By the time the mid 8os hit, I was deep into my formative
high school years and the advent of the greatest movie plot device known to
man. I am speaking of the Montage. Rocky IV, The Karate Kid, and Revenge of the Nerds taught me the
valuable lesson of how I can accomplish any heroic task like David and Goliath if
I just huddle with my friends and work hard all while set to anthem style 80s
music with quick editing cuts, flashbacks and parachute pants.
This past week feels like that first few minutes in a
montage as I have started to battle against my new HRA insurance plan from Blue
Cross Blue Shield courtesy of the State Health Benefit Plan folks. I won’t
waste your time in backtracking and explaining the current healthcare
situation, if you are new to this then click on this link to explain: www.tragicga.com
To continue my movie metaphor in this blog, it’s felt
much like the third reel in any movie where I set out to accomplish my task ,
fail miserably, then find that inspiration
go on swinging as I take on the Bad Guy who I am obviously out matched
with no chance to win. My Bad Guy is the insurance empire of Blue Cross Blue
Shield.
My issue is two-fold.
1) Not only am I in serious financial peril
because under their insurance plan BCBS won’t pick up any costs until I meet my
$1500 deductible. (I picked the Gold Tier which is the highest. Had I gone
Bronze, it would $3000, but wait because it gets better for my case) This means
anyone under the new state health plan doesn’t have a co-pay and has to pay
out-of-pocket to their doctor until the deductible is met. Oh, prescriptions do
not count either. People are reporting on our web page how they’ve gone from
$50 co-pays to up to $300 for visits. Everyone under this plan is screwed
especially folks living with chronic illness like me.
2) 2) DSI, Savannah doesn’t have a contract
with BCBS under the HRA plan. DSI also happens to be the only place in the
region which offers my form of treatment, nocturnal home hemo dialysis. It’s a
wordy way to say I do all my own dialysis treatments in my own home as I sleep
six times a week. Do I really need this? Take a look at the before and after
pics of me especially my color and the bags under my eyes then decide.
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| 2009 Before Nocturnal Home Hemo Dilalysis At Pirate's House w/ my best buddy |
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| Fall 2013 First day of School 3 years of NHH Dialysis Treatment |
My
BCBS rep told me on Tues that I had 60 days to find a new center in their
networks. After a nerve wracking conference call on Thursday, I found that BCBS
will grant me out-of-network benefits so I can stay but my deductible is now
$3000 instead of the Gold Plan which I
signed up for. What frustrates me is that is not much for BCBS to have to cover. I am eligible for medicaid due to teh kidney disease diagnosis. This means BCBS only has to cover 20% of the expense. Greedy much? So much for taking my family on a summer vacation up to
the North GA Mountains where I grew up to bore them about the good ol’ days…
Read
the Tragic Facebook page or the webpage. My story is not unusual. Many of my colleagues are having horrible issues to where they have to choose whether to go to the
doctor or pay their bills. Some of us are in a bad way. I cried yesterday when
I read about a teacher that was months away from getting her kidney under our
former healthcare plan. She has yet to hear anything form BCBS.
A
5 month pregnant teacher posted that her weekly doctor visits have shot up from
$40 to $360. This doesn’t include blood work, imaging, etc. She will be close
to $5000 before the baby even comes and then she has the hospital bill. Mid
wives stand to make a bundle this year in GA.
The
word is getting out. Melissa McCoy is a fellow teacher with me here in Savannah. Click on WSAV to see when we were interviewed at WSAV on this situation. Melissa has been a great advocate for the
cause and an eloquent speaker even though she is quite shy and reserved in real
life. My long standing respect for her has grown in leaps and bounds over the
past week. She has rocked it.
Working with Melissa on the TRAGIC
campaign also leads me to my next point of this not a conservative versus
liberal thing. Obamacare and the ACA have nothing to do with our current state
health benefit problem.
It’s
about working in a state where the many of our elected representatives
including Governor Nathan Deal have continuously made billions of cuts in education
over the past six years. Ironically, when it comes to the political spectrum,
Melissa and I are so far away from each other on that line. I’m the liberal to
Melissa’s card caring Libertarian yet somehow we both can see the non-partisan
ship of this issue. If only our Congress could work like this.
The
amount of finger pointing and placing of blame has been outstanding to the
point of comical. Of, course out Governor, man of the people, has said United
Health Care is to blame for getting the teachers riled up. (They lost the
contract for this year in GA). I do hold Governor Deal accountable because “The
Buck Stops Here.” Yet I look around for
accountability and see another guilty party.
Myself.
Even though I didn’t vote for Deal, I
honestly have not made my voice of what I expect from my representatives. With
the exception of one e-mail to Jack Kingston regarding student loan
forgiveness, I have never contacted any of my representatives nor seriously read
up on them to see what they are about until this past week.
I am a bit ashamed of myself because I teach
U.S. Government to my students but really haven’t followed the process as much
as I should have. Even though I vote religiously, I don’t read about each issue
and every candidate like I should. Let me assure you, this is about to change.
 |
| courtesy of TheFrustratedTeacher.com |
I already hold two jobs to make ends meet on
top of all my health issues and being with my family. How much farther can I be
spread out? How many teachers are
starting to ask themselves the same question? My guess is quite a bit more than
in past years.
It’s
been an exciting few weeks being a teacher for me. Up until the start of 2014,
complacency had set in and I didn’t do much except complain about my current
job situation. Lately, I honestly do hear some of those old 80s soundtracks (I
was a soundtrack junkie in my younger years musically) in the background as I
contact ally my state reps and local news media sources. Gotta admit it’s been
great because it’s been sometime since I’ve dusted off my Rocky IV soundtrack
and tormented my kids during car-line.
Some
folks have been asking me if I honestly believe whether the TRAGIC movement can
make a difference. Is it possible for a special ed teacher in Savannah, GA with
bum kidneys to actually get a major insurance company and a Red State
legislature headed up by a Governor with more than a few ethics violations to
take note?
Yes.
Oh,
it is very possible. Because it's is not just me. There is 8,999 other teachers including other
state employees who can’t afford to maintain their current health plans. And we
are growing, and writing, and speaking out. I believe The Dude said it best in
The Big Lebowski with, “This will not stand”
So
if you will be so kind as to excuse me, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Governor
Deal. Both of your pictures are taped to my bathroom mirror and there’s a large
ass cart of rocks to work on lifting. Let the montage continue…….
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