[Promoted by susanhu w/ minor formatting changes.]
It was been two months since I was let go from my job. I figured I would write this up, considering I am one of those statistics when we write about unemployment or the uninsured. Most often, we see the numbers without the human side of the story.
I would provide some background on my separation from work, but this is not what this diary is all about. This is not about a boss that was insecure and had poor supervisory experience. Nor is it about how she misinterpreted my easygoing style as laziness, my need to shift from one task to another to maintain interest and motivation as disorganization, and my ideas and suggestions for program improvement as a direct challenge to her authority as a supervisor.
Nor is this about how the only thing that kept my sanity were the wonderful people here at ePM. If it wasn’t for ePM, I think my self-esteem would have continued to deteriorate under the constant tension, lack of support, and frequent criticism from my supervisor.
This diary is broken into two parts. The first part is the inner thoughts on being deprived of one’s livelihood and the second, how this contributes to the continued growth of America’s despair.
Being unemployed is best described as an emotional rollercoaster with emotions that are hard to describe, one is not happy or sad. The feelings of being unemployment are far more complex than a simple response of saying, “I feel sad.” It is anger, anxiety, fear and despair all joined together as one emotion, what I like to call, “The Nothing.”
According to psychologist Martin Seligman, one needs pleasure, engagement, and meaning to find happiness. Seligman defines engagement as “the depth of involvement with one’s family, work, romance, and hobbies,” while meaning is defined as “using personal strengths to serve some larger end.” To be suddenly stripped of both leaves a big void to be filled.
Having a job brings “meaning” in the sense of one’s personal worth and identity. As a society … continued below …
[x-posted on ePluribus Media]
we have been conditioned to go through life by placing labels on every facet of our lives. One of the first questions strangers will ask each other is, “What do you do?” The answer we give becomes the basis for numerous subtle judgments about a person’s worth, financial status, intelligence, education level, ambition, and social position. But if one no longer has that “label,” we have no status. And admitting “I don’t do anything” is the equivalent of saying “I am nothing,” and that is not acceptable to society. Other judgments are made depending how long a person is unemployed, the longer the time, the less value is placed on you. One presumes that, if you are unemployed, you must be either “lazy” or “defective.” We have been taught ever since we were children, if a person lacks something “to do” he or she is therefore also presumed lacks meaning. All of this can lead to feeling vulnerable and eventually hopelessness.
Unemployment not only produces a state of extreme personal vulnerability, but also a financial and health vulnerability. Once an employer stops all benefits, all the lack of financial resources can mean the end of healthcare. As for me, this was the case. Even though COBRA was offered, it did become a financial burden and to purchase a private healthcare plan these days is a budget buster. I have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) since my last year in college and therefore, benefit, from the use of medication and therapy. Besides my current financial obligations, I am left purchasing medications and without health insurance, I’ll be spending a huge chunk of my savings – $375/month. To survive in this country one does need health care insurance. For some there are a couple of possible routes – Medicaid or self-employment.
Medicaid is an individual entitlement program jointly administered by the federal and State governments, however, there are limitations to qualify. There is a reason why Texas has the highest rate of uninsured of any state, while Houston has the highest uninsured rate of any large city in the nation. As an entitlement program, Medicaid is only available to individuals who fall under certain financial and non-financial requirements; other than that, States are given the flexibility to define their own eligibility criteria. States are also States are given the option to expand their Medicaid coverage, but only within six broad categories:
- People age 65 or older,
- Pregnant women,
- Parents and caretaker relatives with children under age 21,
- Children under age 21,
- People who are blind, and
- People with disabilities
In Texas, the Medicaid program is part of the State’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program – Texas Works. To qualify a person is either receiving TANF or meet of these requirements:
- low-income children under age 19,
- pregnant women,
- youths aging out of foster care,
- families that leave TANF for work or whose time limits have expired, and
- families that have high medical bills they can’t pay
Considering, I am a single male with no children, I don’t qualify. Since I did work for an agency who provided social services to low income individuals and families, I have seen and heard the tales from those who did qualify. For them it can mean months of waiting; privacy-probing questions; and constant re-qualifying. Such paperwork can place a heavy burden on people. They are forced to take a day off from their low paying job to once again wait for long hours to see their case managers. The results, they rather not bother going through the bureaucracy and take their chances nothing bad will go wrong. Other complained about the stigma of relying on public assistance.
To seek care within the safety-net institution, people are faced with the long hours of waiting for their local government run hospital, which is often substandard care delivered by harried, underpaid, overworked employees and fresh out of medical school interns. That is just for medical care, for those who can’t pay for their drugs that are prescribed, they once again have to spend time and energy trying to qualify for a pharmaceutical assistance program. Due to the stigma of public assistance, for those who are poor it is hard for them to find someone who cares enough to set up a clinic for the uninsured and charge on a sliding scale fee.
Moreover, attaining health insurance becomes a financial strain. Despite the rapid increase of cost for health insurance premiums, there are also limitations in acquiring health insurance. Private non-group insurance premiums are based on individual health risk and are substantially more expensive than group plans purchased by employers, with cost varying by age and health status. Insurance companies can deny or limit coverage to persons in poor health or with chronic conditions. As a personal account, after being diagnosed having post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a near death auto accident, the short time I did venture into the consulting business, I was denied because the my psychiatrist wrote down the word depression. Regardless of the fact that my doctor also stated that the result of my depression was a result of the undiagnosed PTSD. Due to the idea that depression leads to suicide and other health concerns, the insurance company took it upon itself to view me as a high risk client. In other words, my depression may arise a again, making me a health liability. For others, the high cost of insurance premiums is their reason for not getting insurance. Depending on a person’s situation, the cost of health insurance can range from $300/month to $1,400/month
The consequences of not being insured are plentiful. It must also be noted the constant stress that always arises “Do not develop any chronic health conditions.” Which then lead to other worries, such as the high cost of receiving medical care – some think the save some money or can’t afford their medication, so drug prescription aren’t filled. Some have gone without taking a recommended medical test or treatment. But it also works against you too. Some health clinics have denied patients because families are unable to pay up-front. The list of concerns is endless.
Unemployment and the lack of health insurance for so many Americans is a crisis and it continues to be relatively a quiet crisis at this point. The obvious question that needs to be asked and answered rather quickly is – How long will this crisis stay quiet?