12 Mar
Operation Layla
If you follow the same people I do on Twitter, you’ve probably seen people using the hashtag #operationlayla. I was really confused for a day or so because I couldn’t figure out what they were referring to, but then my friend Anni emailed me, linked me to the official Operation Layla website, and asked if I would be willing to donate a post to the cause.
To try to briefly summarize, Layla had cervical cancer, and was treated for it. The cancer was gone. Hooray! Several years later though, she was in pain again and was worried the cancer was back. She was unemployed at the time and so she visited the doctor, paid cash, and was told she had some scarring left over from her cancer treatment that needed to be removed, which would free her from pain. She got a job, and scheduled the surgery for a date when insurance at her new work would help cover the cost of the treatment.
Then her company fired her, the day her insurance became valid, blatantly stating that they did so because of health reasons.
If you can believe it, the story doesn’t end here.
She was able to get on her husband’s insurance, and set a date for the surgery. The insurance company came back and said that she had a pre-existing condition and would need to wait 388 days before they would cover any medical expenses.
@&&#&#!!
This is where you come in.
A group of bloggers have banded together to try to help Layla cover the cost of her surgery. You can learn more about how to donate here (I hear they are hosting an online bake sale very soon!).
No matter what you think about universal healthcare, I think you can agree that this situation is absolutely insane, and should never happen. They’ve raised $1100 so far, and I really think that they’ll be able to meet their goal if enough people hear about the site.
Spread the word and do some good!
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Jenna! Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. With your readership…wow, I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen to that number. Just so you’re totally up to date, we met (and exceeded) our goal last night. Currently we’ve raised $4,675, meaning we’re $675 over the goal and we still have yet to begin the bake sale! The money we raise past the goal of $4000 will go to help the relief efforts in Japan. Again, thank you so, SO much for putting this on your site.
Ps, you were in my dream last night wearing a super cute wrap dress and you looked SO SKINNY! So go out and buy a wrap dress, I think they’d be really flattering on you
Reply
Erin Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Yay! So glad the TW readers could help
Reply
Thank you so much for posting this, Jenna! I am SO AMAZED by everyone’s generosity and care. This has been an absolutely wonderful response to a friend in need. We really have an amazing group of blog/Twitter friends.
We did successfully raise enough for Layla’s surgery! We’re still trying to get a little more so that she can have enough for her doctors’ appointments before and after, but the surgery was the big one and we are so excited that she’ll be able to get it! I would have never imagined that we could have achieved something so big in such a short time. Like Emily said, any overflow that doesn’t go towards medical expenses will be going to Japan victims and other endo research/rescues.
Reply
Jessica @ One Shiny Star Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 10:56 am
yah!!! I’m so glad that enough money was raised!
Reply
I’m absolutely amazed by the generosity of bloggers!! It’s been an overwhelming couple of days!
Reply
3Wow, this is amazing. I love all the great things that come out of blogging.
I hope she takes the company to tasks.
Reply
Emmie Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 10:10 am
*task.
Reply
Wow, that is simply awful. I’ve linked this to my girlfriends on FB and will donate when I am able to work out a little banking issue.
I feel truly blessed to live in a country where the government will provide necessary medical treatment without me living in fear of bankruptcy (or death). Furthermore, that care is often better than that delivered by private doctors.
Her company should be named and shamed, as far as I am concerned. Is there any government administrated method of recourse to fight unfair dismissal in the US?
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
It depends on where she lives. If you can believe it, some states (like my homestate of Texas) are “at will” states, which means you can be fired at any time for any reason. It is virtually impossible to bring a successful wrongful termination suit against an employer there.
Reply
Anni Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
This question has come up a lot because it is so unfair! I just thought I’d copy/paste Layla’s answer in case you’re curious - it really isn’t fair what was done to her and I agree with you that they should be held responsible for their actions
I worked for a corporate attorney several years ago here in GA that specialized in employment law, and in the state of GA we have to file an EEOC claim, what for them to decide if it’s a real claim or not, and then be given the right to sue or be told that we have no claim.
