Oh what difference one serious illness makes.

[KentuckyWoman]

An in law on my husband's side, a real blowhard who thinks he earned everything he has with no help from anyone, the police aren't harder on brown people, and homeless people all choose to sleep outside in 5 degree weather. Jesus is an NRA member, loves only white Republican men, and would nuke the whole middle east.

He don't need no gubmint help. Until his wife got cancer and their individual policy healthcare rates nearly doubled. Suddenly, there ought to be a law.....

Now he's hopping on the Medicare for All bandwagon with the idea we should all share the burden of his wife's medical care costs after 50 years of why should he have to help pay for medical care of poor people...

Funny how fast a person changes their mind when the sewer backs up into their house.....

[Paula Sims]

1. And sometimes it's one drunk driver, texter away

I know many younger people that feel they are healthy and don't need insurance. Then one day one of them got hit by a drunk driver. Over a year in rehab.

[Kittycow]

26. Or one mass shooting at a concert :(

[olegramps]

44. The problem is that these jerks take us down with them.

My brother who has worked his entire life, he is 82, He has lung cancer. No, he doesn't smoke. Maybe it was fertilizer. He has always been a Democrat and has worked with me campaigns. The drug that can possibly help him cost $16,000 per month and this does not include his co-pay of $2000 a month for treatment plus additional charges for diagnostic work ups. If he lived in Canada this would be totally taken care of by their health system. Here you are facing a choice of bankruptcy or death. Hell of a choice. Forgive me God, but I hate Republicans. I can't say what I wish for these nincompoops in my worse moments that comes to my mind.

[Kajun Gal]

2. It's sad but true. We never know when something major is gonna happen.

[AJT]

3. Have you confronted him on this "change of heart"?

[badhair77]

4. Karma appears again. Is he willing to vote his newfound conviction?

[BobTheSubgenius]

10. I VERY much doubt it, based on experience with the type.

"It's different" in t heir case.

[knightmaar]

15. The last thing you'd want, of course, is for any help going to the undeserving.

I definitely deserve it.

But those "thugs" and lazy people don't.

[lunatica]

19. You took the words out of my mouth

Children have that mentality, which every parent and elementary teacher and child psychologist knows. But at some point most people become empathetic enough to get over it. The ones that don’t are developmentally arrested in early childhood. Trump is the perfect example of an emotionally stunted five year old. He doesn’t think. He emotes.

[kag]

38. Like anti-abortion zealots who run to Planned Parenthood when their

sixteen-year-old daughter gets pregnant. "Oh but this is different. We're not really 'like' this. It's a one-off."

These are the people for whom I save my greatest contempt.

[CTyankee]

47. I worked for PP of CT and believe you me, some of those protesters were picketing our clinic with

signs one day and in our office for their abortions on another when they discovered they had an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy. Their answer as to why? A shrug and "My case is different."

It drove our staff crazy. Those effin hypocrites. We just hope they learned from PP's excellent, caring staff that PP is a wonderful organizations that helps women in "bad" situations.

[BobTheSubgenius]

50. "Hypocrisy" is the only word for it.

Or at least, the one that comes the closest to covering all the bases. There are other words one could use, but they are just modifiers.

I hate hypocrisy more than almost anything. Certainly more than, say, straight-up thievery. At least a thief is clear about his motives and objectives.

[Hoyt]

5. 40+years ago worked for a state Medicaid agency, white wingers complained about

those irresponsible moochers and lazy people. But they darn sure expected help when they or a family member became sick.

[Wellstone ruled]

6. Oh how I can relate.

Use to Volunteer at a Social Service Group in the twin cities. Yupper,those thightee Whitiees were the loudest bitchers in the world. Especially when the shit storm hit their house or family. I want mine right now!

[erronis]

33. Sounds like if Archie needed some gummint healthcare, "it's different"

This makes me think about all those anti-vaxxers that are putting whole communities at risk by this same attitude.

[packman]

7. Yep, sounds like a true Republican

Not a problem to them until it becomes a problem to them

[Roland99]

8. I keep this bookmarked for times like this.......

[KentuckyWoman]

13. Good graphic.

[UpInArms]

29. Love that

Thank you

[llmart]

9. Along that same vein...

I know a married couple who have been retired since their early 50's. They are both retired auto plant workers who were union all their working careers and live a very comfortable life thanks to being retired union. However, they vote Republican and now criticize the unions.

Same thing. It's the "I've got mine, the hell with the rest of you."

