When I started teaching, educator insurance was pretty great. I remember feeling that I didn’t care how much I got paid as long as I had that insurance. Since that time, it has been changed and chopped into little bits so much that teachers get the short end of the stick for both pay and insurance. I would definitely support healthcare for all, no matter how rocky the road is to get there.
Interesting that it's changed over time! Since I take insurance (as a therapist), I've been able to see how much variability the different school districts around here have in terms of what health insurance they offer. Sounds like they've sliced and diced to take away trying to do it so teachers don't notice as much and complain too loud or leave???
If you ask me, teachers deserve a big pay raise and great health insurance - especially with all the germs they're exposed to every day, lol! I really hope we can find a way forward to create a healthcare for all system.
So, I'm going to figure out some insurance stuff this week. I'm still on my parents' insurance because it's really good, but their insurance plan is specific to VA and so it doesn't work the same way in Washington state. Apparently there's something called "guesting" where certain doctors are contractors who will take my insurance, and I've thankfully found one, but I'll also need to figure out getting a referral to an endocrinologist and a psychiatrist....it's probably going to be a bad time. I'm probably going to make a lot of phone calls, which I hate.
ugh, that's such a pickle of a situation. Seems like such a lucky break that you found a doctor who'll take your insurance - but now the uphill battle of finding specialists that take it! I'm so sorry to hear that. Insurance is terrible to navigate. I'll be thinking of you and your many phone calls and provider struggles this week!
I love that comment!! Yes about the inadequacy of basing insurance on employment and eye roll about COBRA. So glad the O-Care subsidies have improved and you two and kiddos qualify. Medical bankruptcy remains the cruelest issue of all. Some choose death instead of treatment so the surviving spouse is not left destitute. We need a comprehensive solution not a series of bandaids. Unfortunately US solutions are almost always bandaids and camels instead of well-designed comprehensive systems. I don’t know how we ever got Medicare and Social Security, which are great systems despite some issues. Maybe we will get lucky on healthcare for all someday.
That is so tragic about a patient choosing death instead of treatment to try and avoid bankruptcy!! :( truly criminal.
I learned today that the extra subsidies (for people/families who make between $50 and about $104k, at least in our state) are set to expire at the end of 2022! 😩 really hoping that the Dems can pass an extension on that before whatever unfortunate events transpire after the November election... we are definitely relying on those subsidies!
Oh no!! I wonder if the subsidies got a boost because of covid. Sure hope the Dems win and keep it going for you... and for everybody. Sadly, I have read about patients choosing death more recently, but the example I was thinking of was my dad. It's a very long story, but he died of lung cancer in 1994 choosing minimal treatment at the VA rather than leave my stepmom bankrupt. I have read, I think in AARP publications, that this still happens because of the incredibly high cost of cancer treatments with copays, deductibles, and lifetime maximums. Maybe I'll research and write about it.
Thanks for sharing, both the personal story and the link. I'm so sorry about your dad and the choice he was forced to make. I hope you do write about it if you feel inspired to do so!
Thanks for the expose’ Christine. I have been in the scramble to cover healthcare several times in my lifetime. The trouble with employer plans, which are usually pretty good, is you lose your coverage if you get laid off. Sure you can keep coverage under COBRA, but the cost is exorbitant at a time when you can least afford it. Obamacare is a possibility if laid off or self-employed, but if your income the previous year as shown on tax returns is middle class (around the national median or above), you are SOL—no subsidy for you! And again the cost of unsubsidized insurance is out of reach. Finally, there are the Christian plans, and you’ve done an excelkent job of explaining all the reasons why they are a poor option. I don’t know how many millions are left uncovered, but my guess is just about every sole proprietor, independent worker, or worker not covered by their employer who earns a middle income is uninsured. It’s a tale of a healthcare system that is utterly broken for many people. And that doesn’t even get into the issue that we pay twice as much for healthcare as most other countries with worse outcomes or that many people are still going bankrupt because of inadequate or no coverage for catastrophic illnesses. This is a huge issue that must be addressed by finally passing free healthcare for all!
Yes! I really hate that insurance coverage is tied to employment. So true about COBRA - like, perfect un-solution, right?? *rolls eyes*
There's so many jobs and professions that don't get insurance coverage! I'm a sole prop right now and intend to be for a long time. I think Biden has helped expand the amount of people who qualify for subsidies. I consider my husband and I solidly middle-class in a working class community, but we're fortunate (by which I mean lucky?) enough to qualify for a hefty subsidy for our insurance (from Obamacare). But hopefully it remains that way when taxes come around next year and I didn't accidentally make too much money to lose our subsidy! :P it really is a dance people have to do about insurance coverage.
Ugh and our medical bankruptcy rate is SO problematic it's disgusting. Medical issues that no one would choose to have should never have to ruin a person's financial solvency - it's ridiculous. We need a way better solution like free [or at least heavily subsidized, because it's a public good!] healthcare for all, woohoo!
I do! I love getting her newsletters - I finally had a chance to read that today. Christian nationalism vs Christian nation-ism. It's good to define our terms. Also an excellent poem!
When I started teaching, educator insurance was pretty great. I remember feeling that I didn’t care how much I got paid as long as I had that insurance. Since that time, it has been changed and chopped into little bits so much that teachers get the short end of the stick for both pay and insurance. I would definitely support healthcare for all, no matter how rocky the road is to get there.