I have no doubt that I’d have a claim, but the process can take years, unfortunately. I did file for unemployment and was able to appeal the original decision to not grant it to me, because of how (and why) they fired me. It’s not much, but the money does help and it was a small victory.
Reply
The state of the healthcare system in this country is disgusting. It’s a shame that in the richest country in the world we have to have online pledge drives and bake sales so that a human being can be able to get basic healthcare services.
And even when we try to make the most BASIC reforms, like getting rid of pre-existing conditions clauses, it’s met with so much resistance. I’ve heard people say that pre-existing condition clauses are “fair” because “if health insurance companies didn’t have them they’d go bankrupt taking care of everyone”….
Um..
Then maybe they shouldn’t be in the health care industry. How ’bout that. Because part of that is paying for people to be TAKEN CARE OF with the freaking premiums they pay the company with in the first place.
I’m so, so glad that she got the money for her surgery, but the sad fact is that there are hundreds of thousands of people in her exact same situation who will die, or go bankrupt, due to being unable to access healthcare, and it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. Sorry for the rant, I just truly cannot handle how obscenely unfair and unnecessary such suffering is.
Reply
Anni Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
I’m commenting all over this post, I know, but Sophia you are so right. I think it’s horribly sad and we’re trying to figure out ways to help others in similar situations, but it’ll never be enough. Doing all this has made me stop and wonder why I don’t work so hard to help others more often.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
It’s just so hard to keep up with all the suffering, so we can only do the best we can!
I’m moved by the outpouring of support for this woman and I’m relieved she was helped, but the flip side of it- the people who need help who will never get it- is also so hard for me to deal with emotionally sometimes. I know it might seem over the top, but sometimes I just break down and cry when I think about it
Reply
Layla Reply:
March 13th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Thank you so much, Sophia! And I completely agree - something has to be done about our healthcare system. I feel like insurance agencies have been able to run anyway they want and it has to stop!! The pre-existing conditions clause will be no more in 2014 for adults, but it is already in place for children, thankfully.
There are so many factors that affected what happened to me - the state I live in, and as you said, the fact that it’s also an “at will” state, the EEOC claim process and how long/ineffective it is, the fact that I am insured, just not allowed to be treated for this condition, and the fact that government funds are in place for people in my position…as long as they’ve been uninsured for six months straight. And unfortunately, you can’t just “quit” your health insurance like you can anything else, unfortunately. And that I don’t qualify for Medicaid/Medicare, and my state doesn’t have state funded insurance (my home state, Tennessee, does and it’s a GREAT resource to those that need it!)…..just a lot of things that leave us with nearly zero options.
Enter these amazing bloggers and they’re overwhelming effort. It’s truly awe inspiring…I’m so in love with the world right now!
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 13th, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Layla I’m so glad you got the help you needed. And yes ma’am, looking forward to 2014! You’re right, they’ve been able to pretty much run however they want, and unlike any other industry you can’t vote with your dollar and change providers when you have to worry about lapses in coverage, pre-existing conditions, probationary periods, app fees, the list goes on. Here’s hoping things continue to get better for everyone.
Good luck in your recovery!
Reply
Im really happy that she got enough money to have the surgery… but I dont really understand how the health system in your country works. Im Australian and I’ve never heard of anyone being unable to have surgery because of a lack of money here. I dont know too much about it, as I have private health insurance, but I think people who dont, and who dont make very much money get things like surgery and prescriptions for less money than the more wealthy people do. I know that If you do have health insurance (its not even that expensive) you don’t even have to go on a waiting list for surgery, you pretty much just go straight in. People without insurance have to go on a waiting list if there condition isn’t urgent, but they do have their surgery relatively soon no matter how little money they have.
Im really happy that people were able to help Layla raise money… It just makes me really sad to imagine how many people are going without surgery in America and living unsure of the future of their health, and who don’t have anyone to help them raise the money.
Reply
Emily Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Our system is called Medicare, and they pay for a portion of everyones medical bills. I would have thought America would have had a similar system even before we did!