[Algernon Moncrieff]

11. Remember back in the 70s: A Conservative is a Liberal who's been mugged?

For the past 20 years or so, it's becoming "A Liberal is a Conservative who lost health care coverage."

[raccoon]

12. So true! I've often wondered how many of those who bitch

About paying for other people’s health care have grandchildren who are on Medicaid.

Funny how fast a person changes their mind when the sewer backs up into their house.....

Great analogy!

[Javaman]

14. repukes in a nutshell...

"it's only a problem when it happens to me, everyone else can go screw"

[treestar]

16. I wonder if they will be less judgmental of other people

for having had that experience. Maybe.

[lunatica]

21. Not very likely

It only matters when it happens to them. And they’ll tell you they got better because it was Jesus’s doing.

[kag]

39. Well put.

I've known too many of these right wing idiots who believe they got what they have by "working" for it and by the "Grace of God" when the truth is that they were born white and rich with "connections" that get passed down through the generations.

[NNadir]

17. Shades of Ayn Rand. N/t

[CaptYossarian]

18. It sounds a lot like when Ed Schultz made the transition

from conservative blowhard to liberal champion because his mother got a serious illness and he discovered that Repubs didn't give a damn. Luckily, he was smart enough to switch teams.

[SWBTATTReg]

20. I think some people are just too judgmental (like those on the other side/RWNJs/etc.) until ...

something actually happens to them. I found this out about an old but constantly recurring back injury which I have literally had to crawl multiple times on my hands and knees to the restroom and no one in my family believed me when I described how bad it was. Then it happened to them (a back injury)...now they know how I feel.

It's sad for they ask us to believe in things like Jesus, miracles, etc. on blind faith, but they can't believe or trust you when you state something about yourself.

[erronis]

35. Miracles and Jesus can make them all better then. nt

[True Blue American]

40. Steve Scalise returned to the House

After the best health care in the world saved him,loudly proclaiming that God spared him.

The next time I saw him he was celebrating in front of the WH taking health care away from millions.

I wanted to ask,” Steve, what would Jesus do?”

[erronis]

42. Jesus would say: Christ, I would have shot you too!

And Jesus can't be indicted or subpoenaed since he's been dead for a few years. Yet He (and his older dad) still is invoked by a bunch of power-hungry politicians.

[True Blue American]

43. Now Steve is in the minority leadership in the House

And, you can bet he will fight health care for all.

The worst part is they do not see the irony of their non Christian actions.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. Is blowhard's wife a smocker? That would eviscerate his personal responsibility argument. . . . nt

[KentuckyWoman]

24. Actually it's probably genetic

Wifey has had fairly healthy habits all her life. She could afford to eat good and pay for personal trainers etc. This was either luck of the draw or genetic. Basically a total kick in the hind end to someone like the blowhard.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

23. He should accept exactly as much help as he'd extend to others.

And he should be told that, over and over.

I've simply had it with people like him.

[PatSeg]

25. I've seen it happen many times

When hardship hits the conservative, all of sudden they view government programs differently. The only thing is they believe that THEY earned them, but that guy over there is not deserving. They can only see the world through a subjective lens.

In fairness, there are some who do change their world view, but most are still self-centered and maddeningly entitled.

[duforsure]

27. I know several people that were shocked

When they realized they were lied to by trump about the tax scam bill, and have close relatives that lost their health care because of him , and are running away from trump and the gop now, and even more pissed than most others now at them.

[Ginger42]

28. I hear this all the time

A coworker of my husband’s is a die-hard Republican. She’s also on every government program imaginable. She carries around a big black binder to keep them all straight and she’s always Googling for more. She’s “married” when that helps her (mostly for car loans and insurance, mortgage) and “single” when that helps her, which is most government programs. She’s always complaining about all the “freeloaders out there” on all the same programs she’s on. My husband once asked her why she votes Republican since they oppose all the programs she’s on. “Oh, they’d never kick me off. They’ll just kick the freeloaders off.”

[kag]

41. I have a similar acquaintance.

The family get all of their food from food pantries, they're on medicaid, food stamps, all their clothes come from a "Good Will" type place, etc. But when talking politics, the dad claims to be an "anarchist" and won't vote, bitches about freeloaders, and doesn't pay attention to elections. The only smart one is their daughter who got a great scholarship from a government agency, and her family mooches a lot of the money off of her for their own use. Makes me want to scream.

