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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAn Apology to DU
I hope you will forgive one last me-me-me-me thread, but I owe this community an apology:
To everyone who was offended by my vulgar use of language toward President Obama, I am sorry.
To everyone who felt compelled to rise to my defense after my use of that vulgar language, thank you, and I am sorry for the hassle.
And to everyone caught in the middle, who really didn’t give a crud one way or another but had their experience here disrupted and dismayed by thread after stupid thread spawned by my vulgar language, I am sorry.
For the record, and one last time: I went to the exchange. They delivered me to Anthem BCBS in New Hampshire. I signed up for the Super-Extra-Ultra-Gold plan (which I am now paying more than $800 a month for) because it allegedly covers everything my wife’s MS needs…
…but before we signed on the dotted line, the very first question I asked was, “Will you cover my wife’s medication?” Her medication was not on the formulary, so we needed to find out if they would accept a drug that wasn’t on the list. They said, “Yes, we will, just get her doctor to approve it in a peer-to-peer review,” which her doctor did, twice. Then they strung us along for weeks, refusing to refill the scrip, before finally turning us down altogether on coverage for that medication.
They lied to us, period…and I snapped. Out loud. This was President Obama’s Big Thing, and it screwed my family, because the friends he chose to make – the insurance industry his legislation delivered us to – lied to me, took my money, and then turned us down on medication my wife needs. It’s as simple as that. It is not the president’s fault that Anthem decided to be a bastard, but to say that the president’s signature legislation had nothing to do with my experience is to deny the existence of gravity.
Skinner said, in one of those monster threads, that I would never apologize for my use of language because it would make me appear weak. That’s not the reason for the duration between the incident and this apology. When I posted the “Obama go f%$& yourself thread,” I was on fire. I still am, but asshole though I may be, my blood pressure has settled enough to recognize that I acted like a damned fool by using the language I did, especially in this place.
Note well: I am still pissed about this law that delivered us into the warm embrace of the health insurance industry. 7 million new enrollees, many of whom are about to have the same experience I had, and mark my words, the so-called “horror stories” we’ve heard about the government will very soon shift to horror stories about insurance companies granting coverage (for a fee) while denying coverage for necessary treatments and medications.
Maybe that’s a good thing, in the long run. Drag their practices into the light and shame them into actually helping people instead of scalping them. Regardless, a bill that basically lets the insurance companies run wild doesn’t strike me as the yippee! event we’re supposed to take it for, but that’s just my experience. Your mileage may (hopefully) vary.
While we’re on the subject, I’ve come to believe that the reason my family got so bollixed up is because, when we signed up, pretty much only people with pre-existing conditions were signing up as well. That was a huge hit to the insurance industry’s bottom line, so of course they’d trim where they could. They didn’t have to lie to us to get that first check from me, though. If they had said “We will never cover this” instead of “Sure, come on in,” we would have pursued other options…so I devoutly hope the fact that 7 million people have signed on will mitigate their greed.
In any event, I apologize to this community for the language I used, and for the disruption it caused. I do not in any way, shape or form apologize for my feelings and opinions on the matter…but it was my wife. OK? It was my wife, in deep distress. I hope you can understand that.
I have aggravated a large number of people here, to the point that I can’t post a thread stating the sky is up there without getting an avalanche of anger in response. That is deserved, so I think it best if I take a little break and let cooler heads prevail. This is not a GBCW post – I’m a DU addict, just like you – but a little space is for the best.
Once more, so we’re clear: For what I said and how I said it, and for the trouble it caused, I am sorry.
Cheers. See you in a bit.
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closeupready
(29,503 posts)Glad you did this.
1000words
(7,051 posts)No apology necessary. Your body of work speaks for itself.
calimary
(81,222 posts)Thank you, Will. Sincerely.
Thank you for your cooler head, and your better angels - especially a particular two who come to mind. Thank you for being able to step back and take the temperature of this whole thing, and being man enough to acknowledge what had disturbed at least a few of us a lot (myself included). I personally appreciate it very much, and it's much more along the lines of the Will Pitt whose work and integrity I've always greatly admired. THIS was a classy thing to do, Will. And of course, as we've all come to expect of you, well-written.
Uh, er, this wasn't some April Fool, was it, Will?
(sorry… i couldn't resist…) 
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)Some of the tantrums in here probably help fill the coffers of Big Pharma.
Cha
(297,180 posts)it is.. unless the great hate divide wants to continue spiraling downward.
President Obama has done a lot for so many of us and I won't have him insulted like a freaking rw got loose on this board without calling it out as such.
calimary
(81,222 posts)MUCH of that was totally uncalled-for, and only sows more division and disarray among us. I think we all should basically be on the same team. Fighting FOR the TEAM. Because when the team wins, it brings many of our policy ideas into power with it. You can't have the policy in power if you don't have the TEAM in place, IN POWER, to act on those policies and maybe even implement some if not all of them. It just doesn't work any other way! I think we can all see how things go when OUR team is NOT in power. Just look at EarlG's latest composite about the Supreme Court - "who voted, and who appointed them"!!!
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)and he might return to us in better shape after a cooling off spell.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)roar the ugly truth than hear one person squeak out a lie.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)Some here think it's NCIS...show me the well proven evidence...
Others wear their hearts on their sleeves... and have seen these rodeos far too many times before.
Did she have a happy birthday ???
& Rec !!!
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)
WillyT
(72,631 posts)None of my business, but A-OK ???
and OK.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)those baby toes!
polly7
(20,582 posts)The fuzzy head and the big eyes
Skittles
(153,150 posts)*IT BURNS!*
1000words
(7,051 posts) Skittles
(153,150 posts)that baby gal gets to me 
Mira
(22,380 posts)the apology
(which was needed for some)
and the new photo of Lola
(which was needed for me)
IdaBriggs
(10,559 posts)Apology accepted. You could have gotten more attention by posting this picture instead of the swear words - who can resist such cuteness?
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)
ReRe
(10,597 posts)... and pink toes. Perfect! Give her a smooch from me.. 
mwdem
(4,031 posts)I can understand your frustration, and your apology is spot on. Always a fan.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)that you say such a thing and use Sibel Edmonds as an avatar.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)that you use a woman like Sibel Edmonds as an avatar while complaining that someone told the truth.
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)nt
Champion Jack
(5,378 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)two or three self-righteous OP's per day. Anything to avoid actual discussion of issues.
QC
(26,371 posts)IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)not only learned a life lesson, but showed the rest of us how to recover with honor.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Normally I have my doubts about such things from most people, so I do have my skeptical side. But I believe Will realizes he overstepped and to me, his apology not only has the ring of truth BUT ALSO SHOULD SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF US!!!
When you achieve perfection, then you can preach, okay? But I believe he's sincere. If you don't like it, go suck a lemon.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)own unintended part in the mess, I have hope that he will on further reflection. Until then, I believe you're doing something President Obama himself would not approve.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)but I don't think he means it. So it's damned pointless to mention it, isn't it?
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)I don't like unfounded attacks on President Obama anymore than his most loyal supporters do, considering myself one of them. But I am getting more than a little tired of hearing from you. So bug off. I'm done with you.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Isn't it strange how people who want to overextend their full frontal attack will accuse their target of being closed-minded when said target finally gets a belly full and says 'enough already'? My, my.... the hypocrisy of it all.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)And that stands, regardless of whether you want to put flower borders around it and proclaim that it's "for our own good." It isn't for our own good or the country's good to do anything that helps the Republicans get elected or move their sick ideology forward, or to imitate them in any way, period.
yodermon
(6,143 posts)Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)"They lied to us, period…and I snapped. Out loud. This was President Obama’s Big Thing, and it screwed my family, because the friends he chose to make..."
Look, I'm going elsewhere. I don't want to hang out in this post, REALLY. Bye.
tkmorris
(11,138 posts)2banon
(7,321 posts)
albino65
(484 posts)It is amazing how the truly narcissistic can accrue such a large following. Whenever I see a post by the OP it's like an automobile accident. I know I shouldn't look, but I can't help myself. Then I feel sick the rest of the day.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)I kinda think that to know who's who, it's important to read his/her comments within a context or two.
albino65
(484 posts)Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)that you're in no apparent hurry to leave.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)COBRA...there is that....that is still not recognized.
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)forthright of truth tellers to complain about somebody speaking the hell up about problems with the system.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)Sibel Edmonds?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024228191
Recursion
(56,582 posts)That story didn't exactly pan out in the end, though...
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)isn't that kind of a lie?
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]
questionseverything
(9,654 posts)so yes everything to do with aca
randome
(34,845 posts)No one ever said it would wipe the board clean and start over. Anyone believing that was deluded from the start.
I don't understand how anyone can be outraged at something that has been the 'norm' for decades already! And taking a potshot at Obama for that!
Thanks, Obama, for not reducing the price of an iPod for me!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)to say with a straight face that they never have and never will. We all DO - but how many of us can recognize and acknowledge it? That takes more strength than any rant whether a righteous rant or otherwise. I'm not saying give Will a free pass, and I really don't think he's asking for one either. I like to think that if President Obama could speak with Will himself, he'd empathize. How then shall I do otherwise?
randome
(34,845 posts)None of us is perfect. All of us have flaws.
What is not understandable is the OP's refusal to admit he was wrong.
I don't think an apology is even necessary. But as I like to say:
[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)understanding his part in the mess. I for one am willing to give him a bit more time. I swear that every time I want to swipe him upside the head, I'm faced with this image of President Obama hugging him. Don't ask me to prove it because I can't. It's just there. This is one time I feel led to follow the example I believe he would set. And no, I don't usually tumble for convenient 'apololgies'. I've thrashed others before for posting them. For some reason this one, while incomplete even yet in full understanding, strikes me as sincere.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Sounds like lying to me.
We're in the middle of our own epically-stupid drama with a dishonest or extraordinarily incompetent insurer.
marble falls
(57,080 posts)Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)....go by the name Barak Hussein Obama?
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)and then some driver can still go and commit vehicular manslaughter. Put the blame where it belongs.
PeteSelman
(1,508 posts)It's not a bill, it's a law.
Other than that, nice apology. I certainly didn't need one but apparently some people did.
