Real Life Consequences of Obamacare

I talk to many families who are already dealing with the real life consequences of Obamacare.  It is not only having a devastating effect on the finances of families with chronically ill members, the quality of care is also starting to decline.

Case in point: My two boys have been seeing Dr. K, a specialist since they were about 2 and 3 years old. He follows them for a particular aspect of Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome.  We were going to see him every six months and then yearly. Since their primary care physician could just as easily keep an eye on them and tell us when she felt he should evaluate them, a few years ago, we stopped follow ups on our own.

Fast forward to 2013 and my youngest has a problem that has been going on for approximately 10 months. We waited to see if it would clear up on its own, then we went to the pediatrician who felt it was neurological in origin. She had us do several dose increases of Neurontin. The pain stayed the same.  In December, she referred us to PT/OT. The PT evaluated the condition and felt it was neurological. Given that she agreed with the pediatrician, she felt it would be best to see someone who specializes in the body part affected.  Here's where I have to let you know:  our insurance DOES NOT require any referrals ever.

I called to get an appointment, but since it had been 2 years since we last saw Dr. K, they needed a new referral. No problem. The pediatrician sent in a new referral.  I wait. I wait some more. I still do not hear back.  I call and leave a message.  No return call.

Yesterday, I call again and get switched over to person after person after person. They can all see the referral in the system. I finally get a lady who explains that there are new procedures now. They can't make the appointment with the referral until the pediatrician also sends over clinic notes. THEN Dr. K will review notes and decide if he thinks he needs to see J. If he decides yes, then we can make the appointment. I wonder what happens if he says no? Does my son have to live with the pain forever? Do we keep getting referrals (not needed by our insurance) and see if a specialist will finally see him?

It is a major SNAFU. The last lady switched me over to the first lady. Before she did, she told me that the first lady didn't know it was her job to do these new things.  Great. Our local hospital recently laid off 950 employees, too.  Still no word today. I wonder how long it takes for this *NEW* process?

I don't talk about this on my blog for pity - I am speaking out because so many people have no idea the crap they have unloaded on my family and others like ours with their Obama vote. You see, we've been dealing with chronic illness for 16 years and we don't have to speak  hypothetically.  We can tell you how it was before Obamacare and exactly how Obamacare has changed the quality of healthcare for the worse.

Obama still sucks.