Rant; Insurance and Health Care

What is the matter with our systems?  I am absolutely dismayed at the lack of care the industry of caregivers displays.  It’s not just the hospitals, but it’s the insurance companies too.  

I struggle every time I have to deal with this; it’s harder and harder to not think I’m being singled out.  I have done it right all my life.  I didn’t make the mistake of having children before I was ready.  I’ve maintained a steady job.  I’ve dotted my “I’s” and crossed my “T’s”.  So why the hell can’t I get insurance?  At best (as this latest insurance man who was very nice and politely apologetic told me) I can only get an indemnity plan that pays me money if I wind up in the hospital. I cannot get traditional insurance.  

Traditional insurance plans will not take me not because of cancer, no… for that they’ll just make me wait 12 months before they’ll bring me on (pre-existing conditions).  But the real reason they won’t take me is because of my weight.  Talk about discrimination!  Aside from this cancer and one other mentioned condition, that I might add I had long before I had any weight issues, I’m extremely healthy.  Yet I can’t get insurance because statistically overweight people have more health problems.  I am NOT a god damn statistic!  I’m not in the same group of people who do not pay their bills (this is for the hospital).  I am not in the same group of overweight people who are unhealthy (this is for the insurance companies).  I’m not a Dollar sign dear doctor!  I’m not someone to be ignored Insurance companies!

I have since my diagnosis been fighting daily for my own care.  I’ve had to be my own advocate along with my army of local friends and my mom who have helped me make calls and send papers.  This is so frustrating!  All I want is the same god damn thing that any other person would get.  I’ve done what I need to do; I’ve done the “right” things, so why can’t I get the same damn benefits as anyone else?!

My frustration level on this has been expressed personally only to those around me, forgive me the frustration that you see about this, but I had to post this so that if someone else who is going through this sees this, they know they’re not a statistic, or a freak, or whatever these god damn companies think they are.  They’re a person, who is suffering, and they like me when I experience this frustration feel so medically alone as the companies who were created to insure, heal and help us do NOTHING.  They would prefer instead to not take the risk and save a life, but would rather ignore the PERSON and do like so many others (including our government), and just watch us die.

How’s that for reality?