Best to you and your wife. Hope it works out.
polly7
(20,582 posts)Not all of us though have the courage and integrity to admit it and apologize. Anyone who doesn't understand a knee-jerk reaction of anger and fear is obviously a perfect person who's never had to deal with it worrying oneself sick over the health of a loved one. You're a good person and I know that many look forward to reading what you offer. You were among the first who clued many of us into the lies and false excuses for the Iraq invasion, for what it's worth to you - I'll always admire you for that! Hopefully you won't give up on DU.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I had an entire thread devoted to me saying something stupid.
polly7
(20,582 posts)Will, unfortunately. I hope you're well!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I'm so excited about my plants that are growing. I have little tomato and cucumber sprouts just bursting out of the little peat cups they are in. I can't wait to plant them .
polly7
(20,582 posts)produce!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)This is my third attempt at getting tabasco peppers to sprout, or live, or do something other than keel over (they haven't sprouted yet).
BUT. I decided to abandon the idea of raising peppers and started with something easier, and I am so thrilled I have little plants about to grow, I could just smile every time I think of them. I also put out some lettuce seed. I have failed so hard at tabasco pepper plants that I thought I couldn't grow anything, but I now think I *can*.
polly7
(20,582 posts)I have Brandywine tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes and an heirloom variety of cucumber that is practically reaching for the sun!
Tabasco plants: 0.
Tomato: 24 + extras sprouting
Cucumber: Bursting out like they need to be planted
So, in short, me and tabasco peppers = 0 (3 seasons), and I had the great hubris of thinking since I am from Louisiana I could grow them. Oh ho ho. 
Anyway, other things are growing and I am so delighted I could just jump for joy.
polly7
(20,582 posts)just love them. Cucumbers I just plant straight in the garden ....... but, we're getting more snow today so it might be a while before I can even get it worked up. We'll have to share pics!
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,721 posts)in anything containing peat. Ph is not right. Don't know if ya did. I learned the hard way.
Luck in the future.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Jeez, this is the third time I tried to start them, and got nothing. THANK YOU SO MUCH for that!
What kind of soil should I start them in, do you think?
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,721 posts)I learned this from my seed supplier. I get seeds from sustainableseeds.com. Wanted to grow some Fresno peppers and poblano. Started in a good well drained potting soil making sure it had no peat in it. Pepper seeds do take quite a while to germinate and you gotta watch your temps. Then just have patience. Sorry for the delay but life got in the way.
I keep seeing this defense, but does everyone here get upset and then decide "I must post!"
When I'm angry, the last thing that enters my mind is "I must post!"
polly7
(20,582 posts)Here's a little medal. [URL=
.html][IMG]
[/IMG][/URL]
Congratulations, I don't give these out to just anyone.
missingthebigdog
(1,233 posts)This shows a level of maturity that seems rare lately.
I have always believed you were one of the good guys. Thanks for confirming that belief.
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)I used to sometimes lose my temper, and yell. Then I'd say sorry. Then the next thing would happen, and I'd sometimes yell. Then I'd say sorry. And so forth.
And then I realized I was training her for that - for that abusive personality, for the person who would lose it at her, then come back, Oh sorry, baby, I was mad. I was training her for that kind of guy by my own behavior. So I learned the train myself out of it.
You'd be wise to do the same. It's a shitty pattern, to a three year old or a whole community.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)are two fundamentally different things.
To wit: people say all kinds of shit to their keyboards they'd never say to someone's face. You've done it - hell, you just did - and I've done it. Everyone here has done it.
I've never once raised my voice to my daughter. Do I get to call you bad things because you did?
Why bother? You're an anonymous pseudonym yelling at a keyboard.
Spare me the life lessons, chum. I made a mistake on a message board. Thin the paint as you please, it will not and does not cover my actual existence away from this keyboard.
Nice try, though. Do they give degrees in amateur psychology?
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Temper, temper.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)Indeed.
bpj62
(999 posts)Everybody is a badass when they only have a keyboard and a screen to look at. I understand your frustration with Anthem, I had a problem with them in Virginia but I got lucky because my employer finally got a group plan. I have mostly been a reader and not a poster during my time on this site which encompasses 2 stints since 2003 and I have noticed an increase in the vitriol that some people have for other peoples posts. Sometimes I am afraid to post a response because someone with a high post count will tell me that my opinion doesn't matter because I don't have enough posts. It has become and odd world here at DU lately. Anyhow I have enjoyed your posts and I hope that you are able to get the medicine that you wife needs.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)consciousness and respect, the same good communication skills,
the same willingness to listen, the same kindness, that you will
employ as a father. It isn't that hard.
On the other end of your keyboard are human beings.
Number23
(24,544 posts)Lovely.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)Or are you just taking it out on someone else besides your 8 year old daughter?
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)and if they're threadjacking your posts that reflects badly on them and not on you. They're trying to run you off.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)"Let's leap on everybody and run them off" the second they say something that can be found objectionable. I've said stupid things, owned up to them, apologized, and I'm still here. Thought about leaving a time or two, but withering under harsh criticism isn't exactly my style.
BainsBane
(53,031 posts)but will pay after a doctor makes clear there is no other alternative. Have you spoken with the insurance company to try to petition the decision? If they refused, have you contacted someone in charge of ACA at the state level?
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)We've arranged for the drug company to provide the meds on a temporary basis.
Waiting to hear from Anthem on the doc's third try. It'll be two weeks tomorrow.
BainsBane
(53,031 posts)I wouldn't be surprised if they tried every trick in the book to get around paying for what they are supposed to.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)I think the flood of pre-existing conditions applicants, combined with the lack of healthy-folk applicants, really inspired them to fuck over as many nooks and crannies as they could find to save cash. I am hopeful this sudden massive influx of applicants will inspire the vampires to stop bearing their fangs.
We shall see...and if I'm required to bring a suit, I goddam well will. One thing at a time.
2banon
(7,321 posts)as far back as the late 90's I've heard nothing these kinds of horror stories, and that was back in the day when our jobs offered medical benefits with very small co-pays. I know other insurance companies are like that, but Anthem is most notorious I think. I'm sorry you got stuck with them.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)at least two other insurance companies will be joining the exchange here in NH next year.
Competition is good. Hope springs eternal.
2banon
(7,321 posts)People need to be aware of their insidious deceptions, they're armed with powerful law firms, but surely there must be a consumer advocate group that you report this deception/abuse to. ??
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2014, 09:26 PM - Edit history (1)
The sign up procedure regarding the ACA.
This is in and of itself in a violation of tort contract law. Party A says that for X amount of money, they will do such and such. And that means that what Party A stipulated they would do, must be done.
You asked the Insurer the question, and they answered that they would cover the medication.
They lied.
But you are not the only person lied to. A local TV station here in Calfiornia (forget if it was NBC in Sacramento or CBS in San Francisco) they had several nights' running discourse on how the "CoveredCalifornia.com" posted photos of real doctors. Thus implying that "Hey see that face! It's your doctor, and they are on our program, ready and waiting to cover you, their patient."
But it turned out some for those doctors weren't at all part of CoveredCalifornia! But then, it is the government's program, and ain't Michelle's arms lovely and besides, it is the lesser of the evil of people not having any insurance at all.
Yes a totally crappy Mafisosa-style of protection monies is better than nothing, I guess.
I mean, even I can't argue with that fact. We all need health services, and since our government is merely a conduit for the profit margin guarantees that our Big Boys and Girls in elected positions promise to offer the Biggest Corporations, there is really no longer any ability for any small-time individual to step out of the loop.
Viva Facista Americana! Yippee!
Union Scribe
(7,099 posts)can't just let it the hell go it says a lot more about them than you.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I'd rec this post if I could.
840high
(17,196 posts)bigwillq
(72,790 posts) polly7
(20,582 posts)marble falls
(57,080 posts)
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts) WillyT
(72,631 posts)
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)At the end of the day, that's all that matters.
That you had to do research and fight them to get it done sucks, but it's always been that way.
I sincerely hope she got her MS medications and that you both find comfort in the new law of the land.
I know I do.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)I can't imagine anybody would find health insurance that won't pay for the health care prescribed by their doctor that comforting.
OwnedByCats
(805 posts)I'm sure the drug company is not going to give them forever - this is until they can get things straight with their insurance company. He's on the third attempt at doing what they had asked to be done to cover the meds, and he's still waiting on an answer.
johnnyreb
(915 posts)Our American-Health-Care-Delivery-Systems-Incorporated has driven many of us to rage. We know.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)I'm really glad to see this post. The whole incident really ended up getting out of control. This post should put an end to all the unrest here. You're forgiven and don't stay away too long.
By the way.... I think it takes a real strong person to make an apology. A weak person couldn't have done it!
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Sorry, I need to clutch my pearls awhile longer.
Cha
(297,180 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)with their insurance companies, trying to get coverage for a medicine for a loved one with a chronic illness. Just a hunch.
Cha
(297,180 posts)enough alone.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)"They lied to us, period…and I snapped. Out loud. This was President Obama’s Big Thing, and it screwed my family, because the friends he chose to make – the insurance industry his legislation delivered us to – lied to me, took my money, and then turned us down on medication my wife needs. It’s as simple as that. It is not the president’s fault that Anthem decided to be a bastard, but to say that the president’s signature legislation had nothing to do with my experience is to deny the existence of gravity. "
...it's an attempt to save face anyway. Still wrong, and placing blame in the wrong place. Until you understand that Obama or the law had nothing to do with your choice of insurance companies, this is futile.
You can buy any insurance policy you want, even an off-exchange policy. The President also didn't "deliver" you to NH.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)Anthem BCBS is the only insurance company available in New Hampshire through the ACA exchange.
Must have been a magic trick or something.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)"Anthem BCBS is the only insurance company available in New Hampshire through the ACA exchange. "
...have to purchase a plan from the exchange. Millions of people are purchasing plans directly from insurers. The mandate is not that you must use the exchange. It's that you must have insurance.
Again, it's up to you to research and do what is best for you. If a plan off the exchange better serves your needs, Obama cannot make the decision for you.
Maybe he wants to use the subsidy?
Maybe he thought he WAS making the best choice because he didn't know they were lying to him?
Your point makes no sense.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Will wouldn't have bought from Anthem if he knew of something better available and if the insurance company hadn't lied to him. i'm sure once burned twice shy. But that doesn't detract from the validity of ProSense's point nor Cha's either. A terrible wrong was done to Will and his family. Will's response was hasty and overbroad. Ultimately we need to learn the lesson of giving a great president the congress he needs to do the best job. When I think of the obstructionism President Obama faced and largely overcame, I have nothing but love and admiration for him. Until enough of us turn out EVERY ELECTION and give even the greatest president the Congress he or she needs and deserves, THIS SORT OF CALAMITY WILL CONTINUE. And it's more on the shoulders of the public general than the president.
pnwmom
(108,977 posts)Without annual or lifetime caps?
