Hair Open on Broadway, Tonight

One of my favorite shows, but not sure if I will see it. Part envy and part I've seen it about four times! I just had to give a shout out!

Sick Days

Well,

After being out Thursday and Friday from work I'm back and feeling better. Who knew there was still a flu going around. I am thankful and blessed to have a job. I still got paid even though I was out of the office for two days. Everyone in this country can't say that. People go to work sick.

Health (taking a deep breath)...

I don't take my health for granted. Soon in this great country of ours only the rich and poor will have peace of mind about their ability to have affordable health care. The rest will be hoping and praying that an expensive illness doesn't come knocking on their door.

Here are some yearly costs for treating certain cancers...

• Prostate $41,134
• Lung $39,891
• Breast $20,964

You might say, "I have health insurance and I'm covered, think again." If you've got a 80/20 split (regarding co-pay) and have Lung cancer you still have to come up with $7,978.20 a year for treatment. That's not even mentioning loss of work and transportation costs.

Let's say you lose your job. COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) allows you to keep your current company's insurance rate (for a limited time), but now you have to pay that expensive monthly bill. For me it would cost almost $500 a month to keep my company's insurance rate. Single plans are a lot more expensive. Try $1077.78 a month for an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). Add that to your cancer cost and you've got a bill of $21,989.34 for the year.

Imagine getting laid off, unable to pay your bills, you have cancer and can't get new, possibly cheaper insurance because you have a pre-existing condition (cancer). Meanwhile, you have mounting costs for that you won't be able to pay back. Why do we allow this to continue in this country without outrage? I'll tell you why!

Because we are health now. When you are sick you won't be up to fighting the system. You need to reserve your strength to fight your illness. Think about it. The fight needs to happen now.

I thought if quit my job and took a low paying job to get me on the poverty level. I could have food stamps (for free food), medicaid (for free health care) and my housing cost subsidized by the state. Why should I work everyday. There is no incentive for everyday hard working people to be honest when you have people making 40 million dollars a year AND doing an awful job. I see why people take advantage of the system. It's so clear now.

That's my story...now back to work.