We Must Begin Somewhere

My son-in-law has juvenile diabetes, and he spent most of his late twenties without health insurance because of this pre-existing condition. He got his insulin by going to his doctor's office, where they would give him a handful of insulin samples. He also owed a lot of money to the company that provided his sites for his insulin pump and often used sites longer than he should have; they wanted payment on some of the outstanding balance before sending him the new sites.

He and my daughter visited me in San Diego to spend a few days at the beach. As the days passed, he felt worse and worse. Within four days he ended up in the local hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis. It turned out that the receptionist had given him the wrong samples, and the insulin he was using was only one-quarter of the insulin strength he was supposed to be taking.

Fortunately, he had signed up for his medical insurance only weeks before coming to San Diego. With medical insurance, he had no problems being treated or admitted. This could have been a nightmare situation if he were still uninsured.

Two months later, my daughter, who had also signed up for health insurance after Obamacare went into effect, went to the ER in Phoenix with extreme bloating and was hospitalized with liver problems. This probably saved her life. Without the requirements of Obamacare to buy insurance, she probably would have continued as uninsured.

Our son-in-law is now employed by a large employer and does have good medical insurance coverage through them, and my daughter is also covered as his dependent so they have been able to avoid some of the premium increases and lack of choice seen in the marketplace.

I also have a son in college. He is twenty-one, and according to Obamacare is still on our family policy. I just received a letter from our insurance company demanding that we prove he is still in school or risk having him lose his coverage. It seems they are already licking their chops to kick him off our policy.

There are three things I see as abominations: making money off prisons, making money off students, and making money off sick people. Obamacare is a step in the right direction of reining in the abuses that occur as medical insurance companies try to maximize their profits. It certainly has its problems, but a solution for our unfair and broken healthcare system must begin somewhere.