Covered?

My Mother is in the hospital for yesterday's knee surgery and will go into a rehab center for follow up, safety and comfort. No way she could go home now with only her older husband. All of this healthcare is paid for by his retirement insurance and Medicare. Throw in some supplemental coverage for medication and miscellaneous, and she has the money end of health care covered. From my own experience, I know the lack of financial worries takes a big load off the healing process.

However, for me there is a cloud over health care finances down the road. IF I can keep my COBRA coverage until it must end a year from now, then there still is a six month gap in financial coverage before I am allowed to receive Medicare. We all pay for Medicare, a bit out of our pay each check over the years. However, if one becomes disabled and no longer able to work, then we cannot receive medicare coverage until two years after being officially declared disabled. COBRA for 18 months and our government overseen Medicare begins 6 months later. Who made up that rule?

Uh oh, I sure hope no health care expenses come up then from my terminal (so says the doctor) cancer or from my lower priority leukocytic lymphoma. The pills I take which might slow or less likely stop my cancer cost $100 per day or $3000 per month. My BC/BS thanks to our government overseen COBRA, is paying for all of my medical needs now until January when I must meet the $2000 deductible again.

Projecting down the road, I can expect financially crippling expenses for the 1st 6 months of 2011 before Medicare kicks in. I do not mean to whine, and I would much rather find a job, work and earn insurance coverage. I could work for 2 or 3 hours per day if it does not have to be the same 2 or 3, and not every day and if it does not require focused attention. Chemo brain does not help with that last part.

Not working is one of the toughest parts of this whole cancer ordeal. This is not how a real man lives. Where is the bacon??? But I do have lots of support and encouragement from friends, family and best of all my wife and daughter. My sponsees and some minor recovery commitments give me some sense of being useful.

Back to money. What the f*** do people whose COBRA expired do? What do people in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA do when their resources become depleted due to the medical expense of keeping one of their children alive and able to function. How would they cover $3000 or even much more per month in medicine? Oh what the heck, sell the home, the car, the furniture. After all, healthcare is not an entitlement.

We have fire departments paid for by all of us. We have police departments paid for by all of us. We have water and sewer infrastructure paid for by all of us. Our roads are paid for by all of us. Hmmmmm, schools, stop lights . . .

According to Webster's, socialism is "collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." Not fire protection, police, roads, sewers nor fresh water at our faucets, schools nor stoplights are "means of production and distribution of goods." Neither is healthcare. I personally am embarassed by the lacking availability of good medical attention for 40,000,000 Americans.

To our law makers quibbling in Congress: Will we all receive the same healthcare benefits as you do? If not, why not?

I am very fortunate, and I am very aware of those equally deserving but without my resources. Thanks for listening.
Bill