Share Your Story: What do preventive health services with no co-pays or deductibles mean to you?

You have already heard my story (but no one else seems to care ...); I was refused E.C. (based on being on state funded insurance) though NO ONE ever ran my insurance card to determine what was/was not covered). That refusal resulted in an unwanted pregnancy and a surgical abortion. Only to find out that I WAS (as I understand it..) covered for the E.C. and as if this was not enough to endure.... the same chain of pharmacy that refused the E.C. also disclosed my condition (after the surgical abortion) to a family member without cause or MY consent.Now, that the ACA is in place... it still does not benefit me! This is NOT health CARE... it is "COULD NOT CARE LESS" about YOUR ('my') HEALTH!! I have no faith in the health care (that I ,then and now, qualify for!!), MY GOVERNMENT allows and condones what I was put through and will NOT enforce protection of my violated RIGHTS!  I am now entirely devoid of any level of trust for the medical profession or the much needed, mental and emotional services and the pre-existing disabilities & distress that have been INCREASED as a result of social/political games being played during this election year.  If the laws that protect my rights are only words on paper... THEN so are ALL other laws! Just MEANINGLESS words on paper WITH NO POWER!!! 

There are several things it is great to not have co-pays on.- Well person physicals for my sons - I just needed one for college for my youngest- Continuing medication needs for both sons who have ADD and depression- Birth control for myself- Emergencies (I just broke my ankle and it was great to know that the inpatient services were totally covered)Unfortunately my own insurance while it is very good, does not cover some things, so I recently found I have moderate hearing loss and because of other things (college tuition for example - the FAFSA does not ask you about medical expenses!) I cannot afford to get hearing aids which are 100% not covered.  I do not understand why a hearing condition is not covered.  I am of course having to compensate by saying "huh" a lot.  I hope to be able to afford it by saving a little at a time, but it is really awful that people can't just have health care, like in other civilized countries.

My health insurance coverage switched to HEM Health Engagement Model in January 2012.  What I didn't realize at the time was that a third party assessment of my lifestyle "risk factors" would automatically change my premiums and copays. I had been paying $10 copay per pack of birth control every month for years on my health insurance, but then when I went to the pharmacy in January to pick up my prescription, the bill copay rang up to $80.  I didn't have $80, I had the $10 I had budgeted out.  Long story short, I walked away from the pharmacy without the prescription due to lack of funds, and within two months I discovered I was pregnant.  I experienced every emotion in the book as I decided what choice I would make about the future of my pregnancy, not the least of which was anger with my health insurance company for increasing my copay an astronomical amount due to some risk factors that were determined based upon a review of my medical records.  Still to this day I have no idea what those risk factors are and don't know what I need to do to change them in order to reduce my copays.  I have tried calling the health insurance company but I just keep getting the same generic responses without much tangible help.  Affordable and transparent health insurance copays for prevention-based health care are CRUCIAL.

Getting preventive care with no copays or deductibles means that people can afford testing for disorders before they get very sick. Screening for diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney, heart and thyroid problems can allow people to prevent or manage illness. I pay $6,400 per year (with $5,000 deductible) for my individual health plan through Independence Blue Cross (IBC). IBC will only offer me this single comprehensive plan (because of hip replacements) and can price it very high and increase it 10% per year. I can't afford to see other doctors and specialists. I can only afford preventive care tests at no additional charge. I am waiting for list of covered preventive tests to include skin cancer screening, and checkups for my hip replacements every 5 years or so.I don't understand why insurers are not on board to help people prevent disease, but try to  make it hard for people to know about and get preventive care. Independence Blue Cross makes its medical coding for preventive care so complicated that doctors and billing offices get so confused that they incorrectly bill patients, when patients should not have to pay. Busy patients probably pay the $50 or hundreds of dollars they are incorrectly billed. I was billed almost $400 in 2011, but fought it and won. Then in 2012, I have been billed $53 and am fighting it. Many other people don't have the time or righteous indignation to fight charges for it as I do. My insurer justified a 10% increase for 2011 because it said it had to provide preventive care. So I paid for this and expect to get it by law.More work needs to be done to convince insurers that preventive care saves them money, since money is all they care about, even my nonprofit IBC.More work needs to be done to add more tests to preventive care lists.More work needs to be done to help make the medical coding and other parts of the preventive care program efficient and less confusing for doctors, billers, and patients.But when it works, preventive care is a good idea and has helped me lower my cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar before I get sick. I hope the program is not impeded because insurers want higher profits instead of healthier subscribers.