I'm sorry if that is the case . . . and hope that you get things straightened out with Anthem soon.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)It could well have been that any insurance company writing this policy (whether on or off the exchange) would have presented the same obstacles for that drug. When you answer to your shareholders profit is a powerful motivator (which in most cases I fully approve of, but not in the case of healthcare).
ProSense
(116,464 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)How far down on one's knees, does one go, when life, limb, and loved ones are at hazard?
I like this first step... I guess... but until there is full, comprehensive, single payer... I will protest.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)And Obama still wouldn't be responsible for anyone's choice or delivering him/her to a state they chose to move to.
Quit moving from state to state, people!
City Lights
(25,171 posts)Sometimes the responses here are absolutely ridiculous. Oy!
randome
(34,845 posts)Can you say it does with a straight face?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]
ProSense
(116,464 posts)as is not being able to see that.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)"Quit moving from state to state, people!"
...hell said that? Does Obama "deliver" people to states? Is he responsible for anyone deciding to move?
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)I hope it's clear that I'm not disagreeing with you. Or Cha either, for that matter. When Will's had more time to consider, and especially if his family's healthcare situation improves, I think he'll be more reasonable. If not, I'll offer to turn him over my own knee for a real spanking. I hope that's good enough for now.
Logical
(22,457 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)Not here to hi-five the ill/misinformed/willfully ignorant.
Hey, but you go right ahead.
OwnedByCats
(805 posts)LYING to him that you don't understand? He did the research after he was only offered ONE company and when he found a snag with the formulary, they told him it would be fine as long as his wife's doctor complied with what they wanted. The doctor did that, twice - only to be denied. Now they are on to the third try and still waiting.
If you think the ACA prevents insurance companies from lying, you're sadly mistaken. While there are certain things the ACA does require them by law to do, there are still some tricks up their sleeve that they will use. They are in the business to make money, not make you well.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Cha This message was self-deleted by its author.
Demonaut
(8,914 posts)Will, you can be an asshole but your heart's always in the right place
mindwalker_i
(4,407 posts)were bemoaning that you called the president mean things, rather than arguing about the content of your message. That's a classic diversionary tactic. So UNREC for apologizing to them.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)Cheers.
K and R
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)OK, bedtime for me.
Sorry again, folks.
See you soon.
stopbush
(24,396 posts)And this hardly counts as that.
The end game, Mr Pitt, the END GAME is that YOUR WIFE WAS TAKEN CARE OF. SHE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF WERE IT NOT FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND OBAMACARE. And, your insurance-company-created problem was taken care of IN A MATTER OF WEEKS. She got her meds. Your trash talk lingers on.
You can parse it however you want, but the fact is that you flew off the handle in a way we've come to expect from Republicans, full of bile and hatred, and long before the final act had even commenced in your life drama.
The fact is that you think you're some special case, as if hundreds of DUers haven't been in the exact same place as you and your wife were (for the record, my wife had breast cancer - try getting even basic insurance with that hanging over one pre-Obamacare). Yet somehow, the vast majority here didn't take the opportunity to fling poo at our President. I spent the better part of five months last year trying to find out why we were being denied medical coverage on our COBRA plan when the company was cashing our checks like clockwork, then telling us we "weren't in their system." So believe me, I know your frustration. It's your targeting of who and what is at fault that is WAY off here.
Yes, take some time away from DU. I look forward to your articles when your return. I hope they will now be informed with the perspective you've gained, that perhaps a bit of temperance and a "count to ten" attitude might come in handy once in a while.
Logical
(22,457 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)giving those bastards "comfort," as it were.
Fact is, without ACA's forcing insurers to accept folks with preexisting conditions, the Pitt family probably couldn't have found any coverage after moving to another state. If I remember, even Pitt said the insurer would cover injections (not their preference, understandably, but a short - term option if necessary). And, the ACA dictates an appeal mechanism for situations like this.
Having lost my wife to illness, I get get the emotions, fear, desperation, hopes, etc., involved. I don't get bashing Obama, and Democrats, on this site like that.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)The bashing is absurd, the righteous outrage without understanding how significant this change is, though not the dream single payer plan, is misplaced anger born of ignorance.
I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your wife to illness, Hoyt.
So sorry.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Take care.
flamingdem
(39,313 posts)It's familiar to millions who are in much better shape now with ACA.
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Bless you for that.
Cha
(297,180 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2014, 05:01 PM - Edit history (1)
President Obama has done a lot for so many of us and I will NOT tolerate the vile insults and lies.. they will be called out.
EDIT to ADD "NOT"
kath
(10,565 posts)Before you make such a jerk-ass obnoxious post. This screaming all-caps sentence is incorrect: "SHE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF WERE IT NOT FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND OBAMACARE."-- Will's wife had been on this med *previously*, before switching to the new ACA plan. So the new plan, which will cost him nearly ten freakin' thousand bucks a year, will be a giant step down if they continue to refuse to cover the med that they SAID they would cover.
Sure sounds like a lie to me, AKA bait-and-switch.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)How much did he save?
tkmorris
(11,138 posts)
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Colorado Liberal
(145 posts)Re: "count to ten" attitude.
Probably not.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)nt
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Owe an apology to a multimillionaire, one of the most powerful people in the world. Seriously. You do see how that sounds.
Champion Jack
(5,378 posts)BrainDrain
(244 posts)I "fling poo" all the time.
BTW you should be the one counting to ten...assuming you can count that high.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)throat.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)I give Will 100% approval for apologizing too. Now we all have to put this behind us.
Do we all owe apologies to anyone we might have sort of offended, had they heard something we ever said? If so, I assume many of us will be spending a significant portion of the rest of our lives saying sorry to people. For myself, my reaction to the "vile insult" was that I hear my neighbor yell worse at the dog she loves more than life itself on a nearly daily basis. In insult terms, his turn of phrase was practically an endearment. I cant see our president getting twisted over it even if WP had said it to his face in conversation. Bush, maybe, but not the president we elected.
That said, his wife was taken care by the charity of a drug company. Drug samples have been a staple of their marketing for many years, since before the ACA was a gleam in anyones eye. Since before I was a gleam in anyone's eye, for that matter. My aunt got samples of an anti seizure med that likely saved her life, well before I was born.
The End game would be for his wife to get the care, the meds she needs in a sustainable way from the insurance company that they pay to provide exactly that coverage. But unless I completely misread his Op, the insurance company created problem HAS NOT YET BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. So everything from that assertion on in your message is rendered irrelevant to reality.
tea and oranges
(396 posts)
Kali
(55,007 posts)the extreme name-calling of a Democratic President on a partisan website was over the top, you fucked up and a DU jury fucked up too.
good on you for trying to clear the air and it was good to see so many of this community jump to try and help you with the information to help you in that semi-emergency. you owe them a thanks as well as the apology.
Happy Birthday to Lola Cutie. 
eridani
(51,907 posts)mrchips
(97 posts)I am sorry for your troubles. Of all the things that were disappointing about the development of this legislation aside from Baucus' ridiculous refusal even to hear testimony about universal health care was the president's reliance on insurNce companies to be good citizens. They have never shown responsibility to the public. They make their profits by getting payments without having to pay out. Your apology is very gracious. We can only improve the country as progressives by working in concert against our real enemy, the corporte oligarchs in control of the rethuglican party. Once we do that, then we can work to disconnect those in the Democratic Party that by choice or necessity have become too cozy with those same oligarchic interests.
pnwmom
(108,977 posts)
joshcryer
(62,270 posts)I'm glad today we can like the ACA.
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)
DesertFlower
(11,649 posts)have reacted the same way. as wendell potter said "ACA is a gift to the insurance companies". obama tried to get a public option, but couldn't. remember he said "it will keep the insurance companies honest". i don't think he realized how powerful special interests are.
ACA is not great, but at least those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage and there has to be a max out of pocket in all these new policies. people who don't have a max out of pocket are at risk of losing their homes and going bankrupt.
even when you're eligible for medicare you have to take a supplemental policy through an insurance company. some of those supplementals are very expensive. i took a cheap one -- i don't go to many doctors. it's got a high deductible, but the max out of pocket is $4900. if i had a traumatic illness at least i won't lose everything unless i had to go into assisted living. that also can be extremely expensive. my mom was in one and it was $3,000 a month. she didn't have a lot of money so i chose a place that was contracted with medicaid so when her money ran out she wouldn't have to move to another place. she died before that happened.
hopefully ACA will be improved and maybe provisions will be made for long term care.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Best wishes to your wife, and I'm sure this will work out soon.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,599 posts)I understand, I truly do.
s-cubed
(1,385 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)of approaching terminators.
You are definitely one of the good humans. Glad your wife got the medicine needed. Just think...we now have a chance to win back House and keep the Senate!
Will Pitt apologized!
I see what you did there 
Rex
(65,616 posts)A tip of the hat to ya Autumn! 
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)
LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)I appreciate your taking the time to apologize.
cheapdate
(3,811 posts)
G_j
(40,367 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2014, 08:21 AM - Edit history (2)
I didn't think it was such a huge deal, but your comments should help calm the waters, which is helpful. Many of us shared the wrenching experiences of 9/11, the lies, the wars, the torture and endless horrors together here at DU. After all that, some of us were not able to stand by and watch you villainized. We've all been through a lot.
And people can (please!) stop quoting that one remark. I think that may be the single most quoted remark in DU history. I'd be very happy if I never saw it again.
shireen
(8,333 posts)I understood where you were coming from. I've got a chronic illness, and totally get the incredible burden that comes with it. Having to deal with asinine insurance companies on top of it is very stressful.
When I first read your message, my immediate impressions were (1) your pain over not being able to help your wife; (2) how lucky your wife was to have an advocate like you--I wish I had someone like that in my corner.
Nanjing to Seoul
(2,088 posts)need to apologize to me as a member of DU. I know where the frustration is coming from and I know how it manifests.
Thank you for apologizing to others, but I understand exactly where you came from and while I don't think the way you did it was constructive, I know the intention.
