how much is health insurance

Kathy%20Cain_crop.jpg Health Care Voter Story: Kathleen Cain, Windham "My brother suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, the treatment of which involves a variety of prescription medications, frequent physician visits, and occasional invasive procedures—all of which are exceedingly expensive. Jim works in a restaurant that requires service personnel to average a minimum number of hours per week in order to qualify for health care benefits. If an employee fails to maintain the required number of hours in a given quarter, benefits are suspended until the next open enrollment period, which could be as much as a year away. Even those who maintain benefits pay high premiums and co-pays. Since the cost of health care is skyrocketing, it is in the best interest of the restaurant chain to attempt to keep the number of eligible employees at a minimum. At the same time, illness that prevents an employee from maintaining the minimum number of hours already jeopardizes coverage. Thus, employees who rely on coverage from the chain are constantly struggling to keep their medical coverage, while the employer is constantly attempting to eliminate employees from eligibility."

Health Care Voter Story: Kathleen Cain, Windham "My brother suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, the treatment of which involves a variety of prescription medications, frequent physician visits, and occasional invasive procedures—all of which are exceedingly expensive. Jim works in a restaurant that requires service personnel to average a minimum number of hours per week in order to qualify for health care benefits. If an employee fails to maintain the required number of hours in a given quarter, benefits are suspended until the next open enrollment period, which could be as much as a year away. Even those who maintain benefits pay high premiums and co-pays. Since the cost of health care is skyrocketing, it is in the best interest of the restaurant chain to attempt to keep the number of eligible employees at a minimum. At the same time, illness that prevents an employee from maintaining the minimum number of hours already jeopardizes coverage. Thus, employees who rely on coverage from the chain are constantly struggling to keep their medical coverage, while the employer is constantly attempting to eliminate employees from eligibility."

Sharon has had MS, an immunity disease, since she was 17. In the years before the plant she worked at in her teens and early 20’s closed, she was frequently dropped and picked back up from her employer’s insurance plan. To add to her MS, Sharon now has fibromyalgia and severe asthma. Her chronic diseases and medical procedures kept her from college for nearly 20 years. From 1980 to 1990 alone she received 15 surgeries. In more recent years Sharon has been doing much better. Due to more recent status as a full-time student she’s been eligible for subsidized insurance. This coverage has given her access to a new drug called Sol-Medrol that treats her MS and allows her to live a semi-normal life.

Sarah works for a health care center in Cedar Falls that offers specialized services for persons with mental challenges, physical challenges, or traumatic injuries. They offer her health insurance but for the first year they would not cover any pre-existing conditions. This means she will have to pay out of pocket to treat her Crohn’s until that year is up. Also, her doctor at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is not covered under her employer’s group plan. So, she will likely have to find a new doctor.

She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 15 years old. This diagnosis did not come without its own struggle. Doctors were sure that her appendix had burst and immediately removed it. After the appendix was removed Sarah was left with a fistula on the inside of her abdomen, this made her sick, constantly. Immediately following high school Sarah was too sick to start college. For this reason she was dropped from her parents’ health insurance. It was then she applied for Title XIX Medicaid but was denied. “They didn’t want to help, so I had to let the medical bills pile up.” Four years later she found herself $180,000 in debt and was forced to file for bankruptcy. (In Feb. of ’04)

Kathy has a very bad back and bad knees that she desperately needs treatment for. Insurance through her former employer was too expensive because the employees were not offered a group discount. Her ailments keep her from her work as a CNA, and unless she can be healthy enough to work long hours as a CNA then she can’t afford health insurance to treat the ailments. This catch-22 shows what is wrong with our health care system. People who work hard and play by the rules are driven out of the system because of skyrocketing costs.

Barb’s son began having major health problems such as seizures several years ago. In order to care for him, she was forced to quit her job. Then between the costs of her son’s treatment and medication, and her own anti-depressant and blood pressure medication she had to go on Title XIX for a short time. Thankfully, Barb was able to go back to work, and has found an employer that will help with her health care premiums. Unfortunately, since he’s has turned 18, Barb’s son has been dropped from her health insurance plan. Medicaid will not accept him because he is no longer a full-time student, so he is left without any wa

how much is health insurance

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