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As women with PCOS, you've likely had troubles getting our health care system to work in your favor.

The information in this post was sent to me by inCYST provider Karen Siegel, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Specific issues are highlighted in the text below, and you can review the bill yourself at this link.

You may wish to go through this and consider how each of these stipulations would play out in your own personal PCOS situation. If you have suggestions for better ways to do things…get proactive and contact those who represent you in Washington!

I do my best to be nonbiased in this blog, but there are aspects of this legislation that disturb me.

Here are a few highlights of some problems with the healthcare bill.

These problems highlight the reason every bill must be read by the American people before they are signed. (if these points don't get you upset, please check your pulse and call 911):

Disclaimer: This summary was sent from a colleague. We encourage you to conduct additional research on your own.

• Page 16: Eliminates the choice to purchase private health insurance!
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The"Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans.
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No"judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll
• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.

• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.

Talk to Your Family, Friends, Neighbors & Co-Workers

You must talk to people about this. We need to get as many people informed about this as possible. Here are a few key points:

This issue is not Republican vs. Democrat. It is government vs. individual rights.
"What's the proper role of Government in our lives?"
"Do we really want the government making decisions for us that should be between me and my doctor?"
"Should the government be eliminating personal health insurance plans?"
"Should the government be requiring seniors to attend 'end of life counseling'?"

This site is all about PCOS, and the Mental Health Monday column is all about coping with PCOS, and yet there’s a whole different yet related realm that we don’t discuss at all – and that’s all the OTHER medical stuff we have to deal with on a regular basis:

• Family member’s appointments – you may have to make the appointment, drive someone to the appointment, pay for the appointment, or actually sit through the appointment or treatment. This is magnified when dealing with someone else’s chronic illness, such as an asthmatic child, or a parent with cancer;

• Medication management for children or elderly family members, which can be complex and confusing, especially when you’re managing your own medication and supplements;

• Dental care – ranging from minimally bothersome to all-consuming, depending upon what you start life with, and how you take care of it;

• Routine check-ups (Oh… yeah… right?! We’re supposed to go the doctor, theoretically, once a year, just because) with someone who is supposed to “know” you so that they can help when you’re having an issue;

• Cosmetic dermatology/plastic surgery (if one chooses to indulge in such things, which can be addictive, time-consuming, expensive, painful, and require a fair amount of discretion or story-telling to disguise);

• Coordinating care between physicians, hospitals, and pharmacies, because it seems like lab results and x-rays always go missing, the mail order pharmacy refuses to fill your prescription as currently written, and you are quite certain that the blood draw you had last week will suffice to answer ALL of THIS doctor’s questions so no, thank you, you do NOT wish to have another blood draw.

• Tending to non-PCOS medical conditions (allergies, asthma, broken bones, etc.), all of which require another set of doctors, treatment protocols, diagnostic procedures, and medications or support aids (glasses, hearing aids, orthotics, and so on), and all of which take far too much time and energy to implement effectively and routinely; and

• Even the veterinarian! Yes, dealing with your pet’s medical issues so closely parallels dealing with your own medical issues that it can be quite stressful for many PCOS patients, as it brings up feelings of loss of control, challenges in understanding the choices, and frustration about not being able to adequately or appropriately resolve a problem. Plus, veterinary clinics smell medicinal, which can trigger some bad memories.
Amidst all of this, you’re expected to work, and take care of your PCOS, which already makes you a little high maintenance if you’re doing it “right.” And, oh yeah — look good, be socially, politically, and spiritually engaged, and perhaps even be creative, philanthropically inclined, and a good and present friend. WOW. I’m exhausted just thinking about it – yet this is our reality.

After years and years of dealing with the medical roller-coaster, for myself and alongside others, I’ve come to realize:

• Doctors think their time is more important than yours; plan for it.

• Pharmacies are really, really picky – know the basics, and check your prescriptions before you leave the doctor’s office.

• Your insurance company definitely doesn’t care, no matter what they say in the nice ads that run during open enrollment time. Be polite, but treat them accordingly.

• At some point, someone (a doctor, a nurse, an x-ray technician, etc.) will say something insensitive, stupid, or cruel. Viewing this as an opportunity for spiritual and character growth is far more productive than engaging in rage.

• Doctors often have no real idea what their colleagues are doing to/with your body, so keep your own medical records, do your research, ask a lot of questions, remind them pointedly, and take all the time you need.

And if you’re still feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of medical information, advice, procedures, and protocols, ask for some help. Poet Mary Oliver writes of “your one wild and precious life.” I say, this is your one precious body, and it merits your full, loving, and respectful attention, even in the midst of a medical storm.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.