[Taltarzac725]

This is just about my filling out the application for medical insurance via the Affordable Care Act. I have not had any medical insurance since 1991 or so. That was while I worked at the University of Minnesota Law Library and lost my contract with them after I had finished working on the WESTLAW cataloging project.

I felt that I had to describe why I thought I had not been able to find any employment after 1991 and am hoping that they will also look into this. I have been selecting maybe 120 copies of documents I have sent or received. A lot of these are from US, state and governmental entities like some State Attorney Generals and victim assistance agencies.

If you have followed my posts on Talk of the Villages you know about the 2/24 1976 murder of my then high school teacher's daughter Michelle Mitchell. This happened in a garage across the street pretty much from the University of Nevada, Reno quite close to the nursing education buildings. Michelle had been a nursing student. The murderers of Michelle were trying to make it look like a serial killer was terrorizing Reno and had picked Michelle at random and hid in her back seat while she was doing something in the nursing buildings. Then they took her a few hundred yards and murdered her. They had had a life insurance interest on a woman they had murdered a few days before and were trying to cover up this murder of a black casino manager.

My birthday is 2-24. I turned 55 on 2-24-2014. Born in 1959 in Wisconsin. I still speak with a bit of a cheesehead accent.

As you may gather, this Michelle Mitchell murder was a huge media event in Reno especially because it was not solved until 1979. The murder of the black casino woman had not been connected to the Michelle Mitchell murder until 1979 when one of the conspirators bragged about the murders and the reason behind them, probably, to a fellow jail/prison inmate in Louisiana.

The case broke wide open. I never met Michelle Mitchell but anyone that had had been put under investigation for her murder. This included some of my classmates at Earl Wooster High School like John P. I had been having a quiet birthday celebration the Tuesday (?) night that Michelle Mitchell had been killed.

These Wooster High students had often looked to me for guidance partly because I had been kind of a teacher's pet for Mrs. Mitchell while I was in her remedial English class at Wooster. John P. and I had received small Scholarships in the name of Michelle Mitchell which I used for the 1976/1977 Semesters at the University of Nevada, Reno.

I had searched in libraries all over the Reno area to help my classmates perhaps cope with their feelings and the like but found next to nothing in any of these various libraries.

I started on a mission to do something about this huge niche but was met AFTER I had earned four degrees to give me some credibility with attacks on my mental health for going into detail abut what many in the law librarianship profession portrayed as my personal problems. A huge niche in services towards the group --victims of violent crimes-- which should be the MOST important group in the criminal justice system-- is hardly the personal problem of any one man. I did have some support at the University of Minnesota from some law professors and some students but not enough to keep my employment contract intact.

This kind of approach of putting a critic's mental health into issue made me mad not insane. But, I was pushed to elaborate lengths to do something about this niche.

My package I am sending to the ObamaCare people outlines how I was made out to look mentally ill just for fighting for the rights of again the group that should be of central importance to the criminal justice system.

Hopefully, this will get me medical insurance coverage which I have not had since 1991. I am basing it on the appearance of being mentally ill. I am not but certainly have faced quite a bit of depression for some making this so so hard a road. When someone with a huge amount of proportional power puts a label of mental illness on you just because you have a deep concern when the needs of a certain group are not really being adequately met it is very distressing for the person that goes through this.

If it does not get me the medical insurance I really need, maybe it will ignite more of a call for seriously addressing the needs of those who have been pulled into the legal system without any consent of their own. I do feel that something -- fate-- pulled me into this because of the 2-24 murder of Michelle Mitchell and how much of a role her mother Barbara Mitchell handed me in the way of standing up for what you believe in and never giving up no matter what the cost it might have to you. Of course, there have been huge costs to my immediate family in providing a home, bed, food, and some sense of hope. I seriously think I would not be alive now without their assistance. It has been a very hard fight for everyone in my immediate family.

