Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Who is responsible for paying your personal medical bills if you're a surviving victim of the mass shooting in Aurora, CO and are uninsured?
For all of you who make the "Take Responsibility for yourself argument" should you have 150K saved up in case you are victimized by a lunatic gunman at a movie theater? The perpetrator has no money and will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Who pays the bills?
If only there was a way to make sure everyone was insured against this type of thing...
Why didn't those people make the choices to be prepared for a major medical emergency before one happened? If you drive without car insurance and get in a wreck, shouldn't you be on the hook for making the choice not to have it?
mlassoff tell me - the money HAS to come from somewhere, who do you think should pay for it?
I can't see why people oppose socialised medicine anyway.
It works perfectly well in numerous countries around the world.
No-one needs a 50 channel tv and french maid-type service to take care of your broken leg, but everyone needs at least a basic system to take care of the unforseen.
Help your fellow man and all that - what's wrong with that idea?
Like Cuba?
Seriously though, our healcare system did not become the most advanced by being socialized.
[quote=Kenneth-Kaunda;25375756]I agree - just put a small amount of everyone's income tax into a large government run kitty - and voila - we have available health care for all!
what is so bad with that idea?[/quote]
It won't be everyone. It won't be small.
It certainly won't be the same level of healthcare we have today.
Also it's not as easy as just not paying your bill if you cannot afford it. Hospitals are winning judgments against people who then get their wages garnished. People's lives are being ruined due to medical bills. This doesn't happen in many other first world nations, but (puffs out chest) 'by god it's our right as Americans to live every man for himself.' It's sad because how a nation treats its poor, weak, sick or disadvantaged is the true ruler by which it can be measured.
One problem is that most in our country "feel" they are the poor, weak, sick, or disadvantaged.
We should take care of the true needy but not everyone who feels needy.
I think a lot of it is that these people simply haven't experienced it for themselves. My Grandfather acted just like the aforementioned poster until I was diagnosed. Then, it became personal...now he's an advocate for a single payer system. Crazy how that works, eh? I was diagnosed at 11 and will likely need these infusions every other week for life unless they come up with a pill form or a cure of some sort. It sucks getting a 1" needle shoved into your chest every other week, believe me, and getting told 'you don't deserve it' by random people really doesn't help.
Yes, I am sure that "sucks" but would it "suck" less knowing someone was paying for it?
If you were too poor to pay your medical bill, you should have qualified for a program to assist you.
The arguement is not whether or not there are people in the US that need assistance. We already have programs that cover those people. The problem is trying to cover those that would rather be needy than productive.
Yes, I am sure that "sucks" but would it "suck" less knowing someone was paying for it?
If you were too poor to pay your medical bill, you should have qualified for a program to assist you.
The arguement is not whether or not there are people in the US that need assistance. We already have programs that cover those people. The problem is trying to cover those that would rather be needy than productive.
"Should" being the operative word. JetJockey's medications have cost over $250,000 EACH YEAR since she was 11. Based on her posts here, she's a productive citizen who works a skilled job. But how many people make that much in a year? Hate to break it to you, but there aren't safety nets unless you are destitute. I made too much money to get assistance when I was dealing with cancer at 23. I was insured, but my out of pocket is half of my (rather low) yearly income. I'm educated and hard working - I just happen to be young and entry level. Working harder isn't going to get me to salary that can pay off these bills any quicker.
If you work but are not offered health insurance by your company and have a preexisting condition, no insurance for you. And since you're working, unless you're making minimum wage THERE IS NO SAFETY NET FOR YOU. If you work and are insured but hit your max coverage, no insurance for you, like this man who hit his cap for his insurance, but he's still fighting cancer. Now, the CEO of Aetna stepped in to help, but how many other people do NOT get help? I know some of them.
By not having universal healthcare, you ARE encouraging people to be needy. I know young adults in the cancer world who are on disability and could likely do some kind of part time or freelance work, but they can't because it would push them out of the income limits for Medicaid and they are ineligible to buy insurance on their own because of their cancer history (either recent or still fighting). How many people work the bare minimum because there is NO OTHER OPTION but Medicaid for them? Many.
Why didn't those people make the choices to be prepared for a major medical emergency before one happened? If you drive without car insurance and get in a wreck, shouldn't you be on the hook for making the choice not to have it?
mlassoff tell me - the money HAS to come from somewhere, who do you think should pay for it?
I didn't plan to get PCOS at 16 and go to a psychiatrist at 18. I didn't plan on getting cancer at 18 that was misdiagnosed as other things for 5 years, leaving me on steroids off and on during that time with mounting weight gain from the medication and lower energy levels as the cancer grew. These things PREVENTED me from getting health insurance, preventing me from being prepared for a major medical emergency. Thank G-d I got a job with benefits 4 months before I was diagnosed.
There were no programs to help me. I didn't qualify for anything because my income was too high - laughable. In Georgia (where I was before I got my job and moved across the country), working minimum wage would have put me over the limit for Medicaid. The one policy that would cover me was $600 a month for a high deductible catastrophic policy. How many 22 year olds can afford that? I didn't even have student loans or any kind of debt at that time, and I would not have had the means to pay for that.. much less the thousands of dollars of deducible, copays, and "extras" that insurance wouldn't cover for my cancer treatment.
Most people want to be personally responsible. The system as it exists now doesn't let us be when we can't even get coverage due to preexisting conditions from childhood.
EDIT: I should note that going to a psychiatrist was a result of anxiety stemming from a rape. That was a factor in my inability to get insurance. My ex had phenomenal insurance through work, but before he got a job, he was told that his father's suicide was reason to increase his rates. You can't make that stuff up.
Last edited by charolastra00; 07-30-2012 at 01:49 PM..
Seriously though, our healcare system did not become the most advanced by being socialized.
That isn't exactly true. Our healthcare system owes a great deal of its advancement to government research, and in the case of trauma care, a whole lot to the experiences of the military. So if your argument is that government involvement is tantamount to socialism, we've had a very socialist healthcare system for quite some time.
By the way, the U.S. has run a socialist national health care system since 1798.
That isn't exactly true. Our healthcare system owes a great deal of its advancement to government research, and in the case of trauma care, a whole lot to the experiences of the military. So if your argument is that government involvement is tantamount to socialism, we've had a very socialist healthcare system for quite some time.
Not only that a lot of the just basic general research into medicines and diseases are done at public universities, which are textbook socialist.
Who is responsible for paying your personal medical bills if you're a surviving victim of the mass shooting in Aurora, CO and are uninsured?
For all of you who make the "Take Responsibility for yourself argument" should you have 150K saved up in case you are victimized by a lunatic gunman at a movie theater? The perpetrator has no money and will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Who pays the bills?
If only there was a way to make sure everyone was insured against this type of thing...
Most states, if not all, have a crime victims compensation program, which pays for some if not all hospital bills and even some property loss and damages. So for the fraction of the population who has REALLY bad luck of not only being uninsured, but also a victim of a crime, there is help available to them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
