I think Americans can most certainly afford to help families like yours. There is no lack of resources in this country.

I believe medical care should be a fundamental right. I also believe the richest country in the world can afford to be compassionate to each other’s health needs.

As much as I shouldn’t feel the need to justify, I do. My husband gets our computers free from work when they are done with them. Our TVs were bought long ago, before all of this happened. My trip to BlogHer was covered by flight miles we already had and my husband was able to sell some equipment to fund the remainder of my trip. It is easier to come up with a few hundred dollars for one specific trip than an extra thousand every month. I have a digital camera, that is over a year old and was a GIFT. Our cars are BOTH paid off. One vacation was totally paid for by my parents. The other cost us $80. We occasionally, OCCASIONALLY go out to dinner with friends. Like for my husband’s birthday, and our friend’s even picked up the tab. Yes, we pay for Internet. Our one extra. If we gave it up? We still would not have a solid insurance choice.

If you will notice, my issue is not with having insurance right now. We are paying for is and KayTar is properly covered. The problem is this plan is being canceled and we don’t have another solid choice.

We don’t want a free ride, we want proper COVERAGE. SCHIP is the only plan available with coverage that matches our current plan. COBRA is not available because it is not a group plan, or we would take that option. My husband’s insurance is too expensive, and even if we could afford it somehow, it covers too little. It is not a worthwhile investment. That is why we have been paying for individual coverage all this time. It is not our fault this plan is being canceled. We aren’t being dropped, the plan will not exist come the end of February. We would continue to be FINE if the policy wasn’t being canceled. We don’t want a free ride, we want adequate coverage.

And yes, I can pay out of pocket for SELF-PAY insurance (this is likely the option we will take), but it DOES NOT cover my child’s needs. SCHIP would cover my child’s needs, all of them. Her hearing loss, ongoing tests for that (it is likely progressive), her hearing aids, which are a couple thousand, and her therapies (which run more than $200 per week) WILL NOT BE COVERED. Not because of pre-existing conditions, but because they just FLAT OUT doesn’t cover them.

There is another option, we could do this individual policy and apply for a Special Needs assistance fund for the extras our insurance doesn’t cover, but guess what? That program uses the SCHIP guidelines for qualifications.

As far as “‘free programs’ cost somebody something,” I understand that, I do. MY TAXES go to that and I don’t mind it. But the amount I pay into taxes is what keeps our family ineligible for those services. I don’t want a free ride, I’m not on food stamps or WIC or anything, I’m not angling for someone else to take care of me or my children. I just want my child completely covered. All of her needs, and it is much harder than you might think.

Did I know when I conceived my second child we would have a kid who needed all of this? No, I surely didn’t. You can’t budget for the unknown, when we had KayTar, we were financially secure and would have continued to be so. We both had full time jobs, which I have had to give up to care for her. You can’t always judge a story from the outside.

There isn’t always an easy answer, Anonymous, but I think everyone wishes there could be. And unfortunately, I think many people find the easy answer to be putting the blame on parents like me. It is easier not to care about others if you can place the blame squarely on their shoulders. Maybe some of it is my fault, but whatever the case, however I try to fix it, I cannot spontaneously create a plan that covers all of her needs and make it available to her, and THAT is the crux of my dilemma.

At least with a car, you make X payment and you get X (your car) in return. But with health insurance, you are paying for the car that you might need to drive but probably won’t.