testimony given at Right to Health Care Panel

Lori Smith Lori Smith
Tennesseans Fighting for Our Lives
Nashville, TN





“Our current health care system is threatening my financial and physical well-being more than the diseases themselves.”

1999: Healthy; Middle class; Paralegal; Licensed insurance agent; Private insurance through employer.

2000: Diagnosed with Lupus.

2001: Additional diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.

2002: Left job / lost job and lost private insurance; Opted for expensive COBRA. After several months of living on savings and paying hefty COBRA premiums and co-pays, financial resources nearly exhausted. Qualified for TennCare as a low-income (poor), single mother.

2003: Regained full-time employment; Employer didn't offer health insurance. Continued to qualify for TennCare - but as an "uninsurable." Began paying monthly premiums and co-pays for doctor/hospital visits and prescription medications. While TennCare mostly provided good care, it was not nearly as comprehensive as when I had private insurance.

2005: Cut from TennCare; Could not afford exorbitant premiums and co-pays for HIPPA Guaranteed Issue Policy. Did not qualify for any of the "Safety Net" programs. Experienced a severe MS exacerbation, which resulted in not being able to work for nearly four months (no income) and loss of vision in one eye (most vision has returned). I was not able to obtain all the medical care I needed.

2006: Changed jobs; Working poor; Not "sick enough" to qualify for disability; Working full-time, but my illnesses make it extremely difficult; Now have insurance through current employer. Even with insurance, the cost of the deductible and co-pays create a significant barrier to access to care, which keep me from seeking medically necessary preventative and follow-up care.

"In a six-year period, I've had private insurance, TennCare and no insurance. While "some" insurance may be considered better than "none," "some" does not mean it is affordable or adequate. My ability to remain self-supporting and perhaps even alive depends on having access to appropriate and continuous medical treatment. Our current health care system is threatening my financial and physical well-being more than the diseases themselves. There is no common sense or equity in our current health care system. Depending on who you are or who you work for determines whether you can get health care. Unless you are affluent, you are not guaranteed access to even the most basic health care. This fact does not change no matter how hard you work, what college degree(s) you hold or how upstanding a citizen you are - or even if you are a child. Private and individual insurance plans - regardless of if they are provided through an employer - are no longer a guarantee to access to appropriate or affordable health care. And, these plans are becoming prohibitively expensive with less coverage being offered. "Safety net" programs (charity care) often do not and cannot provide comprehensive care and often cannot provide even basic care, let alone continuity of care. In essence, the "safety net" is a barren system within an already broken and biased system. While the words "safety" and "net" together sound good, these words are misleading and inappropriate. There is no safety in the safety net. Evidence shows that insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and other health care industries continue to reap healthy profits while Americans continue to become sicker and poorer and go without needed health care. Our current system is a death spiral for middle class, working poor and poor Americans and a money pit for vested interests. We need an equitable health care system that protects all Americans and not the coffers of a select few. Doing otherwise is intolerable and un-American."