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.
Status Quo: What Do Sick People Do Who Have No Health Insurance?
Any stories about the current situation of healthcare in America?
There are plenty of private Charity's that will help people out. The MS society will help those without insurance get in to see their neurologists. And EVERY one of the pharmaceutical companies that produce MS treatments offer financial support that includes free treatment if you have no income. There is help out there, just need to look for it.
Thanks for clarifying...and I apologize for snapping, I spent a sleepless night praying for relief from a migraine.
Back to the issue of the EMTALA law: do you think it should be revised in any way? I personally think it has been a license to abuse the system by many patients, yet many hospitals were definitely neglecting some patients in dire need of emergency care before it became law.
The EMTALA laws is an imperfect solution to an imperfect system. It really is UHC, using a costly method of last resort. Really the intention was to prevent "dumping" of indigent patients.
The intention was good, but as usual it's the federal government management of this program that is a mess - requiring hospitals to retain dual specialists on staff at all times, and have increased the very problem they were trying to fix - hospitals are closing down because they can't afford to stay open, less emergency rooms, more overcrowding. And it's clearly being abused by illegal aliens.
SOme of the solution might be to include some sort of pre-authorization process in EMTALA (which I don't equate to UHC).
The EMTALA laws is an imperfect solution to an imperfect system. It really is UHC, using a costly method of last resort. Really the intention was to prevent "dumping" of indigent patients.
The intention was good, but as usual it's the federal government management of this program that is a mess - requiring hospitals to retain dual specialists on staff at all times, and have increased the very problem they were trying to fix - hospitals are closing down because they can't afford to stay open, less emergency rooms, more overcrowding. And it's clearly being abused by illegal aliens. SOme of the solution might be to include some sort of pre-authorization process in EMTALA (which I don't equate to UHC).
If I'm understanding what you're saying, it may be on the same line as what I was thinking myself. I really wish that the triage process could weed out obvious non-emergencies, "frequent fliers"/drug seekers, and illegal aliens for referral to clinic care. Time spent on cases that are anything but emergencies takes staff and resources away from those who are critical...and can make staff very cynical.
There are plenty of private Charity's that will help people out. The MS society will help those without insurance get in to see their neurologists. And EVERY one of the pharmaceutical companies that produce MS treatments offer financial support that includes free treatment if you have no income. There is help out there, just need to look for it.
Yep. I know in some states Medicaid has a medically need program (for people that don't qualify for assistance) where you can get limited coverage. You have a share of cost and once you meet that it covers everything else. I don't know if the share of cost is for each visit or for the year though but it's an option
Anybody know how to embed an mp3 - this poor gal needs "Cry Me a River". You are the problem, and you don't even see it. Everything in this post is exactly what is wrong with this country. An underlying sense of entitlment oozes from every paragraph.
Many of us old guys did not own a car when we were in college. We spent lots of time on campus - some of us even lived in ***eeek*** a dorm! There were no cell phones. If you are old enough to attend college, you don't need to call mommy everyday. Every campus today has PC labs. Usually free. Free paper, too.
You want to act like an adult - your own apartment, car, internet, phone, cable - but still behave like a child and have somebody else foot the bill. You are the problem.
...when did you graduate? Things have changed so much at most schools. School is not the same. I finished law school in 05 and I can tell you that almost everything that we did was on laptop or some sort of computer program. Westlaw, Lexis, outlines, financial aid etc...all on computer. In addition, a lot of my Profs. posted assignments and updates on line at all times of day and night. It was the student's responsibility to know what was going on.
My dad's experience in school was the same as yours. The difference is that schooling back then was not "online" for the most part. People who say "internet/cable" is an option while you are in college nowadays do not understand how things have changed.
Since education has changed and REQUIRES a student to have unlimited access to the internet, home internet is no longer an option for most students.
The ER services are not free regardless of the patient's condition. If that patient is admitted from ER to the hospital, the costs can be staggering.
Of course, one option (which Republicans may like) is that such patients can be placed in the dumpster to die.
