Adventures in Obamacare

The Congressional GOP wants to defund the Affordable Care Act – so-called Obamacare — before it even goes online and provides a way for over 40 million Americans to purchase affordable, individual health insurance policies.

I am one of the 40 million.

I have lived without health insurance for nearly a year and a half now. Once I moved across the border into New York from Massachusetts, I lost the healthcare coverage that the commonwealth was providing – the healthcare that was the original model for Obamacare, and thus has also been called, somewhat ironically, Romneycare, after the former Massachusetts governor who oversaw its implementation into law, and who then ran for president and derided his own innovation and legacy.

I may possibly have been able to purchase health insurance on “the open market,” but several things kept me from doing this. One was the outrageous price – upwards of $1,000 a month, according to my initial inquiries. Another was the knowledge that in just a short time, online health exchanges would be set up and I would then be able to choose a plan that would probably cost me less than half that much (I’m hoping).

Fortunately, New York is one of the states that is way ahead of the curve on this, and thus next week I should be able to begin my online shopping for health insurance (although I don’t think it will actually be available until January, IF, that is, the Republicans don’t succeed in their efforts to destroy Obamacare before it even takes effect).

It’s been a little scary these months living without health insurance. Fortunately, nothing momentous has happened to me that required a great expenditure of medical dollars. I had a few close calls – I was infected by a deer tick with Lyme disease or some other tick-borne illness that made my arm turn red and itchy and swell to twice its normal size; I had some sort of metabolic episode that knocked me off my feet for a short time – but nothing that required hospitalization or expensive testing.
I’ve also been helped by an incredibly generous primary care physician, who has seen me once or twice during this time and hasn’t charged me or heavily discounted my visits. I’ve had to pay “out of pocket” for some tests and long-term medications, but their cost, while significant, has been much less than what a monthly insurance premium would have been, so I figured I was fortunate in that regard. I have foregone or delayed some routine care and “well-care” in the hopes of gaining coverage once Obamacare takes effect.

And I have been very careful, probably to a fault. I decided not to ride my bicycle this summer, figuring it was probably better than risking a single wipeout requiring an emergency-room visit and possible acute care. I have actually taken great care on walks and hikes not to trip or to twist a knee or ankle. I even think about the placement of my legs and knees when I get in and out of the car. You don’t ordinarily think about these things – and maybe I’m being incredibly overprotective of myself or neurotic – but I do believe I’m better safe than stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills – IF I can avoid it.

But it’s kind of crazy, and it’s no way to live, and I really look forward to getting back in the system, contributing my share to the healthcare system in order to INSURE that if and when something happens to me, I will be able to have access to proper medical care.

As something of a guinea pig, therefore, I thought I would begin, with this blogpost, recounting my experiences with Obamacare. Stay tuned to learn just what it’s like to shop an online exchange, what plans are available, what sort of coverage there will be compared to what I had previously – first when I was employed, and then when I was unemployed and moved to a state-supported plan – and how hard (or easy) it is to navigate this brave new world, this one step forward, toward the sort of national health insurance plan we should have if we were ruled by logic and sanity – and not by Republicans who would just as soon see us lying by the side of the road bleeding to death as they would see us paying our fair and reasonable share toward the greater, common good.