Rage and Sadness made me do it...

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/14/766711/-Rage-and-Sadness-made-me-do-it...

Yeah, why reform the best health care in the world?:sarcasm:

and wonderful diarist.

I had a severe ankle break on inauguration day (fell walking the dogs). I'm insured with BC/BS, but have a $5,000 deductible and had to cash in my meager retirement plans to cover it. When all was said and done, after paying my co-pays for the surgery, physical therapy, etc., it cost me another $5,000. I'm 61 and single - my premiums are now $554 a month ($6,648/year). I am one of the lucky few whose employer pays my premiums. If something comes up next year, I certainly won't have the $5,000 to pay the deductible. I have no idea what people without insurance do, or even people who have insurance, like the couple in the diary. I cannot imagine why so many are against health care reform and particularly the public option. Crazy crazy crazy.

And this is what I don't understand. We have a distrust of insurance companies when it comes to our car & house policies. Why do so many suddenly trust them with their health policies?

While I think that some of the protesters are genuinely protesting health care reform, I think a good number of them are using the health care debate to conceal their racism.

$10,000 for a broken ankle, after paying +$500 per month? No matter how severe it was, that's insane!

Standard plan and accidents are covered at 100%. Employee pays part of the premium (my family plan runs about $125 every 2 weeks) with gov't paying the rest ($350/2wks for family coverage).

That's why Obama kept talking about making it possible for folks to get the same coverage Congress and federal employees, it's a good deal and managed/monitored well by gov't workers.

I have BC/BS as an individual and they just increased my premium 36%. All I take is one prescription and have nothing else for 6 years. My premiums have more than doubled over 6 years.

different doctors/labs to get a diagnosis.

I was lucky that this was spread out over two months and, because of an unexpected windfall, I had the money to pay them.

But even as I was writing my checks, I knew that if the lump was cancerous, I had two choices. One was to bankrupt my family in hopes of a cure. The other was to die.

Fortunately, the lump is a benign cyst.

But even so, my doctor wants me to shell out $350 more in October to do another biopsy on the lump. And I will have a difficult time paying for that. If the cyst has changed, I face the same choices.

I guess we pray to whatever power there is...

Most states have a Medicaid plan that will cover surgery, treatment, Rx, etc. for women who are diagnosed with breast or uterine cancer. I know, because I was one of those who got the dreaded news in July 2007 that I had breast cancer. I started crying right then and there. I wasn't crying because I was afraid, I was crying because I knew I couldn't afford to get the treatment I needed to beat this thing.

Long story, short. Daughter who works for a family practice called me and said to get myself to the Health Department and sign up for the program. I had to show my social security card and sign a statement I did not have health insurance. I was issued a card immediately and I had a surgery the following Monday with chemo following for months after. I am now free and clear (well, as clear as anyone can every feel after a cancer diagnosis) and doing well (well, except for being laid off from my job in March after a year of unemployment with the cancer gig another story). I lost the Medicaid coverage immediately after finishing all treatment so I'm back to being uninsured but I did have coverage when I really needed. It paid all the bills. I now have to have blood tests every three months and take one itsy, bitsy tiny pill once a day (2.5 mg) that costs $423.00 a month for the next 10 years. Since that is considered maintenance care and not treatment it is not covered. But the hospital and Rx company have programs and I have qualified for reduced fees for the blood tests and free Rx as long as I am unemployed. It isn't an ideal situation but that is where I am today. Looking for a job with health insurance because I can't afford the Rx, the blood tests, etc. if I go back to work without insurance. Nice system we have here.

Now my oncologist is another matter. I am suppose to see her every three months. But due to my current unemployed state do not have the money for an office visit. She personally told me not to make any more appointments to see her until I get her $150.00 bill paid. Ah, health care in America...

If it turns out that I do have to have surgery eventually before I'm able to get insurance again, I will check out the health department.

Thanks.

