My insurance wasn't perfect. Like all things it had it's limitations. It was next to impossible to see a doctor outside of network and none of the major cancer centers took Kaiser insurance but it was cost effective and cancer drugs were free. To see a doctor I paid a $25 copay. A prescription was $20 for generic and $40 for name brand. My labs were $10 and my Lupron was $5. Zytiga was free. Provenge was free. Infusions were $25. My monthly share of premiums was $150.00. It was cheap to have cancer at Kaiser. Enter the affordable care act.
The company I work for, like most employers across the country, has used the Cadillac tax penalty to strip our benefits. Even though the penalty has been rolled back and may never come to fruition it did what it was intended to do. It stripped benefits away from the working man and gave us the same benefits as those that ride the government dime.
The cost of my premiums actually dropped by 50%. All I can say about that is " Good ain't cheap and cheap ain't good!" To be fair, I can't complain. I know a lot of people who are worse off than we are but the new insurance plan that began January 1st has created a small financial crisis for us.
Our new insurance is a high deductible, HSA, 80/20 insurance plan. As of the first of the year we had to come up with a $1500 deductible and after that our share is 20% until we reach our max out of pocket of $3000 per calendar year. We will max out on Thursday when I receive a Zometa infusion. I guess we will put it on a credit card.
We can afford my healthcare. We make a good living. That's not the point. We work hard for the lifestyle we have grown accustomed to. Why is there always some politician wanting to play Robinhood and give to others what we work for. I know people who live together but the dude has his legal address at his moms house. They receive welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, subsidized utilities, free insurance, free cell phone, free internet, etc. etc. etc. There is nothing wrong with these people other than chronic laziness. Why are we forced to give what we work for to others.
Government safety nets are a good thing. There are people that need them. There also people who take advantage of them. These people are content to sit on their ass and smoke government weed while playing their government Xbox all day expecting the rest of us to subsidize their existence. I use to know a woman who was receiving social security disability. She had hurt her back while working as a C.N.A. Apparently she was disabled for life. I would see her in her front yard digging a 4 foot deep hole and lifting 40lb boulders while building a koi pond. Meanwhile my grandmother couldn't get a cost of living raise because the price dropped on piece of crap, made in China, flatscreen TVs.
I guess today my blog is a rant. I'm fed up. I'm tired of being expected to do more for less while other people sit on their lazy ass. I'm tired of corporations taking away. I'm tired of the government taking away. I'm tired. I'm just tired. It is Sunday. Tomorrow I will get up, put on my boots, pack a lunch, and go to work. It's the same thing I have done every day since I was 16 years old. We make a good living. I wonder if our generation will be the last to enjoy the family wage job. I feel sorry for our children. I fear for my grandchildren.
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