With this being an election year, talk about healthcare as fired up. I know a lot of people are against the Affordable Healthcare Act. I understand it may have penalized or made life more difficult for some. Let me tell give you something to think about.

Misty had Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. Because of her pre-exsisting condition she lost her health insurance when she turned eighteen. Up until she was eighteen, Misty was able to be on her parents health insurance.  According to her parent’s health insurance policy, only children under the age of eighteen would be covered. In order to pay Misty’s medical bills, her dad took on a second job and a 2nd mortgage out on their house. Misty got a full scholarship to a college two hours away. Her parents were not comfortable with her going away to college, but with the 2nd mortgage and all Misty’s medical bills they could afford to pay for college too. Besides, they knew Misty could live at home forever. Misty’s best friend Randi was attending the same college and would be her roommate. Growing up together Randi knew all the signs to look for when Misty’s blood sugar was off. This set Misty’s parents more at ease. One morning Misty was acting strange, Randi knew right away she needed to get Misty to the hospital. At the ER Randi tried to explain to the doctors and nurses that Misty was diabetic. Misty’s speech was severely slurred by this point. The ER doctor would not listen to Randi. The doctor and nurses accused Misty or being high or  intoxicated. After yelling and lecturing the girls on wasting the ER staff’s time and taking time away from patients who had legitimate reasons for being in the ER, the doctor told the two girls they needed to leave. In tears Randi begged one off the nurses to check Misty’s blood sugar, but the nurse said if they didn’t leave she would call security.  Randi had called Misty’s parents, but it would be two hours before they arrived. Randi had no choice but to take her friend back to their dorm. Misty was barely conscious. Misty slipped into a coma by the time Randi got her back to the college.

This is a typical example of what people with pre-exsisting conditions faced before the Affordable Healthcare Act. Before the Affordable Healthcare Act, if you didn’t have insurance, a doctor or hospital could refuse treating you, unless you were coding, bleeding out, or came in on a stretcher. Even then all they had to do was stabilize you and then send you home without admitting you. Hospitals could legally refuse treatment or treat you for some minor illness, then release you as quickly as possible. Some hospitals would leave you in the waiting room for hours, in hopes you would leave. Why? Money. If you didn’t have insurance, then there was no guarantee the hospital would get paid, or full payment would take a year or more due to the patient being on a payment plan. Under the Affordable Healthcare Act, Misty would have been able to stay on her parents insurance until she was twenty-six, as long as she was in college. One other thing Misty would have benefited from under the Affordable Healthcare Act, is an insurance company would not have been able to deny coverage due to her pre-exsisting condition, nor could they charge Misty an excessively high premium due to her pre-exsisting condition.

In Misty’s case, all the ER doctor and nurses had to do was test her blood. Why didn’t they? Once again the answer is money. If the blood test had shown that Misty’s blood sugar was at a dangerous level the hospital would have had to treat her and possible even admit her. Without insurance, the hospital was not guaranteed payment. All the ER doctor had to do to justify refusal of treatment was notate signs – slurred speech, disoriented, lack of coordination – that Misty was under the influence. Misty ended up in a diabetic coma, can the hospital be held responsible? No. Even though she was in bad shape, Misty walked into and out of the hospital ER. Without a blood test there is no proof that Misty was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or having a diabetic episode, therefore all anyone can do is go by the doctors notes and observations. Lastly, two college students and parents drowning in debt don’t have the means to file a lawsuit against the doctor and hospital hiding behind a bunch of lawyers, board of directors, and policies and protocols. Yes, Misty’s parents have countless medical records stating Misty’s medical history with diabetes. However, Randi did not have Misty’s blood sugar record or any other documentation of Misty’s diabetes with her at the hospital. So again both sides have to rely on the doctors notes. If there is no notation that Randi said Misty was diabetic or the record states she failed to provide proof that Misty was diabetic, the hospital still won’t be held responsible.

This story is only one of many I concerning people who died or became critical due to being refused medical treatment. There a few other reasons, I support the Affordable Healthcare Act. I will more than likely share those other reasons in future posts, but this enough for today.

Think about Misty’s situation. Chew on it for awhile. Put yourself in Misty’s shoes. No insurance means you have to pay 100% of prescriptions, doctor visits, and trips to the ER. Insulin can cost over $900 or more a month. Trips to the hospital can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Ask yourself, how would I handle this, if I were Misty? What would I do, if I was Misty’s parent?

Until Another Day,

AC