There are plenty of private Charity's that will help people out. The MS society will help those without insurance get in to see their neurologists. And EVERY one of the pharmaceutical companies that produce MS treatments offer financial support that includes free treatment if you have no income. There is help out there, just need to look for it.
How about a patient with little money and no insurance needing heart surgery?
Again, this is why the Healthcare bill is so good; everyone must carry health insurance or be fined 2% of their income! I bet jcarlilesiu even likes this idea!
Don't make assumption about my position.
If it were me, I would say that a lack of planning on peoples parts to guarantee their own sustainability does not equal a requirement on my side (nor the side of all tax payers) to guarantee that these people get taken care of.
People want to spout off that healthcare should be an unalienable right. A guarantee. I disagree. Everything costs money. Everybody has to put effort into our society to guarantee that those that contribute have the ability to obtain the things that they need to sustain themselves. If people make poor choices, deciede they don't want to contribute, or find out that they are not providing services to the society valuable enough to sustain their own life, how does that become my problem or the problem of society as a whole?
The bleeding hearts want to based their opinions in regard to healthcare on an emotional level than one based on principle. They want to give the government the authority to take money from some people and give to others who have not been able, by their own doing, to sustain themselves.
We have encouraged the populace of our society to continue to forget the fact that you must give in order to recieve, that the efforts of others to provide a service does not guarantee that everybody has a right to recieve said service.
This downward spiral will eventually lead to a disproportionate amount of the populace reaping the rewards of an educated society on the backs of those educated to perform necessary services until the end result is a breaking point.
We have steamed down this road for several decades. Its time that we get back to the principles which the country was founded on. You have a right to the freedom and protection from the government to sustain yourself, you are not guaranteed sustainability by the government.
Last edited by jcarlilesiu; 08-13-2009 at 11:43 AM..
How about a patient with little money and no insurance needing heart surgery?
They have to dig for the resources. There are grants and other state funded programs and a lot of charities (in my experience most of them are Catholic) that will help people with things like this. It's just time consuming and sometimes frustrating because you feel like you're going in circles and not getting anywhere but if you just keep going; help is available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcarlilesiu
Don't make assumption about my position.
Wow I must have read that wrong....I'm sure that you are not telling anyone else not to make assumptions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertGibbs
No, no, no....How do you know that's what they meant. How do you know, they weren't describing the young adults by saying "people who chose not to have insurance". You don't know that. Basically, they do say the same thing. This is the problem with you liberals, you read way too far into things and can't help yourselves from twisting the real meaning. It's a defect you all share. Absolutely pathetic and embarrasing.
That's what commas are for. "Young people, people who choose not to have insurance and illegal immigrants" implies there are 3 groups. Similar to oranges, apples and bananas.
It's absolutely pathetic and embarassing that people aren't literate but are able to vote.
Last edited by nat_at772; 08-13-2009 at 10:56 AM..
They have to dig for the resources. There are grants and other state funded programs and a lot of charities (in my experience most of them are Catholic) that will help people with things like this. It's just time consuming and sometimes frustrating because you feel like you're going in circles and not getting anywhere but if you just keep going; help is available.
Wow I must have read that wrong....I'm sure that you are not telling anyone else not to make assumptions?
Help is available, but it is not limitless. And many health issues have a time component. Conditions are progressive, so that the help you find today might have been adequate three months ago, but you have to keep on looking for more resources. That's not always possible, for many there comes a point where their health condition is so pressing that the search for help becomes prohibitive.
And frankly, there are cases where help simply isn't available, and you think you are going in circles because you are. My friend who tried to commit suicide had spent years trying to get assistance for his mental health problems. Take a look at what kind of mental health assistance is available in Arkansas. How many hospitals have wards for the mentally ill? Hardly any. Public clinics that have mental health professionals. Hardly any. Public funding to help the mentally ill indigent? Hardly any. And what resources that are available are quickly consumed and are concentrated in Little Rock.
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.
