Home Taken Away From Man Given 6 Months To Live

[SilasSoule]

http://www.ksat.com/news/3839219/detail.html


Couple Could No Longer Make Payments Due To Rising Health Care Costs

POSTED: 10:26 am CDT October 21, 2004

SAN ANTONIO -- J.C. Allen and his wife, Agnes, didn't think things could get much worse for them after doctors recently told them that J.C. Allen had less than six months to live because of his bad heart.

But their lives did get more complicated last week.

The Allens watched helplessly as their mobile home was hauled off because they no longer could afford to make payments.

"I couldn't believe it," said Agnes Allen.

J.C. Allen's pension check used to cover the couple's modest expenses, but rising health care costs put a dent in their budget.

Robert Dunn, a hospice nurse, who has known the Allens for years, unsuccessfully tried to find help for the couple.

[Out the Parasites]

1. That is so sad.

#1: We need to know the name of the company that took their home!

#2: WTF is going on. I'm not sure about Texas, but here in Oregon there is an over abundance of Manufactured and mobile homes. They can't give them away. I can't understand why they didn't just wait it out?

#3: WTF - Just terrible.

There must be more to this story. Like how long they were delinquent on payments etc.

[NorthernSpy]

24. I agree -- name 'em!

We need to know the name of the company, and the names of its executives. If that institution, and those individuals, can stand to force a dying man to go live in a tool shed, they can stand to have the rest of us know all about it.

Ostracism is the social equivalent of the economic boycott, and both can be quite useful in discouraging behavior that is utterly beyond the pale.


Mary

[Out the Parasites]

25. I sent a message asking for the names....I know I'll have to call and

slap them around. I agree...they need to be outed.

[SilasSoule]

30. Let me know if you need help getting some contacts Mary

I live in San Antonio and was thinking about getting more info on the company that did this. I could also make some calls or go visit others who are involved. I was even thinking about visiting the Allen's in their tool shed.

[trotsky]

2. Why can no Republican give an answer as to what * would do for this?

This is just one story out of thousands - what is *'s solution for it?

[Javaman]

7. The compassionate conservative repukes response would be...

"Why should I feel sorry for them, they couldn't pay their bills!"
They are only compassionate for the conservatives. "awww, you need another tax break mr. corporation, sure, here you go, I know how hard it is for you." Fuckers, plain and simple.

In the land of right wing San Antonio, I'm not the least bit surprised no one came out and helped these poor people. I wish I knew about it.

[tom_paine]

9. Busheviks say "If they are going to die, then let them...and decrease the

surplus population."

[librechik]

10. yes, why didn't they save up enough money for emergencies?

everybody who votes republican has thousands in the bank for such events, right? They never get in a jam they can't buy or bribe their way out of.

Have I said yet today how much I hate these people?

[Cleopatra2a]

19. San Antonians always help

This is probably the first time this story has been made public. Whenever this type of thing comes up in SA, the famlies are quickly taken care of by the community. It is sad that it had to come to this.

[wellst0nev0ter]

20. "Looks Like He Could Use Sum Prozac"

THAT'S what they will say.

[Cobalt Violet]

12. Why no "Faith based" charities stepped up to help???

I thought that christian charity and compassionate conservatives would make sure people weren't dying in the streets.

[NashVegas]

13. How Much Can a Poor Church Do?

Robert Dunn, a hospice nurse, who has known the Allens for years, unsuccessfully tried to find help for the couple.

"Someone in our congregation tried to call to see if they could prevent the trailer from being repossessed and they couldn't," Dunn said.

Oh, to be young and healthy and have connections to important people.

[PhuLoi]

21. That was the first question that entered my head.

What with many Texas villages, towns and cities having more churches than secular books in their libraries. I lived in Texas about ten years ago and traveled by car around much of it. Cop shops and churches outnumbered schools and libraries 50 to 1.

[snippy]

32. THIS IS BUSH'S SOLUTION! AND MOST OTHER REPUBLICANS'.

Sorry for shouting.