Please don't stop doing what you do.
Vashta Nerada
(3,922 posts)You had every right to get angry, although your anger may have been misdirected.
ms.smiler
(551 posts)I’m a business person and I tend to notice consumer behavior. I’ve been researching mortgage/foreclosure/securities fraud for the past 5 years and I think I’ve spotted similar behavior.
Please confirm for me that no one from Anthem put anything in writing about coverage for your wife’s medication and the conditions regarding that coverage. It appears likely to me that a person or persons verbally conveyed information to you and like so many troubled homeowners; you didn’t think it necessary to put that understanding in writing. Am I correct?
It appears to me there was a verbal contract between you and Anthem, just as courts have recognized the verbal contracts between troubled homeowners and the companies who were supposedly modifying mortgages while simultaneously foreclosing on those homeowners.
You fulfilled your obligations under that verbal contract while Anthem failed to meet their obligation.
The American people are a hard working, honest and trusting people, too trusting at times.
quinnox
(20,600 posts)And I don't apologize for thinking the ACA is a flimsy band-aid on a broken system that needs to be destroyed, and built anew from the ground up, based on non-profit. It's the civilized thing to do. And I don't apologize for saying "Fuck you!" to the greedy insurance companies, and their apologists too.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)"a flimsy band-aid on a broken system" -- 
ACA is certainly better than nothing, but it's not what we really need.
flvegan
(64,407 posts)Let me know when your thoughts and emotions here are unjustified in regards to the topic at hand.
As for "language" and being vulgar, lol! Will, dear sir, can I introduce you to the internet?
NEVER stop standing up for your family. If you got emotional, and others got emotional, I fail to see how you were in the wrong.
Lastly, "Drag their practices into the light and shame them into actually helping people instead of scalping them." is brilliant and right in the proper wheelhouse, now how do we leave this all behind and do just that?
OwnedByCats
(805 posts)some people's feelings got hurt, and we can't have that because .... it's all about them, right!? 
Rubbish indeed.
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)I posted more than a few times that I thought I knew where you were coming from, and what motivated your words. More than a few seemed to agree.
Apology accepted, even though I wouldn't have DREAMED of asking for one.
mountain grammy
(26,619 posts)And of course they lied, they're the insurance companies, lying their way to total control of health care for the last 30 years. The ACA is a start in taking that power away from them. Whenever you're told they will bend the rules for you, get it written into the policy or look elsewhere. That's my 20/20 hindsight's best advice.
handmade34
(22,756 posts)I have been duped by insurance companies in the past... do not accept verbal agreements when something important is at stake!
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)There are times I seriously consider leaving this place, because there are people on both sides of any issue that love to turn this place into a shit flinging field, even without the benefit of paid keyboard mercenaries that are at least paid to act like fools.
You have reminded me that yes, there are people who can rise to the occasion, not compromise why they did things, but also take responsibility for whatever they did.
You have reminded me that the internet has heroes, and while the apology is sincere, just by doing this, you have proved yourself above the fray and noise on the internet, including the sort that is sadly infecting DU.
I salute you.
If DU survives, it will not be due to the self styled comedians and manifesto writers, it will because people like you realized we cannot kill the thing we love and need.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)thanks!
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)There's about seven posters who think you need to rein in... seven out of hundreds of active and thousands of readers.
If you wanna apologize, that's your perogative. But don't stop being angry. it's the only way anything ever gets done.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)It's not like they haven't said shit things about progressives they hate. Keep on keeping on.
randome
(34,845 posts)ACA had absolutely nothing to do with WilliamPitt's situation. None. A true 'truth-teller' would recognize that and admit it.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)Stunning hypocrisy by a (vocal) few..
greatlaurel
(2,004 posts)Whether we got the ACA or single payer, this issue of coverage for a very necessary and expensive medication being delayed or denied would still be an issue. Single payer or American style health insurance all have to attempt to drive costs down, so expensive meds will always be questioned to try to contain the costs. That is an issue for which I do not have an easy answer. I do not know why they do not accept the explanation the first time that "No those medications do not work, this medication does work and it is going to cost you a lot more in medical expenses if you do not allow me the medication that actually works!".
To get stuck in that system of cost containment, while trying to obtain a medication for your spouse that you know works and the other covered medications do not work is so infuriating that it is beyond words to describe. My family has gone through that sort of heck,too. The fourth time of resubmitting all the paperwork was what did the trick for us. Hope you get through it much quicker. You have my utmost sympathy and understanding for what you are going through.
Fortunately for me, I was not a highly respected writer so my rantings were mostly private except for some unpleasant phone calls to insurance company representatives! Dealing with chronic health issues is stressful enough without the extra hassles. For people new to dealing with insurance, private or Medicare/Medicaid, it will not be smooth sailing when dealing with those bureaucracies for the first time. However, the ACA is a big step in the right direction. It is a mistake of logic equating the refusal to cover a medically necessary medication by Anthem with the ACA law. The ACA has actually smoothed the process quite a bit for us, but as you are new to Anthem their policy must be to jerk the new customers around first. MBA's ruin everything. Reminds me of the movie, The Rainmaker, except insurance companies cannot get away with it any more, thanks to the ACA.
Happy Birthday to your daughter! Please let your wife know that she has a bunch of strangers that are all sending good wishes her way.
Take care and do not stay away too long.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)I did not require an apology, because I understood exactly where you were coming from, and why you were so upset. I am glad you have apologized to the people who got so bent out of shape that they immediately had to attack you, even considering what you were going through. An apology won't work for all of them, but I'm hoping at least some of them will accept your apology and let this worn out battle fade away. It's been difficult to come here every day and have to read thread after thread of someone else starting a new argument for or against Obama.
Maybe things can calm down a little now?
I hope this third attempt with your doctor gets some results. If not, you need to escalate your issue with BSBC. They should have a department that handles escalated issues that may end up going to the insurance board or through lawyers. They will most likely try to resolve this before it gets that far. Just ask for an escalation department for customer service complaints. They usually report directly to the CEO or someone way up there. In other business they handle cases that would go to the Better Business Bureau, or the State's Attorney General. I don't know if the State's attorney General can do anything to help with medical insurance...I suspect you would be directed to the state insurance board. But do what you have to do. They cannot say they will treat your wife for a pre-existing condition if they will not cover her meds. Without the necessary medication, they are not treating her. And if the state insurance board can't help you, write to your congress people to get help. Take it as high as the White house if you need to. It would be nice for the white house to know about this anyway.
Good luck and try to calm down...your baby needs a calm daddy. So does your wife!
blindersoff
(258 posts)When I first started on my MS drug in 2010, there was lots of information that was given to me by several different Anthem people on the phone lines while I was checking ahead of time for my coverage and copays etc. I was told by one person that I could get the drug either by specialty mail order pharmacy or at my local Walgreens. Well, duh, I chose the Walgreens as we live in a rural area and I just didn't want to depend on the mail order. The first 2 months went fine; I had a $30 copay, then when I went in to pick it up in January, my cost had jumped to $1500.00. WOW... I paid it because they couldn't take it back (biological drug); but was told that I needed to use the mail order pharmacy because I had to get a 30 day supply to get the $30 copay; if I got it through Walgreens each month I would actually be getting only a 28 day supply (since it's a once weekly injection). But through the mail order pharm it would be $80 for a three month supply!
I was pissed because I thought I had distilled all the information I got when I talked to the final person (who really seemed to know what she was talking about). I did take good notes of everyone I talked to and what they said; I eventually wrote a very long and very specific letter to the Anthem office asking for my $1500 (less the $30 copay) back because of all the different stories I had been told by the Anthem personnel. I got a very abject letter back from the head of the pharmacy department of Anthem along with a full refund for my out of pocket expenses.
So they did respond... but I think kicking ass and taking names was a good part of why I got the response I did... my experience FWIW.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)I'm not sure why insurance companies make it so difficult, but like any other large business, it seems the people who are on the phone to help you (customer service) don't know a lot of what is going on, and sometimes the only way to get answers is to take it to a higher level.
shaayecanaan
(6,068 posts)You were articulating what virtually every non-American on this website feels anyway. In British/Australian/European terms, the Republican Party is a right-wing populist party and the Democratic Party is a conservative party. I view Obama in much the same terms as I would view David Cameron (they are both essentially moderate conservatives). Then again maybe he's more like Nick Clegg, in the sense that you never quite know what either of them stand for. I view the Republicans as being essentially more like right-wing UKIP than the Conservative Party.
I can only hope that one day either the Democrats grow a collective pair, or that the American people become so outraged that they turf the lot of them out and replace them with something better.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)and while we are not on friendly terms, what you expressed is coming in waves.
It is one of the major fixes the ACA (and medicare part D) need.
For the record, don't expect it with the current idiots in DC.
Oh and welcome to my world. I have that problem around these parts. Why if the Chile event happened in San Diego, I would not be posting here. I would be in the field, but that is another story. After coming home, and filing my story, and crashing, I would let a few du'ers know we are safe over PM, and then that's that.
A few on this place can be real mean, and what you are experiencing is exactly what I get every day.
dionysus
(26,467 posts) 
Solomon
(12,310 posts)post.
djean111
(14,255 posts)Anyways - a lot more people got insurance. Let's hope a lot more people can afford actual health care.
BlueCheese
(2,522 posts)Now will all the people who called William Pitt mean names also apologize?
antigop
(12,778 posts)VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)yowzayowzayowza
(7,017 posts)...to properly verify in writing your relationship with the insurance company up front. Further,
Projection onto the President/ACA of the vagarities common within formulary/review processes, which even single payer systems utilize, is just plain stupid.
That being said: best to you and yours.
Hissyspit
(45,788 posts)Cha
(297,180 posts)JTFrog
(14,274 posts)
MindMover
(5,016 posts)"
"
bobduca
(1,763 posts)than you.
Response to bobduca (Reply #179)
Post removed
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)And I for one think he would empathize with Will's situation or any others like it. And if he and Will could meet, there'd be a lot more understanding and maybe even help.
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)As someone in a very similar situation, who's wife has pre-existing conditions, who just signed up for a very nicely priced top-o-the-line (Platinum) HealthNet plan, so that she can finally be 'taken care of properly', and who JUST paid our first bill ... I just really hope we aren't being handed over to the proverbial wolves ... who are going to do everything they can to raise rates, deny coverage where possible, and just generally make us all 'sorry' we ever supported our President and the ACA. That's really gonna suck if it does happen.
