On CogDis (my regular blog), I posted a while back, about how Paul Ryan (R - Photo Op), is trying to kill me:
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan called on Wednesday for an end to Obamacare’s financial protections for people with serious medical conditions, saying these consumers should be placed in state high-risk pools.In election-year remarks that could shed light on an expected Republican health care alternative, Ryan said existing federal policy that prevents insurers from charging sick people higher rates for health coverage has raised costs for healthy consumers while undermining choice and competition.The rule, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, has been praised by patient advocates for providing access to medical care for people who previously could not afford private health insurance. The Affordable Care Act also bars insurers from excluding coverage for pre-existing conditions.
A quick backstory, in 2010 I was diagnosed with Chondrosarcoma, a very rare cancer,, and had a very complicated surgery. Since then it has come back a couple times and have had two surgeries, a few hospital stays, radiation, etc. Currently I refer to my cancer as inoperable but not incurable.
The ultimate “pre-existing” condition!
Then imagine my dismay when I tuned into Meet The Press, and saw my Senator, Ron Johnson (R-Married into money) comparing my cancer to a car crash. As if I had only been more careful, and used my turn signals, I would have been able to avoid this seven-year battle with cancer.
The Wisconsin Republican pointed to Obamacare rules that forbid insurance companies from charging more for people with preexisting conditions.
‘We know why those premiums doubled,’ he opined. ‘We’ve done something with our health care system that you would never think about doing, for example, with auto insurance, where you would require auto insurance companies to sell a policy to somebody after they crash their car.’
‘States that have… guarantees for preexisting conditions, it crashes their markets,’ he continued. ‘It causes the markets to collapse. It causes premiums to skyrocket.’
I would like to apologize to everyone in Wisconsin for being one who “crashed the health care markets” and premiums to skyrocket. I know it had everything to do with my perpetual hospital visits (at the amazing UW-Madison Hospitals) and had nothing to do with and nothing to do with the $20+ million a year that people like Bruce Broussard (CEO-Humana) is compensated yearly.
As if that was not enough, Vice President Mike Pence (R- Shock Gays Straight), goes a step further (emphasis mine):
Had the 12.7 million people who get newly diagnosed each year, or the 7.6 million people who lose their fight to cancer, only been a bit more personally responsible, then this all would be avoided.
Apparently, Ron Johnson’s daughter was not personally responsible (maybe by not exercising enough, or eating right), that she needed major heart surgery at age 2!
It is a very stressful time in America, when we are under one party rule, and the one party that is ruling, looks upon millions of Americans as drags on the system for contracting an illness. It is even more magnified, when it is your child that has the illness.
I am certain we are better than this and we need to actually “drain the swamp” in 2018!
Our lives depend on it!
