Share Your Story: Thanks to the Health Care Law...

Oh, I could go ON AND ON about this!!!!!No, I have not benefitted in any way. I have no health insurance and I have at least 3 conditions which could be life threatening or at least, extremely painful. For starters, I injured my back and knee and am in terrible pain most of the time. I cannot even get an x-ray. I take OTC pain pills which really do not help and you're not really supposed to use them long-term. I have heart palpitations and do not know if this is something that could kill me. I have a sore or cut on my face which will not heal. I have other issues as well which could be very serious. I have been to free clinics but they always tell me they cannot do the necessary tests that I need. My mother also could benefit from seeing REAL doctors and get REAL care. She is on medicare and I feel the care she is getting is not good enough. She needs and deserves to be able to see top quality doctors.I had health insurance once. Aetna. I could not afford the co-pay so I never used it. Then one day I feared I had cancer. I could not get treated ANYWHERE. I walked for miles in 100 degree heat looking for a clinic Planned Parenthood in Canoga Park had referred me to. PP wouldn't help me, so they'd even given me a flyer for this clinic. After walking for miles and taking a bus part way, i found the clinic, called Tarzana Treatment Centers, which turned out to be a treatment center for alchoholics. No doctor anywhere! They then referred me to another Tarzana Treatment Centers a few miles away. They assured me they were a walk in clinic and had a sliding scale fee. I walked all the way there too, and SURPRISE!!!! They do not accept walk-ins and they charge an $85 flat fee - no sliding scale. Eventually I was in so much pain and was so scared I had cancer that I had to go to an emergency room. The doctor couldn't or wouldnt do any tests except a quick exam, said he didn't know what was wrong but didn't think it was cancer, and told me to make sure I get seen by a regular doctor. WHERE?!?! There was no place left to go so I gave up. This was in 2008 and I still do not know what is wrong with me. I am guessing it is not cancer....by the fact that I AM STILL ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is how we must diagnose ourselves in this wretched country. if you survive, then your condition is not life threatening. Wow, America, what a country!Lastly, I do not approve of Obama's health care plan because it discriminates against women and because of that assinine provision that people up to age 26 can be on a parent's health insurance. Bullshit! Anyone over the age of 18 is an ADULT and must learn to get their own health insurance. What is up with Democrats trying to delay childhood?????????????????? So Obama's health care plan is age-ist AND sexist. We need health care that does not discriminate based on gender, age, or pre-exisiting conditions. I will never buy health insurance until I find one that meets my standards.

No it has not I have a ppo but I can not afford the twenty twenty five percent I do not make enough and I keep getting billed I do need to see my doctor to  have a colon acspy and a anugalcspy once a year but I have not had one in four years I had a medical card for the twenty percent but it was taken a way  .

It has not helped me at all. I am 61 yrs.old and totally disabled. It took 4 yrs.plus an attorney to get before a judge and employment specialist. I 'won' my case. - if you consider getting Soc.Sec.Disability 'winning'. Despite a ton of medical records I was turned down by a government worker the first time I applied.. I have  used all my savings,unemployment benefits,pension plan,cashed in my life ins.,borrowed money from my daughter & her husband,borrowed from my best friend and so forth to simply EXIST. I now rent a room in a barn with shower and microwave. I actually voted for President Obama because I believed UNINSURED patients would be helped. If you are uninsured,there is no "fee schedule" limitations/protections so you can be charged whatever medical providers want. I have a bill from my physician for a follow up routine exam - so I can get my medications - for $192. and need to follow up in 6 weeks.Then I applied for Medicaid. I take 10 prescription medications a month. I was turned down because my Social Security Disability check is too high. Absurd. They do NOT consider my necessary medical charges. I sat in the Social Services Office amongst many infants and people not speaking English. I READ where illegal aliens would NOT be reported to any other agency AND that United Sates Social Services would HELP them obtain a green card or Social Security card. WHAT? I was born and raised here, paid taxes,worked 45 years & I was not able to get Medicaid in my time of need?? Then there were the many babies & toddlers(& school age children not in school so they could translate). More deductions and a larger Welfare check.  I actually asked a caseworker "So if I had worked less I would be eligible for Medicaid?" Answer was YES. Those on Welfare get Medicaid, Food stamps,housing,childcare,educational grants,etc.I am a 61 yr.old Grandma & qualify for nothing because I had actually worked & had a house = pd.taxes. ALL I asked for was Medicaid - help paying for the 10 prescriptions I pay for monthly. Medicaid to see my physician and obtain the tests she wants me to have. DECLINED. I guess I am now DISPOSABLE.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act Pre-Exiisting Conditon Insurance Plan (PCIP.org) my son is able to have insurance coverage although he lost his job last year.  He has severe pancreatitis and high blood pressure and when we tried to get him insurance the quotes were $1200-$1600 range if they w.uld even talk to him. In other words they didn't want to insure him, so they made it unaffordable. I know the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan cost varies by state, but here in Arizona he is able to have coverage (at age 40) for $188 a month...I believe it is about $109 a month for children until age 19 and goes up from there.  He will be at his current rate until age 44, then it will go up about $20, but hopefully he'll be working then and have insurance with his job.    He had a 6 month wait after he lost insurance before he qualified for PCIP, so that was my only quarrel with the program.  He was hospitalized during that time at a cost of $60K which, of course, he'll never be able to pay off, but at least now he can see a doctor, get scans, and have surgery if the doctor decides he needs it for his pancreatitis.  It also comes with a drug plan with $3 or $4 co-pays for generics and about $20 for brand name. His co-pays are $25, which is cheaper than I pay with Medicare. My only real complaint so far was the 6 month wait which someone with cancer would not be able to do, so I think that needs to be fixed.  I have a friend here in AZ who had a stroke, and was on AZ Medicaid but our Governor cut Medicaid back and he lost that, but the 6 month wait still kept him from getting on the PCIP insurance which made no sense at all.  I think the qualification for 6 month wait should be waived in the case of people who lose their jobs and insurance or who get dropped by state programs through no fault ofo their own.  Even so, it has been a blessing for my son.