Health Care Reform for This Dummy

Relive a day?

Yeah-no.

I don’t have any days I’d like another shot at, Mama Kat.

Because a)the days that suck are forgotten the EXACT moment they end, and b)as I’m arguably as close to perfect as you can get while still being human, I don’t make mistakes or have regrets EVER so yeah, I’m good.

Yeah-right.

Honestly, I can tell you way more about the days I DON’T want to relive, because they sorta stick out in my mind.

Like yesterday.

Because it sucked.

Badly.

Like, on a suckiness scale of 1 to 10, 10 being as sucky as a day can possibly be, I’ll say yesterday was a good strong 7.

Not the worst day ever, but so ridiculously far from the best it’s not even funny.

Okay, so maybe it’s a little bit funny (or I intend to make it seem that way), but still.

Here’s the bright side of this whole sucky-suck-day-from-sucking-Suckville, I learned something!

That’s right peeps, in the face of adversity and hardship, Dumb Mom got out her thinking cap and had herself a think.

And you know what I decided?

That health care reform is important, that’s what.

Now, I know that pBd is not the place to go for political debates, social consciousness, or discussions about morality, but you know what, today it’s gonna be.

Sorta (because you are not allowed to disagree with me or disprove my theories, I don’t like that so I’m forbidding it entirely).

Now that the ugly has come to call on Dumb Mom I’ve decided to get involved.

Well not involved, involved, more like involved-by-telling-you-my-story-because-I-want-to involved.

Because that’s what I do.

I don’t make posters (because I have the penmanship of a 5 year old), or join campaigns (unless they offer free babysitting!), or donate money (by I do donate my old shoes and handbags when I gorgeous new ones!), or go on exhausting freedom marches (holy walking Batman! These 4-inch-heeled boots weren't made for walkin').

I tell stories. About myself, because myself is awesomethat's pretty much all I know.

So how about I tell you one about how Dumb Mom came out of her self-centered cocoon of self centeredness and decided that there is a such thing as civic duty and social responsibility and, contrary to what she used to believe, it doesn’t start and end at that voting poll every four years in November?

Okay, so maybe sharing a story that I really just want to share because I’m peeved doesn’t actually qualify as performing my civic duty, but still, in the civic duty department it's all I got.

So, yeah…

Yesterday, actually three days ago, as I was chauffeuring #2 to school I felt something in my back.

A tickle. Not of the happy, fun sort.

It was the other sort.

The sort that tells you something may not be quite right. Not really time to panic, but definitely time to pay attention.

So I did, and it got worse, and then it got better, and then it got MUCH worse, and then I called my doctor, and then it got a little better, but then it got worse again, so I made an appointment, and I went in, and I peed in a cup, and they said they wanted me to have a CT pyelogram to check the old kidney and see if it was busted up.

And that is where the crap hit the fan.

Because that is when my health insurance had to get involved.

Now. Here are a few things you should know:

1. Dumb Dad is a professional. He doesn’t stand at one of those corners downtown and wait with a group of dudes for other groups of dudes to come along in pickup trucks and take him to a work site for a day. And, he doesn’t work for cash or get paid under the table or even with a 1099. Actually, he is an employee of our federal government so his job is W-2, 401K, 2 legit 2 quit.

2. Dumb Dad has been employed by his employer for a whole butt load of years. And, he’s in good standing at his job too. Not on probation or anything cooky like that.

3. We have health insurance, which is paid for through Dumb Dad’s employer. It’s not through the state and we don’t get it for free. We pay. A lot. Of cash.

4. We have had the same insurance carrier for 8 years.

5. We effing hate them and are convinced that they are trying to kill us. Mostly just me, but sometimes the kids too (Dumb Dad has been to the doctor twice in the past 8 years both times for hurting his ankle; his pretty much immune to every germ known to man. Plus when kids get sick around here he encases himself in latex and only touches them if ABSOLUTELY-FRIGGIN' necessary).

My main beef is that I see no reason why the insurance company should be allowed to decide if or when or how I should get my medical care.

I get that they need to be notified and kept up to date on my health related goings ons.

But, do they really need to “approve” a visit to urgent care? If I have time to stand around and wait for a referral, maybe the situation ain’t all that urgent!

Just sayin’. That’s why I go to the doctor, right?

I mean, if it’s really just up to the insurance company why don’t I just cut out the middle man and go directly to them with my ailment and they can tell me what to do for it?

Would be a huge time saver for people like me who don't have time to be doubled over in pain, sweating like I stole something sick.

Seriously. Because today, when my MEDICAL DOCTOR suggested that I get a CT scan, know-it-all-insurance-company-from-Hell said, “Are you sure she needs that? Today? Really? She can’t wait until, say, Monday? Why? Is she dying? Like actually dying?" Because if not…?”

And then, I had to hurry up and find someone to watch The Dudes and get my tail straight over to the CT scanning place so that they could take it today because if not then I’d have to wait. For days. Until the insurance company decided that I really need it.

And that’s not the first time this has happened.

They’ve done it with chest x-rays and prescriptions and visits to specialists.

And, I realize that “The Obama Plan” is not going to address this specifically, but it is supposed to address another problem that keeps me locked to this bloody-effing-insurance-company-from-Hell: “the end of discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions”.

Because as you all know I have one.

And because of my pre-existing condition I’m unable to ditch the crap-company-that-is-trying-to-off-me for one that will give me more freedom and access.

Because despite the fact that I rarely ever have issues with my kidneys, and that I am otherwise as healthy as a horse, no one wants to take on this land mine of a body because apparently it's about to blow.

So I’m stuck.

And that sucks.

Because, contrary to what some believe about people who are in favor of health care reform, we aren’t unemployed, and we’re not illegal immigrants, and we take care of ourselves, and we pay our bills, and we contribute to society, and we aren’t trying to get something for nothing, and I don’t want you to get less, but still here I am, sitting in pain, sucking down Tylenol, waiting to see what my insurance company my doctor is going to do next to figure out why my left side hurts so badly I can hardly breathe.

So yeah. That’s my story.

And it made enjoying #2’s official birthday pretty friggin’ difficult.

But I did it, because I love him and I wanted his day to be special and I secretly hope that one day he will realize just how awesome of a mommy I was and he will thank me for it (with a house, or a car, or a cruise, old people like to cruise).

I’m not gonna hold my breath for that one, because serving KFC and a Hostess cupcake may have gotten the job done, but I doubt that it will be winning me any mommying awards.

Lucky for me his standards are pretty low and he enjoyed it thoroughly.

Better luck next year little man!

Link your Thank Me Later Thursday posts here, I will visit and leave lovely comments on each and every one of them (which is not even hard since only a few of you do it anyway!)