I strongly agree with the need of the Affordable Care Act because they are many who have fallen through the cracks-- or were pushed through them like me.

Again, I hope this thread does not become political. It is more about the needs of the survivors/victims of crimes and my role in fighting for these.

I have been remiss about applying for jobs here in the Villages which would have stopped me from having to explain myself to the Federal government but there is still that huge gap in my employment record that any cautious potential employer would have some question about at some time. I am not particularly good at hiding things and most people can tell that I am hiding things. I want to make sure I do not come across as knocking the Villages, the various companies here, or especially TOTV. I have had a great quiet life here in the Villages since 2005 and have greatly enjoyed being on TOTV since 2007 or so.

Not having medical insurance, however, is a huge worry especially with someone who is now 55. My situation has caused depression at times but nothing I have not been able to handle. I did have a nervous breakdown in 2000 because of all the stress and probably because of much more sinister factors but I really do not have enough objectivity about that whole situation. Maybe, the OBamaCare people can also help with what happened there. The Pinellas County Sheriff's office did not seem to get it. I did go down to their headquarters around September 18, 2002 and reported what I had experienced and gave them a couple of hundred copies of letters I had received during my fight for respect for the needs of survivors/victims of crimes.

[BarryRX]

I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say. Do you want the Federal Government to look into the reason no one has hired you for the past 20 years?

[Birdie Dreamer]

The Affordable Care Act provides guaranteed coverage with no exclusion for pre-existing conditions. The cost will depend on whether or not you are eligible for subsidy. Your employment history has no bearing on it.

Finding a job may be more problematic with the employment history you described.

[Golfingnut]

Keep on till you get signed up. The plan is an absolute life saver to so very many citizens.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say. Do you want the Federal Government to look into the reason no one has hired you for the past 20 years?

I can pretty much show that with the documents I am sending them. Whether or not they can do anything about it is another matter.

I did get a few interviews. One, for instance, with North Carolina Central University Law Library. They paid to fly me in from Chicago where I was helping taking care of a relative before he went into a nursing home. It went really well and one of the professors had been a victim of crime. Then I was in the Dean's office and they claimed they I had lied on my resume about supervising document retrieval. Anyone that has been on a busy reference desk does document retrieval of some kind especially if there are work/student undergrads like Nicole around who are filling out orders for documents in the library. There was also another undergrad who used to ask me a lot about how my various language studies were going. The Law Librarian at NCCU could not even look at me probably because she knew that this was someone pulling strings.

The same thing happened at the Washoe County Law Library in Reno, Nevada. The law librarians were basically thumbing their nose at me because I was not within their in-crowd. I was when I was the WESTLAW cataloger which was introduced with me as the cataloger at a law library convention in 1989 in Reno, Nevada. Not the NCCU Law Librarian, I sincerely believe that she did not get the blacklist note on me.

These events would be well beyond any Statute of Limitations.

I also remember basically being laughed at while going in-and-out of the Marquette University Law Library interview I had while at the Law Library convention in San Francisco around 1992.

And, the cover letters and the like I am sending copies of to the Federal Government should show that I was very careful about what I said to potential employers. I do not spread a bunch of stuff around that would hurt my chances of being employed. For instance, someone looking at TOTV would probably not have problems with hiring me. There has been other stuff on the Internet that would have been quite damaging to my reputation but that is one of the things I really want the Federal Government to look at.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Birdie Dreamer

The Affordable Care Act provides guaranteed coverage with no exclusion for pre-existing conditions. The cost will depend on whether or not you are eligible for subsidy. Your employment history has no bearing on it.

Finding a job may be more problematic with the employment history you described.

Yes, that is the point why I may need coverage.

And, I want to push that I had emphasized my reference and cataloging experience before and during interviews and not my experiences in Reno, Nevada. These were not relevant to the job interviews. I had an interview at the University of Texas at El Paso for a Law Librarian job--the flights from and to Tampa which they paid for-- which went quite well. My interest about victims' rights and services never came up. I messed up a bit on the presentation I had to prepare for the librarians. I was quite nervous. I also did not think that El Paso was a good fit for me not being fluent in Spanish. It was not a requirement for the job but would have helped a lot.

