comtnman740

I’m sure I’ll get a lot of input from people on this one. I am so sick of our FOR profit healthcare system here in the US. This is not a knock on anyone working in the healthcare industry itself but the system we currently have in place. I’m applying for assistance with my healthcare premium from the state of CO and they are making it virtually impossible to get an application processed. I called them over a week ago after submitting my application online when getting a computer error. They still haven’t fixed the issue? Good grief! Why does it seem like you have to give your left arm to get any kind of assistance? If this was a private company with a P&L you can bet they would have resolved the error in a couple of days at most. I know that this whole things comes down to “accept the things we can not change” portion of the Serenity Prayer but I feel like I just had to vent. On a more positive note tomorrow will be 22 months sober. Wow! This is something that I would have definatley drank over in the past but if I use my tools I’ll be OK.
God Bless
Garrison

Anna

I'm sorry you're stuck in the bureaucracy hamster wheel. Congratulations on your recovery!

comtnman740

Thanks Anna! I think one thing that i'm still working on how to manage is how to sit in my emotions. This too shall pass.
Garrison

hopeful4

I can only say AMEN. I am on a very high deductible HSA and it has been nothing but a nightmare.

You are not alone.

Fearlessat50

I couldn’t agree more! I was on a high deductible plan and it was insane. I drank so many times over billing frustration, coverage, medical provider problems, poor customer service, etc. what complicated it is having special needs issues with my son and both my husband and a i had cancer scares that required lots of testing and evaluation to rule out.

I’d down a glass of wine while on hold with the customer service person, then I’d drink another while screaming at the person and telling him to ef off. Then I’d drink more to calm my nerves. Then I’d keep drinking to prepare for the crazy night ahead with special needs issues at home.

I switched to a more conventional plan. No deductible. High premium but worth it. Not perfect. But I’ll take it.

I’m close to you in my sobriety. I am also learning to deal with my emotions when these and other situations arise. Yes, this too shall pass. Everything passes whether we drink or not. What did I accomplish all those times from drinking? 10 min of fast relief but hours, days, years of regret and problems.

Congrats on your sobriety!

Stubbs16

Hey, no flack from me on this issue! Im right there with you on this. Ridiculous high pay, high deductible here, been screwed up for a few years now. And oh yeah, I did drink and whine over it! But, it is what it is. I dont get all my yearly stuff done anymore, and probably wont until I can get on a better plan. Sucks, but alot of stuff does anymore. So glad for this post...thanks.

LunaBlue

ScottFromWI

It's certainly a very controversial and real issue facing many people today. But of course not one that we have too much control over unfortunately.

One of the things that I try to remind myself of is that staying sober is probably the most important "health insurance" I can buy - and it's totally free to boot!

dcg

I didn't even know such a plan exists anymore. You're premium must be sky high. My deductible is $2500 and my premiums are $800 a month. Do you have a copay for general visits or is that covered?

As to the topic of insurance companies, once I accepted that they're in the business of trying to NOT pay out claims, it got less aggravating (still sucks, tho).

NerfThis

Congratulations on 22 months sober! Absolutely Incredible.

As a British person currently living in the USA, I miss our NHS more than anything.

Fearlessat50

I’m super lucky, dcg. I know these plans are rare now. I happen to work for a progressive company that has good employee benefits. My premium is $450 per month for family. Copay is $20 per visit and I think prescriptions are $10? Lots of stuff also considered preventative and good wellness plan too. Not sure, but it might help living in No CA where employers have to compete with the dot coms and tech companies offering even better benefits and things like pet insurance are offered.

I agree with you that they all do what they can to not pay. Some are worse than others.

bexxed

You have no idea how often I have erased statements in posts I’ve made talking about this, because of the no politics rule. I think it’s relevant tho. How often do we tell people to go to a doctor here? When so many in the US would spend their entire rent or more on just a preliminary visit?!

I almost died in 2006 while uninsured..... of complications from strep throat.... because I caught it while between jobs, the day I arrived in a new state, no insurance because didn’t have the new job yet because just moved. I also literally didn’t have the $200 I had to pay up front in a dr office just to get the test. It got so bad I had borrowed money wired to me a couple days later. Paid it, got the script for penicillin, (that’s what we have to do to get penicillin here, non-US peeps) and my throat got worse. Fever got so high I was hallucinating. Took a bus 50 miles north because someone told me there was a free hospital, the only one in the state. Ignored the monkeys I saw climbing the seats in the bus and the driver sinking into the floor, telling myself I was hallucinating because of fever. The line went out the door, and medics were patrolling the line assessing people. I was flagged and brought to the front. Turns out the strep was so bad it had created abscesses behind my tonsils that were spreading an infection into my brain. I was a day or less away from dying from strep throat in the richest country in the world, when I’ve worked every day of my life, because the timing was such that I hadn’t started a new job yet, and back then like most people in the US was living paycheck to paycheck.

Do you know how often people beg not to be taken to the hospital by ambulance or not to go at all? Not because we hate ourselves but because we don’t want a trip to a dr to put us into bankruptcy.

I have really good insurance and a really good job now and can pay my copays and deductibles, and my credit just got good recently, from the terrible hit it took a bunch of years back when my (expensive) insurance didn’t completely cover care I’d sought for pneumonia and I had an unexpected $1500 in bills from 8 different sources for just one visit. Because I went to the wrong provider.

It’s INSANE. We have to make sure we/they fix it so we can have a shot at the RIGHT to seek a healthy life, which includes sobriety.

I feel for you.

bexxed

That really is true. And, being sober allows us to be better equipped to deal with the navigation of the “system” (I don’t think it is a system, not sure what it is honestly) when we need care we can’t access or afford. It’s still not easy but it’s harder when you’re not sober.

Stubbs16

Luv luv your comments bexxed! Its all the truth, and PATHETIC that we do live in the richest country in the world, but sadly people are dying, and going hungry, homeless, etc. America has truly become a third world country. Sad.

August252015

Agree completely. I went thru the last yrs of drinking sometimes w/o coverage, a critical yr on COBRA....and early sobriety w/ a gap in my Obamacare (wholllleeee other topic) then by 12.1.17 group insurance on my new husband's plan.

One thing that seemed difficult at first when I listed my resentments per AA steps - "institutions"! Thinking that through and letting go of whatever govt/political/police/etc institutions it first seemed not to fit the resentment column was crititcal to moving on.

I had to finally pay some big bills once I got sober, and in my current third year of sobriety am grateful that while we picked a plan mainly bc of my (known quantity) Rx needs and with a high deductible, my back injury meant we met it (ugh leading up to it!!) it was still ALL an ultimate investment in my health which means my sobriety.

We all need to vent about stuff - glad you shared. Now keep on movin'

Dee74

I think this is a useful topic and I'd like to those those who've resisted the urge and kept it politics free.

Lets keep it that way and keep the thread open.

Thanks

Dee
Moderator
SR

comtnman740

Thanks Everyone for the Great posts! I'm happy that we were able to keep politics out of this too. I've come to the conclusion that this is a resentment that should be on my 4th Step as an institution. I also feel like i may need to go back through the steps as i'm finding more and more pop as far as resentments go. Progress not perfection right? ; )
On a positive note i did receive a response from the State of CO stating that my application has been processed and i'm now free to purchase an insurance policy. Thanks All!
Garrison

sugarbear1

I share your pain!

August252015

Comtman - well receiving a GOOD letter from any State authority is terrific! Not exactly what I always received