Now, a full 24 hours after that disastrous appointment, I finally feel like I can articulate my feelings on the Healthcare Reform Bill’s passage. 

There are some fantastic things about this bill.  No more pre-existing condition clauses and limiting the amount insurers can charge are the two biggest improvements.  There are mandates that should have been in place years ago.  But, they come with a price.

I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I oppose this bill.  I have never been a proponent of socialized healthcare, or anything else for that matter.  Now, before you label me a “conspiracy theorist” or “tea partier,” hear (er, read) me out.

I grew up fairly poor.  When my parents divorced, I was five.  My mother, having little education and two young children, moved us from Maine to her parents’ house in Rhode Island.  We stayed there for a while, but eventually moved into dinky apartment, then to a duplex owned by my grandmother.  My grandmother was a huge financial support to us – without her, I doubt we’d have had new school clothes every year and bountiful Christmases.  But, we still didn’t have much money.  Even when I was young, I knew that I didn’t want to struggle like that for my entire life.

Flash forward 30 years to today.  I’m 36 and happily married to a wonderful man. We own a home, two cars (well, three when you count the race car), nice clothes and shoes, and we’re financially stable.  How?  It’s not because of any handouts.  It’s not because I was given a free ride anywhere.  It’s because I’ve worked my ass off for the past 20 years. 

When I was 15, I applied for a job at Thom McAn shoes in the Warwick Mall.  Anyone remember that store?  Well, I got that job, and I worked there throughout high school.  I took public transportation to and from work (anyone in the RI suburbs knows how rare that is).  I bought a car with the money I made selling shoes (and left that car in Mississippi).  I bought another car with the money I made selling shoes.  I worked after school and on weekends.  By the time I was a senior in high school, I was a key holder.  I was “Part-Timer of the Year” a few times, too.

When I went away to college, I worked three jobs.  I did a work study, made and served coffee, and worked in a movie theater.  I rarely slept.

When I got my first “real job,” I was 22.  I started off as a temp, making almost nothing.  I eventually became a permanent employee and worked my way from receptionist to marketing assistant, to proposal/technical writer, to proposal manager.  Over the course of four years, I more than doubled my salary.  I lost that job due to a massive reduction in force (i.e., layoffs).  I went on to lose two more jobs in the span of 12 months – all layoffs.  I struggled.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I was diagnosed with diabetes.  I didn’t let that stop me from achieving my dream.  I continued to work hard at every job I had to take.  Some sucked; some didn’t.  But, in the end, it didn’t matter because they were all just jobs.  Even today, it’s just a job.  I earn great money, and that paycheck lets me do and have the things I want, but it’s still just a job. 

My dream was the American dream:  a home in a safe place, a nice car, a good job, and a happy life.  I worked for that dream, and I finally got it. 

But instead of enjoying it, I am faced with the reality of a $2600 tax bill when others, who contributed nothing to our “society,” are receiving thousands back in “refunds.”  I am required to pay additional taxes because Brian and I make a certain amount of money.  Is that fair?  When others do nothing to better themselves and contribute?  I realize that there are now and will always be those who need help.  But, any able-bodied person, who makes a living off “the system,” is not one of them.  To those who would rather sit around and collect disability (while working a job “under the table”), I say get a real job.  To those whose entire income comes from welfare because they’ve had five kids, I say go to work, and then you won’t have the time or energy to produce more children.

That is my financial objection to this bill.

Next, I want to talk about what happens when the government “runs” anything.  Do any of you like going to the DMV?  Is it an efficient and pleasant experience?  Are the people nice?  What about when you have to deal with the IRS?  Is doing your taxes easy?  Maybe for some it is, but for us, it’s so damned complicated that we almost always screw something up.  I cannot recall a single experience with a government entity that was either pleasant or efficient.  I know we all loathe dealing with our insurance companies whenever there is a problem.  Imagine how much worse it will be when you have to call the government!

That is my administrative objection to this bill.

Under the new law, those who do not purchase health insurance will be fined.  For the first time in American history, citizens will be REQUIRED to purchase something.  Some of you might say that we’re required to purchase auto insurance.  Yes, we are, but only if we want to drive a car.  You do have a choice.  Under this law, a person with a pulse will be required to purchase health coverage.  That is unconstitutional.  I will ALWAYS have health coverage because I’m a diabetic, and it’s a priority.  But, I do NOT want the government having any say in that choice.  It is my decision.

That is my constitutional objection to this bill.

Did anyone read this bill?  Seriously, I’m curious.  Other than the snippets we got from media sources, which were neither fair nor balanced, we have no idea what those nearly 3000 pages said.  As a diabetic, this provision bothers me:

The Senate-approved version of the bill contains a $2 billion yearly tax on medical equipment manufacturers.  The tax will climb to $3 billion in 2017. Money from the tax will help the government subsidize insurance coverage for those who lack it.

Medical equipment manufacturers like Insulet and Dexcom?  Who do you think those taxes will be passed on to?

