Visitors from the Other Room

Welcome - Seriously, you are welcome here. So, while you're here checking me out, let's chat a bit about how we got to this point and why I feel so strongly about this issue.

Sometime in the late '90's insurance companies started to discontinue or severely limit prosthetic coverage with total disregard for transparency. It's easy to see how this slipped under the radar for a while, but then came the outrage.

We all know the importance of having health insurance. We pay premiums so that, in the event of a catastrophic illness or injury, there is a safety net. For amputees, some joker moved the net at the last second. Many people have to resort to loans, dipping into dwindling retirement savings, a second or third mortage or just doing without. Think of the trickle down effect this has on the economy and the long-term effects on health. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I will generate more revenue for the state if I continue to work and stay active vs. going on the public dole and getting the proper prosthesis from state Medicaid. That's what's so crazy-making about all of this! It's this short-sightedness that has adds to the fiscal mess that's currently unfolding. Those states that have already passed parity laws have come to this realization.

So how did these parity laws come to be? How do insurance mandates happen? Sure, folks would like to blame the outraged amputee, the one-legged whiner stomping their singular foot - but - frankly, you brought it on yourself. When private insurance openly practices discrimination, you may save money in the short haul, but in the end, laws will be passed to mandate fairness.

Mandate fairness. It's kind of sad, isn't it?