Photo Documentation.

A couple photos stolen from the internet from the Newport Half.

Newport Half Marathon.

Less than 3 Weeks Left to Make a Donation!

Well it wasn't that hard, but if I had to do it again I think it would have been hard.

That was my conclusion from the Newport Half Marathon that Sarah and I ran on Sunday. Crossing the finish line I was relieved that I did not have to run the same distance again. But as we know, in a couple weeks I will have to run the same distance again...

Weather was fair with some wind, mostly sunny.  It was a beautiful course with a few hills that meandered along the southwest rocky shore of Aquidneck Island. There were long stretches of ocean views with sailboats in the distance. And this being Newport, one runs in the shadows of mansions.

I felt pretty strong throughout the race granted I was running at a pretty easy pace. I ran a 1:56:44 - an 8:55 mile. I felt very strong on hills which was encouraging.

As with all strenuous activity the best part is it being over. There was complementary minestrone soup, pizza, gu packets, and Gatorade for all runners after the race. No small task for a race with almost 4000 people. There was also free beer. The race was sponsored by Narragansett Brewery and we got one free Narragansett tall boy each for finishing the race (SCORE!). We drank up in the award tent and then made our way back over to the mainland for some more beer and bar food (and "Pumpkin Bombs" at Sarah's insistence) at the Mews Tavern in Wakefield. All in all a great way to spend a beautiful fall day.    

Sarah and I shortly after finishing the Newport Half Marathon.

The day's prizes.

New Kicks!

Did a nice little sundown 7 miler today and was feeling like I had some ran-far capital to spend.  Bought myself a Howlin' Wolf record.  Also bought myself a new pair of mother f%$*!g kicks boyeee!  These are the pair I'll be running in in just one more month! Happy Friday!

Reflections On Obamacare From A Poor, Sick Kid That Used To Live In Massachusetts.

Fine. I give up. I'll chime in. I really didn't think I'd be driven to this, but all the political theatrics, all the misinformed Facebook rhetoric, the entirety of the misunderstanding of the law that is Obamacare stemming from both innocent and very unvirtuous origins has me feeling exasperated. The fact that Congressional Republicans would go to the lengths that they have to try to repeal the law elicits the same confounded expression I just took out of my multivariate statistics class. I'm frustrated, depressed, and a little angry at the state of the misunderstanding of what this thing is and its actually quite relevant to this blog. I'm in a good position to try to explain Obamacare from an interesting perspective because:

• I'm sick
• I'm poor*
• I used to live in Massachusetts and have purchased health insurance using the model that is now being implemented throughout the country. 

Some biography for context...

As folks who have been following this blog know I have Cystic Fibrosis. That qualifies me as sick by a long shot - annual prescription drug costs that flirt with 6 figures are no joke. Compounding difficulties that stem from the maintenance of my health is the fact that I have chosen, for the time being, a path of lots of work for little pay. I am a research assistant pursuing a PhD in wildlife ecology (and as of a few weeks ago I also move boxes around a liquor store for $10/hour so I can avoid using my credit card at the grocery store). This decision comes in part because I am passionate about what I am doing, but also because a terminal degree opens doors in a very competitive field with few career positions and very limited prospects for growth over time. I am fortunate to have a job that offers adequate (albeit lackluster) health insurance for the first time in my life. 

You might assume my struggles are the product of laziness or lack of direction, but believe it or not, us granola eating, tree loving types clamor for the opportunity to pull weeds in a National Park somewhere for virtually no pay, and just getting to the position I am in is a rather competitive and time consuming prospect. I spent years paying very high premiums for private health insurance with very lackluster benefits (especially when it came to prescription coverage) in the years following college. From 2007-2012 I worked with the National Park Service performing various seasonal biological technician positions at Cape Cod National Seashore, also completing a MS in wildlife ecology during this time. Health insurance is not offered with seasonal Federal positions (and my option for health insurance through school was an outright joke), and every year it was back to New Jersey in the Fall where I lived with my parents in order to be able to cover living expenses, namely NJ health insurance premiums that exceeded $500/month. 

Come 2011 I decided I could no longer take the prospect of returning to NJ to live with my parents and decided to make Massachusetts my new home some how, some way. I switched my residency to the Land of Belichick, got me a nifty new driver's license, and realized I could now qualify for this slick new (sort of - it was enacted in 2006) health insurance program that people from the state seemed to brag about. And they really did - regardless of political affiliation so far as I could tell, there was a real pride, especially among young people, in the fact that Massachusetts took care of its own and provided affordable access to what is some of the world's best healthcare. 