On edit: I'm glad you got the help you needed in a timely manner. Stay healthy.

thanks for posting that. Have you ever considered taking Resveratrol as a supplement too? Some studies
show that it may be beneficial for cancer patients in that it inhibits cancer cells. It also may have
heart and anti-aging benefits.

are not pleasant. It completely strips all estrogen from your body. Eternal menopause, hot flashes, muscle aches and pains, thinning of hair and aging are not pleasant but necessary. 10 years of menopause is not for the faint of heart. Of course, the alternative is even more unpleasant.

Thanks for the info on Resveratrol - I'll check it out. My cancer was hormone based so I'll have to check to see if it would be counterintuitive to my treatment plan.

we are just products to them.

Everyone's used to co-pays and long waits and not being able to get into a new doctor's office for months and months and expensive drugs, etc. They're so used to it that they can't think of any other way.

If they have never had a serious illness or injury, then they have no clue what they are in for if we don't get reform.

During my years of chronic pain (appendicitis that was only finally found on an exploratory surgery--oh, and the kidney tumor, too), I was often amazed at how incapable of empathy so many people were. They just didn't understand pain, having never really had it themselves. These days, I can always spot someone in pain and make sure to ask after them and offer help or at least a sympathetic ear (usually, everyone in your life gets tired of you talking about the pain, and sometimes, you really need to gritch about it).

I think you're right: they've always been fairly healthy, think their coverage is great, and don't really have a clue what it's like to have a chronic illness or a catastrophic trauma or whatever.

the couple would have been ushered in, treated with respect and with the greatest attention by the doctor, and that would have been it. Our idea is to help people, not make money. We have hundreds of patients who rely on us for health care because they believe in our form of treatment and because we don't have a policy like that. Those on self-pay are asked to pay a little each month, and we even have a Laboratory Assistance Grant fund to pay for lab tests that folks would otherwise be unable to afford.

I know about bottom lines--I'm the office manager for the clinic. It can get tight financially for us--our MD hasn't taken a paycheck in years, and works at another MD's office two days a week to pay her bills. But what is more important--living in wealth or helping people?

that "incentive," some will become predators. then, more will have to incorporate predatory behavior in order to compete. soon, all of society is preying on itself.

that's the Truth of the free market, and it has no place in health care.

thank you for sharing what your office is like -- it gives me hope. i've been wicked sick in the last few years, and ran into precious few humane doctor's offices. i finally found a wonderful, humane doc who is nearly an hours drive from where i live, and i drive it happily to see her.

just wanted to give you a :hug: for all that you do.

:hug:

:hug: :hug: :hug:

Best health care in the world, if you can afford it. :mad: The rest of us can just DIE :grr: Thin out the herd. :nuke:

The system is beyond broken

what they said was an unpaid bill. It was for some lab test I believe that our insurance company would not cover. I had called the insurance company to try to fight them on the charge, finally gave up and just paid the bill. For some reason the doctor's office had failed to apply the payment to the bill. The clerk checked it out, said she found the payment, and that there was no problem.

Two days later, when I showed up at the pediatrician's office for an appointment, I was told I had an outstanding bill and had to pay it before my child (who was ill) could be seen. This in front of a waiting room full of people. I was furious. Fortunately, I remembered the name of the person from the main billing office I had spoken to and the receptionist called her and cleared up the problem. I made sure my remarks were loud enough to be heard by people in the waiting room when I said I was angry that my child may have been denied medical care due to the combined greed of the insurance company and the mistakes by the doctor's billing office.

The whole system is so messed up. You have insurance, they nickel and dime you on every test, every procedure, evey drug your doctor recommends, and then crap like this can still happen to you. You don't have insurance, and you don't even get a foot in the door. It's just so wrong.

by cruelty (or a cruel system) is a good thing!

There had been an issue with my insurance covering some procedure or other and I'd had to call to straighten it out. Then I'd called the doctor's office and asked them to re-submit. Apparently the insurance paid all but $10 but I did not know that until I received a nasty form letter demanding immediate payment.

This would have been irritating enough but this was the same office that had lost an order issued by my doctor for a CAT scan. I'd had a routine MRI done in association with my migraines. I had not received any follow up reports and assumed the MRI had been clear, since my doctor expected it to be and had told me she was just doing it as a precaution.

