×

Rush Limbaugh

For a better experience,
download and use our app!

The Rush Limbaugh Show Main Menu

Listen to it Button

RUSH: Scott in Dayton, Ohio, you’re next on the phones. Thank you again for waiting. Hello.

CALLER: Yeah. Hey, look, I’m about to lose my health insurance because of Obamacare. I’ve had it for almost 20 years. I have an autoimmune disease, and now the insurance I have through my employer helps me cover the cost of that.

RUSH: Why are you gonna lose it?

CALLER: Because of Obamacare.

RUSH: But what specifically about it? Is it the cost? Is it not covered? Is it a preexisting condition? Why are you losing it?

CALLER: The whole crew here is gonna lose their health insurance.

RUSH: Oh.

CALLER: Everyone that works for my boss.

RUSH: Ohhhh. Okay. So your employer is getting rid of the benefit?

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: ‘Cause he can’t afford it anymore?


CALLER: Yes. I have an autoimmune disease, and I take infusion treatments every six weeks, and I have a list of medications that I also have to take orally. And without my health insurance, I’m in the hospital. Not only do I want to keep my plan, I actually need my plan.

RUSH: Well, I thought you could keep it because Obama had put a hold on people like you losing your coverage for a couple of years.

CALLER: As far as I know, I’m still gonna lose my health insurance.

RUSH: Well, you’re losing the paying agent.

CALLER: Yes, and I’ve been to the Obama website.

RUSH: Are you losing your job?

CALLER: No.

RUSH: So, theoretically, you could cancel your cable bill or your cell phone and then buy your insurance yourself. ‘Cause that’s what Obama said.

CALLER: Well, look, even if I were to cancel both of those, I still would not be able to afford the premium that they want a month to cover me.

RUSH: Oh.

CALLER: To top it off, when I end up in the hospital — which is exactly where I’ll end up, because that’s where I started — guess what he’s gonna do? He’s gonna fine me for not buying something I can’t afford.

RUSH: Yeah, but it’ll be less than what you would have paid if you had bought it. Gotta look on the bright side. Now, I know it’s tough. What are you gonna do? What are you your options as you’ve looked at them?

CALLER: Well, my options are to not get health insurance, which will put me in a hospital.

RUSH: But you can’t afford it?

CALLER: I’ll have to stop taking my medicines.

RUSH: But you can’t afford to treat yourself. You can’t afford to treatment if you don’t have insurance, right?

CALLER: That’s correct.

RUSH: Have you gone to HealthCare.gov?

CALLER: I sure have. I sure have gone to HealthCare.gov.

RUSH: Well, there’s another option you have. This idea, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Obama himself have mentioned this. It’s that you could choose to become liberated from work, ’cause right now, look at you. You’re locked into a job just to get your health care, and that’s unfortunate. But now since the job doesn’t provide you health care, you can quit and then you can discover the joy of unemployment.

CALLER: Right. And how does one pay for their other bills?

RUSH: Well, you discover your inner poet or artist —

CALLER: (laughing)

RUSH: — and you go try to get a subsidized policy at an exchange.

CALLER: Wow. Yeah, right. So what do people like me do, Rush?

RUSH: People like you are losing their insurance. People like you are being canceled left and right. It’s in the millions. I’m gonna tell you something. This has come up a number of times. This kind of stuff, it does two things: It breaks my heart and infuriates me, because you’ve done nothing.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: You haven’t done anything. You have sat around and you’ve listened to your president tell you that your health care system’s broken and he’s gonna see fix it. I don’t care whether you voted for him or not, he’s breaking it. You are probably a guy who has tried as hard as you can your whole life to play by the rules.

CALLER: Yes, correct.

RUSH: You stay within a moral code and all that. You’re probably one of these guys, you work hard and you do what’s necessary to get you job done. You tried to do it well.

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: This kind of stuff is happening to people like you all over this country.

CALLER: Right. Yes. So what do people like all of us do? I am not a passing news story. I’m a human being and without my treatments —

RUSH: I know, but to them you’re a stat, you’re just a statistic, you’re a number.

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: And in Harry Reid’s case, you’re a liar, Harry Reid says that —

CALLER: Right, Harry Reid, oh, he burns me up with that. Oh, he burned me up when he said that.

RUSH: Well, he said you’re lying about —

CALLER: Yes, he sure did.

RUSH: — and everybody else telling a story like you are lying.

CALLER: He sure did say that. Well, I got news for him. We are not lying. The person who’s lying is the president.

RUSH: Yeah. In the meantime, all that does you nothing. You’ve got an autoimmune disease that you need —

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: — constant treatment for.

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: This is not something you can go to the emergency room when you need it.

CALLER: No. Absolutely not. Every six weeks they hook me up to a system that infuses me with a drug called Remicade, and that’s just the infusion. That’s every six weeks. And then there’s a list of other medications I have to take orally every single day.

RUSH: When does your policy cancel?

CALLER: I’m not absolute for sure, but in several months.

RUSH: So you’ve got some time here to try to come up with a substitute or replacement?

CALLER: I do, but every direction I go I get nothing. I’ve written Senators. I’ve called the Obama plan. I’ve called the state plan. It seems like I just keep going and going and going —

RUSH: Humor me. Why can’t you replace this? Why haven’t you found another group to join that gets you a premium that you can afford?

CALLER: A group. Where do I find a group?

RUSH: Well, normally an insurance company would help you find a group to become a member of.

CALLER: I have run into no such help. I’ve talked to private insurance companies. It seems like I’m at a brick wall where the president of the United States says: We don’t care if you end up in a hospital. And then on top of that we’re gonna fine you for not buying my insurance plan.

RUSH: Scott —

CALLER: If I like my plan, I can keep my plan. Well, obviously, I can’t.

RUSH: Scott, just so people know, would you, if you don’t mind sharing, would you tell people what a single infusion of Remicade costs?

CALLER: Six thousand dollars.

RUSH: Yeah. Six grand.

CALLER: Yep.

RUSH: And you need one every six months?

CALLER: Every six weeks.

RUSH: Every six weeks.

CALLER: The cost of the medication is outrageous, but through the insurance plan that I have through my small-time employer, I can manage the cost. I’m not saying it’s great, but I can manage it. The cost isn’t even double or triple or five times when I went to Obama’s health.gov.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: It was unbelievable.

RUSH: I know. Everybody’s discovering the premiums are doubled, the deductible is tripling.

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: It’s a horror story.

CALLER: It’s a horror story. And I’m absolutely horrified because I was in the hospital last year, and I was in there for over two months for them trying to get me under control. And now that they finally have —

RUSH: Okay, what did your employer tell you, if he told you, is the reason that he’s cancelling —

CALLER: The memo said — I’m not making this up. Due to Obamacare, I will no longer —

RUSH: All right.

CALLER: — cover your health insurance.

RUSH: Okay, it means he can’t stay in business and comply —

CALLER: Correct.

RUSH: — at the same time. That’s what that means.

CALLER: Correct. So ever since that memo came out I’ve been absolutely horrified. I don’t want to be in the hospital.

RUSH: I know.

CALLER: I want to stay where I’m at. I want to keep working.

RUSH: Look, this infuriates me. There’s no excuse for this. This wasn’t broken, and your guy, your boss would not have to cancel if it weren’t for the fact that Obama’s transforming health care system. I would expect you’d be mad at your boss more than you sound, but you sound like you’re fairly informed. That’s what Obama’s hoping, is you’re gonna blame the boss, Scott. I’m really sorry. I’ve gotta go. I’m way long on the segment. I hear stuff, I don’t know what to do. I just think this is so unnecessary.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This