[trotsky]

42. Hehe

No need to apologize, snippy, because you are exactly right. The consensus on the right appears to be that if you can't afford your medical care, you don't deserve it.

[Strawman]

44. "Let them eat tort reform"

"Sorry JC, we can't get you your trailer back but we can make damn sure the private hospitals owned by the Frist family don't have to pay out very much money to people who might for example mistakenly have a double masectomy performed on them. Maybe, just maybe, the Frists and the insurance companies will decide to pass along some of those savings to you and you can afford things like food and shelter again. Or maybe not. We're not going to force them to, that's socialized medicine and this is 'Murica."

[Tafiti]

3. Gee, I'm surprised that some Republicans...

...with that "compassionate conservatism" haven't come to their rescue yet. You know, it's probably their fault anyway. They're probably lazy, liberal scum trying to feed off the system. We need reform! <sarcasm off>

[lforbus]

4. No end to this in sight if * is reelected. n/t

[Zorra]

5. Republicans respond: "See? The system works!"

[DuctapeFatwa]

6. They are lucky. They got some press, There is a good chance

that someone in their community will help them.

Most of the people priced out of housing and/or medical treatment don't get stories written about them in the newspaper.

[many a good man]

8. Taught him a lesson about "personal responsibility"

He's also empowered to make his own health care decisions, according to our besmirked leader, a compassion-less conservative.

[Krupskaya]

11. "Take a walk around the block, J.C.!"

*'s health plan. If you take care of the costs, you might be inspired to walk around the block once in awhile. It's that simple! /sarcasm

[0rganism]

41. Right up there with, "here's some help, go to a community college"

Can't wait to get me one of those "jobs of the 21st century" to replace the career I used to have...

[LongTomH]

14. This story is being repeated all across the country

I read another thread by a charity worker who's worked with the homeless. When working people or former middle class people end up among the homeless, the story is usually: loss of a job, big medical bills they can't pay, ending with foreclosure or eviction. And they want to declare the U.S. a "Christian" country!

[Ilsa]

15. He'll be dead and she'll be homeless and still

stuck with the medical bills. I'm surprised Bush hasn't reinstituted debtors prison.

[ilovenicepeople]

17. Speaking of Debtor's Prison

With credit card's and credit,just about everybody is eligible for the debt prison system.:scared:

[PhuLoi]

23. Give him four more years. He'll take care of that oversight. eom.

[vetwife]

34. Already working onit with the overhaul of the IRS system

Heard about it on one of the Whoring Cable shows. All debts would be subject to IRS investigation and if you don't pay up? Well I guess its Debtors prison. Dang I wish I could remember which pundit told this ! It was under Bush too, that much I am sure of. Maybe Lou Dobbs.

[VegasWolf]

37. With the religious control of state, all that is need is debtor's

prison to be reinstated and we will have wiped out all
progress made after the American revolution.

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[VegasWolf]

38. With the religious control of state, all that is need is debtor's

prison to be reinstated and we will have wiped out all
progress made after the American revolution.

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[Ilsa]

16. Happens all the time. I used to work in a

failed bank that was working out all the loans. I can tell you, the little people got their cars and homes repo'ed/foreclosed. The wealthy still kept the bulk of their assets. They weren't about to give up junior's private school tuition to repay on a guaranty on business loan.

[smirkymonkey]

18. Where are all the Christians?

with their love, support and compassion?

[Cleopatra2a]

22. I called KSAT in San Antonio

There is a fund set up for the couple at the Wells Fargo Bank in China Grove, Tx. The phone number there is 210-648-7191.

[davsand]

26. Why do they not have any furniture?

I'm not being snarky here, but the article talks about the fact that they are sleeping on donated twin beds in the shack on their property. Is the furniture usually included in a mobile home purchase? That makes no sense to me.

Additionally, if they own the land, then maybe they need help getting a place built quickly, but it doesn't sound like they are completely destitute even if the mobile home maker took back the trailer.

I'll grant you, it sucks, and they are in dire straights--but I must have missed something here...

Can you local folks give me some better info?


