Comments on: Health Care Becomes City’s Cause http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/09/19/health-care-becomes-citys-cause/ Join the Debate! Read and comment on articles posted on actlocallysf.org. Fri, 16 May 2008 20:41:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 by: Kristi Bergen http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/09/19/health-care-becomes-citys-cause/#comment-804 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:38:20 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/09/19/health-care-becomes-citys-cause/#comment-804 I think it's great that you are helping the uninsured find health coverage and access to local health facilities, thus helping alleviate the city's hospitals from long waits for emergency healthcare. I made 3 attempts last year to access the emergency room at UCSF's hospital on Parnassus. The first time, I waited approximately 6 hours and then decided to give up. The second time I was basically told the wait would be the same, so I left after 30 minutes (both attempts for extreme vision problems that my regular healthcare provider ignored and I attempted to have diagnosed multiple times by various physicians, which in the end I was told were symptoms of multiple sclerosis and my vision was compromised for 2 weeks). My third visit I got in after 15 minutes, but only because my new specialist called ahead and got me in for a temporary walking disability. I think the city's program will be quite beneficial to reducing the ER wait times, and for that I applaud you. I do hope that one day the city (or state or federal government) might be able to help me with my own healthcare. I exceed the approx. $51,050 limit to receive healthcare just barely. I would love to pursue other careers (I'm currently 28 years old and a glorified secretary employed by the state who is extremely bored and underchallenged) and my agency's training and career advancement opportunities are extremely slim to nonexistent. I have great health coverage here, but I aspire to work in the non-profit sector, which almost guarantees that my treatment for my illness will not be covered. I currently take a medication that costs almost $100,000 a year for 13 treatments by infusion and is completely paid for by my agency's health plan. I certainly can't pay for that out of pocket, and a small company or non-profit organization probably can't either. I pray that at some point there will be someone or something to help me escape from my location between a rock and a hard place. I feel stuck. I no longer worry about my disease ad its possible, unexpected consequences to my health. I only worry about healthcare coverage because I see no way out. I understand you can only do so much at a time, especially considering the major healthcare crisis spread across the nation, but please keep people like me in mind when constructing healthcare policy in the future. Thank you.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 7</li> </ul> I think it’s great that you are helping the uninsured find health coverage and access to local health facilities, thus helping alleviate the city’s hospitals from long waits for emergency healthcare. I made 3 attempts last year to access the emergency room at UCSF’s hospital on Parnassus. The first time, I waited approximately 6 hours and then decided to give up. The second time I was basically told the wait would be the same, so I left after 30 minutes (both attempts for extreme vision problems that my regular healthcare provider ignored and I attempted to have diagnosed multiple times by various physicians, which in the end I was told were symptoms of multiple sclerosis and my vision was compromised for 2 weeks). My third visit I got in after 15 minutes, but only because my new specialist called ahead and got me in for a temporary walking disability. I think the city’s program will be quite beneficial to reducing the ER wait times, and for that I applaud you.

I do hope that one day the city (or state or federal government) might be able to help me with my own healthcare. I exceed the approx. $51,050 limit to receive healthcare just barely. I would love to pursue other careers (I’m currently 28 years old and a glorified secretary employed by the state who is extremely bored and underchallenged) and my agency’s training and career advancement opportunities are extremely slim to nonexistent. I have great health coverage here, but I aspire to work in the non-profit sector, which almost guarantees that my treatment for my illness will not be covered. I currently take a medication that costs almost $100,000 a year for 13 treatments by infusion and is completely paid for by my agency’s health plan. I certainly can’t pay for that out of pocket, and a small company or non-profit organization probably can’t either. I pray that at some point there will be someone or something to help me escape from my location between a rock and a hard place. I feel stuck. I no longer worry about my disease ad its possible, unexpected consequences to my health. I only worry about healthcare coverage because I see no way out.

I understand you can only do so much at a time, especially considering the major healthcare crisis spread across the nation, but please keep people like me in mind when constructing healthcare policy in the future. Thank you.

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