
This system made a recent decision for the upholdment of the health care proposals of the current administration. As a law abiding citizen of the land I have to agree with the passage of this law. Other law abiding citizens and especially those in prominent standings of opposition cried foul of this law. Some have come out like mad ants from a disturbed nest with the intent of repealing this law.
As a prostate cancer survivor I endorse this law. I couldn’t express the reasons why this law makes sense more than this letter sent to me through the American Cancer Society, and written by a fellow cancer survivor. Read on.
Lloyd,
The Supreme Court has spoken, and I want to tell you what it means to me as a cancer survivor.
I’m not afraid to admit that I was opposed to the Affordable Care Act, what some people refer to as Obamacare, when it passed.
But there was something that concerned me more, and that was having no insurance at all. Because in the minds of the health insurance companies, I’m not a cancer survivor -- I’m someone who had the audacity to survive cancer. And the consequence of survival was that they refused to insure me. I own a small business and work hard, so I need to buy my own health care.
However, I did qualify for a new program included in the health care law -- the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program (PCIP). It was designed for people like me and maybe for someone like you or someone you care about who are cancer survivors and aren’t able to get insurance coverage due to a pre-existing condition like cancer.
When I went to the hospital in March with a life-threatening bacterial infection, I was admitted to the intensive care unit, where I spent five days recovering. Without PCIP, I would not have been placed in intensive care and, quite simply, I would have died.
And that brings me to today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
I almost cried when I heard the Supreme Court had upheld the law. These were not tears of sadness, but tears of relief. I won’t be losing my insurance coverage. I know that if I get sick again, it won’t mean possibly losing everything I have, including my life. And I know there are millions of cancer survivors like me who feel the same way.
Yes, the law was controversial. And it’s a shame it became so partisan. But there is one thing I know for sure -- we can never go back to how it was before the Affordable Care Act was passed.
Cancer survivors cannot again be left to just hoping we won’t get sick. Bankruptcy and a greater likelihood of death shouldn’t be accepted as the outcome of a serious illness.
Despite my early concerns and reservations, I believe in the importance of this law. I believe in its crucial protections for cancer patients and cancer survivors. It protected me. And for those like me, it saved our lives.
Thank you ACS CAN for fighting for the parts of the law that saved my life.
Sincerely,
Kathy Watson
Cancer Survivor - Lake City, FL
Those who are fighting against this law should take heed they really do not turn out to be mad ants.
PLEASE READ MY PERSONAL SURVIVAL STORY AT Prostate cancer and me...Or You, The Two Stages (Man To Man) available at Amazon.com
Continue to look for the upcoming piece THE REAL REASONS WE DIE. Until then walk good and pack light.