ObamaCare causing more problems for transplant patients

My longtime readers will remember the number of blog posts I wrote about the negatives of ObamaCare back when the bill was being debated. They remember how strongly I voiced my opinion that we should, “Just Say NO to ObamaCare.” The biggest reason I felt that way is because in other countries which have socialized, government-run healthcare there have always been problems. Generally, the biggest problem is when times get tough and the money dries up, healthcare gets rationed leading to needless suffering and often death. I also said back then that I believed that some of the first to be affected by rationing in this country would be transplant patients because our care is very expensive. I couldn’t have been more correct. We saw this with the controversy in Arizona earlier in the year when transplant patients on the state’s Medicaid rolls were booted off them. The worst thing was that at least two people needing transplants died as a result. However, ObamaCare’s negative effects upon transplant patients have not stopped there. They are slowly spreading all over the country.

The most recent transplant victims of ObamaCare reside in Delaware. Back in October, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware (BCBSD) ceased transplant coverage for all new, individual policy holders. It did not effect health insurance purchased through Delaware employers, it was only for individuals trying to buy a policy for themselves. BCBSD blamed ObamaCare for the discontinuance of transplant coverage. One broker said, “They’re looking to cut costs any way they can.” Hmmmm.  I guess that includes letting people die.

However, there is good news, too. Apparently, there has been a large enough outcry over BCBSD’s decision that the company has decided to reinstate transplant coverage this coming October (2011). The sad thing for the people affected is that if they need a transplant, they are going to have to wait until then.

Proponents of ObamaCare will say that this type of discrimination will end in 2014 when the law takes effect, and insurance companies are prohibited from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily true because there is nothing in the new Federal law, nor in existing state laws, that says insurance companies MUST provide transplant coverage. If they do, it’s likely that the premiums could be so high that they are unaffordable, and ObamaCare did nothing to cap premiums.

ObamaCare is NOT and never will be the answer to the country’s problems regarding health insurance. The biggest problem is lack of access to health care insurance by people with chronic and / or pre-existing conditions. ObamaCare needs to be repealed and replaced with a simple law that does two things : 1) ends the discrimination by insurance companies against people with pre-existing conditions who are considered “un-insurable,” and 2) cap insurance premiums for such people so that they can actually afford their insurance.

Furthermore, it doesn’t take a 2000+ page bill to get it done. All that is needed is some people with a compassionate heart to get together and get to work to get it done without regard to whether they win or lose. The ones that should “win” are the sickest Americans among us who have no way to pay for their own care. Are the politicians ever gonna figure that out ? Or, are they just gonna let people keep suffering and dying ?

Source : DelawareOnline.com article titled Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware to Restore Transplant Coverage

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