Reply
Jenna Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
A large part of the problem is that employers provide healthcare. A better system would be employers NOT providing healthcare, paying the cash that they were paying for medical insurance to the employee, and letting the employee choose the insurance they would like. That way people like Layla can’t be penalized for having bad health.
Reply
Emily Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Oh! It seems to me that having employers provide healthcare would just create a whole other lot of problems… as it obviously did, in this case. Your suggestion seems much better! Still, there would be alot of unemployed people unable to access any type of healthcare… which is sad.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 12:02 am
Emily- unfortunately in our country health care is not seen as a human right. It is seen as something that you should take care of for yourself, by either getting a job where your employer offers insurance, or by making and saving enough money to buy insurance on your own. We do have a system- Medicaid- for those with very, very low incomes, but the cutoffs are truly very low. Many people make too much money to qualify, but not enough money to afford health insurance. I’ve heard people say that if we took care of everyone in our country, we wouldn’t have enough doctors. I’ve heard arguments that health insurance companies should be able to deny people based on pre-existing conditions or else “they wouldn’t make any money because they’d have to spend so much treating people”, the list goes on…
There is a pretty big divide over this issue in our country. Even the recent healthcare reform that was passed was compared to Nazi policies, it was (and is) called a “government takeover” and “Socialism” even though it isn’t universal health care, and there was talk of death panels voting to kill your Granny. In addition, there were tons of reports of how people in countries like yours got terrible care and died on waiting lists and how awful their systems were. I don’t think the law is perfect, and they’re working on tweaking certain things, but the hyperbole and mis-information that was flying around about the bill was ridiculous.
The healthcare reform we recently passed was basically health insurance reform, and put new regulations on how health insurance companies can do business (there were also some new taxes, such as a tax on tanning beds since they are a luxury item that also causes cancer). For example, right now anyone can be excluded from coverage for a pre-existing condition- even if you were BORN with it. So a lot of people can’t even get coverage because they’re too sick to get health insurance. Which to me is a cruel, sick irony. When healthcare reform passed children were automatically protected from being denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition, for adults it will happen in 2014 (if it doesn’t get repealed, because many people want to repeal the whole thing).In addition, health insurance companies can retroactively deny you treatment. So you get cancer, and they say “oh, you forgot to tell us you were treated for acne ten years ago, we’re dropping you”.
Just to be clear, I agree that socialized medicine would probably never work in America. But I’m truly saddened that even the most basic of reforms was met with such vitriol in our country. I mean, before the reforms were passed babies who were unlucky enough to be born with asthma could be denied coverage. This happened to my cousin’s baby, they had to pay out of pocket about $700 a month for his breathing treatments for two years.
It’s a highly emotional subject on all sides, but honestly my friends in countries that actually have socialized medicine were literally laughing their heads off at us. They were totally confused, saying “wait, but you guys aren’t going to have socialized medicine after these reforms… why are they saying you are?” or they would say “what does socialized medicine have to do with Nazis??”. It was pretty funny to see the difference between how people in countries with socialized medicine saw the debate, and how people in our country saw the debate.
I’d also add that I have friends who want to see healthcare reformed, but who disagree with the way the healthcare reform law did so. So people who disagree with the recent law don’t necessarily think healthcare is hunky dory, they just want to see it changed differently. I think that was a sad effect of the healthcare debates in our country- it came down to this highly skewed, black and white divide, as if one side had no compassion for people and the other side did. The reality is much more confusing because healthcare and the economics around it is so complex in our country.
Reply
Jenna Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 12:32 am
Awesome comment, as usual!
I can’t understand people who don’t support SOME sort of option that gives everyone healthcare when they need it.
Or that it’s so incredibly difficult to get things like PREGNANCY eliminated from the possible pre-existing conditions list. So awful.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Yes. The pregnancy issue really annoys me. And most individual plans don’t cover pregnancy at all, ever. So if your employer doesn’t provide health insurance and you’ve been paying into Blue Cross for 3 years on an individual plan and get pregnant there is still little to no maternity coverage.
