Community Chat

[PamfromCT]

When I think of all the struggles to protect workers in our country.  The child labor laws of long ago.  The battle for a minimum wage.  The right for workers to have a safe working environment.  The right to unionize.  I could go on and on.  This and more has been provided by and is continually enforced by our government.  

The irony of U.S. workers working without pay completely overwhelms me.  God bless everyone who is helping these people to survive.

[maestra]

From everything I have read HERE gov't workers are forming bread lines.

Doesnt anyone have an emergency savings account?

I was a single mother for 22 years, no insurance coverage for me (DD was covered by ex), living pretty much frompay to paycheck and even I had an emergency fund that was never used unless it ws a medical emergency or if I became unemployed (rare, but did happen 1 x). 

[Trinity11]

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@Carmie wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

@Greeneyedlady21  This story is difficult for me to believe.  Federal workers have pretty good insurance for RX drugs and medical expenses.  They have a few options to choose from.

It is hard for me to believe that a diabetic person should choose a plan with a high RX copay.  I have NEVER seen a $300 copay.  The max I have seen is $200 for a non preferred speciality drug under the FEP standard program.

I wonder if this is some kind of experimental insulin.  Could be a true story, but I'd want to see proof.  Something doesn't sound right.

From what I have read, their health insurance will not cancel even if they are not being paid.

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Well, I have seen plenty of $300 co-pays in fact insulin co-pays are through the roof @Carmie. Most diabetics are both on short acting insulin and basal insulin so they need both kinds to stay alive. When I used to pick up my Novolog for 3 months the co-pay was $400.00 and we had the Cadillac plan with my husband's insurance plan. My Levemir was also about the same so I most definitely believe that this woman is rationing her insulin. Type 1 diabetics can go over 600 blood sugars and end up in ketoacidosis within hours if they ration insulin.

Novo-Nordisk has a great way of getting insulin for two years for just $25 a prescription. I just found this out recently and for a 3 month supply of 6 boxes of Novolog I paid $75.00. I hope anyone reading this can apply for the discount card for both Levemir and Novolog.

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I have seen $300 copays, but not for Federal employees,  Apples and Oranges between insurance programs.  Federal employees have pretty good insurance.

They do pay for it though.  It is not free.

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It's January... Maybe she had to reach her deductible. Since she isn't the only one I have read about that has to ration insulin from this, I believe her..

[Trinity11]

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

Well I'm not going to call the woman a liar. This is what she said. I do know that the cost of insulin has skyrocketed. For drug company profit. Where I live there was a protest against a drug company a few months back, a company that makes insulin. People brought the ashes of their deceased loved ones who had died as a direct result of rationing their insulin.

I don't judge anyone's situation. People have their own financial situations and struggles and deal with things that others can't comprehend. 

Right now there are plenty of federal workers who can't even afford food. Disgraceful.

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I agree with you @Greeneyedlady21. It is alarming to me how insulin has exponentially increased in price. Some would rather think she is lying rather than believe it because in many ways it is incredible that a hormone that some of us will die without in a day, could possibly be so expensive.

[Mj12]

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

Well I'm not going to call the woman a liar. This is what she said. I do know that the cost of insulin has skyrocketed. For drug company profit. Where I live there was a protest against a drug company a few months back, a company that makes insulin. People brought the ashes of their deceased loved ones who had died as a direct result of rationing their insulin.

I don't judge anyone's situation. People have their own financial situations and struggles and deal with things that others can't comprehend. 

Right now there are plenty of federal workers who can't even afford food. Disgraceful.

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Our local grocery store (in MD outside DC) has been doing a food drive for furloughed workers.  Many businesses are offering free meals, discounts, etc. It IS disgraceful that any federal worker cannot afford food.  But when our nation has some soldiers receiving food stamps, not much shocks me anymore, sadly.

[Caaareful Shopper]

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@maestra wrote:

From everything I have read HERE gov't workers are forming bread lines.

Doesnt anyone have an emergency savings account?