I really hope the people who drafted this legislation put the proper safeguards in place to keep these rapacious bastards in proper check. I've not really read the ACA so I've taken it on faith that my NEXT bill isn't going to be 3x what my first bill was, on account of the insurers found out my wife needs immediate medical care, but I guess we'll see.
What's really annoying to think about is the skillful way that the groundwork has been laid over the past few years, such that the more the INSURANCE CO'S fuck us over in the months and years to come, the more OBAMA will be blamed for the mess. The whole situation has this feeling to me like ... we THINK we just got saved, but WAIT TIL WE SEE WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON!!! I just can't shake that 'what SOUNDS too good to be true ...!' feeling I have at the moment. Anyone else who's gotten seemingly great coverage of late get the same feeling? Like we're being completely suckered in to the spiders lair?
It's sad how little faith I have that the Dems and Obama have taken care of business in such a way that my wife is going to get taken care of at a price tag that we can actually afford (w/no subsidy, btw ... cause my company offers spousal insurance ... but the company plan is at 2x the cost of what found through the exchange, for coverage that, on paper, does not seem as good) ... but all I can do at this point is wait, and hope we made the right choice ... and the Dems and Obama have ACTUALLY looked out for us.
cer7711
(502 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2014, 11:27 AM - Edit history (1)
. . . to admit when they're wrong.
Nicely done, WilliamPitt!
The language used when we respond while still in the grip of white-hot anger is always over-the-top and ridiculous in retrospect. But understandable. Rage is a confession that things are out of our control. Adrenaline injects us with a dose of bulldozer-like self-righteousness and "Hulk smash!" fury; while under the influence of this drug (and adrenaline is a drug, make no mistake about it-- though self-administered) we believe ourselves to be acting 100% in the right.
Personally, I'll regret my "Good kill, Grandpa" polemic/performance art posting on this board to my dying day. But we live and learn, eh? And hopefully grow in wisdom, patience and right-action as we age.
Many of have valid points to make on divers issues. The thing I've come to realize is that the more "out there" the rhetoric, the narrower our receiving audience. There's a place for polemic and strong, mocking invective to be sure. Ditto bizarre/crazed performance art meant to satirize or amuse one's reading audience. But if the objective is to persuade a majority of people to feel a certain way, well . . . savage ad-hominem attacks diminish that potential pool of agreers. It's a tactical mistake.
Be well! See ya around the site.
PS. I hope and wish the best for your wife. God knows that's a heavy burden to bear. Please keep us informed as to outcome. We care.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)You made everything clear in your posts. Some just read and digested what they wanted to be angry at and overlooked the point. You made your point very clear and without the rage you expressed, the value, warnings and information that puts the true perspective, the human face on it would have made it a rather trite read.
It was raw and real. It is life for all of us who are dealing with distrust and failed systems. I think people's rage at your painful reality are people who easily missed all the benefits, the small bits of information that they could have learned from.
I think it was a life in our face instead of the hiding places most of us cower in on the Internet.
Was an apology necessary? Oh I suppose. Why not. It's courageous, and it's the other side of being civil in an uncivilized place.
I doubt you'll read this because you're probably on your hiatus by now but it was worth my writing it.
Be well and I'm looking forward to your return.
D7
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)I think some people were frustrated at seeing that sort of invective thrown at a Democratic President on a Democratic board. ..certainly your need to vent there is understandable in light of the situation, even if the target could arguably have been better chosen. No matter. We knew, any of us who bothered to think it through, that DU would experience some seismic and potentially uncomfortable shifts as we changed from having a common foe in the Bush/Cheney administration, to a situation with a Democrat in the White House.
Here we are in term #2, and of course there is no shortage of people on DU who are absolutely certain that the place would be just peachy if those other people who disagree with them in that one important area would just go away. I suspect we all feel that, in some degree, at some point.
And good luck, really, to all of us, with that. Because like it or not, we're all on the same damn team.
But I'm also not one to get misty-eyed over some long-gone DU cameraderie that never, actually, existed. The crap-flinging and nastiness that consumes this board every primary season is a prime example. It happened in 2008, it happened in 2004. The "Good old DU" never was, not as long as I've been here, and I've been gambling hereabouts for 10 good solid years.
Anyway I think many insurance company practices are and can be unconscionable. (And potentially illegal, as someone noted upthread, which is an area of inquiry you should potentially pursue) I've been through similar situations myself and so has pretty much everyone I know. I would have loved to have seen - still would- a Single Payer System. Even the Public Option which we were promised and I do believe we should have gotten. I think our party- Obama as well as the then-House Majority leadership and the Senate, blew a bunch of political capital after the 2008 election, dithering around with "town halls" that only allowed the tricorner hat crowd to scream incoherently at their representatives. We should have taken advantage of having the majority when we did, to pass a better bill.
But still, we passed a good one, we passed an improvement. Obama, for all his flaws, did something no other Democrat had been able to pull off.
And your words here, are good. I do think they are appreciated by the community.
DRoseDARs
(6,810 posts)These threads are amusing in a morbid fashion. It's a shame we twist ourselves in such knots when we're all basically on the same side. I don't see the point in expending energies on Come to Jesus moments from either of the two major camps. Short of Obama ripping his face off revealing himself to be Hitler or Jesus, none of us are going to change our opinions of him, only have them reinforced. 2014 and 2016 are what we should be focused on. Those that feel Obama has been a letdown should use that to fuel them to fight even harder for better candidates. Those that feel Obama has been a great leader should use that... to fuel them to fight even harder for better candidates. We're on the same team. We don't agree how we got here, but we agree we don't want to go where the other team wants to take us. So we don't let them. We can do better, we must do better.
I could say how I feel about Obama but really, does it matter anymore? Are you, dear reader, even still reading? Or have you long-since decided I hate/love Obama?
DFW
(54,369 posts)I chose not to get involved up to now. I could feel the anger and the frustration from the beginning. I also felt the dismay at the terms in which the complaints were stated.
I have dealt with government bureaucracy in many countries, many of whom are far more corrupt than our own (you think we're bad? Try Belgium for a nightmare). I have met and talked to President Obama, once for an hour. I have a wife who had to be operated on and then treated for cancer, but was covered, as a German citizen, under the completely comprehensive German system--far from perfect, but not ruinous to the afflicted, either. I also experienced the inequities of the German system.
When I suspected I had a heart problem here in Germany, I contacted a cardiologist. They said they had appointment in two months. I said I was an American passing through, suspected I had something serious, and would pay cash. They took me that afternoon, checked me out, freaked out and had me on the operating table in 72 hours. I would have been dead within a week, if I had not gotten an appointment with a cardiologist. It's not perfect here either. You have to fight the inertia here as well. I had the time, the linguisitic skills, and the money to do it. Had I not, my obituary would have appeared ten years ago. Instead, I write this from a train between Brussels and Paris, still active in a job that, while weird, is better than any desk job I know, and pays enough to have gotten me accused of being a member of the 1% (I don't know or care where the barrier is for membership).
As a hobby writer and the son of a man who attained the pinnacle of print journalism in Washington, I appreciate the power of words--maybe more than some who use them as casually as an NRA enthusiast with 14 firearms in the house, something I know you, Will do not. However, while not particularly feeling a need to become a target around here, nor do I feel a need to make use of every armament in the arsenal. Having nuclear weapons should mean knowing when not to use them, which hopefully, is always.
Having said all that, I hope to see you around. If it's not for a while, OK. If it's this afternoon, that's cool too. It's OK to be grown up around here, too, ya know. No one is sending you to stand in the corner until recess.
OwnedByCats
(805 posts)We found out that at some point after my father signed up with MVP on the exchange (way back in October) that the hospital he goes to for most of his specialists and any stays or procedures he has, decided to continue taking MVP, but only those who get it through their job. They decided not to take MVP plans off the exchange. This was not told to policy holders. Between that and MVP screwing up his insurance card, it didn't list that is was a "gold" plan, it looked like a standard card that you would get if you got it through your employer. They looked at his card and told him all was good to go. After 2 months worth of appointments, he was sent a summary from MVP - nothing had been covered. So between the hospital deciding to discriminate against exchange plans (unless it's from Excellus) and MVP not sending my dad the right type of card, and the hospital never really looked into it deeply enough, he is now afraid he'll have to pay $2,000 in bills (at least). The hospital haven't sent the bills yet so, it's hard to know at this point if they are going to swallow that cost or not. He's had to change all his doctors that he's had for the last 20 years, which has been a pain, especially since my dad has 101 things wrong with him and he's totally disabled. He is not old enough yet for Medicare.
I can't blame the ACA or Obama for that mix up, but I can see how it's tempting to do so. I really hope things get resolved for your wife's medication. They are bastards for lying to you. I hate insurance companies anyway, I wanted single payer after I experienced how nice it is (lived in Britain for ten years, their NHS was great!).
We all can get very emotional when it comes to those we love so much. I think you're a good man for helping your wife and getting mad! She's lucky to have you! Hope all is well with you, your wife, daughter and kitty cat!
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)You may or may not have had issues with health insurance providers and really who has not at one time or another. There are means by which those issues can be addressed. There is an appeal process built into insurance and one can continually appeal their decision and contact their state insurance department or regulatory agency(s) to resolve said issue(s). Somehow I don't think posting on DU will move that process along, but if it works for You...........
That said, I noted your exchange (which the sub thread appears to have been deleted) with another DUer' in the Lounge and frankly I found that and this entire focus on ones self to be entirely childish (and I say that charitably as civility requires that I not post what I really believe)
Post as You wish and what You choose, it is certainly a free country, yet do not expect others to be in agreement when they find what You post offensive.
Good Day To You Sir
aquart
(69,014 posts)It's been decades since I heard one good word about that state. (Especially now that I have family there.)
Which is not to say I wouldn't happily see the health insurance industry destroyed.
lostincalifornia
(3,639 posts)"from the bottom of my heart", DOES deserve an apology.
and those cannot see that, really have a comprehension problem about what the OP said in this thread
DontTreadOnMe
(2,442 posts)yes... even though he made a mistake, I always knew he was still on our side.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4686037
An ENTIRE thread was devoted to correcting this piece of incorrect information.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4687956
Note--you did not bother to participate in that thread, or otherwise admit that you were wrong.
