Reply #16: Hubby- kidney failure, us- bankruptcy and poverty [View All]

[kineneb]

Welcome to Amerika, where, if you have ESRD (End-Stage Renal Disease) you are either very rich, or live at poverty level. Ok, he has Medicare and Medicaid, which help, but we went broke before he qualified for disability. See, the gov. doesn't think those who are going into kidney failure are disabled; only when a patient is actually getting ready to go on dialysis are they considered "disabled".

Before I figured out how the system worked, we had a $700/month share-of-cost (California's low-income "CMSP"), while we tried to make it on my $10/hour-no-benefits job. Now he is covered by Medicaid, but I still have a $280/month share-of-cost, which comes out of his $1238 disability check. You can bet I don't go to the doctor except when I have to. I need a cholesterol test, but I can't get it until I re-qualify for the stupid medical program, and even then I will have to pay for it out of pocket.