Monday, August 12, 2013

How Obamacare is Hurting My Family & Families Like Ours

Obamacare hurts families with sick kids like mine. This is a short list of some of the many ways it has impacted my family. I have 2 things I must say before proceeding with my list. We visited Kay Hagan's DC office in March 2013 and here we are 5 1/2 months later and the senator has not replied to my obamacare concerns- not even with a form letter. Also, in 2005, my hubby's employer covered all of my children's pre-existing conditions without a HIPAA letter or Obamacare.

  • Between 2005 and 2010, our deductible increased $50. Since the passage of Obamacare, it has increased $1,200.
  • From 2005-2011, our insurance covered 85% of medical costs/claims. They now only cover 80% of costs/claims.
  • In 2009 and 2010, our premiums stayed the same. Since the passage of Obamacare, our premiums have increased $1,528/yr. Where's the $2,500 decrease Obama keeps telling us about?
  • Our out of pocket maximum increased a total of $500 between 2005-2010. Since Obamacare passed, our out of pocket maximum has increased $1,500.
  • A medication protecting my son's kidneys from damage had a copay of $131 from 2005-2010. Since Obamacare passed, that copay skyrocketed to $532.
  • In 2005-2010, we paid 4-5K per year in prescription copays. Now, in 2013, we are on target to pay $10,000 in prescription copays for the same medications. As of August 12, 2013, we have already paid $5,775.42 for prescriptions this year.
  • A blood product my son infuses weekly has had a 100% increase in the copay. Granted, the copay is still affordable, but from 2005-2010, the copay remained the same. The 100% copay increase since the passage of obamacare speaks volumes.
  • The drop in flex spending from $5,000 to $2,500 increased our tax rate. We used  the $2.500 on our flex spending account before the end of January 2013. Because flex dollars are taken pre-tax, it decreases our taxable income and helps families like ours with seemingly insurmountable medical bills.
  • The decreased ability to deduct medical expenses will harm our family this year. Obamacare raised it from 7.5% AGI to 10%AGI. This is a tax increase my family and families like mine cannot afford. As an example, a family making $100,000 dollars couldn't deduct the first $7,500 in medical expenses, now that same family cannot deduct the first $10,000 in medical expenses.
  • In 2006, my son had neurosurgery and we had 4 other surgical procedures and our OOP medical was around 16K that year. We've already passed up 19K in out of pocket medical as of August 12, 2013 for 2013 alone and we've not had near the number of procedures as we've had in previous years.  We've had many years where we've had 4 and 5 surgical procedures and we've never been at 19K at this point in the year. 
  • We've had doctors who never wanted to talk about politics or obamacare tell us, "This is the worst it has ever been in the 24 years I have been here, It's miserable, horrible, it's collapsing." 
  • After 17 years of chronic illness, frequent hospital visits and doctor appointments, we can tell you that there has been a sharp decline in the quality and efficiency of care. 
  • Costs have increased because of the medical device tax- from the catheters my son uses every four hours to the pump he uses to infuse his meds to the medical supplies delivered by home health that are also taxed. 
This is just a list off the top of my head of the many ways we are negatively affected by Obamacare. 

1 comment:

Belle Abner said...

Probably will not do any good with Kay Hagan's responding....but I sent a note to Martha Roby's office (Alabama congresswoman....) I can not imagine the pain you feel...and the anger...and the helplessness....but I can try to let our Republican Congresswomen know....I will also try to see if Mike Rogers...my representative could help...probably not much they can do - that they are not doing now....but one more brick of information could help tumble the obamacare wall.... God Bless you and yours,
Sonya Abner
Auburn, Alabama

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