Laura

[Bridget Burke]

28. Yes, furniture is generally included with mobile homes.

It's manufactured to fit. Appliances are also included; does the "shack" have any such facilities? It sounds like they're "land poor"--they own the lot but have spent too much money on medical expenses.

They could sell the land but then would have nowhere at all to live. And they might not be able to concentrate on real-estate deals right now. What with him dying & all.

[Tansy_Gold]

36. "Mobile home" is a broad category that covers everything

from small camper units to multi-sectional modular homes. Whenever I see a story -- written or broadcast -- that uses the term "mobile home" I am immediately skeptical about the reporter's knowledge.

A small camper unit -- whether a tow-behind trailer, a pick-up bed snap-in, or a self-contained RV built on a truck or van chassis -- is often called a "mobile home" in the press. Most do have built-in "furniture," rather than movable beds, sofas, chairs, tables, etc. Fixtures such as stove, fridge, sink, toilet, etc., are also built in.

A larger camper unit -- which may be a larger RV, a fifth-wheel, a "park model," or a converted bus -- has a combination of built-ins and ordinary fixtures. It's still referred to as a "mobile home" in the press.

A single-wide "manufactured home" is what many people think of when they hear or see the words "mobile home." At least since the 1980s, these are only sometimes sold with furniture, and most of the appliances are full-sized models identical to what are found in standard construction houses and apartments. These homes are built on a steel frame, driven to a site, and set up usually on a foundation of concrete block "piers."

A multi-section manufactured or modular home can be almost indistinguishable from site-built conventional buildings. Some triple-wide units are over 3000 sq ft. and include 2 x 6 framing, wood-burning fireplaces, cathedral ceilings, etc. They can be set on conventional foundations and even over basements. They are also frequently referred to as "mobile homes" because they are trucked to the site and assembled.

[SoCalDem]

27. We know a couple who are living in their TRUCK..

He's a semi-disabled 60-something..not yet old enough for SS, and she's 58 (I think)..

They were managing an apatment complex.. She was receptionist/bookkeeper/office staff...and he was maintenance/handyman.

They got a small salary and an apartment as payment.. They also take care of their 4 yr old granddaughter..

Long story short... owner decided that he wanted to bring his daughter up from Texas (because the economy is BAD there, and she LOST HER JOB)..so our friends had 30 days to vacate their apartment, and neither of them has a job..

They moved to a town close by (that's cheaper to live in), and have been crashing here and there..

Last time I talked to them, they were giving up their cellphone service (no money), so I don;t even know how to contact them..

Just more "roadkill" on the bumpy GWB Highway:cry:

[ariesgem]

29. That scares the hell out of me!

After being laid off, I started managing to keep a roof over my head for my landlord who is very capable of doing the same to me. He's a cheap, greedy little bastard who did that to another Manager from one of many buildings that he owns.

[Carolab]

31. CALL OPRAH

See if that hypocritical BUSH supporter can do anything to save them. Maybe she'll give them a new car <sarcasm>.

[Tight_rope]

33. THat's so sad. Don't you just love our system!...Kicks you when you are

DOWN!:kick:

[Say_What]

35. 'muiKa has become an increasingly MEAN place to live

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[Cleopatra2a]

39. Reply from the news director at KSAT

I called and also sent an e-mail to KSAT 12, San Antonio news channel. The news director said that many people had responded and donated to the Allens.

[NVMojo]

40. actually this is not the first case, for profit hospitals

have been doing this for some time. Some have been beaten down by activists groups who have made this type of thing public. This behavior is coming from the for-profit chains of which Frist was born into. They put the full weight of the hospital services on those who pay cash and have no insurance. Think about it. You know how if your employer provides you and your co-workers with group insurance, there is a built in discount on the amount for charges that they get for the plan and you get in reduced percentage shares. People without insurance are not part of some big group buying plan so the write-offs for this with insurance are passed on to people like this. Then they make them sign forms saying they have a home, etc. with legal jargon that allows these feckers to either place liens against their homes or out right steal them if they don't pay off the debt fast enough.

Chains who've gotten put in their place are all over. I need to clean my brain out of cobwebs so I can remember some of the big cases who've agreed to put policies in place to not do this sort of thing ....

