Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

Marsha,

I just signed the petition.

Thank you for directing us to this very meaningful topic.

You are very welcome.  It was actually my Husband that received an email about it and forwarded it to me.  I have a friend who underwent a double mastectomy several weeks ago and I was alarmed at how quickly she was sent home. 

There are alot of "drive through procedures" going on, but hey, one step at a time and this is a good step.

I did not know of this. It is hard for me to fathom how they would expect a woman to come home from this in less than 48 hours.

I signed the petition. Hopefully many others will also. 

Mike Heemer

Marsha thanks for the information. I would encourage all who have an email list to foward this information to family and friends as well.

Marsha, thanks.  I signed the petition and forwarded to email friends and family with the following comments of my own:

Imagine having invasive surgery and the traumatic circumstances requiring it, and being sent home in under 48 hours because your insurance company won't pay.  I suppose this depends on your plan and/or who you are, but there's obviously way too many of these situations.  And...why did only half of the house of reps sign on to this? 

It is amazing that this bill has been around for so long with little or no action taken by our elected representatives.   I think a thorough "house cleaning" is warranted.  For more information on the history of this bill, check out the following link:  http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/mastectomy.asp. 

And...why did only half of the house of reps sign on to this?

Because most of them are men?

Do you really think if men had to have a mammogram that they wouldn't figure out a better way to do it? Bet it wouldn't be like that if we had to have testicogram. I know, I just made that word up.

And you can bet your bra that if a man had to have a mastectomy he'd be in there for at least a week.

Mike Heemer

Wow, this is amazing.  I think this petition has been around forever.  This can be one of the most devastating things to happen to a woman and I am speaking from experience.  Almost one year ago, I went through this and it has been an uphill experience. 

First, I decided that I wanted to have reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy and I could not find a plastic surgeon in Jacksonville or Orange Park who would accept my insurance and/or accept new patients.  My insurance, via my husband, was Health Options with the JEA.  After a month of looking, the insurance company suggested that I look in Gainesville.  I eventually found a wonderful plastic surgeon there and had to change surgeons because my surgeon was in Jacksonville and now I was having the operation in Gainesville Regional Hospital.   The traveling back and forth to Gainesville has become routine now.  I just wonder why all of these doctors in Jacksonville wouldn't accept my insurance. 

 My surgery was on a Monday, March 1st and was 13 hrs long, mainly for the reconstruction.  It did not go well and I was given several pints of blood.  The next day I had to be taken back into surgery to remove the reconstruction.  To make a long story a little bit shorter, I was sent home on Friday of that week with 4 drainage tubes which I kept for almost three weeks.   I can not imagine being sent home in 48 hours.

I have now had 6 operations and 2 still to go but I am cancer free.

Oh yes, I'm all for the testicogram.   

ClayCounty:  Your experience, I think, mirrors so many others who have to fight for their lives - not only against the disease, but the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.  Bless you for your 'sticktoitiveness' and congrats on being cancer free. 

Years ago, I had a friend (28 years old), who was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She fought it for a long time and finally it was determined her only hope was a bone marrow transplant.  Her employer's insurance company dropped her when she could no longer work.  She finally was accepted on Medicaid, but they wouldn't approve a bone marrow transplant because it was "experimental".  At the time, coincidentally, I was reading John Grisham's "Rainmaker".  I couldn't believe my friend was having the exact same experiences as "Donnie" the victim in the book.  She also died, with the transplant finally being approved when it was too late to be of any help or hope.

My question is - has anyone on this blog had any experience, or know anyone who's had experience with universal health care programs in other countries?  Seems we Americans are behind many other countries in several areas - health care, education, on and on.  I'm trying to be nice here, so I must stop writing now.

Thanks,
JudyB

Sunflower,

I have no experience with universal health care, but I'm ready for something. We are retired and pay over $1100 per month for health insurance. It's rough, to say the least and that does not include medicine and co-payments. We've had co-payments and medicine total an additional several hundred a month. (Had I been a county employee, my health care insurance would have been taken care of by the taxpayers, but that's a story for another thread.)

PS

Happy Birthday, Sunflower.

If they gave everybody the government employees plans for health benefits and retirement all the problems would be solved.

If not we should take their health plans and retirement plans away and then they would fix it pronto.

Angela:  Absolutely!  We should all have the same benefits as our elected officials. 

Pioneer:  Thanks for the good wishes.  Do you think you could find something else to spend your $1100 per month on if there was a better plan out there? 

I don't know the answers but I think our government could do a heckofalot better for "we the people" than what is going on now.  The money being spent in Iraq would more than pay for health insurance for everyone! 

Well - gotta go now cuz I'm feeling a lecture coming on. 

Thanks
JudyB

I am retired from the school district, but I work for health insurance.  State employees get$5 per month per year toward their health insurance when they retire.  That means with 30 years, they get a whopping $150.00 per month toward health coverage.  That is why you see so many people in their late 50's working in places like Walmart.  That early buyout they received (else face a job elimination) isn't so hot after all.  If you do the math, it is easy to put in 30 years in a job and not be 62, much less even 65 years old.

I was hospitalized for a week in October.  The bill came in at a little under $120,000.  What did the insurance company pay,  $21,000.  Now if you do the math on this, you see that only 30 people had to pay one month's premium to cover these charges.  Do the math, the health insurance companies are making a bundle.  The hospitals pad their charges for everyone who doesn't have a "special contract for services" with them.

As far as a national health plan, we already have one.  Medicare, and Medicaid.  Where do you think your taxes are going?  Most people are already paying into medical plans that they don't use (Medicare/Medicaid).  Now, add the amount that people who have private insurance add in and you see how much we are already paying for health care.  If you don't think we already have national health care, go into an ER and see how many people have no insurance, but get treated.  Several years ago I had to go to the ER and I was the only person, in the 8 hours I waited, who actually had a private insurance card.  Most had Medicare/Medicaid, or no insurance at all. 

Something has to give on health insurance.