Enumclaw, WA
Representative Reichert,
I totally agree that improvements need to be made to the health care system.
I fall into an unusual category. More than twelve years ago I began experiencing migraine headaches. Now I've always had the occasional garden variety type of headaches, but these were completely different and definitely debilitating.
I was working the graveyard shift at the time as well as single parenting my son so I thought that working this un-natural shift as well as the duties and responsibilities of single parenting were most likely the cause. I was also spending a lot of time volunteering at my son's school as well as after school little league, basketball, or soccer practices and games depending on the season.
As the migraines increased in frequency and intensity I was forced to cut back on many of these loved activities, yet the headaches continued to increase. While I was taking prescription pain killers for the migraines I knew that this was only a temporary solution, I wanted to find out the cause. I finally took a position on day shift and thought for sure that this would make a difference not only in the headaches but also in the constant and increasing fatigue. Fatigue is putting it mildly, it was more like exhaustion.
A year after getting off of graveyard and the migraines and exhaustion were still increasing so I told my Dr. that I wanted to ramp up trying to find the cause. For the next four years I tried everything my MD as well as an ND recommended. I also was referred to a rheumatologist and at least two neurologists and a sleep specialist. No solutions were to be found.
I was forced to leave my job which I loved and fought hard not to loose. If not for a private disability insurance and the help of my family I would be homeless right now.
I was finally encouraged to seek the help of an "Environmental Specialist" since all other tests done by the doctors did not show any reason for my problems, except for a severe sleep disorder.
I realize that "Environmental Medicine" is a controversial field, however this doctor was the first one to find what I believe to be the underlying cause, or more accurately causes. The unfortunate thing is that there aren't any cures or even very effective treatment for the things that this Dr. found.
This Dr. and many like him have quit dealing with insurance companies altogether, though that didn't concern me since I was first of all in need of his expertise and secondly I had lost my medical insurance when I lost my job. I have had to find a way to pay for my appointments and medicines on my own and it has not been inexpensive.
The private disability insurance company requested that I apply for Social Security Disability which I did after a two year waiting period after leaving my job. My employer had a reassignment program that could start up to two years after my medical separation and I had every intention to take some time and get myself well enough to find a position that didn't require so much physical work. Unfortunately, I was not able to take advantage of this opportunity.
It took over two more years to go through the Social Security Disability process and after being denied twice and finally getting to see a disability judge my application was approved with a bench decision. Apparently the judge had looked at my medical history and my efforts to remain employed as well as my efforts for reassignment and knew that there was indeed something seriously wrong since bench decisions are not that frequent, or so I am told.
Unfortunately this has led me into another problem with the private disability insurance company that I cannot seem to get resolved even with the help of an attorney.
In my dealings with Social Security I have several concerns in relation to a national health care system of any kind.
1. People like me will simply fall through the cracks. Having a chronic disabling condition like mine for the most part goes "unrecognized" by the standard medical practices of our current health care system. I have wondered many times how many of our homeless are suffering a condition such as mine and have not had the resources to even be able to find out what is going on with their health.
2. Having suffered the short comings of our current medical health care procedures and having to seek out a specialist on my own to find answers, I doubt very highly that a nationalized health care system would have any better way of dealing with others like me, in fact I believe that the mis-diagnosis rate would only increase as doctors would be forced to follow strict guidelines in their treatment practices.
3. Doctors would have much less latitude in doing what they think might help their patients, again because the patient's clinical symptoms would not be considered as having much validity. Treatment would be based on decisions made by a bureaucratic set of rules or guidelines rather than between the Doctor and their patient.
There must better ways to make improvements in our health care system than trying to make a one size fits all plan that would only create a huge top heavy, slow moving, uncaring government agency that most Doctors won't want to have anything to do with.
I fear for my own personal future but more so for the future of my son.
If you have read this all the way through thank you for listening,
---End Story---