LAKEPORT, Calif.鈥�, he was living in Lakeport, Calif., a struggling massage therapist in a struggling town on the southern tip of Clear Lake. Brad has been uninsured his entire adult life and believed firmly that clean living and exercise could stave off any need for medical care. After a bike accident which injured his shoulder and a battle with advanced thyroid cancer, Brad was anxious to enroll in some form of insurance 鈥� any kind of insurance 鈥� under the Affordable Care Act.
Bad Stevens, 54, from Lakeport, Calif., used to think vitamins and exercise would keep him healthy. After a battle with thyroid cancer, Stevens doesn鈥檛 consider himself invincible anymore (Photo by Heidi de Marco/KHN).
鈥淚 talked to an insurance guy who is selling Obamcare and found out I don鈥檛 qualify,鈥� Brad聽said聽last November. 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 going to get is Medi-Cal,鈥澛燙alifornia鈥檚 Medicaid program.
The insurance broker had warned Brad about long wait times, but when he called the toll-free line for Covered California, the state鈥檚 insurance marketplace, Brad said, 鈥淚 waited four minutes. It was a piece of cake.鈥� The operator didn鈥檛 offer to help him apply for Medi-Cal,but聽instead told Brad to call the social services office in Lake County. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a one-stop shop.鈥�
When Brad finally called the county social services office on January聽6, he was worried聽his two aging cars and聽the modest home he had bought long ago from his mother would count against him鈥� a common concern. Sure enough, the forms that arrived in the mail asked for details about Brad鈥檚 bank account and any cars he owned.聽鈥淪o I called them back up and said,聽鈥榊ou don鈥檛 need half of this stuff that you鈥檙e requesting.鈥櫬燭hey said,聽鈥榊es, you鈥檙e right. That鈥檚 an old form. We haven鈥檛 switched over.鈥欌��
On聽January 23, Brad collected聽his聽records聽and made the half hour drive down to the county office. 鈥淭hey were really efficient at the office,鈥� Brad said, sounding surprised. Of the county worker, 鈥淪he was like, Boom! Boom! Boom! She鈥檚 been doing this ten years. I was just signing stuff.鈥� The county worker told him to expect the Medi-Cal enrollment to take 45 days.
When聽we next talked on February 7, he was anxious to get his insurance card. He needed to refill his thyroid medication鈥擝rad has no thyroid and relies on medication to keep his body functioning. His pharmacist told him that the聽company that makes his pills聽had raised the price from $12.99 to $68. 鈥淚鈥檓 down to 24 pills right now, so I鈥檓 counting them daily. If I haven鈥檛 gotten my [Medi-Cal] number before I鈥檓 out of pills, I鈥檓 going to call Walmart to find out what their price is.鈥�
There were other concerns if his Medi-Cal didn鈥檛 kick in soon:聽To monitor his condition, Brad has to get his blood drawn every year. In the years following his thyroid cancer, he could get the blood work done for $50 to $60鈥攈e always had to pay cash鈥攂ut now that same service was costing him $200. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gone astronomical.鈥�
With only a few thyroid pills left鈥攁nd no Medi-Cal confirmation鈥擝rad went to Walmart and was able to get his prescription filled for $10 in cash. It鈥檚 a different brand than he鈥檚 used to, and he says it makes him more irritable and restless at night. 鈥淭he medication I get at Walmart isn鈥檛 as good as the medication I get here at the pharmacy in Lakeport.鈥� The brand stocked at his local pharmacy, while now much more expensive, 鈥渒eeps me really level. Where I find the stuff from the pharmacy at Walmart, I do more fluctuations, moods and more night sweat nights. More heart palpitations.鈥�
At the beginning of March, a Lake County case worker called Brad to tell him his Medi-Cal was active. 鈥淏asically it took two months from start to finish,鈥� Brad said. 鈥淣ow that I鈥檓 covered, I want a physical, and a regular check up that normal people having insurance get, and I want to get a colonscopy,鈥� Brad said, laughing at his own enthusiasm for聽the聽invasive and unpleasant procedure.
It鈥檚 been a few years since Brad has seen a specialist about his thyroid. The last specialist, at the University of California, San Francisco, charged him $2,500 for an hour-long visit. 鈥淚t was super expensive,鈥� Brad said. 鈥淎nd I ran out of money.鈥� Now that he鈥檚 enrolled in Medi-Cal, Brad is planning to call his primary care doctor soon to make an appointment and search for a specialist in his rural region.
Even though the card still hasn鈥檛 arrived,聽he says聽being accepted into Medi-Cal is an extraordinary relief: 鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible piece of mind. I鈥檓 going, Yee-haw!鈥