Something is fundementally wrong when...

[Kevin Spidel]

... someone who is middle upper class has just been told they have rapid spreading cancer, and his first thought is to sell his house.


Let me elaborate...

My father-in-law went to the emergency room because he thought he was passing a kidney stone (blood in the urine.) Come to find out he has an 18cm tumor on his kidney and they feel it spread to his lungs.

He makes nearly $80k a year. My mother-in-law a teacher w/ a masters making barely $30k a year. He has insurance. But should he survive he will be in recovery for a while. In otherwords he has to quit his job. He was the bread winner in this family. Her money just paid for groceries, etc. They just found out about this yesterday, and are already looking into bankrupcy.

So yeah... I am dealing with this emotional stuff still. But I had to get at least this off my chest.

Cancer recovery should not mean bankrupcy.

WE NEED UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE NOW! and Employer regulations for this shit.

Imagine if he was one of the 44million now with out healthcare.


Imagine if he, like many, brought in only $25k or less.


It should not be this hard in America.


/emotional rant

[mike_c]

1. I'm so very sorry about your father, and I agree with you 100 percent....

I'll warn you-- I've tried to have this discussion on DU before, and even here there are quite a few folks who'll say "why should taxpayers have to help pay your dad's medical expenses as long as he has assets that can be disposed of?" I think imposing that choice is utterly obscene. The answer is that societies prosper by taking collective action to insure one another against unexpected tragedy. Your dad paid taxes all his life-- taxes that benefited others-- now it's his turn to be taken care of, IMO.

[MissWaverly]

3. I totally agree

I pay high taxes for schools although I have never had children because I see it as an investment in a better society, health
care is also an investment in a better community. I believe that 52% of the money in our budget is spent on defense which is wrong. I think the money should be pumped back into society to make it work.

[Kevin Spidel]

6. thank you. let me put it in perspective...

my grandfather just this past year died becasue of lack of adequate healthcare.

my grandfather was a reited janitor from a high school. did it his whole life.


he had an HMO.

he went into the emergency room feeling very weak. they did blood tests. found diseased blood. he is hispanic. first thing they did was look for "tack lines." Would they do this to my white upper middle class father? (that is another rant I will save for another day.)

anywho...

he caught pnemonia while there and during that time they had to remove his spleed thinking that would take care of the blood. he could not caught out the junk in his lungs from pnemonia because of the pain from the sleen removal. It spread to both lungs. got a staff infection. died of pnemonia (drowned to death from filled lungs.)


becasue he had to wait for hmo to approve specialists and specialized tests, we found out after his death he had lukima. it was not the spleen.

simply put... we are the wealthist nation on the world and our healthcare system sucks. it is all about the corperate dollar.

something is fundamentally wrong when human suffering creates an opportunity to make a buck. This is the insurance company, the corperate hospital, the corperate healthcare system.


SINGLE PAYER NOW! We are already paying for universal healthcare... we are just not getting it.

[Bluerthanblue]

8. i hope

those folks who say "why should taxpayers have to help pay your dad's medical expenses as long as he has assets that can be disposed of?" never have to face the incredibly ugly reality they feel free to impose on others.

Fighting for your life against a ruthless disease is hard enough work- and leaving your family to pay for your death for years after your gone is something that many people chose not to inflict on their loved ones. Chosing not to fight, is sometimes ones only option- and it isn't an easy one- or one you'd think people in a nation that claims to be compassionate,'fair', and progressive would ever have to face- but it happens far more often than anyone wants to admit, or face the truth of.

Regardless of the taxes this man paid or didn't pay- how can anyone live in such denial and selfish comfort while people suffer and die around them??? There but for the grace of god, the twist of fate, the flip of a coin, goes them-

may they not have to learn through painful experience. It's a cruel but very effective teacher.

[cliss]

18. I agree. I was going to write something

similar, but your post says it all.

I'm from Sweden. Over there, EVERYONE has health coverage. Your medical & dental is provided for you, from the government.

If someone gets sick over there, they know they will be taken care of.

And let's face it: when you're sick, worrying about selling your house is the last thing you should be thinking about. God, that sucks. Evil policies.

[Bluerthanblue]

2. so sad, isn't it...

that fighting for your life against an enemy that we have a real chance of beating, (cancer/disease/illness) is something our government will not stand behind us on- until, and unless we bankrupt not only our own life, but the lives of those who will suffer the most with us, and as a result of our death.

I'm so sorry for what you and your loved ones are going through. I've got a tale of woe myself, which helps me understand this more than i can voice- We'll spend zillions on weapons to kill elusive, unidentifiable 'enemies'- but begrudge the same people 'we' claim to be 'protecting' adequate health care- so, we can die safely??? ( as if what the 'war' is doing is bringing 'safety' to anyone).