Sometime around September 2011 I jumped on board and purchased a health insurance plan using the Commonwealth Connector, a website that helps people find plans for which they are eligible. No bullshit, I logged on for the first time with less than an hour before the enrollment period ended (for the entire year!) and found a plan that was both significantly less expensive and fulfilled the essential requirements that my very complicated situation requires. I settled on a plan from Neighborhood Health, a non-profit corporation that operates in New England, and virtually overnight my premiums were reduced by more than 50% and because there was an out-of-pocket maximum incorporated into the prescription drug portion of the plan (which my previous plan did not offer despite the higher premium) I would now finally have some relief from the endless cycle of dealing with patient assistance organizations in order to pay for medications. Had I realized that I probably would have qualified for a subsidized plan based on my income, my premiums may have cost less. I soon found a specialist at Mass General - considered one of the best hospitals in the world - and continue to receive care from that team to this day. 

Saving $250 a month is a big deal to someone on a very modest income. Especially us independent types who have a tendency to piece together a living outside of the realm of the corporate world. Having that extra cash on hand can easily be the difference between assuming additional debt or paying down debt. That's exactly what my experience was and its exactly the kind of experience more people need given the times. But I'm just one person, right? And this whole healthcare law is something that society has to swallow. Its great if we can help sick people, but what about the choice of someone who is young and healthy and wants to roll the dice without health insurance?  That's a fair question and the fact is that there are many out there choosing to do so now. And they can continue to do so, the difference is they will now be penalized if they opt out of buying health insurance. Those on the Right frame this individual mandate as a tax. But do taxes usually provide the individual directly with new services? No, they don't. Its more like a strong incentive for young people to play a necessary role in the healthcare market - a market that they have been largely absent from in the past. A market that desperately needs them in order to control costs for individuals, businesses, and governments over time.

Do some people have a legitimate gripe with having to buy health insurance? Yes, they do albeit a pretty modest one because most will be getting it for a song. Unlike their predecessors (read: me) who did not get it for a song. Are throngs of young conservatives going to rebuff the program on the principles of liberty, justice, and freedom for all? Doubt it, but we'll see. One of the most intriguing things that gets overshadowed by all the political nonsense is that the story of whether or not the people want this will ultimately be told in the market. Something that those who oppose this law don't want you to know. If people don't sign up, the program will fail. And so be it. The thing is, a principle of economics is that if you want people to exhibit a certain behavior, give them an incentive to do so - which Obamacare does in a really smart way by making decent health coverage affordable and offering disincentives for continuing to go without. The great irony of all the political theatre is the fact that Obamacare is really a conservative idea. Presidential campaign spinelessness aside, give Mitt Romney some credit for recognizing and implementing a good market based solution to a real challenge in Massachusetts.

Table 1. Some common criticisms of Obamacare and my responses/opinions to those criticisms.

So what about Massachusetts? The health care system works wonders for individuals, but how's it working out for the state government and the state as a whole? Well, its not perfect, but its pretty darn good. The bad news is it does cost the state government money. See this link for a quick synopsis (note the quote at the end). Upwards of $100 million dollars a year!? Sounds scary right? Well, its not. Deval Patrick himself has said that it barely affects the State's bottom line. The only other bad news I could find is that emergency room visits have not decreased as expected, something that can probably be explained by a general higher demand for services in the state. Which leads us into the good news beginning with ... a general higher demand for services in the state. In other words, its a good time to be a doctor or healthcare professional in Massachusetts (business is booming). The other obvious good news is that almost everyone in Massachusetts has health insurance: ~97 percent. For comparison, in Alaska and Florida more than 1 in 5 people don't have coverage. Healthcare costs have risen at the national average in Massachusetts and the health of the people has improved. And not for nothing but the people of the Bay State have peace of mind.

Implementing Obamacare on the national scale will probably be less efficient and more costly owing mostly to the fact that a minority are philosophically opposed to the idea of a government having any hand in markets and/or having any hand in anything. Ideology is usually an impediment to progress. But for states that have elected to create their own state-based exchanges rather than having them controlled by the Feds (which was an option to everyone) I suspect things will go pretty smoothly. The only folks with a real gripe are the small to medium sized businesses, many of whom are now going to have to pay for employee coverage or pay a penalty (more significant a penalty than individuals foregoing coverage). It will probably hit them where it hurts in some cases. Nonetheless, it will push few over the line. I have no sympathy for big businesses crying about giving health insurance to their employees. They will be able to absorb the cost.

So that brings us to Congress and the government shutdown. Republicans are staking their future on the fact that they think their constituents don't want Obamacare which may be so in some places. But those constituents have had their perception of Obamacare confused and diluted by these same politicians, most of whom go to bat for more powerful interests than the sick and poor. What's going to happen when they actually see for themselves what the program is? Maybe that is the answer to why these Republicans are so opposed to the law becoming law (see what I did there?). When you start believing your own bullshit the people will be left with no choice but to sweep you to the curb come the next election.   

*I consider myself very fortunate for everything I have and I use this term somewhat tongue-in-cheek. And besides, I count my richness in friends and experiences. But for all practical purposes I live at the razor's edge during the best of times. I'm not necessarily proud of this and the plan is that one day this will change. For the time being though: PB&J anyone?