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We had insurance when Jim worked with Carlile...then got laid off and we had to decide whether to Cobra or not... needless to say we did not.
When Lizzy got sick again and we had insurance, there was the $300 deductible that had to be met 'right now.' Then the lab visit copay, doctor visit copay, and the meds we had to pay for. We made it through and she is good now thank God. The issue was when I first took her in and the doc realized how serious it was...he told to go and see if we qualified for Denali Care for kids through the state, and regular insurance in his mind may not fit the bill...or cover it as the case may be. Yes something needs to be done for the people in between state care and good insurance.
It saddens me that the little boy in the article as well as Eds mother were denied the care they needed because they didnt have insurance. We dont go through life expecting everyone to pay our way but it really isnt a lot to ask to be treated fairly.
Whilst in Michigan we had great insurance, hardly ever had use for it, since moving here we have no insurance as the truth is that due to the economy blahblahblah we just about make rent , bills and manage to survive each month. I know we could take second jobs if only that was the answer. Since arriving we have both *touch wood* been healthy excepting for my vertigo/sea sickness which cost $145 to see a nurse practicioner and $95 for meds for 4 days. So as much as he wont like this .. count us in with the folks who cant afford to get sick.
Having lived 40 years of my life in the UK i had got used to healthcare being there for everyone. ok so the doctors are overworked and sometimes it can take a while to get an appointment but at least you dont have to worry about if you can afford to even make that appointment. I'm not going to go all anti-USA but my mother has recently been very sick and has had nothing but the best treatment she now has care in her home which is free as are her meds as she has a degenerative illness.
The way Eds mom was treated by Northern Michigan hospital was nothing less than criminal, we took her in after a fall as she couldnt afford an ambulance, she spent nearly an hour sitting in triage waiting to be seen then left in a room so cool a nurse brought her warmed blankets. Ed was asked about her insurance then given a 'disclaimer' whereby he signed to accept that even though she had no insurance she wouldnt be treated any different. She was taken for x-rays which the doctor looked at, he decided it wasnt broken and gave her darvocet ... enough to put a small elephant out (she weighed in at 64lb at this time). The next morning a houseman called to say they had been looking at x-rays and noticed her hip was indeed broken and could we bring her in, no offer of an ambulance nothing... once again she was put in a cool room then taken for an operation. Sadly she never recovered from the trauma. Now i see she was the victim of the system .... very sad.
Beyond the politics there has to be a humanitarian cause .. no one should be denied medical help because they cant pay. Like Ed said .. people need to stop being so selfish and thinking only of the money. Our society has become too much me me me instead of us us us !
Having lived 40 years of my life in the UK i had got used to healthcare being there for everyone. ok so the doctors are overworked and sometimes it can take a while to get an appointment but at least you dont have to worry about if you can afford to even make that appointment.
This happens in America as well. Unless you have a 'Cadillac' plan you don't normally get to see a doctor immediately for non-emergency situations.
Beyond the politics there has to be a humanitarian cause .. no one should be denied medical help because they cant pay. Like Ed said .. people need to stop being so selfish and thinking only of the money. Our society has become too much me me me instead of us us us !
We, as a culture, lie to ourselves. We claim we have the best health care in the world. That is true in the sense that we have the best medical facilities, but it is a play on words because that care is not available to most Americans (even the
ones with insurance, never mind those without). Our "health care" is great, our "health care system" is not.
We do other little lies about it too. Everyone has heard about how Eskimo's used to put their elders out on an icefloe when they were too old to be productive... something that Eskimos never actually did. In fact we could learn a lot from Eskimos and other indigenous cultures about how to care for elders.
A Gwich'in lady named Velma Wallis wrote a book some years back with the title "Two Old Women", which she described openly as a gift from her culture to ours. The story is a traditional parable that explains why elders are important to a culture and must be cared for.
The current move to improve our health care system is a first step to implement what the Gwich'in people had been doing for thousands of years...
Maybe, just maybe, some opinions could change with this.
I have personal experience in regards to how terrible the elderly and low income are treated, my mother. It's a long story, but if you don't have insurance, the doctors treat you like sh**, and send you home with an untreated broken hip.
Why are we one of the only countries that are so called advanced, not have health care provided. It truly is time for the US to get out of the dark ages, grow up, stop being so damn money hungry, and help each other.
It didn't change mine at all. Insurance just jacks up the cost of health care. When people paid out of pocket for health care, it was cheaper for everyone. The reason why health insurance came into being wasn't because health care was too expensive. It was because it was a way for employers to get around the wage freezes imposed by the government during World War 2. We've gone from one horrible set of unintended consequences to another.
You might want to read this article
How American Health Care Killed My Father
FYI, this guy is a Democrat who thinks we need to reduce both the role of insurance and the government in health care. There's hope yet!
Speaking of the "real world", I live in it. How much education you may have means nothing to me, nothing at all. Experience is what counts, and in my experience, the health care system in the US is broken, and has been for a long long time. It needs to be fixed. Is there a perfect solution? Most likely not. But, just about anything is better then what we have now.
Oh, and now it's time for me to head to work, in the Real World.
There's no question that the system is broken. But more government involvement in health care will not make it better. We need to get back to a cash based system, with a smaller role for the government and insurance companies.
Has anyone ever wondered why people are now going to Costa Rica and India for operations and staying in 5 star hotels. Yet, despite the high travel/accommodations costs, they are still paying a fraction of what they'd pay in the US?
Sure part of it is the cheap labor costs in those countries. But a large part of it is also the consumer paying directly out of pocket for his/her health care. It's cheaper that way, reducing the need for insurance and government subsidies.
Yes it was a nice boat CC posted. I also recall Satch posting about it being a nice boat, this after all the hoopla. I'll have to search some. However, I'll be doing it on my "own" time, not the time that notrees or Floyd wants.
It was Captain Crunch who posted the pic of the nice boat he claims to own.
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