Interesting that it's changed over time! Since I take insurance (as a therapist), I've been able to see how much variability the different school districts around here have in terms of what health insurance they offer. Sounds like they've sliced and diced to take away trying to do it so teachers don't notice as much and complain too loud or leave???
If you ask me, teachers deserve a big pay raise and great health insurance - especially with all the germs they're exposed to every day, lol! I really hope we can find a way forward to create a healthcare for all system.
So, I'm going to figure out some insurance stuff this week. I'm still on my parents' insurance because it's really good, but their insurance plan is specific to VA and so it doesn't work the same way in Washington state. Apparently there's something called "guesting" where certain doctors are contractors who will take my insurance, and I've thankfully found one, but I'll also need to figure out getting a referral to an endocrinologist and a psychiatrist....it's probably going to be a bad time. I'm probably going to make a lot of phone calls, which I hate.
ugh, that's such a pickle of a situation. Seems like such a lucky break that you found a doctor who'll take your insurance - but now the uphill battle of finding specialists that take it! I'm so sorry to hear that. Insurance is terrible to navigate. I'll be thinking of you and your many phone calls and provider struggles this week!
I love that comment!! Yes about the inadequacy of basing insurance on employment and eye roll about COBRA. So glad the O-Care subsidies have improved and you two and kiddos qualify. Medical bankruptcy remains the cruelest issue of all. Some choose death instead of treatment so the surviving spouse is not left destitute. We need a comprehensive solution not a series of bandaids. Unfortunately US solutions are almost always bandaids and camels instead of well-designed comprehensive systems. I don’t know how we ever got Medicare and Social Security, which are great systems despite some issues. Maybe we will get lucky on healthcare for all someday.
That is so tragic about a patient choosing death instead of treatment to try and avoid bankruptcy!! :( truly criminal.
I learned today that the extra subsidies (for people/families who make between $50 and about $104k, at least in our state) are set to expire at the end of 2022! 😩 really hoping that the Dems can pass an extension on that before whatever unfortunate events transpire after the November election... we are definitely relying on those subsidies!
Oh no!! I wonder if the subsidies got a boost because of covid. Sure hope the Dems win and keep it going for you... and for everybody. Sadly, I have read about patients choosing death more recently, but the example I was thinking of was my dad. It's a very long story, but he died of lung cancer in 1994 choosing minimal treatment at the VA rather than leave my stepmom bankrupt. I have read, I think in AARP publications, that this still happens because of the incredibly high cost of cancer treatments with copays, deductibles, and lifetime maximums. Maybe I'll research and write about it.
Thanks for sharing, both the personal story and the link. I'm so sorry about your dad and the choice he was forced to make. I hope you do write about it if you feel inspired to do so!
Found some articles about the death or debt choice. This one, though 2.5 years old, really explains it well and includes some excellent statistics. https://www.forbes.com/sites/claryestes/2019/12/04/death-or-debt-cancer-patients-are-presented-with-an-unimaginable-choice/?sh=1d61819c3d36
Thanks for the expose’ Christine. I have been in the scramble to cover healthcare several times in my lifetime. The trouble with employer plans, which are usually pretty good, is you lose your coverage if you get laid off. Sure you can keep coverage under COBRA, but the cost is exorbitant at a time when you can least afford it. Obamacare is a possibility if laid off or self-employed, but if your income the previous year as shown on tax returns is middle class (around the national median or above), you are SOL—no subsidy for you! And again the cost of unsubsidized insurance is out of reach. Finally, there are the Christian plans, and you’ve done an excelkent job of explaining all the reasons why they are a poor option. I don’t know how many millions are left uncovered, but my guess is just about every sole proprietor, independent worker, or worker not covered by their employer who earns a middle income is uninsured. It’s a tale of a healthcare system that is utterly broken for many people. And that doesn’t even get into the issue that we pay twice as much for healthcare as most other countries with worse outcomes or that many people are still going bankrupt because of inadequate or no coverage for catastrophic illnesses. This is a huge issue that must be addressed by finally passing free healthcare for all!
Yes! I really hate that insurance coverage is tied to employment. So true about COBRA - like, perfect un-solution, right?? *rolls eyes*
There's so many jobs and professions that don't get insurance coverage! I'm a sole prop right now and intend to be for a long time. I think Biden has helped expand the amount of people who qualify for subsidies. I consider my husband and I solidly middle-class in a working class community, but we're fortunate (by which I mean lucky?) enough to qualify for a hefty subsidy for our insurance (from Obamacare). But hopefully it remains that way when taxes come around next year and I didn't accidentally make too much money to lose our subsidy! :P it really is a dance people have to do about insurance coverage.
Ugh and our medical bankruptcy rate is SO problematic it's disgusting. Medical issues that no one would choose to have should never have to ruin a person's financial solvency - it's ridiculous. We need a way better solution like free [or at least heavily subsidized, because it's a public good!] healthcare for all, woohoo!
Do you happen to follow Diane Butler Bass? I found this a good balance, together with the entire Langston poem.
https://tinyurl.com/2kbvwrns
I do! I love getting her newsletters - I finally had a chance to read that today. Christian nationalism vs Christian nation-ism. It's good to define our terms. Also an excellent poem!