EIGHT MONTHS LATER, I called to ask about something and upon looking in my file, the nurse found an order for a CAT scan, dated 8 months previous and the notation "possible 1mm aneurysm on cerebral artery" on it! The office had somehow "lost" the order and if I had actually had an aneurysm, it could have killed me (a subsequent CAT scan revealed that I did not and yes, I've switched doctors).

Their excuse? "This is a very busy office." :nuke:


And actually, the order was probably lost because they spend so much time on insurance claims. Which doesn't excuse it but does point out how absurd it is to call this the best system there is.

Great story with a happy ending, and an inspiration to us all. :kick:

I'd like to think I would have done the same, but never have been put to the test quite like you were. And you stepped up and passed that test of living your progressive ideals with flying colors. You have my complete admiration. Have a good rest of the weekend, you've sure as heck earned it.

I haven't encountered that yet and wonder if that's normal.

except for the ER. Then they get you on the way out.

The only person who doesn't is my dentist, mostly because he never knows exactly how much the insurance will cover. He bills the insurance and then when they pay, he bills me for the difference.

Stop by the desk and pay when done. Haven't been to the ER so don't know about that.

We're not rich right now. $40 would be tough for us. At the same time, I can't sit by and watch this stuff anymore, either.

I hope that if I am in the same position, I have the funds to pay that co-pay for someone who can't. In the meantime, every damn one of these stories should be sent on to those in government who believe that the insurance companies are EVER going to do the right thing. They won't. As long as there is profit involved, they will be doing whatever necessary to maximize theirs.

:mad:

... did a wonderful thing. My hat is off to you. One can only hope that karma is real, and that something equally splendid can happen for you. I realize you don't/didn't want to be repaid. I just am hoping something extra-special can come your way for your generosity.

I'm 55, have been unemployed since 2006. My wife died just over a year ago. To say finances are tight is an understatement. Still, if I find myself in a situation such as yours, I also hope I can act as you did, and help someone else.

The loss of your wife when you are so young is just awful. I hope you can find work and that things ease up for you soon. :hug:

Thank you very, very much for your kind thoughts.

My wife was (I still have a real difficult time using the past tense when referring to her) indeed quite young. She was still in her 40s. I, however, haven't felt particularly young since, well, ever since then. I feel really old and awfully tired.

Nonetheless—thank you again.

:hug:

I especially like how you made your point loudly enough to be heard, but you were not belligerent or profane. :thumbsup:

**

it is from the above link at dailykos.

:loveya:

I started thinking about my in laws with this thread. Hubby's parents are gone now, both passed in the last 8 years. They both had health issues, MIL had severe Reynauds which prompted the removal of her right leg just below the knee when she was in her late 70s. She died in '06 of esophogeal cancer. FIL died in 01 of pancreatic cancer.

But it's my SIL I have been thinking of most. She is cared for now by a nice woman who is paid to do so. By a federal govt. funded program. She is happy and lives a nice quiet life that she seems to enjoy very much. Her health concerns started when she was a baby with hydrocephalus. She had a then brand new technology available that saved her life, a shunt system that drains the excess fluid. In her teens she had a brain tumor, then a brain cyst and finally at 18 an adult sized shunt. She has been on anti seizure meds her whole life. My in laws had health insurance, SIL has SSI disablity insurance and she has what she needs. Without all that she wouldn't have lived to be an adult. And I am pretty sure that lots of people like her and them are dying in this country every year because they don't have health insurance. It's criminally wrong. It's sinful. And the debate has gone on long enough.

you get the award today. I have been helped and I have helped; this is what we must do.

time for the tax monster to bite. because we should do better. fuck co-pays. fuck for profit health care. NO MORE. we need to revolt.

large medical conglomerate, "fired" me over a month ago for not being able to afford the co-pay. The greedy bastards don't want 90-95%, they want it ALL, or else!

