Medicaid for All - one family's experience with the Welfare system and Medicaid - Part I
One family's experience with the Welfare system and Medicaid, my family.
Considering I have spent most of my married life in a single income earner situation raising five children, three of whom are special needs with disabilities, (which currently by the way are not receiving the SSI or Medicaid they are entitled too, because of current sidestepping and bureaucracy of the current system we have). I have dealt with all sorts of medical issues under all sorts of insurance schemes and platforms, from HMO's to PPO's to yes, and Medicaid.
Yes, over 15 years back, when all five children were little (our youngest was an infant), I lost my job two weeks before the Thanksgiving. Yes, companies are that heartless, that's how great America is. Still though had it not been for a sole project manager and friend who had known the layoffs were coming which were to affect over 40 people, he notified everyone two weeks early that the layoffs were coming on their actual date, the day before Thanksgiving! He did this despite he was directed by his immediate manager and a director to not say anything. Yes, not all executives are heartless, there are a few who stand up for the little guy.
Needless to say, at the time I had no insurance, so I paid everything out of pocket, before that all I could afford was an HMO program through my previous job, which being a whole other story, that place was a top ranking engineering firm, yet even with two children at the time (soon to be three - being good Catholics at the time), we qualified for welfare and WIC on the salary that I was making there. This then explains the reason why I left that job to go to this other one that paid twice as much as I was making, but I had no benefits. At the time, it was a good decision. Six years later, and hind sight 20/20, it probably was not such a good idea, had I been more frugal. "Frugal" comes with a caveat, in the time at the job where I made more money but had no benefits, I was able to pay off debts I had accrued while at the previous job, pay for the births of two of my children (in cash), as well as pay off debts, buy a decent car for my wife to drive and purchase a home for us to live in. Almost the American dream, but in order for that to continue, you have to be employed, and getting laid off didn't help that dream very much.
Losing your job by no fault of your own, but simply because of "corporate restructuring" could be counted as something that just comes with the industry, but needless to say, I found it very difficult to find a job. During the 6 months I was without a job, my wife and I learned all about unemployment insurance, welfare programs, food pantries in addition to that dreaded Medicaid, which after jumping through some incredible (needless to say stressful) hoops, yes especially with five kids, we finally qualified. All the while I dealt with the shame of being jobless, not able to provide for my family. With no one else to turn to, we turned to the government agencies that had been established to help those who had slipped through the cracks, these agencies in total are referred to in our time as the "social safety net".
During the 6 months I could not find a job, we were forced to go on full welfare, as well as WIC services and in addition to that, Medicaid. Yes, that dreaded government funded healthcare system that is so disparaged by some in the media. It was not an easy process and everything was scrutinized:
"You own two cars?" "Well yes, I have to get to a job if I can get one, and then my wife has to have one in case she needs to take the kids to the doctor, or there is an emergency."
"You own your home?" "Well yes, I was able to pay house payments while I was working?"
Those beady eyes staring across the isolated interview case looking you over as to whether you actually deserve help or not.
It had been almost two months before everything was setup, which in a normal case, a typical person could find a job, but in that market at that time, I could not get one. By the way, there is a whole other story I will tell sometime, of how my old job (the first one mentioned) found out about the lay-off and wanted me back, had invited me for interviews, decided they wanted me, until my rehire was blocked by an asshole CEO who was in charge of the company at the time (even with a Vice-President pleading with the CEO to rehire me, but the CEO refused). Boy will that be a story. Needless to say, had the CEO not blocked the rehire, I would have had the job, but the sociopath had an ax to grind against a person he had never met before, simply because I had left the company to not only make a better living wage, but also gain crucial field experience I had obtained at the second job that would have been an asset to the former company.
Let's return to the subject at hand.
What was being on Medicare like?
Well let me tell you.
It was the best healthcare my family had received up to that point, much better than the HMO (talk about an example of disparaging healthcare), or even a PPO (which you wound up paying out the nose for everything). And guess what, everything was paid for, from doctor's visits, surgeries, immunizations, pharmaceuticals and the list could go on and on. Yes, it was paid for by tax payer dollars in our time of need for that six months (remember that social safety net spoken of?), but there were no staggering hospital bills, threatening bill collectors or watching your hard earned money going for overpriced doctor's fees, high priced medications and wealth depleting hospital stays. Everything was covered no questions asked.
So in short, without expounding too much, (but I may later on as I tell the story of our immediate family and all of the hurdles we have had to jump through). Medicare was there for us when we needed it. It was the best quality of care my family had ever received, all without the stress of mounting bills as can be the case for many families today, who also face stagnating wages, decreasing job options and mounting student loan debt. In the end, as I have mentioned so many times before in my writings, the America Dream is out of reach for most Americans, especially when compared to the world my parents lived in.
More and more the American Dream is being increasingly indebted to banks in one form or another, and not saving and paying cash for things the way they did in the old days.
Before you knock the idea of Medicaid for All (which means everyone, including the rich, the middle class and the poor), better check your facts and figures before submitting yourself to lop-sided propaganda pushed out by multiple media outlets.
