It’s been a very challenging year for my wife, Tess.
In May, she lost her job and with it, her company-supported health insurance. Given her medical history – she had heart surgery in 2020 and is on a dozen prescription medicines – finding private insurance was an immediate priority. For some people, health insurance is something to have just in case. For Tess, this coverage is something she relies on every day.
The federal healthcare marketplace (sneeringly called Obamacare in some circles) has a wide variety of plans that are subsidized by the federal government. Tess needed a plan that offered low cost prescriptions, even though it meant a higher premium and deductible. The plan she signed up for carries a premium of $660 per month. Under her company-supported plan, she was paying $150 per month.
The loss of work, complicated by her health, and the sudden $500 per month increase for insurance has been a strain, as you might imagine.
Not long after losing her job, Tess, who is 63, was given a preliminary diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, although it has not been confirmed. Her new insurance policy does not cover the expensive PET scan used to make that determination. We are waiting for her neurologist to make a diagnosis so we can begin treatment, if our worst fears are confirmed.
About the same time, Tess began to suffer from severe fatigue. Just walking to the mailbox left her dizzy and gasping for air. Her cardiologist ran a heart cath test, which revealed the mechanical micro-valve that was inserted to regulate her blood flow five years ago was malfunctioning. She has been in the process of scheduling heart surgery to replace that valve for the past two weeks.
Early Wednesday morning, I woke to find that Tess couldn’t move her left leg or arm. Her mouth drooped and her speech was slurred – all telltale indicators of a stroke.
Tess was transported to Mobile Infirmary in Alabama, where the large blood clot found on the right side of her brain was removed. As of now, she is doing much better. She can move her arms, legs, fingers and toes. Her mouth no longer has a droop and her speech is no longer slurred. We are grateful for that, of course.
The big issues now are first, managing her blood pressure, which requires an intravenous medication and next, getting heart surgery before another clot forms, which could be debilitating if not deadly.
Given the mounting costs, that ACA policy has been extremely appreciated, even at $660 per month.
For Tess and I, the race is on to have her medical situation addressed in the next three months because as a result of the recently-passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” the federal subsidies for her policy will expire at the end of this year.
Her health insurance premium will more than double to $1,420 per month.
But, hey, that’s our problem, right?
It’s certainly not Trent Kelly’s problem or Michael Guest’s problem or Mike Ezell’s problem, All three Republican congressmen from Mississippi supported the bill that will wipe out the federal subsidies that make those health insurance policies affordable.
That threatens the well-being of 284,410 Mississippians who have insurance through the federal marketplace, according to the latest data.
One of those 284,410 Mississippians is Tess. I’m sure you know some of those Mississippians, too. They may be friends or family members and maybe even you.
Kelly, Guest and Ezell might be shocked to know that the bill they voted for so enthusiastically won’t just hurt lazy people who are just only looking for a handout.
They did this. They did it without reservation. They did it knowing it was a betrayal of the people they are elected to represent. They put their own political interests first.
Calling this legislation, “The Big Beautiful Bill” is a vulgarity, a twist of the knife in the backs that have been stabbed by it.
This is not a philosophical debate about ideology. It’s not Republicans or Democrats trying to land a strategic blow.
It’s about decent people who are going to be hurt.
There are no excuses, no rationalizations, no explanations.
It’s on Kelly, Guest and Ezell.
And I despise them for it.
So should every Mississippian. Yes, even Republicans.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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