Showing posts with label Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). Show all posts

Friday, September 7, 2012

Leslie Elder died because she didn’t know Obama’s health care law was there?

I find this hard to understand with the deluge of information available on Obama’s Affordable Care Act that is available in the media, particularly with just simple question searches on the Internet that, if the answer isn’t complete, there is normally some direction to where you can find it.  If you were depending on your doctor or insurance company to know and they didn’t, hell, I would have called the White House and explain that my wife is dying and I need help.

Leslie Elder
The health care law is complex and can be confusing but if a loved one is terminally ill you go to any extent to do something about it, especially when you are sure that proper health care will save her life.  It’s almost as if Leslie Elder was in complete isolation.  Where were her friends and relatives? They should have been combing the countryside for answers.  It is obvious that Elder’s husband was under severe pressure and needed help which he didn’t get.

For this kind of problem there are high risk pools called the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) designed as a safety net for people like Leslie Elder.  In a CNN article, it was reported that of the “…200,000-375,000 people expected to enroll in PCIP in the first year, less than one-third have done it, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.”  This is partially due to confusion over the act but also due to inadequate promotion of benefits.

Video on how to apply for Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP):

Jim Elder, Leslie’s husband, admitted knowing little about the program.  He was thinking of the official year of 2014 when the pre-existing rule goes into effect, not knowing there was an emergency section available that could have saved his wife.  Elder said that conversations over health care had been confusing.  Much of that can be attributed to Republicans who have attacked the Act repeatedly with threats of repeal and astonishingly false interpretations of it benefits.

Leslie Elder’s friend, Liz Jacobs, a nurse and advocate and spokeswoman for the group National Nurses United said: “In a humane health care system, as much of the rest of the world has, no one would have to know the arcane minutiae of how to apply for a high risk pool.  Everyone would have (coverage) that qualifies you for health care when and where you need it."  Precisely President Obama’s plan, which is fought vehemently by conservatives, especially the Tea Party.

Elder’s health care professionals and her insurance company certainly have a stake in her unnecessary death.  The family and friends did play an integral part by not uncovering every stone out there.  Obviously, there was one that would have worked.  My wife has a background working for doctors and has taken several classes on medical issues.  I guarantee you that she would not have stopped searching until she had uncovered a solution to Leslie Elder’s problem.

Donald Trump Says He Will Be Indicted On Tuesday

  THAT'S TODAY... Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the case to this point, now looking at a possible indictment. Trum...