly]

53. My husband is a type 1 diabetic. He has been afflicted since his early teens.

I join you in celebration. :toast:

[ScreamingMeemie]

54. As an RA/Heart patient, I am not shitting William...

I am crying. Why jump out a window when an untreated condition will do just as well? There was a time where we could have opinions here. And not be told to jump out a window. My son, myself, thank you.

I hope your wife has a long and happy life.

[derby378]

57. My family has a few health issues of its own

We all have some problems with this legislation, but my grumpiness aside, let's all hope some good comes out of it for the sake of all of our loved ones.

:hi:

[supernova]

58. As someone with congenital heart defects

I'm right there with you, Will.

I've ben uninsurable for a while now, and when I am on an employer's plan I have to wait out the preexisting condition period, anywhere from 1 year to 18 months. I'll be able to get regular checkups and to see about when it will be time for me to have more heart surgery. I won't have to worry about being able to pay for it or that the ins co will turn me down.

[live love laugh]

61. The immediate elimination of pre-existing conditions is a HUGE benefit. I'm ecstatic. nt

[Raineyb]

63. It's not immediate it won't happen for FOUR YEARS.

Can you wait that long?

[live love laugh]

66. The elimination of pre-existing conditions won't take four years to implement

at least that's not what I am hearing from the media (ie. NBC, etc.)

[Raineyb]

67. Then I would suggest you read up. Preexisting conditions aren't addressed until

2014. In the meantime you'll be shoved into a high risk pool. I don't know of any place where there's a high risk pool where the policies offered aren't very expensive and cover very little which of course is expected because if the insurance companies wanted to insure you in the first place they wouldn't have declared you uninsurable in the first place. But who knows, maybe the insurance companies will act completely contrary to type. Of course, they'll be sure to make sure that you can't immediately take care of whatever condition has rendered you uninsurable in the first place. But if being a fourth tier citizen is acceptable by you by all means enjoy.

[shellgame26]

93. for children it's immediate

but don't let that stop you from bitching about how much better things were before.

[spanone]

64. i with you will !!!

[fascisthunter]

65. well, I don't like the bill much

but if it helps you and your wife, good. I wish ya both well.

[Greyskye]

68. My son has a pre-existing condition. I'm celebrating too.

:toast:

[grantcart]

69. good luck to both of you

[branders seine]

71. cheers

best wishes to you and your wife. How will this help her?

[martymar64]

73. Good for you. Now what about the 17 million that will STILL not be covered under anything?

31 million will now be covered, but the number of uninsured in America is closer to 47 million Americans. So that leaves us with about 16 million not covered by anything, public or private.
I guess they will continue to die, like they are now. Instead of 45 thousand a year, it will be only 15 thousand a year that die in the USA from lack of health care.

Not to rain on your personal parade, I'm glad your wife is now covered. Everybody needs access to health care.
But for many people here, celebration is a little premature. Many of us will see the same abuses continue until real enforcement is in place maybe in 2014. The deductibles and out of pockets set are high enough that although people my have coverage, they still won't be able to afford actual health CARE. The rate of bankruptcies for medical debt for those with insurance will likely remain high.
In short, there are way too many things that this bill fails to address.

This should only be the first step, but I'm afraid that now that this deeply flawed bill has been passed, nobody will want to attempt any other health care reforms for the next couple of decades. What we have here is it, forget about any "fixes". They promised to fix NAFTA and the Patriot Act but that never happened. I suspect the same will be with this bill as well. So although people will be covered under penalty of law, they will have no price controls and no competition and no real recourse against insurance company abuses for the next 4 years.

[MissMarple]

76. A big hug for you and your wife.

:grouphug:

This is a huge landmark. Huge. Hope and Peace :)

[ShamelessHussy]

77. best wishes for you and your wife, I certainly won't let the perfect be the enemy of the good

there are definitely some good things in this bill, & since the struggle is eternal, change the only constant, and time on our side, we must carry on the fight to make it even better, like putting real competition in the bill e.g. medicare for all who want to buy it.

:bear-hug:

[samplegirl]

78. Good for your wife.........

and for anyone else suffering.

[Wilms]

80. Research Vitamin D for MS n/t

[kestrel91316]

81. YAY for you and her. I've said many times, I can't afford insurance and

yet suspect I will slip between the cracks with this bill, but it's NEVER been all about me. I can be happy for all the millions of people who WILL benefit from it.

Besides, if enough of my clients benefit, that helps me by extension anyway......

[alarimer]

84. The problem I see is no cost control on what they can charge

So there is nothing to stop them charging WHATEVER THEY WANT, so it will not matter what subsidies are available.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

86. My 13 yr old granddaughter has Crohn's Disease & Ulcerated Colitis so I am too!

she was just diagnosed with it and is sitting on deaths doorstep. Please send good healing energy her way.

[shellgame26]

91. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

K&R