You probably didn’t even know I was away.

I spent the last week in Colorado with my family for my sister’s 20th anniversary reunion. She has been breast cancer free now for about 2 years. Since she is disabled due to a bad radiologist who destroyed 40% of her lung capacity by giving her treatments after she developed radiation pneumonitis she lost her job as an marketing executive for a multinational drug company. She recently lost her insurance when her COBRA extension with Aetna ran out. Colorado has a public health insurance program however which she can receive since she meets the rather stringent requirements for eligibility:

1. You have applied to an Insurer for a Health Benefit Plan and:

• You have been rejected or refused because of your health or a medical condition. The denial letter must be dated within six months of your application to CoverColorado; or

• Your application has been accepted, but at a premium rate exceeding the rate available through the CoverColorado plan (compared to the $1,000 deductible plan). A copy of the premium billing statement must be attached to your application and cannot be more than 60 days from the original effective date of this application; or

• Your application has been accepted with a reduction or exclusion of coverage for a pre-existing medical or health condition for a period exceeding six (6) months. A copy of the notice from the insurance carrier must be attached to your application. The exclusion letter cannot be more than 60 days prior to the date of this application.

2. Your insurance was terminated by an insurance company for other than non-payment of premium. Bankruptcy of your employer, employer’s discontinuance of coverage or insurance carrier bankruptcy are examples of involuntary termination. A copy of the termination letter from the health insurer needs to accompany your application. The termination letter must be dated within 60 days of this application. (The loss of your job is not considered involuntary termination.)

3. You have been diagnosed with one or more of the medical conditions listed here. A letter from your physician with the physician’s name, address, specialty, or a signed prescription form with your name and exact diagnosis should accompany your application.

My brother-in-law has no health insurance now because he was insured through my sister’s plan with Aetna. He runs a business (Bio-Clean of Colorado) that cleans crime scenes and environmentally contaminated buildings and houses. Does a lot of work cleaning up buildings which housed former meth labs or places where former meth addicts lived. He has a number of pre-existing conditions which probably make him uninsurable, or insurable only at a very high cost.

Mostly I avoided talking about politics with my family as they are primarily Republicans or conservative leaning, but someone at some point did mention Obama was destroying America, and another time that ACORN was busing people to Town Hall rallies, which I guess is somehow very sinister. Surprisingly no one talked about the unions which are doing the same thing to counter the Republican generated disruptions at Town Hall events. I guess ACORN is now more of a bogeyman to Republicans than the unions are, which is quite the accomplishment, since I grew up being told the unions were destroying America. Sorry union members. Barack Obama and ACORN have stolen your position at the worst people in America. Then again, the “illegal aliens” probably have surpassed you as well.