What a nice letter

[MorkandMindy]

It is clear a great deal of thought and prayer went into this letter and it really shows in the end result:

 

[quietpraiyze]

It is clear a great deal of thought and prayer went into this letter and it really shows in the end result:

It was a very carefully thought out letter. It's just too bad it was a pink slip. I guess I kind of wonder why they didn't sit her down privately and say this to her though...

 

[MorkandMindy]

I remember in my student days with the Christian Union how we all used to sing the hymn 'Bind us together Lord, bind us together with cords that can not be broken'.

Core to being a Christian is being part of Christ's body across the World, through the ages, and with one another as more than just neighbors but brothers and sisters in Christ.

Bind us together Lord ... - YouTube

 

[quietpraiyze]

When I read the letter I thought about a friend who I walked with through her colon cancer. Everything happened so fast and out of the blue. She didn't lose her job because she was an independent contractor in a particular field. We were able to maintain her contracts while she did chemo/radiation. It would have really hurt my friend financially if she had lost those contracts. She did come through it all. I learned a lot being with her in that process and sitting in those waiting rooms.

I guess I missed what you were trying to convey...sorry.​

 

[blackribbon]

What is your relationship to "Carol" that you have a copy of her letter? When I looked into this, it was as I suspected...the dentist "layed her off" so that she could qualify for unemployment benefits while she was undergoing treatments that would have made coming to work difficult. It is worded so that she might also be able to claim short term or long term disability status. He claims her job is waiting for when she is ready to come back. Not everyone undergoing treatment is able to do their job or even wants to have to worry trying to go to work while fighting the battle of their life. There are always two sides to each story. We don't even know what her job title is. She might also be a dentist/oral surgeon or other member of his surgical team. Personally, I wouldn't want anyone on my surgical team to be working on me while dealing with chemo/radiation brain fog.

 

[MorkandMindy]

That is what I was thinking, that having an official letter to show to unemployment was the reason for the letter hence although there was no doubt previously a discussion, the letter was of considerable value to Carol.

 

[MorkandMindy]

But it brought to mind other things as well, that are not relevant to this actual situation.


One was of what would have happened to someone who despite having a sympathetic employer like hers, and despite doing a good job as she did, was unable to do her job as a result of circumstances, such as a debilitating disease in no way her own fault. Without unemployment benefit, what would have happened? The employer would no doubt have tried to keep the employee on, but what if the employer had just changed and the new one had no knowledge of the good work Carol had done in past?


Another thing I wondered about was what if two years ago her she had got the diagnosis and her employer was a big faceless organization that terminator her. Would she then have lost the employer's medical insurance and would as a result of a pre existing condition she have been unable to buy medical insurance herself or have been excluded from a new employer's scheme.


I guess the second question is more pressing than the first, that I've heard so many bad things about Obama care, about the lack of choice and rationing of care, but I was wondering what used to happen in the event of someone being unfortunate enough to lose their job as a result of illness back in pre-Obama care days? The employer could not keep a person on who was not doing their job, yet terminating their medical benefits might be a problem in itself.

But I don't live over there so I don't really know what it was like pre-Obama care.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

not sure exactly how things are now, but pre-Obama care if you got terminated or even left on your own accord you could sign up for COBRA which allows you to stay on the same health plan as your employer offered except it's quite expensive. But if you have something like cancer, cancer is expensive so most people try to keep their insurance thru COBRA.

COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. It was passed by Congress in 1985 as a means for individuals to continue health insurance coverage for a period of time after losing group coverage due to termination of employment

Read more : What Does COBRA Stand for in Insurance? | eHow

 

[blackribbon]

Obamacare is just mandated personal insurance. The individual still has to pay for the monthly premiums. If you get cancer now and lose your job because you can't do it anymore because of the illness or the treatment, you still will lose your insurance because you have to be able to pay the monthly premiums to keep it.

Most of the policies I have seen have something like $6000 a year deductables, which means the insurance doesn't even kick in until you have paid $6000 out of pocket toward your expenses...on top of paying the monthly premiums.

Before Obamacare, there were cheaper policies that covered catastrophic events only...you paid for the normal doctor visits and regular stuff yourself. Because Obamacare mandates that every policy cover a host of things, the affordable catrastrophic coverage is no longer even option.

 

[MorkandMindy]

not sure exactly how things are now, but pre-Obama care if you got terminated or even left on your own accord you could sign up for COBRA which allows you to stay on the same health plan as your employer offered except it's quite expensive. But if you have something like cancer, cancer is expensive so most people try to keep their insurance thru COBRA.

COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. It was passed by Congress in 1985 as a means for individuals to continue health insurance coverage for a period of time after losing group coverage due to termination of employment

Read more : What Does COBRA Stand for in Insurance? | eHow

Many thanks for that explanation as I was unaware of COBRA.

We are used over here to the idea that we pay for a National Health Service through our taxes, and that in the US the employer provides it.

So after the kind words in the letter I suddenly got a thought that if a person loses their job because of illness then if they also lost their medical expenses cover, then paradoxically they lose the cover just when they need it. That really doesn't seem right or very likely, so there has to be a way around it.


.