“‘Obamacare’ worked today. Help me spread the word.”

My mom has been trying to get health care for years. She’s 57 years old, has rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. As bad as that may sound, these are all very treatable conditions if you have insurance.

Ten years ago, my mom started a non-profit performing arts school and theater company that has changed the lives of hundreds of kids. But the school is too small to be able to buy a group plan for its employees. And my mom has been trying for years to get private healthcare and been denied by ALL the major health insure companies where she lives. There was no government high-risk insurance pool in her state, and to get on Medicaid, they wanted her to sell her house and reduce her income by half so that she wouldn’t look like she had so many assets. This summer, her state opted to use the federal money from the recent health care reform law to establish its own high risk health care pool. Today, she got the letter that she will be covered in 30 days at a very reasonable cost.
What this means to her is that she will finally be able to access the kinds of treatments that will greatly improve her quality of life. The fingers on her right hand have bent almost 30 degrees. Before this, she couldn’t afford the tests to qualify for the better treatments that will halt the deformation of her hands. She also frequently has to wait on tests because she has to save up or petition the doctor’s office for a payment plan. My mom works seven days a week to give her community access to amazing cultural experiences – and this healthcare is going to allow her to keep that going for much longer. I’m not sure that everything in that legislation was a perfect idea. But this will change a huge number of people’s lives in very real ways and we need to let people know.

EDIT: Mom’s healthy otherwise. Her diabetes is well controlled by mostly diet. The heart failure was caused by a reaction to a new RA medication. Her heart doc says she has the arteries of a teenager.

Damn that Obama and his health care reform! His socialist ways are such an intrusion on our freedom. “Mom” was clearly a victim of  all that power-grabby government control and simply doesn’t realize it.

She better watch out. Next thing you know the dreaded Death Panel Squad will catch up to her.