Monday, February 8, 2010

Americans With No Health Insurance.....

I ran across this article and it reminded me of a time when I was in this same situation, more or less.  Anyway ...........take a gander.

Many Americans Have No Health Benefits
Written by: Jermaine Brandon

Many people today take health insurance coverage for granted; there are many people who do not even have coverage. The issue is over 46 million people who do not have any health insurance or dental insurance. When you look at these numbers it breaks down that one out of every six people have no medical or dental coverage. As you view this problem it's happening to people all across the country.

The major issue facing medical insurance and dental insurance is the pros and cons of enforcing a universal coverage law that has been based on the research that many people across the states are uninsured young individuals, such as teenagers who are healthier individuals who don't believe they need any coverage.

But the problem is, there are millions of people who don't have health insurance because they suffer from chronic conditions and cannot afford the treatments. (That was me)! Although I had health insurance, I could NOT pay the deductible!

You have one out of every three working-age Americans without medical insurance who has a chronic illness to deal with, but the lack of medical or dental coverage is due to getting accepted for any health or dental insurance policy when they have a pre-existing condition. In these trying times, getting the proper care a person needs is difficult if they are already dealing with a health problem, which is going to cost them a lot of money to just get a little bit of coverage and a lot of times they are not fully covered.
 
With Baby Boomers reaching retirement, the need for good inexpensive health and dental care has reached an all time high. Prices for these services continue to go up with no end in sight and most people are beginning to wonder if they can afford to have dental and health at all. AmeriPlan has the answer to this problem with a program that cuts out the middle man and brings you straight to the dentist or doctor. Programs listed for every member of your household include everyone you live with, even if they are not family and all this does is allow everyone to be able to afford the health care for themselves and their family.

About the Author

http://www.totalhealth1.com

When the hubby and I were separated I was still covered under his insurance, however, I did not take into accounting how bad my situation was going to get during that period of time.  I wish I had known about AmeriPlan back then, although, even with that, it was still going to cost me money.  There is no such thing as a "Free Clinic" anymore.  Everyone is out for themselves it seems.

Not long after we separated I became severely, physically, and mentally depressed.  I could not work due to the physical effects of my depression. What I mean is that my depression was so bad that I went for weeks not being able to function as a human being.  Days when I could not even muster up the strength to get out of my bed.  Yes, I had family close by, but I could not tell them how bad things really were, I was embarrassed by the fact that I had gotten myself into that situation, and it was basically my own fault. Besides which, they could offer plenty of emotional support, but not financial.

So, even though I had insurance coverage, I had  to pay a deductible before I could get anything done.  I had no income from which to pay for doctors visits or hospital stays, or emergency room visits.  Women like myself at the time (displaced home-makers), really have it rough out there. This is especially true if they have no marketable skills to fall back on, and they have been housewives and mothers for many years.  There are charitable organizations out there, if you know where to look. And even when you find them, there is usually a very long waiting list to get anything done.

What is really unfortunate for some women my age, is that in today's current economy, and under our current government, these women,who are, for whatever reason, unhappy in their marriage, but also do not have any marketable skills, are pretty much stuck in whatever situations they are enduring, unless of course, their husbands just happen to be rich.  Looking back, I realize that I didn't have it so bad.  Others like me suffer much worse.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Baby-Booming Freaking (Trauma Related) Ailments!!!

Okay...So when are you going to get with the program babe???   Never a better time than right now! Correct????!!!!

That folks....... was the little voice in my head that whispers to me on occasion. Actually.......its been whispering,(more like screaming - LOL), quite a bit lately!

I have not been taking care of myself in the last few years. This is partly due to severe depression, constant chronic pain, and so on and so forth. Blah, blah, blah!!

Back up the truck here Jeanie ole girl, (yes, I also talk to myself incessantly) and es'plain yerself. Must I?   Yes!  You must!  All the better for folks to understand what you've been through babe! Hmmm......well, I suppose that's true, okay, so here goes nothin.

The story, (slightly abbreviated version).

When I was very young, married and already the mother of my first born son, I was a victim of a very serious vehicle accident.

The three of us, the 1st hubby (now an ex) myself, and our 2 year old son, (hubby driving), were involved in a horrible and very tragic vehicle accident. I ended up with the worst of the injuries, and in a way, I'm glad it was me, and not my little son. He was sound asleep in the back seat of the car at the time. He was completely unaware of what had happened.

My husband and I were coming back from spending a long deserved week-end at his folks small 'home away from home'. They had a tiny mobile home rented and placed in a 'summer retreat' near Louisville Kentucky, overlooking the Ohio River. It was on the Indiana side of the river. Anyway, I digress too much.

It was the dark of night, and as I stated before, the hubby was driving down a state highway. I believe it was Hwy. Three toward North Vernon, and from there to Columbus, Indiana. However we didn't make it to North Vernon.

From what I was told, days later,(I do not recall the impact), we were hit on the drivers side of our vehicle from a vehicle that had gone through a stop sign,(high rate of speed), from a side road. The vehicle that broadsided ours was traveling so fast that the impact threw me bodily through the front passenger side window of our vehicle. I wasn't wearing a seat belt. Back then seat belts were not as yet being enforced. I do remember that I had turned sideways to lay my head on the seat and had apparently dozed off.  They told me that the impact probably knocked me unconscious immediately. My husband was thrown bodily to the back seat of our vehicle and suffered a concussion. To this day, he does not remember the accident. The concussion he suffered caused a memory block. Our son had fallen asleep on the back seat of our vehicle. In those days baby seats, and or child restraints were not being enforced either. At impact our son was thrown to the floor behind the front seats. It's possible that it could have saved his life.  He was lucky to end up with a few scrapes and some floor burns.

When I was thrown through the window I landed in a ditch beside the highway, which was bad enough, but then our vehicle rolled back and hit the ditch right where I had been thrown. It came down and hit me at an angle, crushing both my left ankle and right hip. Had our vehicle not rolled back on top of me, I probably would have been okay except for a few cuts and scratches here and there.  It took many months of recovery and physical therapy to even begin to walk again.  I lived through it however, and that is what counts.

So, as the title of this particular blog specifies, a 'trauma' related injury or ailment, is one that can sneak up on you years after an actual accident.  I developed bone spurs on my upper spine. I've had two surgical procedures where a plate was inserted and spurs removed. The last surgery was needed to remove a bone spur that was pushing against the outer wall of my spinal cord. I had endless pain for years and years, and the surgery hasn't helped much, although the bone spurs were removed, the pain continues regardless.  I was less than 45 years of age when I had to have my right hip replaced.  However, all in all I'm not complaining, for I know that there are people that have things much worse.

My little inner voice is telling me to go to bed now.  Ugh!  More wrinkles, and shadows under the eyes!