Romney-Care & It's Impact On Me

Let me begin this post by saying that this blog post is only speaking for me and my experience with mandated health insurance in Massachusetts. I also want to say that admittedly I know very little about the whole law. I have not done a lot of research into the whole law. So I know the very basics. I know that health insurance is mandated in Massachusetts and I know that if you don't have it you will pay a (stiff) penalty when it comes time to file your state taxes. I also know that the state did put into place an insurance for people who did not have access to Mass Health, the state's insurance for those who are disabled or who are on welfare but who also were not eligible for insurance through any other means. That state health insurance is called Commonwealth Care. Now before you go thinking that the taxpayers are paying for everyone with no access to health insurance, that is not the case. If you work or have some kind of income, depending on the amount of that income, you have to pay a monthly premium for that insurance. Your income also determines the amount of any co-payments that you may have. For instance co-payments for medications could vary from $1.00/$3.65 for the lowest co-payments to at least $15.00/$25.00 for people who make more money.

Now that I discussed the little I know about mandated health care in Massachusetts, I wanted to talk about my experience. I am a 45 year old women who went to college late in life, I graduated when I was 40. So for many years I did not have jobs where health insurance was offered. When I was 34 I was diagnosed with diabetes and for many of the ensuing I was without health insurance to take the required medications. I was diagnosed in 2001 and mandated health insurance in Massachusetts was signed into law in 2006. It was sometime (I don't remember actually when) that I had insurance for the first time in a long time. I have had times in the intervening years of being on unemployment and not being able to afford the high co-payments that the state's unemployment health insurance offers and for awhile my A1C was a 12 or when my priorities were not well and I put my meds last, so I was not taking care of myself as well as I should have been. Which meant that my blood sugar levels were continually over 300 (and oftentimes over 400). My diabetes is doing under control now, because of oral medications, insulin, diet and exercise. But without the fact that policies have been put into place to help ensure that everyone has health insurance in Massachusetts, there is a chance that this would not be the case. There are many people in Massachusetts with stories such as mine and some with much worse stories. Is it a perfect law? What law is perfect? But it is a very successful law. My question is why Romney wants to now distance himself from such a successful law. Actually, let me take that back. I don't question it at all. The reason I don't question it is because the answer is simple. To admit that he did a good thing with health care in Massachusetts would mean people might actually think that he would be for a similar national health care. He wouldn't want that, now would he?

Janet Lee Smith
03/15/2012

Stay Out Of My Uterus & I'll Stay Off Of Your Penis!!

There have been many times over the history of this country when there has been what has been called a war on women. Today, the Republican presidential candidates and various conservatives are fighting a voracious war on women. One of the most recent issues was Rush Limbaugh calling Sandra Fluke an activist law student at Georgetown University a slut pretty much because she uses birth control, which of course means she has sex. My question is if a woman is a slut because she publicly admits to needing birth control, what is a middle aged conservative radio "personality" who uses his insurance to buy Viagra? Admittedly I don't know if the radio host in question uses Viagra, but since the Viagra industry is booming we can be pretty sure that an awful lot of middle aged men are using Viagra, since most 20 and 30 something's don't need Viagra. There is also the fact that at least a portion of these middle aged men are using said Viagra to have sex with younger women, women who gasp!! have to use birth control so they don't get pregnant by these middle aged men who can't get a stiffy on their own, so they use medication to do so.

Why aren't these conservative men (aka the religious right) outraged at the fact that insurance pays for a medication to help men get it up? It can't be so that these men can procreate, since although physically they are able to father children, that does not mean they want to have children at their age. It really is a simple answer: those little blue pills are for men. Men run this country and always have. Yes, we have come a long way since the days when women could not vote, own property and were pretty much the property of the men in their lives whether it be father, husband or sons once their husbands died. But Mr. Limbaugh shows exactly how far we have yet to go in this war against women. We cannot afford to stop this fight. On the contrary, we need to fight harder than ever. To Mr Mouth (aka Rushie-boy) if Ms. Fluke is a slut what does that make the men that she is having sex with? Because I can guarantee if she is in need of birth control she is not having sex with other women. Wait I forgot, it is ok for men to have sex without the benefit of marriage, acceptable, even. It's just not ok for women to do the same. How archaic a thought. I feel like I just stepped back in time at least 50 years. Back to the times of good girls vs. bad girls. Sandy vs. Rizzo. Just a simple request. You stay out of my uterus (and medicine cabinet) and I'll stay off of your penis (and out of your medicine cabinet).

Janet Lee Smith
03/15/2012