Elderly couple in apparent murder-suicide indicated they could not afford medical care

[left-of-center2012]

An elderly couple in Washington state was found dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said, and police say they discovered notes about the couple’s struggle to afford necessary medical care.

A 77-year-old man living near Ferndale, Washington, called 911 Wednesday morning and told the dispatcher he was contemplating suicide, according to a Facebook post from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff's office wrote that the dispatcher tried to keep the man on the line, but he hung up saying, “We will be in the front bedroom.”

Deputies arrived at the scene minutes later, according to the Facebook post, and a crisis negotiator “attempted to contact the occupants of the home” for an hour. Deputies then deployed a “robot mounted camera” into the home and saw the man and his wife were dead. Both appear to have died from a gunshot wound.

The sheriff’s office is now investigating the case as a murder-suicide. Several notes were reportedly left in the home “citing severe ongoing medical problems with the wife and expressing concerns that the couple did not have sufficient resources to pay for medical care," according to the sheriff's statement. “It is very tragic that one of our senior citizens would find himself in such desperate circumstances where he felt murder and suicide were the only option. ...” Bill Elfo, Whatcom County Sheriff, said in the post.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/456842-elderly-couple-in-apparent-murder-suicide-indicated-they-could

[SamKnause]

1. More of that American exceptionalism.

What a sick fucking country.

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[keithbvadu2]

14. Dubya made a comment about everyone having the Congressi0nal health plan.

Dubya made a comment about everyone having the Congressi0nal health plan.

That idea didn't go very far.

[Coventina]

3. My only surprise is that this doesn't happen more often. n/t

[snowybirdie]

10. It happens a lot more

than we know. My very good friend was murdered by her husband of 50 years. He then committed suicide. She was suffering from dementia and him from lung cancer. Still find it hard to believe.

[Hortensis]

4. They probably also decided to pass on the final declines

and misery, having to sell and leave their home, living on destitute with nothing to leave any loved ones, likely being separated at some point, etc. "Severe medical problems."

As I've gotten older, I've become accepting of suicide as a rational, responsible, and sensible choice for many.

Here in the south, we know a number of people who would be very distressed at the idea of running up medical bills they never intend to pay, although many in this couple's position do just that. A personal choice, and most do have that choice. Being able to leave property or other estate to help give family good lives for decades to come is extremely important to many.

Before heart procedures advanced and became common, a friend's father decided to refuse all further care for his heart condition because paying for it would have taken their home and their retirement savings. He couldn't be talked out of it. This was his way of taking care of his wife, who had another couple decades to live and was eventually able to leave what had become a very expensive little home in a nice Los Angeles neighborhood to their daughter and her family. That was also part of his plan, though he couldn't have anticipated the enormous inflation that would never have allowed them to buy in that neighborhood.

And my vital, active and strong-minded MIL, who had a nice life with many friends, let us know in no uncertain terms that she would commit suicide at some point to avoid the inevitable lifestyle-destroying decline and debility. The tragedy for her was a series of occult ministrokes that left her too demented to even know she had a plan.

This article so far is all about helpless victimization and tragedy, an insulting obituary. I wouldn't believe it until I got the rest of the story.

[Ohiogal]

5. The REAL "death panels".

[nancy1942]

6. Understandable.

As a senior citizen I can totally understand this. When you have no resources there are few options in this day and age. So much for the "sanctity of life".

[Tracer]

7. At 77, they should have been on Medicare for 12 years.

What am I missing here?

[JenniferJuniper]

11. Medicare is not a panacea

Even with RX coverage, the out-of-pocket prices for my mother's prescriptions (she has a number of non-generics) can easily top 800 bucks a month. (it fluctuates; I've never been able to figure out the scheme) My siblings and I cover as much as we can. Not everyone has people who can help.

[left-of-center2012]

12. I'm 73 and on Medicare

Medicare doesn't pay 100% in many case.
They pay 80%.

And there are copays.
My doctor wanted me to have 10 sessions of physical therapy.
My copay would have been $350.

My doctor wanted me to be tested for sleep apnea.
My copay would have been $325.

A visit to the E.R., $90.
A ride in an ambulance, $400.

If this couple was dealing with a serious illness, such as cancer, etc
their bills would be in the thousands of dollars
even with Medicare.

[Hekate]

17. "Medicare for All" is a pie in the sky slogan, a bumper sticker.

When my husband retired at 65 he began his intensive research into Medicare -- this lasted two weeks, during which time he freaked out at the cost and also freaked out at not having a job any more. Then out of the blue a job landed in his lap unasked-for, and he has remained there to this day. He's 72 and plans to stay until the company folds or the last job goes to India, whichever happens first. He likes working in his field.

Main thing, though, is the company medical plan. At our age we have many maintenance medications between the two of us, and without insurance they are hellishly expensive.

Senator Bernie Sanders has a really nice medical plan courtesy of us taxpayers. He also has a slogan. What he does not have is all the bugs worked out, the biggest bug being the GOP's determination to eliminate or privatize every social program in existence. One Democratic president after another has tried to give us a health care plan. If they could have done it, they would have -- and the ACA is the very closest we have come. But everything goes to the Senate and dies. Bernie has been a Senator for a long, long time. Yet I have never heard him address why good health care plans die in the Senate and why he has not been able to fix it there.

This is not Bernie Bashing -- it's just my observation. And I think experiences like mine are why so many people are not willing to give up an employer-based insurance plan willy-nilly in favor of Medicare For All.

One final word: I have a friend who is genuinely poor and lives in senior housing. She patronizes the Food Bank and the thrift store. She is grateful for Medicare, but in all honesty it costs her money she can ill afford, every single month. It just is not a panacea.

[Javaman]

8. I can completely empathize with this poor couple.

this is what we are. a nation and senate run by sociopaths.

"The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growin' thin
A nuclear era, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning, and I, I live by the river"

[JenniferJuniper]

13. Joe Strummer is dead while

Dick Cheney lives on.

[misanthrope]

15. Apt observation

spot on

[area51]

9. Horrible. We need

comprehensive Medicare for All, stat.

[roamer65]

16. We will see more of this in the future.

[Hekate]

18. Sounds like a double-suicide rather than murder. The older I get, the more I understand why. nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. Couple dead in apparent murder-suicide left notes saying they couldn't afford medical care

Couple dead in apparent murder-suicide left notes saying they couldn’t afford medical care, police say

Link to tweet

[WhiskeyGrinder]

20. As baby boomers age, this will become more common.