A couple of weeks ago, my daughter came down with a fever and had it for a day and a half. Then she seemed good for a day. Then she complained about her ears hurting. She is two, so who really knows what that means? Do they ache, do they hurt, or are they just clogged up? So the guessing game began. Did she have an ear infection, and should I take her to the doctor? If you have great health insurance and a pediatrician, or if you have Medicaid, the choice becomes a lot easier. But I don't have that kind of coverage.
I have a high deductible plan with an HSA account. It is more affordable than the insurance they offer for a spouse and dependents where my husband works, and we bank on the fact that the kids and I are healthy. Fortunately, I have been able to build up a savings of a few hundred dollars in that account out of $2500 put into it over the last year. I hope to save up enough for the deductible (over $5000 for the family/year) so it is there if something serious happens, but that is hard to do when there are medical expenses that come up for dental, vision, and prescriptions. Who wants to spend $80 just to find out "It is just a cold, come back in a week if she is not better."? But what if she really does have an ear infection? If I wait, I make her suffer longer. Of course, that also means the doctor visit and the $100 antibiotic prescription (the liquid antibiotics are ridiculous, and my kids never want to take them anyway!) will come out of pocket. I am forced to play it day by day and make an educated guess. I search the internet to refamiliarize myself with the symptoms and what to do. Of course, all the advice says "go see your pediatrician." No one wants to be liable for giving you bad advice, I guess.
Then, several days later, after I think I have skated by without seeing the doctor, my son wakes up with a fever. And my daughter complains about her ears again. Oh great! Now what should I do? I don't yet have a pediatrician where I live, so I have to decide, since the weekend is almost here, do I go to urgent care or get stuck going to the ER on the weekend if anything gets worse?
Luckily, this time, it seems they have both made a full recovery without medical attention. I have not always gotten this lucky, though. And it is tough paying that doctor bill when all the doctor does is listen to the chest, check the throat, and take a peek into the ears. I think I need to invest in a stethoscope and one of the scopes with a light. It may just save me a lot in the long-run.
I don't know if Obamacare is better or not for this country. Long-term, I am sure it is not. No one I know seems to like it. It has had some benefits. It got rid of preexisting conditions for kids (a couple of years too late in my case). And now adults can't be denied for preexisting conditions, but the rates may still be unaffordable. Young adults can still get coverage through their parents regardless of whether they are in school or not. And if I had any plans of having another baby, it is nice that I would not have to plan up to two years in advance in order to get the doctor visits and birth paid for. Some (but not all) individual insurance plans allowed you to add on maternity, but it was almost like a savings account because it cost so much more, and you had to have it for a set time before you would get "complete" coverage. A lot of pregnancies are not planned, and that could have been quite a financial strain if it all had to come out-of-pocket. Something had to change because things were getting out of control.
The truth is, my health insurance would be one of the first expenses to drop if we became unemployed, which is ok for my kids. They can get Medicaid. But my husband and I are not getting any younger, so what are we supposed to do? Medical bills are a major contributing factor to many people declaring bankruptcy. I have been without insurance on many different occasions in my life, but there are times I needed it and was fortunate to have the coverage at that time. Sometimes I hope and pray we will stay healthy because nowadays, even with insurance, it will cost us an arm and a leg if anything major ever happens. I am still waiting to see the full impact of Obamacare.
How has Obamacare helped or hurt your family so far?
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