Congratulations | Insurance x Crohn's

The other day I received my new insurance card in the mail. Seems odd considering it was the end of June and we are halfway through the year. I was covered under a plan that was supposed to pay 100% of all of my covered benefits because I’d already met my deductible and out of pocket max. And for a while, the plan was doing just that. They even covered drugs at 100% leaving me with no costs at all for my covered prescription drugs. I was happy with this, but if there’s anything Crohn's has taught me, it’s this: with anything good, comes bad.

This has always been the case. With my medications, doctors, you name it. I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop and it usually does pretty quickly. After a few months of full coverage... this was the other foot. A new card in the mail conveniently after the plan just covered my $20,000 drug. Coincidence? I think not. I’ll spare you the conspiracy theories and say this:

Fighting for insurance coverage and medications

I am grateful for my healthcare. I am grateful for how far the medical field has come in general. I always feel it’s necessary to address this because I don’t want anyone to think I’m ungrateful for anything I’ve been given in this lifetime. I’m grateful for these lifesaving drugs, I just wish we didn’t have to fight so hard to get them. I wish I didn’t have to practically beg my insurance company to continue to provide the coverage they once agreed to give. I realize my condition is costly, but I pay my monthly premium for a reason. I hate to sound entitled, but I do believe I deserve – at the very least – the coverage I pay for.

I don’t want to get political. And to be honest, it’s not my place. I’m not the most educated in that department, but I personally believe this: people don’t deserve to die because they couldn’t afford medicine.

The cost of medications and care

I wish medicine and medical attention were more affordable. I wish I didn’t have to constantly pay into a system where my healthcare is not guaranteed and can be revoked at any moment. Instead healthy people arguing back and forth about who does and does not deserve affordable healthcare, I wish we could all agree that we all are human and we all deserve to live in spite of the hardships we’ve been given. I also wish people would understand that if I could, I would.

If I had $20,000 to pay for each injection, I would gladly pay it. If I knew this medication was what it took to save my life and I was financially able, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. The problem is: having a chronic condition, doesn’t guarantee wealth. You get nothing for being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. It’s not a winning lottery ticket. Financially, you are the same, if not worse off with all of your new costs and on top of that? Physically, you’re fighting for you life. Daily. Congratulations. I think people should take this into consideration when addressing costs of drugs and healthcare.