I was a single mother for 22 years, no insurance coverage for me (DD was covered by ex), living pretty much frompay to paycheck and even I had an emergency fund that was never used unless it ws a medical emergency or if I became unemployed (rare, but did happen 1 x). 

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@maestra  I'm sure you are grateful for your many blessings.

There are many who have emergency accounts, and many who do not.  I was a single mother for 26 years.  Put my son through 5 years college (Master's degree).  My ex-husband was in another country and no child or spousal support ever came.  Paid for my father's funeral expenses during my first furlough.  Paid my mother's mortgage during her cancer treatment during my second furlough.

Savings account?  It's called life.  I have been blessed many times over, and today I am in a much better place.  But it takes all seasons of life to get through to the other side, and even then it's never easy.

That "bread line," as you call it, are some people's only hope because of everything else going on in their lives.  I cannot judge them one tiny bit.   

[PamfromCT]

Hard for me to understand why our Coast Guard is not considered “military.”  They perform heroic rescues and are responsible for guarding our coastal waters.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is in Connecticut, so we are receiving maybe more coverage here than in the national news.  As you might expect, very hard times for C.G. families.

[Caaareful Shopper]

We have a branch of the armed services, the U.S. Coast Guard, that have not received pay.  The Coast Guard!  They are working without pay.  This is the first time in the country's history that service members in a U.S. Armed Forces have not been paid during a lapse in funding. 

[nevergivesup]

I too am grateful to those businesses who are granting some leeway to these federal workers but from listening to people’s first hand stories, that is the exception. Many of them are facing eviction because their landlords can’t afford to go unpaid which is understandable as well. Some have applied for unemployment but are denied because they technically still have jobs and those workers who are going to work like the airline employees are struggling with gas money for the commute and child care when they can’t pay their sitters. This has a huge ripple effect on more than just the federal workers.

I hung my head in shame when I heard that the Coast Guard, our military, is not getting paid and were told to hold garage sales and use up gift cards lying around or become online mystery shoppers. After the outcry over that, they took this down from their website but I saw these military families on the evening news waiting in food pantry lines and taking packages of diapers from good citizens who showed up to help and I cried.

[dooBdoo]

              I have extensive experience working in the federal government.    I​ was usually  ​in "essential personnel" positions that reported for duty even during shutdowns, and I've also been in executive positions in which I had intimate knowledge of budget.   
              There's so much havoc wreaked that's directly seen and felt by those who are "in the trenches" (but affects us all).   ​As an example, a​ shutdown ​causes ​an enormous amount of ​work to pile up, and also causes those who are expected to report to work to be pushed far beyond the call of duty.    (Contrary to popular belief or inaccurate stereotypes, the workload of most of these employees isn't easy or light or stress-free -- I've seen gradual reductions in force that continued to cut permanent and part-time staff but, in the process, also shifted those employees' duties to others who remained and who were still required to meet stringent performance standards.) 

              When a shutdown is lifted, that backlog of work has to be done.    Existing employees who are able to will work overtime (this is very costly) and FT or PT temps will be hired (but they require a certain amount of training if they don't know the job, so that puts more stress on the regular staff).   This is expensive and the post-shutdown attempts to catch up cause mistakes to be made...  the shutdowns don't save money, they cost us more overall, financially and qualitatively.   

              Also, the federal government hires many veterans and their families.   As stated before, most positions are not high-paying and many staff are younger or returning from the military and just trying to keep up with costs of living -- many, many have not had time or remuneration to get on their feet and be able to manage this sudden cessation of income.​    There are extra costs to be considered far beyond food and shelter.​
              This situation has an enormous ripple effect and the negative associated problems will be long-term.   As another example, Scientific American has several good articles -- here's one of them:  "As the Shutdown Persists, Here Are 5 Ways It Will Impact Science" (just search for title -- I'm never sure about posting hyperlinks).   

              The damage done isn't just what we see on the surface, nor is it simple or benign (some of the effects can be life-threatening), nor is it all temporary.