My brother, a specialist in occupational medicine, was "fired" from a group practice because he didn't refer enough people for surgery--he found that they had pain that could be cured through physical therapy, better posture, adjustments in their workplace, etc. So he got fired for cutting costs without harming the patients. He was fired from another group practice because he refused to schedule as many patients per day as the group wanted. He's now in private practice and has figured out how many patients per day he needs to break even and make a little profit, and it's a lot less than one every 15 minutes.

Kudos to him for giving a rat's arse about the patients!

And good luck to him in his private practice.

thanks to great word-of-mouth referrals.

thank you for posting this.

Thank you Lutznancy for your kindness, courage, and compassion.


:grouphug:

and accepted in-kind payment (say a chicken or something the patient's garden or maybe a side of beef depending on the value of his services. But that was back when people knew each other and things were personal. Now, and in part thanks to institutions like health insurance companies and huge banks, nobody knows anybody else and persons are treated like things. It's all very impersonal.

We need single payer. My experience in countries with single payer was that my relationship with my doctor was between me and my doctor. It was personal. The doctor was paid, but that was neither my nor his or her concern when it came to my health. I was treated like a person not like an insurance company customer.

by her generosity and righteous indignation.

:) :thumbsup: :loveya: :headbang: :yourock: :patriot:

that her doctors told her she only had four to five years to live. She needs a heart transplant, but her insurance won't cover it. She doesn't know why her insurance won't pay for it. She's not at any particular risk; her doctors only told her the standard warnings about potential brain damage. She's only nineteen years old. I've never really understood that. What's the point of having health insurance if you can't medical care?

because we have been there

How does one feel if one cannot provide to ease the pain of a loved one?

if I need to pay a co-pay but forgot my checkbook, they just send a bill. They wouldn't tell me to miss a scheduled appointment and come back on anothr day.

I think some practices are simply more humane than others.

Our city is a relatively small college town (~100,000 people in town). I wonder whether maybe doctors are more flexible in cities that are relatively small.

this country. We're number One!

If you have some extra money and you want to do something similar, all you have to do is hang around the counter of the pharmacy and watch for an older person that isn't well dressed. He or she will ask the pharmacist how much they will have to pay out of pocket for "these prescriptions," and they turn and walk away.

I shit you not, I run errands for old folks and I see this all the time. Folks that can't afford to buy medicines to keep them alive, or think they can get away with taking half the medicine because, otherwise, they'll have no money to pay the electricity bill.

Thanks for posting this....I hope that couple finds a more sympathetic doctor's office. The mouthy, rude seniors at these town halls may not realize that many of their age peers are in great, great need. Look at any volunteer websites in cities and rural areas and you see cries for "drivers needed for senior medical appointments, errands," "make a weekly call by phone or in person to a senior," etc., etc.

:applause: K&R

I have been on Medi-CAL for my entire adult life. My children have been born at the hospital, and we have all been seen through the county clinic here... so it 'sounds' like I have been taken care of, right?

God forbid that I have a chronic auto-immune issue, and have been crippled by it emotionally and physically for the past year or more...slowly losing my functions, but not enough to qualify for any other assistance. I went to therapy at the county healh clinic to follow up on the anti-depressants given to me by the clinic...and the therapist was only able to see me three times before the funding was cut and since I was one of her most functional patients - I was told to just come to the "group session" once a week. My clinic doctor prescribed a very toxic immune suppressant and I've been on it for 6 months and can't get a follow up appt. ya, it's working for now...the side effects are somewhat mild, but shouldn't they be checking my blood and liver levels from time to time? whenever I call to see if I can get in, they don't have her schedule for the next week OR she's booked...and I am "on the list" of people to call ...blahblahblah

My daughter has a birth defect, and though her tests have been covered (thank god, 2 MRI's in 2 years and countles trips to a hospital 300 miles away for quarterly bloodtests, hotel, lost work, etc), she has a condition that will be with her for life - she may need really important treatments later too...and our coverage depends on everyone elses' decisions at this point.


