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I recently had a heart attack at the ripe old age of 38 while I was unemployed / trying to start my own business. We now have a bill close to $50k hanging over us along with the mortgage, two car loans and all the other life expenses such as our $200.00 to $300.00 per week grocery bill... The $800.00 per month payment plan the hospital offered is not in the budget, if we had that much disposable income we probably would have had health insurance...
$200 to $300 per week? How many kids you got, 35?
With prudent shopping a family of four should be able to get comfortably by on $100/weeks tops. No snacks, no prepared foods and no eating out.
$150/week savings (you said between $200 to $300 per week) can go to the hospital paying them off at $650/month. In 77 months, less than six and a half years, you will have them paid off.
It's your bill so you pay it off... what a novel idea!
I'll try and summarize here for some of the haters; 1) Maybe I thought I was a little bit bulletproof, got me on that one.
2) We have been attempting to downsize everywhere possible since the gambling junkies on Wall Street destroyed our economy (bought a smaller house, lost 20k on the house we sold etc.) but I have no intentions of moving my kids into the ghetto. 3) We are feeding two teenage boys and try to eat more on the healthy side rather than the hormone packed crap from Wal-Mart but when a gallon of milk cost more than gas what do you do? Maybe we should be growing a garden... 4) One of the car payments was incurred when we bought a $6,500.00 truck for the business, that one will be paid off soon enough and my son will be using it for his work. 5) Sorry, this was not a fake post it was very real (keep drinking that red kool-aid). The 50k number represents the bills we have seen thus far, still not sure if that includes the doctor's bill but I am getting that sorted out - requesting an itemized bill). Oh, and I'm not a liberal, actually a recovering republican / staunch independent who realized that it doesn't matter what side of the aisle they sit on none of them are interested in doing a damn thing for the working class American...
Ya know what? You represent a very large segmant of your popualtion and one which should not be on here bashing you in any way. So many of them are just one paycheque from disaster.
The American dream in many cases is founded upon borrowed money from the mortgages to the car payments.
The fiscal restraint necessary to live one's life in a responsible manner is being taught to you by who? Your government? Whoa nelly!
You are in no way at fault for believing yourself immune to some degree from life's negative happenstances for that very ethic is the very foundation of the so-called "American Dream".
Soldier on and hopefully this will one day soon be behind you.
And people still have the gall to say our health care is the best ever hope you get better soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbohm
our health care system IS the best in the world. our health insurance system is what is broken. there is a huge difference.
No! We need more affordable health care. Why should treatment for a heart attack cost $50K? Or perhaps the government should step in and offer low interest loans to people like the OP. His family should be allowed to pay off the loan over 10 years.
I feel that people need to be able to take care of their own health care bills and not expect others (non-family members) to help pay for their health care. Think about it, most heart attacks are a result of being overweight/bad eating habits/bad lifestyle, so why should others have to pay for someone else's bad choices? So the cost of treatment needs to be pared down greatly, and to have more payment options for their families. And also, people need to get back into the habit of putting money away towards a rainy day fund. It seems to me that the more money people make, the more they spend it on more expensive things.
And these days, most new cars cost $25k or more.... and people don't seem to mind wasting their money on new car purchases and leases.
I recently had a heart attack at the ripe old age of 38 while I was unemployed / trying to start my own business. We now have a bill close to $50k hanging over us
I have to wonder, does it really cost that much for a stint and a few days in the hospital?
We are also the only nation that allows people to file bankruptcy for medical bills and it looks like that will have to be our solution..
working class families like mine still cannot afford health care and health insurance CEO's continue to rake in $23mil per year.
I hope you are feeling better
First things first - you need to change your lifestyle and Relax.
I'd really like to see your hospital bill myself. One of the things wrong with a multiple for profit payer health
care system is that it does nothing to contain costs. If you lived in a non profit single payer Medicare for
all health care system, your hospital bill would never be that high for treatment of a heart attack.
With that said, we still do have laws in this country to protect the financially burdened *unless you have
student loans
One is to file bankruptcy like you said, in a court of law.
The second is negotiation. Tell the hospital I can pay so much amount of money, or I pay nothing.
My advice is for you to play hard ball, but since you had a "heart attack" I don't know if I would want
you to work yourself all up. Maybe ask someone else to do it
Lastly, they can not "harass you". If they do, I'd simply say - see you in court and put them on ignore...
It really is a shame that so many folks do not understand, that out of control health care costs are NOT
a reflection on the folks who get sick, but on a society/nation that thinks unsustainable costs are....
well - good for a country or it's citizens.
Before everyone jumps in to pay tribute to AHA - IT DOES NOTHING FOR COST CONTAINMENT.
It's your bill so you pay it off... what a novel idea!
Maybe his strawberries cost $25 dollars a pound - would certainly have company with the overcharging
hospital, don't you think....
There is nothing novel about price gouging.
*If he had 35 children, he'd definitely qualify for Medicaid, and he'd have to pay nothing -
is that the personal responsibility, DEMS are talking about
Or perhaps the government should step in and offer low interest loans to people like the OP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miu
I feel that people need to be able to take care of their own health care bills and not expect others (non-family members) to help pay for their health care.
These two statements directly conflict with one another..
Why should treatment for a heart attack cost $50K?
You're kidding I hope. We take for granted incredible advances in medical technology. This is stuff that took many 6 figure scientists years to develop, at a cost of tens of millions in R&D. Contrary to left wing popular belief, Santa did not cover the tab. Users of the services do, as they should.
Be grateful OP. 44 years ago, my father died at age 48 from what would be viewed today as a typical, not massive heart attack. Back than, hospitals could do little more than provide pain relief. If it happened now, he'd have been up and about in days. And he would happily have spent years of his life paying his hospital bill, realizing he was lucky to be alive to read the bill.
Apparently you were not going along with the Republican health care plan for the middle class, which is either don't get sick or die quickly . I am glad you did not go along with the plan.
In a 2009 poll 83% of Americans were either somewhat or completely happy with their healthcare. Paying attention to what that 83% wants is the Republican healthcare plan. The Democrat's healthcare plan is to make the other 17% happy at the 83%'s expense.
You're kidding I hope. We take for granted incredible advances in medical technology. This is stuff that took many 6 figure scientists years to develop, at a cost of tens of millions in R&D. Contrary to left wing popular belief, Santa did not cover the tab. Users of the services do, as they should.
Be grateful OP. 44 years ago, my father died at age 48 from what would be viewed today as a typical, not massive heart attack. Back than, hospitals could do little more than provide pain relief. If it happened now, he'd have been up and about in days. And he would happily have spent years of his life paying his hospital bill, realizing he was lucky to be alive to read the bill.
The fact that we have incredible advances in medical technology, is all the more reason to have
a single payer health care payment system with a Medicare for All tax on each and every citizen
for a national health care system.
Whether your father would have been "happy" paying off a hospital bill for the "rest of his life"
really would be a comment on our society, than his gratefulness IMO.
Cost containment is imperative to a healthy health care system So is equitable responsibility.
Medicare for all with a tax for all, and a non profit single payer does both.
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hope you get better soon.