As the mother of a disabled child who is currently taking two non-formulary medications, and having gone through the "appeal process" more than once, I found your anger to be completely misplaced. I also found the repeated threads, each upping the ante, to be divisive and unseemly. They made DU suck.
Will you admit you were simply wrong?
Solomon
(12,310 posts)
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,721 posts)You are one of the best. Thank you.
meanit
(455 posts)It must take a lot to apologize after the pummeling you've gotten from the hypocritical, self-righteous lynch mob that has been stalking you on this board.
Yes, your original rant may have been over the top, but much of the response to it has been far worse.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)
beerandjesus
(1,301 posts)...and he blows it by apologizing. Now I'm just confused!
cer7711
(502 posts)I caught your funny there, Manny. Wonder how many others did . . . Heh!
Well done. As usual.
Trust Buster
(7,299 posts)........I did not post replies to this particular debate but watched with great curiosity. I believe Mr. Pitt wrote a very understandable, humble and human letter to the DU community. In the context of a heated debate forum, Mr. Pitt's letter represents a very refreshing outcome. Reading the responses to this thread, I am left wondering, if Mr. Pitt's detractors found themselves in a similar situation, would they be able to summon the forthrightness to compose such a human, humble and articulate expression as has Mr. Pitt ?
pipoman
(16,038 posts)AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service
On Wed Apr 2, 2014, 06:29 AM an alert was sent on the following post:
An Apology to DU
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024767541
REASON FOR ALERT
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.
ALERTER'S COMMENTS
The issue of denying coverage for a medication is not caused by the ACA.And it is the same hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top shit just a different way to get there.
You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Apr 2, 2014, 06:45 AM, and the Jury voted 0-6 to LEAVE IT.
Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: OFFS Sometimes I think alerters should be banned
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Are you kidding me? His apology was alerted on? Alerter... you are wasting my time and everyone else's time.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: You alerted on this? OFFS.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Are you fucking kidding me? The alerter is an idiot.
Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.
I am juror #2..
Bjorn Against
(12,041 posts)There are a small handful of people who seem determined to get Will Pitt kicked off this site and they will alert on anything. Good to see the jury voted the right way.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)#2 has a good point.
randome
(34,845 posts)I still don't think the post deserved it but it's a valid point.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)wrong with DU and that unanimous jury result agrees with me.
whatchamacallit
(15,558 posts)
epic failCity Lights
(25,171 posts) 
TBF
(32,056 posts)and realize they like it NOT tied to their job, they will demand more. This is a large country, times are changing, and we must move to single payer.
I understand your anger on an individual level. I have a chronic illness right now and my main medication is being covered. We pay a hefty premium for the insurance each month, and they do cover that expensive med. I do think there are a lot of games behind the scenes. My med for example "retails" for $2800 (that is the retail price they put on the envelope - my copay is $60). There is no way I believe that the insurance company is paying that - I am sure that is discounted in some form for them. I think that is one of the things that really annoys people. You never know what is happening behind the scenes when middle-men are involved. It's time for insurance companies to move to the secondary market & for our main care to be one single payer system.
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)lostincalifornia
(3,639 posts)you even read what the OP wrote?
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)by rabid types whose only goal is to support "their side" at whatever cost.
lostincalifornia
(3,639 posts)his feelings about the ACA, and that is exactly what a Democratic/progressive discussion board is all about, so no apology was necessary for that
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)hue
(4,949 posts)And Thanks for sharing Your love for Her & Your Family with us. Your OP demonstrates that You care about our DU community so Thanks for Your sensitivity with us also. Yes life is rough sometimes & You're a great Captain of You ship.
As far as us all being DU addicts, well where else are we supposed to go?? We have developed a consciousness that includes a greater overview/a bigger picture than many of our neighbors, co-workers, friends & sometimes Family members etc. We seem to be able to make a clearer distinction between fantasy & fact. I know I'm biased & that's OK with me.
So if You tolerate us then we'll tolerate You, OK??
In the end I'd say most of us love Ya' somehow even tho this is just a web site. We've shared our emotions, lives (some more than others), thoughts, mistakes, minds & ideas, & so on...
This is an on-line community & You're one of us.
sybylla
(8,509 posts)I was on the private insurance market for 10 years while I worked for myself. I am forever grateful that my family has been healthy and never required more healthcare than our copay covered. But those 10 years were still a nightmare dealing with ridiculous hoops, mind-boggling and budget busting increases in premiums, and dealing with some of the slimiest profiteers the world has ever known.
I and anyone who has ever been on the private insurance market have all been in your shoes at one time or another. We understood the frustration, the passion, the outrage and fear your post encompassed.
That we have passed the ACA without passing more serious accountability for the insurance industry can certainly be laid at the feet of the President. This was his baby. Passed while we had Dem majorities in both houses. I am not ignorant enough to think compromises didn't have to be made, but we were promised some things in exchange for enriching the insurance industry. Accountability should have been at the top.
Where you raised the bar is in apologizing for the calling out the failure while in the heat of dealing with these tools. Anyone who has been in your shoes knew exactly what you were saying and why. They understood that in your calmer moments you would have been your artful self. They didn't hold your words against you or use them as an excuse to attack you and others who, like you, are more than a little disappointed with the lack of "advances" in the ACA. An they didn't use your words to make post after post to bewail your choice of words and your imminently accurate assumption that, when it comes to the President's signature program, the buck stops at the President's desk.
I never apologize for speaking the truth. But you did. For some that will never matter. It will never be good enough. You knew that and you did it anyway.
Well played, Mr. Pitt.
freebrew
(1,917 posts)My wife and I are still trying to get insurance we can afford. The ACA doesn't help in our case.
I hope you get things straightened out soon.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Medicare for all has always been the best answer!
Puglover
(16,380 posts)And a gracious apology. Unlike the snarky posts. But that is their problem really.
Autumn
(45,065 posts)your apology or get over it, which shows a severe lack of moral character in them. So move on and don't dwell on it anymore.
And for fucks sake, hurry back.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)I thought this post expressed it best:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4761021
bunnies
(15,859 posts)I wont bother to get into the many times Ive run up against them over the years. Hopefully Anthem will get into the exchange by next year and you wont have to deal with them.
riverbendviewgal
(4,252 posts)Sorry for your hard time. I do not know if it wouldbe better in Canada. We do negotiate our drug prices.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)You weren't an idiot then. You aren't now.
BrainDrain
(244 posts)I totally agree with your first rant.....fuck'em
randome
(34,845 posts)
Maybe you could outline (in simple terms, please) how this kind of connection works. Maybe we should also blame Obama for the price of a new iPod.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Precision and concision. That's the game.[/center][/font][hr]
reddread
(6,896 posts)but they arent, and that tells the whole story clear as a bell.
Bobbie Jo
(14,341 posts)Considering your "posting style" and the relatively short period of time you've been part of this community.
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)...I totally got where you were coming from, and I would have been just as pissed off as you were had that happened to me.
What was distressing was to see those minor comments spin off into all sorts of despicable, and frankly, hateful accusations about you personally as well as professionally, and the speed with which that happened. But as another poster said elsewhere in this thread 'fuck 'em'. Hells bells, if nothing else these threads have been an excellent way for me to weed out those that needed to go on ignore.
Be well, take care of your ladies, and come back soon.
Cheers!!!
Blue Diadem
(6,597 posts)Trajan
(19,089 posts)Your gesture is generous and sincere ... You are one of the reasons I came to DU ... no apology is necessary ...
I think I know what I was in for, and I am not disappointed ... on the contrary: everything is as it should be ...
Carry on, young man ...
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)here and is a bad precedent. Having said that, I believed also that you needed some slack under the circumstances. But the self-righteous among us are always sitting on the edge of their seats praying for an excuse like you gave them to bring the wrath of their self-righteousness down. This apology will disappoint them.
My best to you and your wife. 
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)Until next time.
...trying to recall what sort of relationship this discussion takes place in...repeatedly...
what's the word....effusive? no....exclusive? no...oh yes, abusive. There it is.
Glad none of it was *really* your fault Will, it never really is, is it?
Julie
UTUSN
(70,684 posts)*********QUOTE*******
Ok, things will be better this time.
Until next time.
...trying to recall what sort of relationship this discussion takes place in...repeatedly...
what's the word....effusive? no....exclusive? no...oh yes, abusive. There it is.
Glad none of it was *really* your fault Will, it never really is, is it?
*********UNQUOTE*******
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)I did not then, nor do I now, object to the substance of what I think is a legitimate complaint. I wish you and you wife well, and I'm pleased that you're staying.
Chin up, and peace. You're a good guy, and we need you here!
LexVegas
(6,060 posts)I don't think you owed anyone an apology.
uppityperson
(115,677 posts)MS is awful, hoping not only your wife can get the medicine but they figure out more about MS itself.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)I would be telling people to go fuck themselves, too. This whole deal is a big shit sandwich that only some people have to take a bite of.
Dorian Gray
(13,493 posts)I will say... I was called to be on the jury for this post.
Yes, this post.
I couldn't believe someone alerted on this.
I've in the past NOT believed that people falsely alerted bc they had a vendetta. Now I do.
Whomever alerted on WP's apology, even if you think it's insincere... you wasted my time. You wasted the other jurors time. And YOU are indicative of the problems here and make DU suck. Agenda, much?
UTUSN
(70,684 posts)Especially the "no apology is necessary" ones.
*********QUOTE********
I do not in any way, shape or form apologize for my feelings and opinions on the matter
I'd rather hear a hundred people roar the ugly truth than hear one person squeak out a lie.
Spare me the life lessons, chum.
if they're threadjacking your posts that reflects badly on them and not on you. They're trying to run you off.
I think that, after this, if anyonecan't just let it the hell go it says a lot more about them than you.
LOL, classy as usual!
you can be an asshole but your heart's always in the right place
your anger and frustration was totally understandable .... you fucked up and a DU jury fucked up too. .... good on you for trying to clear the air and it was good to see so many of this community jump to try and help you ....
I understand
You are definitely one of the good humans.
OK
Everyone has their "I'm Human" moments
Very well said
I didn't think it was such a huge deal .... We've all been through a lot. And people can (please!) stop quoting that one remark. I think that may be the single most quoted remark in DU history. I'd be very happy if I never saw it again.
I understood where you were coming from. .... I wish I had someone like that in my corner.