My employer once offered me the package, (when i had a job as a receptionist for an electrical contractor) - I know the premuims for just one of us was $280/mo, and that the whole family being on it was almost half my take home pay. I had also got a 50 cent raise at the time to $12.50 an hour...and the result was that I fell off of foodstamps, my section 8 re-calculated my rent and my childcare assistance dropped - all for 50 cents more an hour! ...and I was supposed to buy medical insurance too?
funny enough, a month after I had to drop the coverage because of the cost and income issues - my daughter's condition was diagnosed. I ended up quitting the job because they got nasty about a doctor's office calling me back to make an appt (didn't give me messages from other doctors, too) and then told me I couldn't make an appointment without checking with them first (when it was a endocrinologist's office at Children's hospital ...)are you fucking kidding me? now that I think about the owner's politics and the fact that they might have had to help insure me with a daughter and a health issue - maybe now I know why they forced me to go...

I want to scream about healthcare, but the problem is that I have no idea what insurance is like, i just go with the flow and deal with the frustrations of a clinic that is overburdened and inaequate, allopathic doctors who refuse to consider alternatives because it's too much paperwork with mediCAL, and having to take my own health (and my kids) into my own hands 90% of the time..

Isn't it interesting that i have been reading medical books all my life and was hoping to go pre-med before life & kids and poverty happened and it all turned a different direction. Thank god it is still a 'hobby' of sorts, I have learned local plant lore and how to make salves and oils, and try to keep us in a good place with our diet and such. the old ounce of prevention route - because even when you have strep throat, the clinic is very stingy with antibiotocs...so you are on your own.

Then I think about people like the older couple mentioned above - and others who may have no idea what or how the body works, much less the procedures - especially how to ASK for what they need...they just take the dr's word and walk away, shaking their heads... what about those folks who have no advocate? It's a crying shame, fucking crying shame that we are so blinded by so much to think that health care is about anything else.

I sincerely hope & pray that this issue will have a victory... for us all

yes INDEED

I don't think i've ever heard of a doctors office asking for a co-pay up front! Unless one was owed from a previous appointment!

Way to turn it around, Grits. :thumbsup:

But I hope I would do the same thing.

Around December I saw a man turned away at a pharmacy because he couldn't afford the diabetic supplies necessary to monitor his glucose levels. So I bought them for him.

I was furious. Not because I paid for them, but because this shouldn't be happening in our country. There is no excuse. NONE.

Is it not unbelievably convenient that a health care reform activist just happened to be involved in this? Patting her hand and whispering sweet nothings... C'mon now.

Just because a piece is written that contains all the things you want to hear, doesn't mean you should just play the part of the fool and swallow it wholesale.

Yes, a story like this could happen here. But do you really think it happened to her? In this way?

:hi:

I kinda thought the same thing. At least you have the cajones to say it.

Any evidence to the contrary? Poster known for making things up?

I imagine just because a piece is written that contains all the things we agree with doesn't necessarily means it's fiction.

"But do you really think it happened to her? In this way?"
Yes. Why not? Yes. Why not?




Hand me evidence to the contrary of the OP, and I'll reconsider.

ed: sp

Fools believe whatever is put in front of them as long as it's what they want to hear.

I don't know the honesty history of the dkos diary poster, only that she is a steadfast activist. The odds of this happening to her are probably one in a million. And the gentle hand patting and sweet whisperings? Total workings of a fairytale. Creative writing for sure. Real life event? Highly unlikely.

Hey, believe what you want to believe. But logic and common sense are most definitely on the side of intelligent skeptics here. You're the one that would have some provin to do. This ain't no 50-50. The odds are highly in my favor. You want to turn the odds a bit more in your favor? You're gonna have to do better than "well some strange woman I don't know who's a steadfast health care reform activist said this happened to her so it's just gotta be true!" LOL

Logic, or simply trendy cynicism?

Without any evidence at all, I'll go with the latter...

:sarcasm:


I have news for my republican friends

we ARE our brothers keeper if we want to keep our humanity:cry:

have to deal with co-payments even after the reforms?