Healthcare reform...my granddaughter could have died tonight  

Hi pumared. Katie's diet is fine. She's not new to this illness. Her case is difficult...it has been from the start.

You can have a perfect diet and that doesnt make the diabetes go away. Yes it is important to keep very close track of your diet when you have diabetes but there will still be complications. My brother has diabetes and no health insurance because exactly like your grand daughter no insurance company will touch him...and he takes very good care of himself diet wise but because of the fact that he is very tall (7'1) he has some very serious complications with it and we know he probably wont live much longer and it drives me nuts because he lives alone and if he passed out or something no one would even know.

Can your grand daughter get medicaid?
I am sorry to hear you are going through this....I know all too well just how awful it is to be very sick but still not go to the hospital because you are worried about the cost....no one should have to deal with that!
Im praying for your grand daughter!!!

your great country should make sure to provide the people cheaper medication and hospitalization. it is awful to know that someone died because people and especially the government is very insensitive to the people's needs. what is the use of paying taxes if people could not ask for service in return?

Thanks cyrus. This legislation will soon make it possible for my granddaughter to be covered in the high risk pool. While I don't like the mandate that requires everyone to participate, I do believe that something needs to be done. I appreciate your prayers and your kind thoughts.

Thank you chrissa. All prayers are definitely appreciated. Unfortunately, there are no programs available for my granddaughter as long as she's living with her parents. Household income disqualifies her for government assistance. This is why we need reform in this country.

Thank you k. I don't think this bill is perfect but it's better than what we currently have. The thought that we could have lost Katie at 19 years old over money upsets me so much. The hospital bills are going to be outrageous and I still worry about the next time because of them. My husband has already said that he'll cash in a CD if necessary and pay all of it off so she doesn't feel the need to hesitate the next time.

Thanks for the info, lelin. I'll check it out first thing in the morning and hope that there are no strings attached. Some insurers that my stepdaughter had found, which looked promising at first, had some pretty stern conditions...like they wouldn't pay out for the first six months and you had to stay healthy during the probation period. I do appreciate your concern. This was the first and only time that Katie has tried to hide the fact that she was ill and it scared all of us badly.

You are quite welcomed. How is she doing now? I hope she is doing better and that you can find someone that will insure her. Take care and and God Bless.

Katie is doing much better and was released from the hospital this afternoon. Thanks for asking Lelin. :)

I'm so glad she is out of the hosiptal, she was there for a long time. May God keep her well. Any luck with insurance companies?

Nothing definite yet. My stepdaughter is working on some things up there though.

Hi catkin. Since Katie was diagnosed her life, her family's life and our lives changed drasitcally. Like your mother, my stepdaughter and I learned all we could about her disease and how best to manage it. Katie's diet is very strict and dependent upon what her body is telling her and she has a great doctor to guide her. She does exercise and is very active in one of her parttime jobs. She has rheumatoid arthritis, stomach problems and some neurological problems secondary to her diabetes...which were caused by the disease. When they come to visit us here in Florida I have a long list of foods and drink to have on hand for her. Any and all advice is more than welcome so if you have some suggestions that you'd like to offer please add me as a friend and we'll talk more. Thanks.

Thanks urban. I think part of the problem is that so many Americans benefit from group health insurance plans through their employers which cost them very little and offer great benefits so they don't really understand what those without this benefit go through. Hospital emergency rooms will give you minimal treatment and kick you loose if you don't have insurance. Because Katie's condition was life threatening they had to admit her but what if she hadn't been so sick? Would they have sent her home before it was safe to do so? I wouldn't have questioned this six months ago when she was still insured.

I see, that is very short sighted of them, they are really paying for it through less wages. Our National Health Service provides like for like treatment at a much lower cost than yours

all the best urban

And this is kind of a perfect example of what Obama was saying about the health care....right now we have to do it the way your grand daughter did it...we have to wait until it is a life or death situation and then go to the emergency room...if you go any sooner they WILL turn you away! But the fact is that if the hospital had treated her as soon as she started feeling sick it would have been a ton cheaper than waiting until she needed intesive care ....
There used to be a day when people became doctors because they had a desire to help people....now its just about the bottom line and if you cant pay they dont care about you!

Thanks jb. I'm going to be dragging tomorrow. It's 3:30 in the morning here and my husband is so stressed that he can't sleep so I'm being a good wife and staying up with him...but not for much longer. This scared the he11 out of us...all of us.

Thanks wizzywig. There are far too many people like my granddaughter in this country. Reform is long overdue.