Hearing lots of talk encouraging voters to sit this election out. I get it. Neither candidate offers everything to all people. To that end, this is my story.
For 20 years my family has shared our story with friends and family about the crippling cost of caring for family members with chronic, debilitating medical conditions. The exorbitantly expensive medicine leaves every family in this situation in a constant state of panic. Our oldest was diagnosed with severe hemophilia B in 1996. Shortly after his birth in 1996, we moved from Illinois to Wisconsin with a 3 month old in my lap, $50 in our pocket, and all our possessions in storage. My husband had to find work with benefits that would cover our son's hemophilia B. In a time when pre-existing condition clauses we real. We couldn't seek treatment nor did we disclose his medical condition until after my husband's probationary period was up. That meant hoarding medicine, delaying treatment till he couldn't be fired without cause.
This was the first blow. Actually, I should consider the "pink slip" I received 3 months after he was born the first blow....fired from my job of 7 years. I was granted tenure after 2 years (2 years ahead of schedule, mind you! I was a good teacher!) and was a Supervising Teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher Training program at NIU. Students were placed with me as their final placement before graduation. I was a good teacher who suddenly lost my job because my son has hemophilia. Pulled my money out of my state retirement and off we went.
10 years later, my husband's workplace implemented a $2M lifetime cap on health insurance. Based on the boys' medication costs (which are artificially SUPER inflated) we knew we'd hit that soon. So, move again. In 2005 We moved BACK to Illinois where my husband found work at OSF. No lifetime caps!!! Again, I pulled want little money I'd accrued in the WI education retirement system and back we came.
In 2010, I wept upon hearing the Affordable Health Care Act was passed. My family, and even friends wept knowing the significance for our family. We were able to breath knowing the boys could get their own insurance! They can stay on OUR insurance till 26. This has been LIFE CHANGING. It's been a good several years. But now I'm worried.
Secretary Clinton, for all her baggage, is the only candidate who has any shot of continuing to reform Healthcare in the US. I've been sharing our family's story about having to change from one medicine (BeneFIX, they'd been on it for 15+ year) that runs around $30K per kid per month to their new medicine (Idelvion, only on the market since March) that's about $90K per month per kid.
The switch was 100% the result of our INSURANCE company denying their med. Insurance companies are in the business of making money, not practicing medicine.
I SHUDDER at the though of my boys having to navigate the Healthcare system or lose any of benefits we have fought long and hard for, should anyone BUT Secretary Clinton be elected. My 18 and 20 year old can FINALLY breath a sigh of relief knowing pre-existing conditions are a thing of the past as well as life time caps. They WILL be able to continue on their own health coverage. I am certain that unless Secretary Clinton is elected, my family will be severely impacted. I don't want to move again. I don't want the boys to have to go on disability just to afford the medicine that keeps them alive. And I don't want Donald Trump anywhere near healthcare reform.
All politics are local. Look at how a candidate will impact your family, your loved ones and yourself. Hillary knows her stuff when it comes to continued healthcare reform. Donald Trump doesn't know the different between and EOB and AWP.
If you dislike her as a person, fine. But she knows healthcare.