Wednesday, July 31, 2013

State rep

Waiting for a call back. If I understand what the man I spoke to correctly this will be a federal law soon. Though I may have misunderstood him. I will find out more when he calls back.

i got a call back from the governer a few days ago. their office stated I need to contact my state rep. I just sent off an email to my state rep.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Started a petition.

Please sign.

https://www.change.org/petitions/the-state-of-massachusetts-change-their-insurance-policy-laws

Letter I sent to some government officials.

To whom this may concern;

                I am currently a resident of the lovely state of Massachusetts who is having a problem do to one of your laws. Two of my five children and Myself have on going medical issues. My oldest son is where the brunt of my worries are currently.
                Massachusetts state law states that should an employer provide insurance you can not buy private insurance. This includes the buy in state program. Due to this law our medical insurance is inadequate for our needs. My son Xzavier is epileptic. He needs to have diastat on hand in the event that he has a seizure that lasts longer than five minutes. We can not afford the co pay because our insurance has it as a third teir medication. This medication will cost us One hundred dollars for two pills. We can not afford it! We are barley staying a float as it is.
Our medical bills are insane due to Xzaviers various health problems, Arlos medical issues and my own. These include epilepsy, and major learning disabilities that I have been unable to get diagnosed.
My youngest son has inherited my Nerofibromatosis type 1. Because of this a constant eye must be kept on him in the event of tumor growth. He has also had 1 surgery and 2 hospitalizations.  He is often sick. We are currently trying to figure out why he is always so bloated and having grit in his bowel movements. 
I also have Nerofibromatosis. Due to this condition I have multiple brain tumors. We are trying to find ways to ease my migraines and constant body pain. There are days it hurts to be hugged by my children. I also have high anxiety but I do not seek the treatment I need because we just can not afford it. My children are far more important than myself. I do have to have a surgery due to hyperparathyroidism. I have held it off for a little over a year and a half. We can not afford the bill but it must be done. I also have Fibromylagia and other health problems.
This law has made it impossible for families like my own to be able to afford medical treatment. It makes me very sad that such little thought for the people was put into this law. Some insurances like our medical is taken by very few people. To be able to get my stepson who my husband has custody of to a mental health Dr we would have to travel around an hour each way. (With traffic). His medical insurance is Cigna with Tufts, His dental is not taken anywhere as in network Delta Dental of IL, his prescription insurance is why we can’t afford my medication which is catermeraine, and his vision is well they are ok not the best but better than the rest he has VSP for vision for him and my Step daughter. The only two who had vision issues until recently. I too need glasses and while Cigna will cover a check up for vision it will not cover glasses. 
Something really needs to be done to help families in our situation. It is very sad that people must suffer needlessly. Not all insurances are equal and this law makes people suffer because of this.

Thank you for your time
Kandy A Braley. 

Why I created this blog

My family currently resides in the state of Massachusetts. In the state of Massachusetts if an employer helps pay for your insurance you can not opt out and buy a private insurance. You also are unable to buy a secondary private insurance (If you could afford it!). This is causing many hardships for many families including my own.

Our family consists of my husband, My five children (2 of whom have a chronic illness), and myself (I also have a few chronic illnesses). The laws that the state of Massachusetts have in place are making it difficult for us to even survive. My sons emergency medication we can not afford. The insurance says it is not "medically necessary" . His Doctor very much disagrees.

My oldest son who needs this medication has epilepsy. The medication needed is a rectal gel that needs to be given should my son have a seizure longer than five minutes. Seizures are nothing to play with. They can cause brain damage and even death. I myself have lost a good friends due to her epilepsy.

Because of state law we can not change insurance companies. We must stick with a VERY sub-par insurance. While our medical is ok (though few people take it.) Our prescription insurance is difficult to work with. Our dental is also not taken by many people and if it is the bill is 50 per person for a simple cleaning. 250 for just our children to get cleaned.

I would love to hear and share the stories of other people who are having difficulty because of this law. Please feel free to share. I will be updating when I can about my own struggles with this law.