Back when AB 8 passed, I said it didn’t accomplish everything I would like it to do.  And I think that’s abundantly clear to everybody, from every which way you look at it.  The obvious failure in the healthcare system is the employer-based system itself. It is now falling apart, and the individual healthcare system is not yet robust enough to be a replacement.  So, you end up with people, even perfectly healthy people like myself, denied coverage.

But the no-brainer in there? A state health insurance pool. The state needs to organize a pool that will allow people to buy insurance, at a reasonable price, backed up by the power of the state. There are thousands, probably millions, of people who would be happy to pay for health insurance, if they could just get it.

So, without getting too personal about my situation, I’m going to tell you my story. Not that being too personal has really stopped me in the past, but oh well.  All future Oppo researchers, flip the page.

As many people who read Calitics regularly know, I’m a recent graduate of the Goldman School of Public Policy at the state’s premier institution of higher learning, the University of California Berkeley. (Yeah, take that, UCLA!) My student health insurance terminated in the middle of August, and so I tried to apply for Kaiser.  But, you see, the questions are not so easy to answer no to.  In essence, to get coverage you either lie or get denied.  I told the truth, and I got denied.  For example, check out Blue Shield’s application questions. I don’t want to pick on Blue Shield, or even Kaiser, because there are worse companies, but well, the whole system stinks, so I’ll pick on everybody.

So, tell me you can answer the favored choice on some of those applications.  For example, how about the “skeletal system” question:

Musculo-skeletal system — such as: pain, injury, sprain, or other problems of the neck, spine, or back; sciatica; herniated or bulging disc(s); curvature of the spine; scoliosis; pain, injury, or other problems of the joints, bones, or muscles; arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis; temporo-mandibular joint syndrome (TMJ); Lyme disease; broken bones or retained hardware; dislocation of joints; bunions; hammertoe; carpal tunnel syndrome; physically handicapped; polio; amputations?

So, they group back injuries with sprained ankles? Of which, I have had one within recent memory. So, I answer yes. But there is no room to explain that you injured your ankle in a basketball game, and it’s not been a problem since.  Same thing with several other sections of the application. They give you these massive groups of disorders, major and minor, and then expect you to answer with no explanation. It’s pretty much a joke. If you tell the truth they deny you now. If you lie, they rescind coverage, and you end up even worse than square 1. 

And then if you do lie on the healthcare application, you have to make sure you keep lying to your doctors. So, say I had another ankle sprain, had I lied, I guess I would have had to say to my doctor, “Uh, yeah, never had anything wrong with my ankle, doc.” That kind of dishonest doctor/patient relationship helps nobody. It increases costs, by requiring additional tests and what not, and delays necessary treatment.  But for many in California, it’s either “Lie or Die.” That’s no way to run a healthcare system.

The funny thing here? I’m extremely healthy. I run several times a week and haven’t been to the doctor for several years. Even if you were going to cherry pick, you would want to cherry pick me. I mean, I hate the doctor, and certainly don’t go there for kicks and giggles.  Yet as somebody who is trying to build a career slightly out of the traditional mold, I am discouraged at every corner.  In other words, this health care system is a way to discourage small business growth in a way that is far more pernicious than any tax.  You are left with a crap shoot, or worse, left living your life based on how you can get health insurance. It’s wrong, it’s bad for our economy, and it’s bad for Californians.

But a state health insurance pool wouldn’t even be that hard to organize, and should be a no-brainer. Sure, Blue Cross will fight it, but they fight everything.  So, all you Legislators out there, how about this as the first course of business? Get a state health insurance pool passed as the first order of business in the special session, separate of any other grand insurance reform. And then get on to the grand notions of reform (and hopefully to single payer) during the rest of the session.

Or, hey, anybody want to hire me and get me on your health insurance group? Maybe we can provide insurance one blogger at a time.