Real Stories of the ACA nightmare #9 – A Tale of Two Patients

“Whereas Mr. Clinton has accurately diagnosed Obamacare’s fundamental problem, Mrs. Clinton has spent the past year either defending it or calling for even greater intervention in health care. Now momentum is building among her supporters and allies for a full-blown, single-payer system in which the government, using tax dollars, pays for all medical care of its choosing. Medicaid, Medicare and the Veterans Affairs hospital system operate on this model, and each provides sub-par care to their intended beneficiaries in many key ways…I have patients who show the dangers of going in this direction.

One patient comes from the VA. He requires very high doses of concentrated insulin to control his blood sugars. At my practice, we provided him with treatment quite effectively until he retired. Now the VA has been giving him the runaround for over six months. It has yet to even accept his application for the concentrated insulin he needs, which has driven his blood sugar to dangerous levels. It’s unclear when, or even if, the agency will get him the treatment he needs. His health is failing fast under the single-payer system.

The second patient is on Medicare. He has had type-1 diabetes for over 40 years, but thanks to advances in medicine he has been able to continue working on a consistent basis. When he turned 65 and went under Medicare, however, he lost his coverage for the specific treatment he needs. He has appealed this all the way up to a federal administrative law judge, but six months after the hearing he still hasn’t heard of a decision. His health, too, is failing fast.

Wouldn’t it have been better for these two men to keep their private insurance plans, which fit their needs and improved their health…My patients experience shows the danger of heading toward even greater government intervention in our health care system. If we empower bureaucrats to wield ever more power over patients’ health and well-being, the end result will be higher costs, fewer choices, worse care and even lost lives….For the sake of my patients, to say nothing of millions of other Americans, it’s critical that we get this one right.”

Real Stories of the ACA nightmare # 7 – Bill Clinton was Right

“Bill Clinton has a point. Specifically, he was right when he said the Affordable Care Act is “a crazy system where you’re paying double and getting half the care.”

I realized this when I welcomed back a patient into my office after a gap of 18 months. This gentleman had stopped coming to my office when he purchased a health insurance plan on Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act exchange. His plan didn’t include me in its network. Nor did it include much of anything for that matter.

After struggling to find care for his condition for a year and a half, he and his wife decided to come to my office and just pay cash. When I asked why they had chosen their plan — it had a $10,000 deductible — I was told it was all they could afford and, if they didn’t buy it, they’d have to pay a fine.

Bill Clinton calls this crazy, which it is. My patient was essentially forced to purchase government-mandated insurance that covers little, disconnects him from his doctor and costs him an arm and a leg. “Obamacare” has undeniably made his life worse — and it was supposed to help him.”