Dwight
Considering I have spent most of my married life in a single income earner situation raising five children, three of whom are special needs with disabilities, (which currently by the way are not receiving the SSI or Medicaid they are entitled too, because of current sidestepping and bureaucracy of the current system we have). I have dealt with all sorts of medical issues under all sorts of insurance schemes and platforms, from HMO's to PPO's to yes, and Medicaid.
Yes, over 15 years back, when all five children were little (our youngest was an infant), I lost my job two weeks before the Thanksgiving. Yes, companies are that heartless, that's how great America is. Still though had it not been for a sole project manager and friend who had known the layoffs were coming which were to affect over 40 people, he notified everyone two weeks early that the layoffs were coming on their actual date, the day before Thanksgiving! He did this despite he was directed by his immediate manager and a director to not say anything. Yes, not all executives are heartless, there are a few who stand up for the little guy.
Needless to say, at the time I had no insurance, so I paid everything out of pocket, before that all I could afford was an HMO program through my previous job, which being a whole other story, that place was a top ranking engineering firm, yet even with two children at the time (soon to be three - being good Catholics at the time), we qualified for welfare and WIC on the salary that I was making there. This then explains the reason why I left that job to go to this other one that paid twice as much as I was making, but I had no benefits. At the time, it was a good decision. Six years later, and hind sight 20/20, it probably was not such a good idea, had I been more frugal. "Frugal" comes with a caveat, in the time at the job where I made more money but had no benefits, I was able to pay off debts I had accrued while at the previous job, pay for the births of two of my children (in cash), as well as pay off debts, buy a decent car for my wife to drive and purchase a home for us to live in. Almost the American dream, but in order for that to continue, you have to be employed, and getting laid off didn't help that dream very much.
Losing your job by no fault of your own, but simply because of "corporate restructuring" could be counted as something that just comes with the industry, but needless to say, I found it very difficult to find a job. During the 6 months I was without a job, my wife and I learned all about unemployment insurance, welfare programs, food pantries in addition to that dreaded Medicaid, which after jumping through some incredible (needless to say stressful) hoops, yes especially with five kids, we finally qualified. All the while I dealt with the shame of being jobless, not able to provide for my family. With no one else to turn to, we turned to the government agencies that had been established to help those who had slipped through the cracks, these agencies in total are referred to in our time as the "social safety net".
During the 6 months I could not find a job, we were forced to go on full welfare, as well as WIC services and in addition to that, Medicaid. Yes, that dreaded government funded healthcare system that is so disparaged by some in the media. It was not an easy process and everything was scrutinized:
"You own two cars?" "Well yes, I have to get to a job if I can get one, and then my wife has to have one in case she needs to take the kids to the doctor, or there is an emergency."
"You own your home?" "Well yes, I was able to pay house payments while I was working?"
Those beady eyes staring across the isolated interview case looking you over as to whether you actually deserve help or not.
It had been almost two months before everything was setup, which in a normal case, a typical person could find a job, but in that market at that time, I could not get one. By the way, there is a whole other story I will tell sometime, of how my old job (the first one mentioned) found out about the lay-off and wanted me back, had invited me for interviews, decided they wanted me, until my rehire was blocked by an asshole CEO who was in charge of the company at the time (even with a Vice-President pleading with the CEO to rehire me, but the CEO refused). Boy will that be a story. Needless to say, had the CEO not blocked the rehire, I would have had the job, but the sociopath had an ax to grind against a person he had never met before, simply because I had left the company to not only make a better living wage, but also gain crucial field experience I had obtained at the second job that would have been an asset to the former company.
Let's return to the subject at hand.
What was being on Medicare like?
Well let me tell you.
It was the best healthcare my family had received up to that point, much better than the HMO (talk about an example of disparaging healthcare), or even a PPO (which you wound up paying out the nose for everything). And guess what, everything was paid for, from doctor's visits, surgeries, immunizations, pharmaceuticals and the list could go on and on. Yes, it was paid for by tax payer dollars in our time of need for that six months (remember that social safety net spoken of?), but there were no staggering hospital bills, threatening bill collectors or watching your hard earned money going for overpriced doctor's fees, high priced medications and wealth depleting hospital stays. Everything was covered no questions asked.
So in short, without expounding too much, (but I may later on as I tell the story of our immediate family and all of the hurdles we have had to jump through). Medicare was there for us when we needed it. It was the best quality of care my family had ever received, all without the stress of mounting bills as can be the case for many families today, who also face stagnating wages, decreasing job options and mounting student loan debt. In the end, as I have mentioned so many times before in my writings, the America Dream is out of reach for most Americans, especially when compared to the world my parents lived in.
More and more the American Dream is being increasingly indebted to banks in one form or another, and not saving and paying cash for things the way they did in the old days.
Before you knock the idea of Medicaid for All (which means everyone, including the rich, the middle class and the poor), better check your facts and figures before submitting yourself to lop-sided propaganda pushed out by multiple media outlets.
Dwight
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