It's a sad week in Chilly Hollow. I heard last night that Ro Pace's husband has died. She's a lovely lady who teaches wonderful geometric patterns. If you know Ro, you might want to send her a quiet note of condolence for her loss.
http://designsbyro.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-dear-sweet-husband.html
http://www.designsbyro.com/needlepoint_designs_by_ro/Welcome_2.html
It's also a sad time in Chilly Hollow for another reason--the local pharmacy closed this week. It was bought out by one of the major drug store chains as the pharmacists were just too worried about the changes coming from ObamaCare to continue their six day a week job serving our little county. They are retiring. They made sure their employees have jobs at the major chain, which is one of the reasons I am sorry to see them go--they are decent folks. Now I have to drive 20 miles one way to fill a prescription and am dealing with a chain, not the small business that made sure I could fill prescriptions early because of a vacation, that checked to see that I understood all the possible side effects of my husband's drugs, that always got us the brand of generic drug that my husband prefers, that employed local teens to take orders and make change, and that had a smile and a kind word for everyone. Things change, but ObamaCare--despite all its worthy goals--has been a disaster for us personally, with my husband's good health insurance plan pulling out of our state due to ObamaCare leaving us with only one plan available which isn't as good as the old one was, my insurance costs going up $57 a month due to ObamaCare this year (I shudder to think about next year) and now with us losing our pharmacy. I don't know anyone personally that it has helped, only folks it has hurt, but you may be different. I hope so given the price tag of this government boondoggle! This is nothing compared to losing a spouse like Ro has but it is a constant problem for us and one I'll be addressing at the ballot box come November.
I rarely talk politics here since this is a needlepoint blog where personal things have no place, but no matter how you feel about ObamaCare, this upcoming election is a very important one. If you are a citizen of the United States, make sure you vote your convictions. This is a turning point for our country.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
14 comments:
I am with you, sister! Scarey, very scarey!
I really wish you had kept to your normal practice of leaving politics aside. I come to your site for the escape and relaxation offered by needlepoint. Instead I find a political broadside that makes me fume. Yes there are many people benefiting from the changes to healthcare. For instance my family. We no longer have to worry that if my huusband loses his job we will lose health insurance because he has the preexisting condition of cancer. Also, young people, like my sons who can remain on their parent's health insurance until 26, so don't need to self insuree if their first jobs don't include health insurance, as is increasingly the case. I also have friends who run small businesses who will finally be able to get more affordable insurance. Thee benefits are just being seen now. Mote will come. I would have preferred a single payer system, cheaper and more complete coverage. But, this sure is an improvement.
I enjoy your blog but please stay on topic, we all have very different opinions.
I am sorry your experience with health insurance and coverage this year has been a negative one, Jane. Ours has been different.
When my husband went on Medicare several years ago, we had to continue to carry group insurance at our small business, because the company wouldn't write an individual plan for me because of my health history. Our insurance costs were much higher after he began Medicare than before! The gradual closing of the prescription drug plan donut hole will also be helpful to us.
I look forward to never again reading a story about someone being denied coverage due to a preexisting condition or having a policy cancelled after a diagnosis.
Though our children are beyond the age of 26, we have friends who have been glad that their young adult children could maintain health insurance through their own plan in this dicey job market when so many young people are un- and under-employed.
In evaluating changes around me, I find it helpful to ask "compared to what?" Would my insurance rates have increased anyway due to rising health care costs? Would large pharmacies buy out small ones anyway? Maybe, maybe not. But the situation was becoming untenable.
Wishing you all the best in these challenging times,
Nancy
Thank you for sharing your concerns, Jane.
Who can afford needlepoint (or other hobbies) when we must continue to pay higher and higher taxes? It was just announced last week that the cost of Obamacare is already double what was predicted one year ago when the legislation was passed. Who knows what the cost will be when it actually kicks in?
I loved reading Nancy's comments. I can see the short-term benefits she gets. Nancy is right-with Obamacare we will not see people being denied coverage due to preexisting conditions or cancelled policies, but denied just because they are too old or too sick. Rationing has already begun--google it.
If your private insurance carrier goes out of business (because they are forced to cover 26 yr old adults and many more govt-forced requirements) your 26 year old adult child (and mine) will get healthcare but probably not your elderly parents....and then you.
Praying everyday for an America who takes up the old virtue of self-reliance and puts away the desire for nanny goverment.
Teresa
I read your blog nearly every day and enjoy all the needlepoint information . That being said, I hope you will refrain from discussing your political views and stick to the topic you do so well, needlepoint.
I can't help but second the others' comments here, Jane. Stick to your needlepoint news and refrain from delivering broadsides that reflect your particular political point-of-view. Anyone who wants the kinds of comments you handed us can find many many blogs on the Web that will satisfy their leanings.
I couldn't agree more with other posters who've advised you to stick to needlepoint news and leave your political leanings off of your blog. You know, if you're really cranked up about something (political) there are many other Web blogs that are like-minded. That's where your point of view belongs, not at ChillyHollow NP.
The First Amendment guarantees (among other things), the right to free expression and freedom of speech. If you don't like reading what Jane writes on HER blog, then don't read it.
Jane, I'm with you all the way!
Many thanks to everyone who commented, whether you agree with me about ObamaCare or not. Specialty blogs tend to reveal only one side of a person's life and I am sure it is a shock to discover my opinions and thoughts on things that aren't needlepoint. I will speak my mind occasionally, particularly on really important things, but this isn't about to become a political commentary. It's just that health care is a real mess right now and from my perspective as a spouse of someone with major chronic illnesses, it is getting much much worse. Dealing with government limitations on what care my husband can get, the mess of health insurance, disorganized doctor offices, and now to lose the pharmacy that steered me through a lot of problems was just too much. Navigating health care in America is not easy and sometimes it gets to me.
I found many of the comments unduly harsh. We are all bound by our love of needlepoint and our admiration for Jane's stitch design sense and her devotion to the consumer side of needlepoint. This is her blog after all. We don't pay to subscribe and she is free to write about things that matter to her. Sometimes it is good for one's psyche to vent.
Good on ya, Mate! You do remarkably at inspiring and sharing with the needlework community. It is not to be wondered that you might have real concerns that you also choose to share. Personally, I agree with you 110%, but whether I do or not, you have certainly not gone beyond the bounds of polite society in your expressions and concerns. I actually find it amusing that "Anonymous" is such a staunch supporter of the (current) status quo or of never varying from what is comfortable, that he/she was moved to comment, and yet not to share a name... Courage takes character ~ thank you for being courageous and sharing your concerns - even if they're not about stitching!!
Jane, I hope the experiences you are expecting from the big chain stores don't materialize. They built a big chain pharmacy a block and a half from my house. Like many people, we were against it but it has been here awhile now, and it is very convenient, and we've gotten to know the pharmacist who talks to us about the meds my family takes and suggest less expensive options when they are available. I have not been unhappy with the experience and we are there so much that they know us by name.
I don't know whether ObamaCare is the answer, but I do know that we (and by that I mean the universal we) need some relief. I have a huge number of clients who don't have health insurance because they simply can not afford it. I pay $1,322 per month for my family of four and we have a $5,950 deductible which I have to pay before the health insurance pays anything. That is more than twice what I pay for my housing. Something is wrong with that picture.
Like I say, I'm sorry your local pharmacy has closed. It's tough out there on a lot of stores.
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