The bills are starting to trickle in from my December and January cycles with the RE. I really am shocked at how much money The Insurance Company makes on patients.

While I am very lucky to have insurance at all (I know some of you have paid out-of-pocket for many A.R.T. cycles with no insurance which boggles my mind… ) I am a bit miffed that my working for one of the largest IT companies in the world does not guarantee decent insurance. There was a time, oh, about 10 years ago when I had a plan that paid for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. In fact, when I gave birth to David in 2003, I was on the hook for $20 in total for the entire pregnancy and delivery. Man, I had it good.

Then the economy started to change, and insurance companies got greedy, and corporations starting paying exorbitant premiums for employees and the bottom fell out. Each year, my medical insurance got more expensive for my portion (and more for my company), and “the great insurance plan that was” got worse in terms of coverage, deductibles, and coinsurance. Don’t even get me started on medications. I once paid $5 for a prescription back then (any prescription!) and now I pay ridiculously high co-pays on that too, with some drugs not covered.

Large companies have drained their resources to provide decent insurance to their employees.

Small companies are put in an even worse spot being charged premiums that are crazy huge, and end up having to pass the buck to their employees.

My Dad is a small business owner (10-30 employees), and although my Dad picks up a portion of the premiums for his people, his employees STILL pay $900-$2000 A MONTH out of their paychecks to insure just themselves or their families. Can you imagine working just to pay for your healthcare? Many people are forced to do it… and when they absolutely can’t, they just decline insurance altogether.

I currently have an 80/20 – 75/25 plan which means I fork out 20-25% of everything in-network (40% out of network). My maximum out-of pocket is pretty high (before the plan pays 100%) so I sweat out expense every year. If said pregnancy moves along on track, it is possible, however, that I reach that limit but I will be piss poor by then paying out the co-insurance.

And you know what? After all of my pissing and moaning I am still a lucky one. Because there are so many people who have no insurance at all.

I don’t like to talk politics on my blog. For that matter not in my house either. (S. is Republican straight down the line, and I am the polar opposite).

Universal health coverage has always been a very difficult issue to discuss and engage which is why only lip service has been paid to it thus far with current and prior administrations. But I am fully expecting our next President to have a vision, a plan, and outright passion to get this topic on the front burner.

You hear that Hillary and Obama? I am counting on you to put actions to words. Don’t make me waste my vote.