Forgive the writing but frankly im not scared of much. And im scared right now.
Every doctor i have ever talked to in any capacity has been an exceptionally compassionate person. Whether right wing (which the ones i tend to meet are) or left on a personal level they are concerned and compassionate.
But that doesnt solve our problems.. doctors cant pay our bills or work for free. And HIR doesnt solve it either.
Ive warned against the HIR mania herefor a while... people are playing team sports and simply never read or understood the law. But honestly it didnt directly affect me except for the upcoming required deduction from my paycheck.
Now it does.
You see in order to get out of OTR trucking i eventually took a job as a driver at a moving company. That requires.. lots of heavy lifting (we dont just drive). That involves, as you may have guessed, lots of injuries. Injuries are so commonplace in my job that we regularly just cover for each other. We dont even bother mentioning pulled muscles or chronic injuries.
But i never worried about it til.. today.
The problem is I think ive seriously injured my wrist. Not through some catastrophic accident. Not through some employer irresponsibility. But simply through the day to day process of lifting extremely heavy objects in extremely odd positions.
Right now there is no solution. I can , and will, report it to my employer. But i cannot state to my employer that X happened causing the injury. So i can hope my employer sends me to get it checked out, which im pretty sure they will. After a drug test (SOP in corporate america) which i'll pass. And then the doctor will , from what ive ascertained on the internet send me for an MRI if the employer is paying. If not the more likely (in my mind) prescription is a wrist brace and "dont use your wrist". As you can imagine.. that is a problem in my job. And if i cannot do my job the employer is required to hold my job.. for 12 weeks...
But the Presidents' HIR would have solved all that right? No prex! I'm required to take coverage.
Well, no.
You see my employer has what most employers across america have. Catastrophic coverate. Extremely high deductables. Etc etc. So i will pay 150 a month at this particular employer.. for insurance i cannot ever use. As of now i will likely go without treatment except that provided by an emergency room. That wouldnt change in 2014 under hir. I still couldnt afford the $400-$3500 mri this injury actually requires. Though, after i paid out the $5000 or so im responsible for the insurance company would begin to chip in (assuming they couldnt find a loophole). And the kicker? Because i may not be able to perform my job after 12 weeks i will likely be replaced (as someone in the cartage/trucking/moving industry i am not actually covered by most labor laws anyway). With or without HIR the only certain method of treatment i have is an overworked ER doctor with no referrals, followups or other treatment. I'm likely to eventually face paying that bill regardless.
This is why some of us are so vehemently against "HIR". You see... those of us without healthcare will still be without healthcare. But a few politicians and political junkies can pat themselves on the back. And go on pretending we dont exist. Think about this the next time a politician of any party tries to convince you that you really wanted something else when you were clear on what you wanted.