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Isn't this what Medicaid is for? If a person has exhausted his resources, then Medicaid kicks in and pays for their medical care.
I have a dear friend who was retired and had a nice nest egg for her golden years. She had a stroke which required that she have around the clock care in a facility. She has lived like this for over 10 years. Very few of us, even those who had saved and lived frugally, could afford to pay for this. Her husband was allowed to keep a fraction of their assets and their home, and once she had spent down the rest, Medicaid kicked in.
All our biggest fears should be that our healthy spouse will be made destitute taking care of us. It makes me angry that many people are on Medicaid their whole lives, yet hard working people who saved must be forced to spend everything before they can get it.
Isn't this what Medicaid is for? If a person has exhausted his resources, then Medicaid kicks in and pays for their medical care.
I have a dear friend who was retired and had a nice nest egg for her golden years. She had a stroke which required that she have around the clock care in a facility. She has lived like this for over 10 years. Very few of us, even those who had saved and lived frugally, could afford to pay for this. Her husband was allowed to keep a fraction of their assets and their home, and once she had spent down the rest, Medicaid kicked in.
All our biggest fears should be that our healthy spouse will be made destitute taking care of us. It makes me angry that many people are on Medicaid their whole lives, yet hard working people who saved must be forced to spend everything before they can get it.
He could have purchased insurance, but at a higher cost. There is ALWAYS insurance available, but risk comes into play, therefore, premiums are higher.
Are we living on the same planet? I couldn't buy health insurance for any price (and not that I would have been able to when I was 22 and unemployed out of college) when I tried to self-pay. Now, with a cancer diagnosis under my belt, no way in hell would anyone cover me knowing that my costs of care would be in $20,000 a year minimum for the foreseeable future. No one would cover my dad with diabetes. No one would cover my mom with high blood pressure and a few other things.
If all of my friends and family chipped in 10% for my cancer treatment, I wouldn't come CLOSE. Again, just 6 months of chemotherapy and related treatments cost almost 10x my salary. And I will be racking up major bills until I'm 5 years in remission.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
Isn't this what Medicaid is for? If a person has exhausted his resources, then Medicaid kicks in and pays for their medical care.
I have a dear friend who was retired and had a nice nest egg for her golden years. She had a stroke which required that she have around the clock care in a facility. She has lived like this for over 10 years. Very few of us, even those who had saved and lived frugally, could afford to pay for this. Her husband was allowed to keep a fraction of their assets and their home, and once she had spent down the rest, Medicaid kicked in.
All our biggest fears should be that our healthy spouse will be made destitute taking care of us. It makes me angry that many people are on Medicaid their whole lives, yet hard working people who saved must be forced to spend everything before they can get it.
In order to qualify for Medicaid, you must be destitute. Truly destitute. A top Medicaid-qualifying salary wouldn't even pay my rent (for 1 bedroom in a 3 bedroom apartment- not living large here). Basically, by forcing people with chronic illness into Medicaid, you're also forcing people into Section 8 and other government entitlements because living on what qualifies you for Medicaid is near impossible. You can get Medicare after 2 years on disability, but 2 years is life and death for some.
For example, a close friend of mine had a kidney transplant at 21 after a few years of dialysis. She's now 24 and her parents are uninsured, so she can't fall under their insurance. Because of the disruption of both her education and career due to kidney failure, she is currently only qualified for relatively low paying work. Even with insurance, her medications and copays for appointments run into the hundreds. So she's on Medicaid, but because it limits how much she can work, she will never really get ahead. That is, until her boyfriend proposed to her last week. They're having a civil marriage next week JUST SO SHE CAN GET ON HIS HEALTH INSURANCE SO SHE CAN WORK. Their actual wedding is not for a year. We all don't have significant others or spouses, and those that do don't all have insurance.
For example, a close friend of mine had a kidney transplant at 21 after a few years of dialysis. She's now 24 and her parents are uninsured, so she can't fall under their insurance. Because of the disruption of both her education and career due to kidney failure, she is currently only qualified for relatively low paying work. Even with insurance, her medications and copays for appointments run into the hundreds. So she's on Medicaid, but because it limits how much she can work, she will never really get ahead. That is, until her boyfriend proposed to her last week. They're having a civil marriage next week JUST SO SHE CAN GET ON HIS HEALTH INSURANCE SO SHE CAN WORK. Their actual wedding is not for a year. We all don't have significant others or spouses, and those that do don't all have insurance.
You know, sometimes life sucks but I have to ask you....this girl is getting medical treatment, has obviously gotten a great deal of medical treatment.
As for work, 'getting ahead' .....what else do you think should be done for her?
Is the government ( the rest of society) supposed to be responsible for all facets of one's life when they among the unlucky?
You know, sometimes life sucks but I have to ask you....this girl is getting medical treatment, has obviously gotten a great deal of medical treatment.
As for work, 'getting ahead' .....what else do you think should be done for her?
