Thankful Day 6

A bit of a mish most today.

First up, the election.

• Today I'm thankful for the right to vote.

I'll share a badly-kept secret.  I voted OBAMA.  I also voted for local representatives who will likely have much more impact in our lives.  I've been very heated this campaign cycle.  I care who wins.  I'm no longer disinterested in politics like I was when I was a child.  I am now fully engaged in the political process.  I contact my representatives often to tell them how I want them to vote.  I follow-up with them  so they know I noticed if they listened to me.  I care.  The main reason I care is that I continue to experience the direct impact the government has on our life.

Here are a few reasons I chose Obama.

1. Obamacare.  I like it.  It prevents insurances from excluding customers due to pre-existing conditions.  It removes the lifetime cap on how much they will pay per patient.  Both of these clauses directly effects our family and we are better off for having them.  I also think that in the USA everyone should have health insurance.  We give so much money to other nations why in the heck can't we take care of our own people????!!!  I was talking with a friend from England earlier this year and he asked me what is the deal with the Americans and why are so many people against health care coverage for our fellow citizens.  I had no answer for him because I wonder the exact same thing.  I also find it ironic the the Republicans who want to rollback health care reform are the first to say they are Pro Life.  I don't understand how you can be pro life and then not want to take care of those very same people when they are alive.  How you want to take away coverage for children and adults with disabilities - oh, you wouldn't say that's what you want to do.  Around here all we hear about are illegal immigrants and lazy people getting the benefits while it is left out that the majority of people that receive services are the elderly poor and the disabled.  News flash to everyone who is not walking our path in life - private insurance will do you little good if you have a child like Emma.  You will find out quickly that all insurances are not created equal and that although they say they cover X, Y, and Z...it is often not covered if you have a chronic condition.  And your plan could exclude certain classes of coverage as not medically necessary.  For example, our insurance doesn't think hearing is medically necessary and does not cover any hearing services for Emma.  You will spend thousands dollars each year for insurance that denies your child some of the services she needs.  You will thank heaven that your child has state health care because after paying all the money you do for primary insurance (that doesn't meet all your child's needs) you don't have another blessed cent left in your budget for health care.  And you will feel like your representatives have abandoned your child when they tell you that it's not enough that you pay thousands and thousands of dollars in health care to your primary insurance company and that you now have to pay thousands of dollars more for the state health care coverage (our state did just that and then decided to reconsider and are in the process of deciding how to proceed) your child needs to have an acceptable quality of life.  I consider this a tax on the disabled and the families of those with disabled children.  And I want no part of it.  
2. Women's rights.  Come on it's 2012 and employers can pay men higher wages than women for the same job?  Seriously?  Obama signed the Lilly Ledbedder Act.  Romney opposed this act before it was signed.  Also, I like having Planned Parenthood so ladies can have easy access to mammograms, birth control and other services.     
3. His outlook.  I like that he wants to grow the middle class from the middle out.  I don't want to go back to the financial situation and collapse we had during the Bush years.  Obama signed the Financial Regulation Bill and I'm all for the tighter regulations based on my first-hand experience in business.  

Next up Emma's care.

• I'm thankful that we have easy access to world-class hospitals, doctors and service providers in the area where we live.  There are 3 different hospitals with great reputations within a 45 minute drive from our house.  

With such easy access to health care it is sometimes difficult to determine which place we should go for her care.  I feel that other than us, there isn't one go-to person looking at Emma as a whole girl.  People see her for specific areas - hips, eyes, ears, brain, etc.  Her new pediatrician doesn't seem to have a lot of experience with children similar to Emma and so she doesn't seem to be coordinating most of her care.  Perhaps we need to consider changing pediatricians or adding a Physiatrist or Developmental Pediatrician to her doctor list.  Not I'm looking for more doctor appointments but I sometimes feel like she would do well to have someone looking at her as a whole who can make suggestions.