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I recently got an email from Senator John Cornyn titled "YOUR TURN: Share your health care story." Mr. Yee Haw Texas senator wants to hear, and I quote -
- real stories from real Texans about how the new health care law will affect them, their families, and their businesses. These personal stories will provide Sen. Cornyn with real-life scenarios to share with his colleagues in Washington and demonstrate the effects of the health reform law on hard-working Texans.
To share your story with Sen. Cornyn, which he will share with others in Washington and across the country, please email a written story that addresses a question below to realstories@cornyn.senate.gov.
#1 What Does The New Health Care Law Mean For Your Business? #2 How Will The New Health Care Law Affect Your Ability To Hire New Workers? #3 How Will The New Health Care Law Affect The Choice And Costs Of Benefits For Your Employees?
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The rest of his email went on to tell me about the terrible effects of health reform, just in case I was confused about that. So I decided to share my story. I'm sure he will enjoy sharing it with everybody in Washington and across the country.
Here's my email:
Senator Cornyn: Thank you for asking how health reform will impact my small business. I am happy to tell my story.
I ran a very successful small business for 10 years in Michigan. So did my husband. I am a writer, he's in sales. We were both happily, successfully self-employed. A business doesn't get much smaller than that. With typical American entrepreneurship, we worked hard and did quite well. But our health insurance costs rose quickly, year after year.
When we decided to move to the great state of Texas 2 years ago, we were really in a bind. Our super-expensive policy would not transfer down here. And nobody wanted to write us a new policy because we are 55 and we have some very minor health incidents on our records. Nothing extreme. Nothing ongoing. Just the usual little stuff everybody deals with by the time they are 55.
Our only alternative was the Texas high-risk pool, at $1500 a month. That is not much help.
I ended up taking an office job, at a cut in pay, just to get health coverage. I took a job away from someone else. I dissolved my business. All because there were no choices, even here in Texas where supposedly the state is doing such a bang-up job for everyone.
So, here is how health reform will impact us: finally, we may have a chance to buy affordable coverage through an Exchange. We can no longer be turned down because of "pre-existing conditions." If there had been a public option in the plan, we would have had yet another choice.
Health reform will also provide a tax credit for my new employer, since he has fewer than 50 employees and he cares enough to buy insurance for us.
The health bill is not perfect. I would have preferred single-payer, so everyone could enjoy the basic right to health care. But I'm glad the bill was passed.
I wish you had voted for it.
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