[Say_What]

43. That's good, but many never get an kind of publicity and end

up in the street. One need only look at the homeless situation in the US to figure that one out. Wonder how these situations weigh in the minds of those *Compassionate Conservatives*. </sarcasm>

There was a time in this country when this kind of thing just didn't happen--those were the BR (before RayGun) days. Since then it's only gotten worse--particularly under Repuke administrations.

It is a shameful fact that in the wealthiest country on the planet people have to beg for food and are denied basic medical care.

:puke:

[buckettgirl]

45. Death with Dignity non-existant??

Sure, it is horrible that anyone should have to face losing their home or not paying for healthcare.
Of course, as many have noted, that is a horrendous fault with the current system.

But even more than that, what about death with dignity???
In this day and age, some people are forced to have their life sustained longer when they are terminally ill. Where's the dignity?

Another example:
My grandfather is going to be 99 years old in November. He has been in the nursing home for along time 10yrs +. When Grandma died last year, the government took the house and their savings - everything they could, which wasn't much, just to subsidize my Grandfather in the nursing home. He has nothing but a few clothes, pictures, and a T.V. in a room that has personally cost him well over $50,000. He isn't senile. He knows fully what is going on. He is waiting to die and everything he has worked for is gone. Where is the dignity in that?

Now with this story, this man doesn't even have to option to die at home, in familiar surroundings because health care eats it all up.
Where is the dignity in that?
That really breaks my heart. If that were me, I'd be going postal.

[Kimber Scott]

46. This is what Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is for and if their income was that

modest, couldn't they qualify for social services? It always stuns me when people don't use the protections afforded them by law.

My step-father went to work in Las Vegas for a dental lab. No insurance. Not long after, he was diagnosed with inoperable (they tried to operate to no avail.) pancreatic cancer. He and my mother had to wait a long time and go through a lot of bueauraucratic (sp?) bullshit, but eventually, their medical bills were covered. My step-dad was then treated with a brand new protocal that turned his death sentence prognosis into a near full recovery.

As a side-note, while they were fighting with the state to help with their medical bills, they still paid their regular bills. (Luckily, my step-dad's boss gave him partial salary while he was unable to work.) The couple in this story have a pension. They should have maintained their living expenses and worked with the social agencies for help with the medical end of things.

I understand the stress illness puts on people and the bills are overwhelming, but people must learn to ask for help. Demand it, if they have to. It would be nice, if people didn't have to worry about such things as having to choose between food, rent and medical treatment. Maybe, that day is coming. Maybe.

[buckettgirl]

47. pancreatic cancer???

I am surprised to hear of a "new protocal"
Maybe you can tell me about it. (really please, i'm not being sarcastic, direct me to new information)
Two of my family members died of pancreatic cancer last year.
Once diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, survival rate is only around 4%.

[Kimber Scott]

49. He was treated at the University of Nevada Medical Center in Las Vegas.

I will get the specific information from my mother and PM you with it.

On edit: Well, you can't get PMs, yet. So here's what I got.

First, the cancer cannot have metasticised, yet. (Locally advanced non-metastic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.)
The patient must have gone through the Whipple procedure and been unable to complete it.

The protocal was done through the Southern Nevada Cancer Research Foundation. 702-384-0013.

It was the Phase II Trial, Gemcitabine, 5SLUOROURACIL and Radiation Therapy. Cancer and Luekemia Group B. CALGB80003. 09/15/01 version.

If you PM me, I will send you my step-father's name and you can refer to him when you call the Foundation.

Sorry to hear about your family members. From what I know, pancreatic cancer has usually metasticized before anyone diagnoses it. We were very lucky. Let me know, if you need anything else.

P.S. Welcome to DU!

[jsw_81]

48. This is life in Bush's America

Screw the poor and the weak. After all, it's their own darn fault, right? Gawd bless Murka.

[Amigust]

50. Banker's Heart at B of A in San Francisco

[lostnfound]

51. The end result of Corporate Values replacing human ones.

The Corporation, the movie. See it!