Providing your own health care insurance when steady employment isn’t an option can be a daunting task. Compounded by the necessary routine of full time nursing to a critical care family member, the search for affordable health care insurance takes on a whole new dimension and meaning. Our PNHP interviewer got together with Robert Johnson, of Syracuse, NY, and asked him questions as to how he managed to find health care insurance, how he makes the monthly payments and had he and his family ever had to go long periods of time without health insurance coverage.

PNHP Moderator:“Mr. Johnson, let me begin by asking if you, and your family, have had to do without health insurance?”

R.Johnson: “There was one time after my company downsized, in 1986, and I was let go. I separated with about three months roll-over coverage from my benefits package, but at the end of the three months, I had to look for my own health insurance. Even back then, when I came face-to-face with the monthly cost of health care insurance, I was stunned. At the time, both my wife and I were reasonably healthy, so we made the decision to get by without the insurance until that time when I found new employment.”

PNHP Moderator: “What was it like for you when fully realized that you had no health insurance?”

R.Johnson: “Well, the most amazing thing happened. My wife and I began to consciously watch how we comported ourselves so as not to incur an injury. I found myself driving our car as if I was transporting nitroglycerine. We made sure we used hand rails when using the stairs; made sure when walking outside that we didn’t place ourselves into any danger of falling; even something simple like using a paring knife, making sure we wouldn’t suffer a cut. In short, we became ultra cautious.

“All of a sudden, I began reading the fine print on the labels of over-the-counter medicines. I experienced a heightened interest in medicine and methods of self-treatment and preventative measures to avoid illness. I realized that I was solely responsible for my health and my wife for her health. There was no back-up contingency for us. Frankly, it was a very scary time for us.”

PNHP Moderator: “When you finally could afford to purchase health insurance, how did you go about it?”

R.Johnson: “First of all, I had to find a way to bring in money. I started a SOHO business based on a skills set I had and found out something quite interesting. As a sole-proprietor, small businessperson, when you look for health insurance, you are eligible for more economically priced insurance packages. Through various business associations, I was able to find affordable (for us at that time) health insurance.”

PNHP Moderator: “Then, as I understand it, things took a turn for the worse for your wife’s health?”

R.Johnson: “That’s right. In 1994, my wife fell and ruptured two disks in her lower back and after many years, her back has never fully recovered. In 1995, she suffered her first heart attack and received an angioplasty. For two years, everything seemed to be going along fine, when my wife suffered another myocardial infarction, and received another angioplasty with one stent.

“Later in 1997, another MI hit my wife… another angioplasty, this time with the insertion of two stents. 1998, the stents occluded and the only way her life could be saved was with a quintuple by-pass. During this heart episode, my wife lost the function of her kidneys and was later  diagnosed as having End State Renal Disease. She was then put on hemodialysis. 1999, the hemodialysis proved to be ineffective because treatments would create a state of hypotension that was so low, the dialysis machines would cut out as a safety precaution. My wife’s nephrologist felt that the time had come for the insertion of a peritoneal dialysis catheter.  She stayed on hemodialysis until the PD catheter healed and became ‘watertight’. However, in the interim, and as a result of under-dialyzed, my wife suffered congestive heart failure the moment she entered the hospital to be accommodated with a peritoneal dialysis catheter. All in all, my wife has suffered six major heart episodes, the last of which was so severe, she was in intensive care for over six weeks. I don’t even want to think what that bill came to.”

PNHP Moderator: “Mr. Johnson, there are over 40 million people in this country without any health insurance. Do you feel as though the United States needs a national health care program that would cover everyone in the country?”

R.Johnson: “Yes, I do. Why is it the Scandinavian countries seem so much more enlightened in the area of universal health care than the United States? Even Cuba provides health care for every citizen.

“I spend $6500 per year for health insurance premiums, co-pays and prescription co-pays. And, for someone like me who is a freelance worker and a full-time caregiver to my wife, that amount of money represents a major quality of life issue. For us, there’s no chance of saving any money, nor do we go out to dinner or to the movies, and vacations… forget them. No, all our extra money goes into meeting the monthly health insurance premiums. My wife and I know that if we miss one of those payments, that’s it… we’ll be without any insurance. A national health care plan would certainly make life a lot better for my wife and myself.”