.... I know where the frustration is coming from and I know how it manifests. .... I understand exactly where you came from and while I don't think the way you did it was constructive, I know the intention. Please don't stop doing what you do.
You had every right to get angry
Whatever. Personally, I would never apologize for telling the truth
As for "language" and being vulgar, lol! .... dear sir, can I introduce you to the internet? .... If you got emotional, and others got emotional, I fail to see how you were in the wrong.
some people's feelings got hurt, and we can't have that because .... it's all about them, right!?
Defending you was NO hassle. I posted more than a few times that I thought I knew where you were coming from, and what motivated your words. More than a few seemed to agree.
I salute you. If DU survives, it will not be due to the self styled comedians and manifesto writers, it will because people like you realized we cannot kill the thing we love and need.
There's about seven posters who think you need to rein in... seven out of hundreds of active and thousands of readers. .... But don't stop being angry. it's the only way anything ever gets done.
People who are taking personal umbrage at your words here are the ones who need perspective.
Yes, but such midslinging typically heads toward the correct target.
I understood exactly where you were coming from, and why you were so upset. .... let this worn out battle fade away. It's been difficult to come here every day and have to read thread after thread of someone else starting a new argument
while we are not on friendly terms, what you expressed is coming in waves. .... A few on this place can be real mean, and what you are experiencing is exactly what I get every day.
You made everything clear in your posts. Some just read and digested what they wanted to be angry at and overlooked the point. You made your point very clear and without the rage you expressed, the value, warnings and information that puts the true perspective, the human face on it would have made it a rather trite read. It was raw and real. It is life for all of us who are dealing with distrust and failed systems. I think people's rage at your painful reality are people who easily missed all the benefits, the small bits of information that they could have learned from. I think it was a life in our face instead of the hiding places most of us cower in on the Internet.
.... there is no shortage of people on DU who are absolutely certain that the place would be just peachy if those other people who disagree with them in that one important area would just go away. I suspect we all feel that, in some degree, at some point. And good luck, really, to all of us, with that. Because like it or not, we're all on the same damn team. But I'm also not one to get misty-eyed over some long-gone DU cameraderie that never, actually, existed. The crap-flinging and nastiness that consumes this board every primary season is a prime example. It happened in 2008, it happened in 2004. The "Good old DU" never was, not as long as I've been here, and I've been gambling hereabouts for 10 good solid years.
I chose not to get involved up to now. I could feel the anger and the frustration from the beginning. I also felt the dismay at the terms in which the complaints were stated. .... It's OK to be grown up around here, too, ya know. No one is sending you to stand in the corner until recess.
.... I noted your exchange (which the sub thread appears to have been deleted) with another DUer' in the Lounge and frankly I found that and this entire focus on ones self to be entirely childish (and I say that charitably as civility requires that I not post what I really believe) Post as You wish and what You choose, it is certainly a free country, yet do not expect others to be in agreement when they find what You post offensive.
I always knew he was still on our side.
You are one of the best. Thank you.
much of the response to it has been far worse.
Some complete moron among us actually alerted on this post.
That is a stupid alert, but I can't say it surprises me
That is a malicious and mean spirited alert
So if You tolerate us then we'll tolerate You, OK?? In the end I'd say most of us love Ya' somehow even tho this is just a web site. We've shared our emotions, lives (some more than others), thoughts, mistakes, minds & ideas, & so on... This is an on-line community & You're one of us.
Unlike the snarky posts. But that is their problem really.
shows a severe lack of moral character in them. So move on and don't dwell on it anymore.
You weren't an idiot then. You aren't now.
I totally agree with your first rant.....fuck'em
if only the back biting jackals were as community minded but they arent, and that tells the whole story clear as a bell.
'fuck 'em'. Hells bells, if nothing else these threads have been an excellent way for me to weed out those that needed to go on ignore.
But the self-righteous among us are always sitting on the edge of their seats praying for an excuse like you gave them to bring the wrath of their self-righteousness down.
********UNQUOTE********
crim son
(27,464 posts)never questioned your motive or the truth of your story, and if some of us were offended by you placing the blame on Obama (not me, I believe the Administration should have foreseen situations like yours) we forgave you, because you're a GOOD GUY.
joanbarnes
(1,722 posts)Now will all the 'jerks' chill out. Walk a mile in someone's shoes before you leap off the deep end.
randome
(34,845 posts)And still no admission that the vitriol was misplaced. Amazing.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]
lostincalifornia
(3,639 posts)bottom of my heart"
and that deserved an apology.
It seems like both sides of this issue fail to recognize what the OP was actually saying.
Those that say "no apology necessary", obviously have a comprehension problem with what the OP wrote, or actually believe that it was ok to say those expletives about the President.
Those that say it was "no apology", are not reading the OP correctly. He does not apologize for his views on the ACA, including his ignorance of some of the details, and that is absolutely what a Democratic forum is all about. However, he does apologize for the inappropriate cursing of the President
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)but the President is owed no sincere "Thank You President Obama from the bottom of my heart"?
meanit
(455 posts)Does the ACA / Obama not know what health insurance companies behave like? Are they oblivious to the dirty shit that private health insurance companies pull on their customers each and every single day?" When the pre-existing conditions were being done away with and the dependant age limits were being increased, did someone forget to include some legislation to prevent insurance companies from screwing people out of needed medicines?
Whatever the situation, perhaps ACA / Obama should have better understood the way these insurers act before mandating us to do business with them.
If a family drops their previous insurance plan, pays on a new one through the exchange with the understanding that everything will be okay, and then finds out that seriously important medicine will now be denied, I think anyone would explode and question what they were sold.
The ACA is a good law, but obviously some glaring flaws like this need to be acknowledged and fixed. Hounding someone over their style of outrage at a real problem will not correct anything.
randome
(34,845 posts)You're saying that ACA has 'glaring flaws' because it didn't wipe the board clean to start over. As has been pointed out, even with single payer, there would still be problems with forumlaries. I don't understand the contortions people go through in order to defend someone.
Insurance companies have for decades tried to get out of whatever the could. Are we to blame ACA (and Obama) for that?
Thanks again, Obama, for not lowering my mortgage payments!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game. -Existenz[/center][/font][hr]
meanit
(455 posts)or something to at least indicate that heath sustaining medicine at $30,000.00 + a year will not be covered like it was previously? I thought ACA was supposed to help protect Americans from what these predatory insurance bastards have been doing for decades, not just drum up business for them.
randome
(34,845 posts)I would much prefer a single payer system, of course, to benefit more people no matter if it might cost me or the country a little extra in taxes.
Sure, we could use more 'red flags'. But the OP's original dilemma was apparently he recently moved to a different state. So the complications were even less the fault of ACA but perhaps more rightly the fault of New Hampshire, a state that apparently only has one insurance company on the exchanges.
Is that ACA's (or Obama's) fault?
At a minimum -a bare minimum- the OP should be intelligent enough to admit that the situation was made more complex by New Hampshire's reliance on a single insurance company on the ACA exchange.
It's not rocket science to admit that the situation was complex.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]
meanit
(455 posts)ACA is much "weaker" than people may have expected it would be. It gets people in the door for insurance with some new rules to protect them, but ultimately they still have to deal with the company's own "rules and policies."
There is still a long way to go on this.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)To ensure situations like yours are never heard from again.
The battle for coverage for us all is close to won. The battle for health care for us all is long from over.
I know you will always be on the front lines championing it.
CountAllVotes
(20,868 posts)I know what you are going through.
Every time I need a medication that is not in the BCBS "formulary" I have to go through hell writing all sorts of letters (only to have to write more letters again later) that I have given up to a point.
My doctor does not care really and I know this. I'm on Medicare and my doctor complains that he doesn't get enough money to see me and that his practice is closed to new Medicare patients.
Doctors don't like sick people with needs beyond a simple office visit is how I feel.
I have excellent insurance btw and I have to go through this crap all of the time.
Welcome to the game is about all I can say and I'm sorry that you did not get what you thought you were supposed to get.
A good resource for me has been ... The Better Business Bureau believe it or not.
Best of luck Will and I'm sorry that this did not work out the way you had hoped it would.
As for an apology, not necessary but I suppose you could use a synonym for the F word the next time around. Your message will still be read.
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)Though many of us feel no apology was necessary to us in particular, I think you did the right thing here, and it shows class! Hope everything works out for you and the family!
Catherine Vincent
(34,489 posts)I miss a lot nowadays.
a la izquierda
(11,791 posts)
rocktivity
(44,576 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2014, 01:50 PM - Edit history (2)
I came across a DU-er with a similar problem, and posted the link to your thread about going directly to the drug company. The DU-er says they're going to help!
rocktivity
theboss
(10,491 posts)Because when you hit 100, we all get frozen yogurt.
UTUSN
(70,684 posts)
ananda
(28,858 posts)I simply got used to it because your message is generally good.
But I think you could do better sometimes.
PoliticalPothead
(220 posts)The ACA is a shitty lipstick-on-a-pig piece of legislation that was hyped up by Obama and the Democrats to make it seem like some groundbreaking social program. You have every right to be upset.
bobthedrummer
(26,083 posts)Out of Time Man
(141 posts)I personally don't feel the need for your apology, but nevertheless, I think it very big of you to do so.
I've been a long time admirer of your work. You're a very eloquent writer, and even in your "heated" moments, I find that you have something thought provoking to contribute.
I wish you and your family nothing but the best regarding your battle with this parasite of an insurance company.
Take care Will, I look forward to your work in the future!
Damansarajaya
(625 posts)How it was said might have been flame-bait, but WHAT you said (IMHO) was not.
The ACA is a great improvement over the nothing that we had before. A group of Taiwanese experts was put together to design Taiwan's system. They looked at how medical care was delivered by top countries around the world. One expert who helped design their system looked at us at the time and said there was nothing for them to learn from the US because "it was what happens when government does nothing and just lets things happen."
So, yeah, anything is an improvement over nothing.
But the "public option" (not "single payer"--the two terms seem to get conflated a lot) that Obama promised both before and after the election was not pursued--at all--and the serious problems that Will Pitt cites with the current law stem directly from that lack.
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)Actually, visualizing might better describe the mental process. I imagined your flushed to beet red, most vexed countenance as you spouted your invective against Obama and ObamaCare, in that order. I have to admit that the mental image evoked resembled Glenn Beck. a lot. Do I think your criticism is valid? Absolutely. Do I think your criticism as composed was constructive? Not for a nanosecond.