[Moostache]

30. Bottom line is ALWAYS this - Healthcare is a RIGHT, not a Privilege, period.

There is no other framing or explanation necessary.

If someone disagrees, ask them to define who gets the privilege.
Government? Lottery? Grift? Trade/Barter?

[KentuckyWoman]

32. I don't think it is either one.

It is a commodity to be purchased. But it should be considered a necessary utility for living in a first world country, just like electric and clean water and we should be pooling our resources and efforts just the same.

We subsidize the infrastructure with our taxes, and charge user fees based on usage. We support the poor with assistance to help with the user fees. Medical care purchasing should be the same.

I disagree that medical care services and good should ever be a RIGHT on the level of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On that level we have doctors getting sued because they refuse to prescribe whatever medicine or procedure some hypochondriac sees on the TeeVee and thinks they have a right to have regardless of the consequences - or a 99 yr old smoker who demands a heart transplant. Where do you draw the lines?

I also disagree medical care goods and services are a privilege. Poor people should have the same access to medical care as the rich. Period. And it is why I look at medical care as a utility, rather than a right or a privilege.

[Bucky]

34. It's more like a public resource that, by caring for and nurturing responsibly, it will...

help our competitive edge in world markets. Really, no one else in the world does this with their people; only America, wand we're weaker for it.

[erronis]

36. I agree. And if healthcare coverage requires a purchase (insurance or bills)

Then who can afford it? Just the well-to-do (the privileged.) Not those that may have been born into a lower-earning family.

It's also ridiculous to tie insurance to employment. That is an artificial construct to get around benefit payments in WW-II.

[Bluepinky]

31. Sounds like a typical Republican, only cares about himself.

[gopiscrap]

37. and fuck him

the shit bag asshole was a selfish fucker his whole life poetic justice

[dlk]

45. There's Nothing Like an Actual Frame of Reference to Open Up a Person's Mind

Experience is a great teacher.

[VOX]

46. Republicans will knock you flat if you get between them and those "entitlements."

Because, in their microscopic dinosaur brains, Medicare, Social Security, SSDI and the ACA exist solely for THEM.

Not for POC, not for women, but strictly for patriot-Liberty-white-makes-right folks.

[FakeNoose]

48. We should be talking about the COST of health insurance - not WHO gets it

Why is good health care so ridiculously expensive in the US? It's not expensive in other countries such as Canada and most of the European countries. We took a sharp turn right in the late 1970's and suddenly insurance is not affordable any more like it used to be. Hillary & Bill Clinton tried to change that but the entrenched, entitled conservatives shut them down before it could happen.

There's too much waste and too much profit in the medical services and medical insurance industries - and they want to KEEP it that way.

[Honeycombe8]

49. If he has an individual ACA policy, the rates didn't double from his wife's illness.

The ins. cos. don't take prior claims into account. All policies fr each plan are the same amount for the whole area and for your age group and whether you smoke.

It's possible she or he crossed an age threshold. The ins. cos. are allowed to TRIPLE premiums once a person reaches a certain age. It's the only discrimination built into the ACA. I know. I was in that triple premium group.

Or it's possible he chose a better policy, when it was time to renew. The price goes up a lot, if you get a policy with a low or moderate deductible.

It's also possible they just got one of those short term policies that recently we're allowed to buy. But probably not. They would probably just not renew your policy, if you turned in too many claims.

But whatever the reason, if there are enough like him, maybe we can get Medicare for all passed. If there was ever a time, this may be it. If we don't have a recession.

[trev]

51. This is typical of conservatives.

They're against all public assistance until they need it themselves.

[still_one]

52. If his rates doubled, it isn't because of her illness, it is because of what the republicans did to

whittle away at the ACA rules. Even if they are covered outside of the market place, they, they had to follow the minimum requirements of the ACA, and no one can be penalized for a pre-existing conditions under the ACA. However, that may not last long if the republicans have there ways since they are trying to invalidate the pre-existing condition protections under the ACA.

The most significant factor in ACA or insurance premiums going up is because the republicans effectively removed the individual mandate, and that directly increases the premium rates.

[lunasun]

53. I don't need help I'm a republican what happened to that? Selfish to think all is different now

[samnsara]

54. best wishes to your in laws wife....same thing happened with my..

...t party sis who lives off the grid in N Idaho. Needed a liver transplant due to childhood medical condition. she had to be rushed to a seattle hospital for the transplant. (both she and hubby are collecting SSI for physical issues))...total cost of her transplant..less than 1000$

THANK YOU O CARE!