Name:   copperline - Subject:   Not by a long shot Date:   4/25/2016 5:51:56 PM

Calling my post "bovine shinola" and questioning whether I was competent to do my job with my patients doesn't sound like respect to me.  You are out of line, and out of your depth.

Yes, basic ER services were covered (mostly), but not necessarily the hospitalizations needed afterward.   For that, I have stayed all night at the ER many times trying to find an approved hospital bed for people who thought they were going to get all the care they needed when they saw the Emergency Room signs.   I have also sent many folks back into the street holding just a prescription they couldn't afford to fill and instructions to find a doctor who would accept so-called insurance policies....even when we all knew they needed to be hospitalized.

I'm glad you have been able to get the medical care you needed over the course of your life.  I'm glad you never found yourself caught in one of the many fissures in the healthcare system.   I'm glad you weren't one of the huge number of people who went broke paying for medical expenses they had every reason to think would be insured .....and made medical expenses the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US.

What I am particulary glad about is that you didn't lose your insurance because of all those medical problems.  Afterall, you are a completely undesireable consumer to any insurance company that you apply to.   Your medical expenses have far out-stripped all the premiums you could ever pay, leaving you completely dependent on the premiums paid by other people in your policy group.    Your description also suggests the strong liklihood of crippling & unusually expensive medical care needs in the future.  People like you are the reason insurance rates go up.     You are literally in the bulls-eye as a consumer that insurance companies would love to rid themselves of.    After all, you are just an expense item to them, and NEVER will be a source of profitable premiums.  

If we had not changed the rules thru the ACA, in the future a fellow like you could find that he was turned down for the next job simply because your medical problems could cause an increase in company premiums, and it would be cheaper to hire someone with a healthier history.    Don't think your medical history can be used against you?   Think you know enough to keep your health insurer from getting the upper hand?   You haven't played the game long enough, and for all you know your luck was about to run out.

Thanks to the ACA. you may not have to face life without insurance.    But if ACA was to be repealed, you could easily be dumped.  In fact, it would be in the best interests of your insurance company to do just that.    And the kicker is that the insurance company would simply say that keeping you out of the policy was in everyone's best interests.