This Morning 2/1/2013 Emails about Life

This comes from an email and my parenthetical, italicized comments are the response to it:

I saw M--- today.  I told you her husband died, right? (yes, it's sad)
Anyway...she's doing not too bad....but oddly, my leg started hurting when I left there. (that's weird!)
Remember my knee went out when I worked with her and before that, I had been getting
femoral nerve pain in the same leg at the mid-thigh point.  Very odd...  (perhaps muscle memory from unresolved emotions or coincidence because of the way you were sitting all day - take your pick!)

Moreso, I write to say that his death was sudden and she wondered why she never left work at 5pm when
he always called her to come home for supper.  (it is normal to wish we had some conscious knowledge of an approaching death; it's how we try to find control again)  It reminded me of you.   And saddened me. (insert the last sentence, but after the word "approaching," insert "a breakup from which you've not recovered")

You people who think you have life after life lose something in the translation. (reincarnation of a soul doesn't negate responsibility; besides, belief gives meaning and that is part of the human condition.) You remember some things but forget other things.  (conveniently!)  And that saddens me as well. (you who don't remember are still operating from memory; just unconsciously!)

She said it is none of her business why he chose to go (transform she says) - it's for him to know and honor. (it doesn't remove the pain to know this)
Why can't we just say things are accidents?  (to say "accident" means there is possibly no meaning to attach  to an event and we humans like meaning.)  Accidents sometimes are permanent, but mostly, they are just mistakes made by one or another.  Most accidents can probably be rectified. (this is true; but as you point out, the operative word is "most."  a permanent accident, like anything else, is also subject to the meaning we attach to it.  humans need meaning.  find yours but don't impose it on another.  sharing is one thing, but a filter is a good thing to have.)

OK that's it.  I'm going to sleep now.  Goodnight. (rest in love and meaning!)(what's the alternative?!)

signed,
the real me.

This Morning 1/27/13 Healthcare Reform

Health insurance exchanges are an important part of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that goes into effect in 2014.  Obamacare, as it is known, relies on the cooperation of states to implement central information marketplaces via websites and call centers that will operate as access points for the millions of Americans presently without health insurance.

According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the December 14 deadline for states to submit plans for state-run health insurance exchanges has produced approximately half of states signing on.   In lieu of state participation, the federal government will run the information sites that will serve to inform consumers about their options for insurance coverage.       

                                                                                                                                                   On the exchange websites consumers will learn whether they qualify for government tax credits and what insurance options are available to them.  In general, those whose income is 133% of poverty level will be eligible for Medicaid, of which no premiums are required of the consumer.  A calculator can be found here: http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator.aspx.

Those between 133% and 400% of poverty level will have adjusted premiums and cost-sharing responsibilities, which will vary by state.  For PA residents, Governor Corbett has opted to not enact a PA health insurance exchange.  In NJ, Governor Christie has chosen to work with the federal government in implementing a state-run insurance exchange.                                                                                                                                             

The advantage of states setting up insurance exchanges is that it may streamline the process for those consumers who may otherwise fall through the cracks.  Having the federal government administrate a process which has been previously state-run (insurance availability) puts forth excess burden on consumers to navigate the federal and state level paperwork and information required for ACA to reach the optimum level of population participation.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                           Although I was once against ACA, I have realized a systemic change in the U.S. is necessary to provide healthcare for all as a right of citizenship.  This is the first step in this long road of ensuring our population is secure regardless of race, age, gender, socioeconomic status, or health status.  

Another advantage of this new system is that private insurance companies will be subject to cost containment factors such as capping the amount they can charge an elder citizen in comparison to a younger one.  Age discrimination, resulting in price gouging, has been a status quo practice in the health insurance industry for decades and it is time for it to end.