There are some policies where you can add a maternity rider, but they are generally very expensive and have all sorts of limitations and requirements and waiting periods.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 13th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
Jenna, I agree in theory that this might work but only if insurance companies were not allowed to exclude people based on pre-existing conditions. If they are, then people like Layla and others would still be punished for having bad health.
This will be the law of the land in 2014, but even that might not happen if the healthcare reforms are repealed. S
Reply
Jenna Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 12:30 am
Yes, yes. Eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions, but stop putting health insurance in the hands of the employer.
TH doesn’t like the reform specifically because it has the opt-out policy (which I believe the Republicans introduced,good job guys) which means smart people like my husband can work the system and mess things up.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
YES! The opt out policy is so bad
Reply
Thank you so much for posting this, Jenna!
Reply
8I have a couple of issues with the things mentioned above. First of all, while I agree that changes need to be made to pre-existing condition clauses, I don’t think they need to disappear completely. If we compeletely got rid of it, people wouldn’t buy health care until they needed it. Why would any healthy person buy health insurance if you knew you could just buy it once you needed surgery?? Healthcare companies aren’t in business to give money away, which is exactly what would be happening if people didn’t have to pay into the system prior to a service taking place. Lets remember that it is a business and they need to make a profit.
My issue with our health care reform is 100% to do with the way it was handled. I think everyone should have the opportunity to purchase affordable healthcare. However, I don’t believe that any employeer should be “forced” to provide healthcare, and I don’t believe that any person should be “forced” to buy healthcare. It isn’t the American way.
By the way, I am using forced very loosely.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Melissa, I can understand your frustration, but the only way to address your concern about people not getting health insurance until they are sick is to make health insurance a requirement.
The two naturally depend on one another. We’ll get rid of pre-existing conditions if everyone holds health insurance. That takes care of people waiting until they’re sick to get insurance, and it takes care of people not being able to get health insurance in the first place if they have pre-existing conditions.
Right now, we’re “forced” to pay for healthcare, just in different ways. When people who don’t have it show up at emergency rooms and rack up thousands of dollars in bills they don’t pay and hospitals are going bankrupt, we’re still being “forced” to pay for that, it’s just passing the buck.
Reply
Sophia Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I’m not sure if my first comment was clear-I guess I see it as, if people don’t want socialized medicine, we have to stick with the insurance model.
Right now, the insurance model can exclude millions of people due to pre-existing conditions.
You say you think that some pre-existing conditions should be done away with. But as you rightly observed, this could lead to people just waiting until they’re sick to get insurance, which I totally agree would not be fair to insurance companies. They would only be paying out and not paying in.
So, now we’re left with this situation- we want to keep the insurance model. We think that pre-existing conditions clauses are largely unfair because they exclude millions from health care. We don’t want to screw over insurance companies with last minute policy buys.
To me, the couplet of required health insurance/no pre-existing conditions clauses is the the only way to logically address all the concerns above. It’s fair, and doesn’t punish people who were born with certain diseases or became ill. It doesn’t punish the health insurance companies with last minute policy buys.
The only problem with it is the fact that health insurance is required. Yet if we take out the requirement, it seems we’re right back to square one- pre-existing clauses are unfair but without them health insurance companies will get screwed.
There has to be a compromise in there somewhere, and as a taxpayer I’m personally fine with the compromise of requiring health care. There are individual policies out there that are as little as $35 a month for an individual who just wants catastrophic coverage. To me, it’s worth it to pay about $35 a month for basic coverage if the tradeoff is that millions of children who were born with illnesses will not be arbitrarily excluded from coverage. Or if people like Layla will be able to get necessary operations.
I guess I just don’t see how else we could make all of this work, within the insurance model system, without a truce between the pre-existing condition clause and the health insurance requirement.
Reply
It’s wonderful that Layla got the money that she needed for her surgery. Way to go!!! It just amazes me that we still really don’t have health care reform in place in America, and even universal health care does not work in other countries. This is still a problem with pre-existing conditions and that you would let go of an employee just not to have to pay the insurance premiums. I know of some employers that pre-screen potential employees with insurance related questions that are in fact are illegal.
Reply
10