I was not surprised by your temper tantrum. This wasn't the first penned by you on these pages. Will it be the last? Again, I won't be surprised if it's not. I do believe in this instance your righteous anger backfired on this community. Big time.
You have enormous talent, Mr. Pitt, and a large following. You're entitled to your piques of temper. Still, I would implore you to be circumspect about how your rants might be received and who, exactly, they might hurt. Your words have power. Please use them wisely.
In the end, after all the controversy, I remain a fan and look forward to your return.
Truce.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)You and Khephra were the 4th & 5th DUers I ever met (since I met you 2 together).
One thing I know about you and that is this - your #1 priority is your family. Your wife, your daughter - nothing else is before them. And when your wife couldn't get the medicines she needs to treat her condition then I would never EVER expect you to put her second to your political ideologies.
I've avoided these threads because I know that ACA was always flawed to start with but way better than what options we had before it existed. I know dozens of people who now have coverage, affordable coverage and able to treat issues that they thought they could never deal with. But I know that Pharma and the Insurance Lobbyists also did their best to help wheedle away at this healthcare plan because in the end they know if our country ever truly had comprehensive affordable healthcare plan then there goes the massive profits their industries currently enjoy.
Don't feel you need to apologize. Even if we should disagree on a topic it doesn't mean one of us is right and the other is wrong. It just means we know how to use our brains and think ourselves instead of being the massive flock of sheep that is the followers of the GOP who follow them blindly in spite of what is in their best interests.
All is good and happy 1st birthday to Lola!
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)
CherokeeDem
(3,709 posts)While I understand your rage and fear about your wife's coverage, I was one of those quite unhappy about your rant. You blamed something on the president that has been going on for years within the insurance industry. Insurance companies made deals with drug companies and deny certain drugs on their formularies. Been happening for years. Yet you continue to purport that the president had something to do with that issue.
I wish only the best for your wife, your lovely daughter and you. If you choose to blame the president for his actions, blame him for something he actually had a hand in. As someone who needed insurance and got mine through the exchange, I too had drug issues and had to change medications. Fortunately for me, an alternative was available. But if it hadn't been, it wouldn't have been the president's fault.
I look forward to your usual rational and informative posts. But your disdain for the president was evident long before your insurance rant and I fear it will taint anything else you write.
My best to you and your family.
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)"Fuck you Will, until you admit that you were wrong you can take your apology and shove it up your ass".
See, it was never about "used car salesman" or "fuck you Mr President". It was all about the ACA... The hardliners demand you love the ACA...
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Last I heard he was accepting that Gold plan over COBRA...
minivan2
(214 posts)
But seriously, I accept your apology, you never meant to hurt nobody.
underpants
(182,788 posts)Pharmacy Benefits Manager (sometimes it is farmed out) to have drugs added to a formulary .... Or have her Doctor ( someone in their office probably does this regularly) appeal it. I used to work in the pharm industry until 5 months ago. This done all the time.
CFLDem
(2,083 posts)But it was gracious of you to do so.
Liberal Jesus Freak
(1,451 posts)I am not even going to read this thread. I respect your apology. My brother in law just got insurance through ACA-- in Kentucky of all places. They did it right. Your story and struggle was and is important. Thank you again.
Rider3
(919 posts)
hopemountain
(3,919 posts)time haggling, fighting, and persevering with the insanity of the health insurance "game" to get approval for meds and procedures necessary to improve the quality of life and length of life for 3 loved ones, mr. pitt, i accept your apology.
thank you.
single payer is our only hope.
uhnope
(6,419 posts)H2O Man
(73,536 posts)You are an honorable man.
sofa king
(10,857 posts)Because you call it like you see it and when you really care about it you make fuckin' sure we all know it.
Your passion is part of your expertise, which is considerable, and so I'll happily forgive an outburst of it now and again.
BUT, I will be deeply disappointed if you fail to do something similar again, when your outrage cannot be contained. Do not permit humility to dilute your voice.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Post removed
Tarheel_Dem
(31,233 posts) Solomon
(12,310 posts)Lol. Have they changed the name to "Will Pitt Underground" yet? The fawning is ridiculous.
UTUSN
(70,684 posts)
Capn Sunshine
(14,378 posts)sometimes, that's a good thing, but more often,more's the pity.
Please understand this was a much needed first step to bring the industry into line.
I can now reveal our mission is to shrink the industry to the size where we can drown it in my jacuzzi.
Even upon its death, it can't be soon enough.
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)state of affairs for the progressive movement when one is compelled to apologize for telling the truth because it offends the orthodox, who, like all true believers, are ever ready to screech "heresy".
IrishAyes
(6,151 posts)Some people will never let it go because they smell one drop of blood and out come the knives. But I am once again proud of you, and if you don't mind, I think this is a good occasion to quote Pope Francis: "Who am I to judge?"
I don't believe ACA was ever even intended to be more than what it is, a necessary bridge to single payer. It is indeed proving a boon for many, and we wouldn't have been put through this national agony if voters had given President Obama the Congress he really needed. But I don't think Obama is heartless about anyone who shares your experience either. I fervently hope the matter can be corrected as soon as possible. Your apology is not only heartfelt but I feel, downright noble. It takes a STRONG man to admit his mistakes. God bless you, and please return when you can, maybe even with better news next time.
uberblonde
(1,215 posts)This is exactly the kind of thing they can fix.
Ilsa
(61,694 posts)fussing going on, just like a kid hates to hear her parents argue. But mostly because years ago I had to fight like hell to get an insurance company to cover my son's therapy and meds for his condition. I lost to the insurance company, but I woke up a hell of a lot of people along my way to getting a few benefits for my son.
I knew you were having trouble getting the best meds, the right meds for your wife, and that brought back all kinds of pain and anxiety and high blood pressure for me. I'm sorry I'm too wiped out to either argue with you or defend you --- I still have to save some of the fighter in me for upcoming battles. But you don't owe me an apology.
I wish we had single payer as an option. I wish MS could be cured. I wish we could get corporations to stop financially raping us. I wish for a better life for my kids and your beautiful, precious baby girl. And I hope we can all still be friends here, whether I posted in your threads of frustration or not.
Shalom
(Sorry about rambling)
DesertDiamond
(1,616 posts)
MineralMan
(146,288 posts)That's my suggestion. He's the one you called vile names.
chieftain
(3,222 posts)After reading the OP's original rant and this one, I have to wonder why all of this vitriol was aimed at the President instead of the insurance company that lied to him. As one of the posters here suggested, a call to the state insurance department might have moved him closer to a solution rather than cursing the President.
Last night I read one of the author's posts asking whether he and others like him who have vehemently criticized Obama on a variety of issues are better Democrats than those of us who still refuse to believe that the President is a used car salesman or worse.So I view this latest effort with something of a jaundiced eye.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)I'll try again.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)I sure hope all goes well for your wife, and that eventually she gets coverage.
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)You had every right to be angry about being lied to. You have every right to still be angry about it. And you are right about the insurance companies having a field day with this. It's free business for them. They can completely wipe out their advertising departments and save tons of money. Required to buy insurance means required. Why bother advertising when the government is making people buy your product?
My aunt has the same medical condition too. It is a terrible disease to live with. It robs a person of the use of every part of their body, bit by bit. She was an independent, active, physically healthy person and practically a workhorse for my family growing up. She worked her ass off and always was the go-to person for any help needed.
Now, I am the ONLY caregiver for her other than the VA. Day to day, all of the members of the family she dropped everything to go help throughout her life before she got MS, tell her they are sorry to hear she is completely bedridden and quadriplegic now...and that is ALL they do. It is ALL on me to take care of her. I'll take some heat off you by saying FUCK the rest of my family. They are worthless scum who do not deserve to live. Yes, I hate them for leaving her and not even bothering to call every once in a while and talk to her. That might cheer her up to hear from them, but they don't even bother with that much, except my mother and stepfather. The rest? Nothing. They can go fuck themselves.
The medication for MS patients is not cheap. If my aunt had not served in the military and did not have the VA, we would be in the same boat at my house.
We may still be in a world of hurt financially though, because I am one of the ones who fell through the cracks. Remember how up to a certain percentage over poverty, those people (myself included) were supposed to get Medicaid? Well, remember how the SCOTUS said states could "opt out?" Guess what. Fuckhead McCrory Teabagger asshole would rather turn money down from the federal government in a state this is in shit shape to begin with than let someone like me be on Medicaid. That leaves people like me, who don't have that much money to begin with, paying full price with NO subsidies. NO Help. I'm getting used to that in life. No help whatsoever. Nobody had ever tell me anything was ever handed to me, because Murphy's Law seems to ALWAYS apply and I am scrounging to find a way to pay more than my mortgage was for health insurance. The one saving grace is that I got my hovel paid off right before this law came into effect.
I simply cannot afford it. I had trouble with them being able to positively identify me. So, I had to send them a photocopy of my driver's license. I'm hearing a big drum roll in my head while I wait for them to get it straightened out....still.
As for McCrory, fuck him. He damn near destroyed Charlotte and now he is destroying the state of North Carolina, not that there was much left that hadn't already been destroyed by the good ol' boys club that has run this place into the ground for ages now. Still, it irks me. I cannot wait until we get a Democrat back as governor of NC like we usually have. We usually do not have Republican governors of this state. This is an anomaly, and one of the worst that could happen, because McCrory is one of the worst fucking pieces of shit in the state.
You don't need to apologize because you care about your wife. While they gave you the run around, she had to worry about her medication. For those who do not know about MS, stress is VERY VERY BAD for an MS patient. You had every right to be pissed off and use whatever language you wanted, as far as I am concerned.
I'll take even more heat off by saying Fuck the BOGlodytes who can't stand a single disagreement with any part of their hero's failings. They need to grow the fuck up and realize that no one is perfect and even Obama fucks up.
randome
(34,845 posts)What do you or anyone else not get about the FACT that ACA had absolutely nothing to do with WilliamPitts' problem?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)You're forever pissing into the wind.
GoCubsGo
(32,080 posts)My "ignore" list is now one less than it was earlier today. (Not that it's terribly long now.)
KansDem
(28,498 posts)The next time you're in KC, look me up and I'll buy you a beer! [font size="1"]
<- w.p. & me
Whisp
(24,096 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)signed in blood?