I do sincerely believe though that if a service field like law librarianship deals with victims of crimes-- which they do on occasion-- being able to empathize with what that library user is going through is very important.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

Keep on till you get signed up. The plan is an absolute life saver to so very many citizens.

I am going to. Very few people know how truly stubborn I can be.

[gomoho]

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

Keep on till you get signed up. The plan is an absolute life saver to so very many citizens.

I knew it - thanks for the confirmation.

[blueash]

Let me repeat what others have said if it was not clear. You do not need to send any documentation to the government of your job history or any medical or psychological issues you have ever had. If you are looking for health insurance coverage it absolutely is available to you no matter what needs or jobs you have had. Private insurance companies must accept you. The rate you will be charged depends on the particular plan you select. The better the coverage, the higher the cost. The only factors other than that are whether you smoke (tobacco), and your age.
If your income is low you will also qualify for a subsidy where the government will pay much but not all of your insurance cost. Due to a decision by the Florida governor and legislature there is a small window where you may make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to get the subsidy. This is a very unfortunate situation for those stuck in that window. The website Healthcare.gov is working well and will guide you through the choices. There also are in person "navigators" who will sit down with you to do the same if you want that help. I know that at Langley Health Services in Sumterville there is someone there almost always, by appointment to help. There have been navigators here in the Villages at some meetings but I don't know if that is currently an option

[eweissenbach]

Tal, there are a lot of people on TOTV who respect you and think highly of you, myself included. I think the affordable care act was designed with people like you in mind. I pray you will get coverage and find peace of mind. Peace be with you my friend.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say. Do you want the Federal Government to look into the reason no one has hired you for the past 20 years?

Ditto that... what the heck is your point?

[mickey100]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

Tal, there are a lot of people on TOTV who respect you and think highly of you, myself included. I think the affordable care act was designed with people like you in mind. I pray you will get coverage and find peace of mind. Peace be with you my friend.

Same here. Wishing you the best.

[JourneyOfLife]

I am not very familiar with ACA. Are you are referring to possible qualification for a tax credit or Medicaid.


I think the application might attempt to understand the applicants economic situation. I assume to offer help or advice/guidance to applicants.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by blueash

Let me repeat what others have said if it was not clear. You do not need to send any documentation to the government of your job history or any medical or psychological issues you have ever had. If you are looking for health insurance coverage it absolutely is available to you no matter what needs or jobs you have had. Private insurance companies must accept you. The rate you will be charged depends on the particular plan you select. The better the coverage, the higher the cost. The only factors other than that are whether you smoke (tobacco), and your age.
If your income is low you will also qualify for a subsidy where the government will pay much but not all of your insurance cost. Due to a decision by the Florida governor and legislature there is a small window where you may make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to get the subsidy. This is a very unfortunate situation for those stuck in that window. The website Healthcare.gov is working well and will guide you through the choices. There also are in person "navigators" who will sit down with you to do the same if you want that help. I know that at Langley Health Services in Sumterville there is someone there almost always, by appointment to help. There have been navigators here in the Villages at some meetings but I don't know if that is currently an option

Great post and absolutely correct. Let me add that if you have any trouble navigating the web site, you can call them at 800-318-2596 and they will do your application over the phone.

[Bay Kid]

Originally Posted by Birdie Dreamer

The Affordable Care Act provides guaranteed coverage with no exclusion for pre-existing conditions. The cost will depend on whether or not you are eligible for subsidy. Your employment history has no bearing on it.

Finding a job may be more problematic with the employment history you described.

No exclusion for pre-existing conditions! My insurance agent tells me this is true AS LONG AS I KEEP my same policy. What a shame. What to believe?