And what about those non-healthcare related items in the bill?  What about all of those little “pet projects” that got $3 million here and $7 million there?  Those add up fast.  Politicians made deals to secure votes.  Sure, it’s always been done that way, but that doesn’t make it right.

Then, there is the absolute lack of transparency in the entire process.  It was shady, with phone calls from the President to lawmakers urging (threatening?) them to vote Yes.  There was so much pressure to get this thing done because it became about so much more than healthcare.  This was a full-on battle of the parties, and it was ugly. 

That is my political objection to this bill.

In the end, the opinions of the American people meant nothing.  According to Gallup polls, the majority of Americans did not want this bill to pass.  Democrats, Republicans, Independents … it doesn’t matter.  Regular, hardworking, American people did not want this, and a bunch of Washington politicians decided that they knew better. 

This is a very slippery slope, folks.  This could and probably will lead to even more government intervention in our daily lives.  Many of you reading this believe that socialism is good; distribution of wealth is good.  I disagree.  If I wanted to live in a socialist country, there are plenty to choose from.  I did not spend the past 20 years working my ass off so that someone with no ambition and no motivation can live off of my hard-earned money.  I live in a city with a high population of residents on one form or another of government assistance.  Many have a legitimate need for it; many do not.  It’s a lot easier to be idealistic about these matters when you’re not knee-deep in people abusing the system.

To me, this is not about Democrat or Republican; it’s about right and wrong.  Healthcare reform is desperately needed; we all agree on that.  This bill, and anything that gets us closer to Universal Healthcare (or whichever term is being used this week), is not.

If I’ve offended anyone with this, I apologize, but just as you are entitled to your opinion, I am entitled to mine.  If you want to comment, feel free, but do so respectfully.

But, I was recently asked why I wanted to jump ship from Medtronic.  I responded with a laundry list of features and benefits of the other guys, but what it really boils down to is trust.  I’m just not as comfortable with Minimed as I once was.  There are two big reasons why:

The Recall. 

One day last July, I found a UPS package outside when I got home.  Since I LOVE presents, I got excited.  But, when I tore into the box, all I found was a box of infusion sets and a letter telling me to discontinue all infusion sets from “Lot 8.” 

As a diabetic, I receive recall notices all the time.  Sometimes it’s for test strips, sometimes it’s for meters.  Never before had I actually had in my possession one of the recalled lot numbers.  Not once.  So, I meandered on over (I was feeling swanky) to my stash of D supplies.  Sure enough, all of my infusion sets were the dreaded Lot 8.  I couldn’t believe it.  I’d spent years stockpiling (more on that another time) these infusion sets, only to have to send them back to Medtronic!

Like a good little customer, I boxed them all up and sent them back.  They promised they’d send a replacement box for each one I sent back, so I felt a little better.  For a while.

Then, I started thinking about my crazy BG numbers over the past few months.  I know, I know, you’re going to say, “Shannon, your numbers are always crazy!”  But, this was different – it was CRAZY crazy.  Like, I need to change by basals kind of crazy.  It was so frustrating because I couldn’t explain why my numbers were so unpredictable.  But, I assumed it was my fault (don’t we always).  Lo and behold, it was Minimed’s fault.  (Note, since using the new infusion sets, I’ve had better stability – well, at least “normal” crazy.)  I stumbled across a discussion on Tu Diabetes about The Recall, and I was happy to read that I wasn’t alone.  

The fact that Medtronic issued a recall isn’t what killed my trust.  It was how they did it.  I knew nothing about the problematic infusion sets until I received a brand new box to replace the defective ones.  Where was my “heads-up” that there could be a problem?  How long did it take from their discovery of the issue, to the release of replacement infusion sets?  Days?  Weeks?  Months?  Seriously.  Why didn’t they send a notice saying, “hey, we know that there’s a problem, so you might want to switch to MDIs until we figure it out.”  Something, anything would have been better than silence.

My second reason is a little less directly-relevant to me, but it bothers me none-the-less.

The Death.

I recently learned of the death of Steven Krueger, although he passed away over three years ago.  At first, I didn’t believe what I read regarding his death.  It seemed impossible.  However, further discussion at Tu Diabetes (yes, I spend a lot of time there and you should, too!) revealed that many others experienced the same problem that caused Steven’s untimely (and preventable) death.

In a nutshell, while he slept, Steven’s pump went into Prime mode.  His model pump (MMT-511) emptied the ENTIRE RESERVIOR of insulin into his body.  Steven never woke up.

While the situation is tragic, and I place the blame completely at Medtronic’s door, I also don’t like the fact that there’s been a cover-up.  Yep, according to the lovely Anna, “The pump left the coroners office in B.C., Canada – intact (pictures were taken prior to being sent off) – but a week later – Medtronic sent back the pump stating that the case was cracked – therefore they could not perform any tests!”

WTF, Medtronic?  I don’t like that kind of sneaky crap.  It makes me feel dirty and in need of a shower.

So, those are my reasons.  If I could, I’d dump Minimed today.