And speaking of death squads...

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

My ex-husband is 60 years old and ran a very successful business for twenty years. 2 years ago, the business went bankrupt. He has not been able to find a job ever since. 2 weeks ago, he woke up having trouble breathing and went to the e.r. He is broke and has no insurance. He was accepted as a charity case and put in intensive care. He was diagnosed with non-hodgkin's lymphoma and a tumor was blocking something or other causing his lungs to fill with fluid.

He went home two days ago. He has drains on both lungs and a catheter. He has no home-care or help.

He is not being given chemo for a very treatable cancer, because he does not have insurance. He was told if it gets worse, they will give him chemo, but that any oncologist bills would have to have someone sign for financial responsibility.

So, the argument that the poor CAN ALREADY get treatment isn't exactly true, is it?

My kids and his sister are desperately making calls and trying to find help. My daughter has gotten FMLA so that she can help with his home-care. He cannot even stand up without help.

[99Forever]

1. It's an awful situation...

.. you are in, it should shame this Nation that we can treat our own people this way, all so the rich never have to pay their fair share and we can pour money into unethical and unnecessary wars to further enrich the sociopaths.

Does your state offer a medical assistance program?

[1-Old-Man]

2. And I have dam near the opposite tale to tell

Last fall I had an operation at the Cleveland Clinic to remove a tumor. I was hospitalized for a bit over a week. The day after the operation I got a new room-mate, a fellow in his late 50's who was in very bad shape. As I was to find out the fellow was, and had been, unemployed from his warehouse job, where he was a forklift operator, he had been unemployed from this job for two years. He had no insurance, in fact he didn't have insurance when he was working. He was divorced and his children (who didn't have a pot to piss in either) live in far flung places and would be of no help. Tests showed that the fellow had cancer that required the immediate removal of one of his kidneys. Apparently the only thing he had peed in days was blood, that's what got him to go to the emergency room in the first place. Now the first hospital he went to, which I believe was in Lorain if I remember correctly, wouldn't treat him because he had no insurance, so they put him in an ambulance to go to Cleveland. Within a few hours of him being put in the room he was visited by someone from the hospital who's job it was to take care of the money matters. The guy answered all of the questions he asked and from the answers it was clear he was destitute but the lady kept reassuring him that no matter what happened they were going to take care of him. She then went down a list of social agencies that she was going to apply to for help for him, which she successfully did. ... side note, I was at that hospital because I had been advised by three different doctors that a specific surgeon there was probably the best in the world for the sort of thing I had, which was very similar to what my room-mate had ... A couple of hours later the fellow was visited by the surgeon who would remove his tumor (and kidney) the next day - it was my guy. They did the operation and for days later the fellow and I recuperated together. Recuperated; that means he was alive, he had been given the care he needed to live even though. The man didn't have a dime, hadn't worked in years and probably would never hold another job in his life, and was dieing.

So from what I've seen it is possible for the indigent to get care, and in fact get world-class care. It just takes someone who knows the ropes trying in their behalf.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

3. This is kind of what my daughter has discovered

He went to the wrong e.r. The one closest to his house. My daughter has found another hospital 25 miles away that might treat him. But when one can barely breathe, you go to the closest one.

[Fumesucker]

4. So really we don't need health care reform..

Everything is fine and everyone gets the care they need in the end..

Right?

[area51]

5. +1

The GingrichCare that we got isn't going to solve this country's health care disaster.

Republican '93 plan:

[font face="courier"]"Subtitle F: Universal Coverage - Requires each citizen or lawful permanent resident to be covered under a qualified health plan or equivalent health care program by January 1, 2005."[/font]

The good thing of children 26 and under being able to stay on their parents' insurance plan could have been enacted without mandating that we buy a defective product sold by serial-killer for-profit insurance agencies.

Time for the U.S. to try to get civilized; time for single-payer health care.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

6. Indeed, it's abysmal

Too bad, so sad, I understand you're dying, but you need to jump through the right hoops and be really really lucky. When you can't breathe, you still have to make the absolute right choice, not the logical one.