Is the government ( the rest of society) supposed to be responsible for all facets of one's life when they among the unlucky?
Allow people with chronic illness - especially those who develop their chronic illness in young adulthood when most people are starting their careers and education - a method to work their way up and off of Medicaid. Right now, it seems like the only way of doing so is to marry someone with money. As I said, in my $35K a year job, I had a very hard time paying insurance copays - but at least the bulk of it happened in a 6 months span. Imagine if your copays were never going to end, even if you are expected to live a normal lifespan.
Take another close friend. Cerebral palsy and grew up in the foster care system so he has NO family and no real support network, besides me and my boyfriend (who has advanced glaucoma at aged 30 which is a whole other kettle of fish). He intermittently works part time, but if he makes too much money (as in, more than $1000 a month), he loses his PCA, his healthcare, and his apartment. He'd probably need to make $60-70K just to afford the medical care he needs and have a PCA to help clean the house, make food, and bathe him (he's perfectly able to do desk jobs). But with a high school diploma, little work experience, and a very visible disability, that's not possible. So instead, everyone from the government to UCP encourage him to just keep doing what he's doing. He has no other option. So effectively, our system keeps disabled and chronically ill people on welfare because if they were to aspire to do better, they are set up for failure.
I don't know what the solution is. I just know that more of my taxdollars are being "wasted" on people who would love to work, but can't actually afford to work because they would die from lack of medical care. Some of these people can get jobs with insurance, others can't (especially those in service industries). And medical insurance doesn't cover things like a PCA.
Allow people with chronic illness - especially those who develop their chronic illness in young adulthood when most people are starting their careers and education - a method to work their way up and off of Medicaid. Right now, it seems like the only way of doing so is to marry someone with money. As I said, in my $35K a year job, I had a very hard time paying insurance copays - but at least the bulk of it happened in a 6 months span. Imagine if your copays were never going to end, even if you are expected to live a normal lifespan.
Take another close friend. Cerebral palsy and grew up in the foster care system so he has NO family and no real support network, besides me and my boyfriend (who has advanced glaucoma at aged 30 which is a whole other kettle of fish). He intermittently works part time, but if he makes too much money (as in, more than $1000 a month), he loses his PCA, his healthcare, and his apartment. He'd probably need to make $60-70K just to afford the medical care he needs and have a PCA to help clean the house, make food, and bathe him (he's perfectly able to do desk jobs). But with a high school diploma, little work experience, and a very visible disability, that's not possible. So instead, everyone from the government to UCP encourage him to just keep doing what he's doing. He has no other option. So effectively, our system keeps disabled and chronically ill people on welfare because if they were to aspire to do better, they are set up for failure.
I don't know what the solution is. I just know that more of my taxdollars are being "wasted" on people who would love to work, but can't actually afford to work because they would die from lack of medical care. Some of these people can get jobs with insurance, others can't (especially those in service industries). And medical insurance doesn't cover things like a PCA.
I understand.
Unfortunately, the same system is what keeps people on most forms of welfare from advancing, which is why conservatives are so much opposed to our current systems, despite libs accusing us of simply not caring.
I understand.
Unfortunately, the same system is what keeps people on most forms of welfare from advancing, which is why conservatives are so much opposed to our current systems, despite libs accusing us of simply not caring.
I think you need to dig up the real statistics on who is on welfare...Only 19% have used welfare for 5 years or more, an additional 19% are on it temporarily because of an emergency...In fact 91% of the people on welfare are the elderly, the disabled and the working poor, and part of this number are kids who have no control of their situation...
That's it in a nutshell...The I'm ok, screw the rest attitude of so many in the US that I find so selfish and deplorable....News flash for you...Everybody makes many bad decisions over their lifetime, haven't you?
Yes.
But I didn't expect someone else to pay for those mistakes.
Isn't the person capable of purchasing insurance saying "screw the others.....I'll be covered anyway!"?
This is why the right is losing voters. This kind of "solution" is unworkable by the vast number of Americans who are in the same situation. They just cannot fathom why some can't simply go out and "buy insurance". THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT. What is so hard for the righties to understand about that? Our society created this mess so it's up to everyone to fix it and help pay for situations like this.
I "can't afford" health insurance, but I sacrificed other things to be able to.
You can't keep buying what you want and begging for what you need.
Personal responsibility and prioritizing is lost on lefties.
Not all disabilities are fatal, some just make it difficult to hold a job unless assistance is given.
I've worked with 2 blind computer programmers. One legally blind that used a magnifier to see the code and one completely blind that had a text to braille adapter on his terminal. Neither had government assistance that I know of.
Not everyone that has physical issues will get their dream job but that's exactly like the rest of us. I wanted to be an offensive lineman in the NFL but I couldn't even play in college. There are few open spots for a 6 foot, 185 pound lineman that runs a 5.4 second 40 yard dash.
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