Insurance companies won't take on those who have need for their help- unless you have wealth enough to pay outrageous premiums, which would make the need for insurance a moot point anyway-

Wish i had words of encouragement- but i can only echo your simple but profound words-

"It should not be this hard in America".

peace, and comfort to you-
blu

[Kevin Spidel]

11. in America...

people are dying becasue of this healthcare crisis. it truely is a crisis.


and thank you for your words.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Rolling back the arsenic, mercury, and other toxin release restrictions

should help out quite a bit.... not. America abandons her own for quests for treasure abroad. Pity the fool who doesn't see that he is on his own in gw's Amerika.

[havocmom]

5. Know someone who lost a father after cancer came back

and prognosis was bad. He put a gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger so his wife would not lose her home to his medical bills. He called my friend to come home for a visit so she would be there for her mom when he pulled his stunt.

The family was SO thrilled at having their hands tested for gunpowder residue hours after finding dad in the garage...

But mom got to live out her days in the house.

My friend, never the same after the incident.

Something is definitely wrong when a tenured university professor faces such a decision as impoverishing his wife to assure some degree of comfort in his last months or redecorating the garage with his brains.

Something is definitely wrong. Do people in other 'advanced' nations have such problems? Something is definitely wrong with priorities here.

[Kevin Spidel]

7. my god...

this just reiterate the importance of this issue.


there are a lot of issues out there that are vastly important. but i have to be honest... this is the most.

universal healthcare now!

it is killing america NOT having it.

[Bluerthanblue]

13. this happens far

more often than people realize.
And will happen more often as these hard times get harder- When all you have left to leave your kids is a roof over their heads- and the chances of beating illness and returning to a functioning level of health are weighed against each other, many folks chose the sudden painful loss, rather than puting their loved ones through the ringer of watching you suffer through chemo, radiation, surgery, and still run the risk that it will all have been in vain, and leave the people you love in total jepoardy- grieving, in debt, and homeless.....

speaks volumes about what really matters in 'America'-

[havocmom]

15. You are right. It happens and will happen more

as the economic woes increase.

We are pretty damned blind when we refer to this as a civilized nation.

[No Exit]

9. I wish we could have a balance sheet showing Cheney's medical

costs--which, of course, are not paid by HIM.

Then we could ask the question, "What if Cheney were a regular person (with not-exactly-shabby earnings), like, say, your father-in-law?

We would discover that if Dick Cheney were forced to live like the rest of us, he wouldn't be able to afford to keep his dear, warm, heart ticking away.

IOW, he would die.

I agree that we need universal healthcare.

[housewolf]

10. I'm so sorry, Kevin...

I agree with you that there is something serious wrong with a our country when folks like your parents have worked by the rules and done everything write for decades end up by having not only their bodies but their physical assests ravaged by a disease. The "system" that we all live under now only works for the very wealthy - and the rest us us have been utterly betrayed by it. It's just wrong that companies make use of an employee's time, energy, skills and creativity and then abandon them in an employees time of need. It's just so wrong...

Blessings, prayers and well-wishes for your dad, for you and for your family at this time. I am so sorry. I wish I had more help to offer you.

[Kevin Spidel]

14. thank you...

its been an emotional roller coaster with the dnc and pda stuff this weekend as high points. then this news last night. been up and down a lot.

thanks!

[Deja Q]

12. FORGIVE ME, BUT THE PEOPLE IN POWER WANT US TO DIE.

Why else do they continue supporting the few, at the expense of the many?

Not altruism, that's for sure.

[Lindsay]

16. Oh, Kevin, it hurts my heart to read this. You are so right.

The "system" is wrong on so many levels. The message I've taken from it is: If you're not rich enough to afford quality health care, go ahead and die.

Every day it is less and less the country I once thought we lived in.

Best wishes and good thoughts to you and your family. I know how tough it is (lost both of my parents to cancer) - you know you can lean on your DU family for support.

[The Animator]

17. I was told once about the way medicine was practiced in Anicent China...

And it kind of stuck with me as the perfect Healthcare system.

A Chinese doctor saw many patients. Those patients would pay him once a month, and he would make sure they weren't getting sick, give them good advice to keep them healthy.

When one of his patients got sick, the payments from that patient stopped. The payments would not resume, until he made that patient healthy again. Makes sense, a sick person can't work and earn money to pay the doctor anyway. So the financial motivation for the Doctor was to keep them healthy when possible, and when they are sick, cure or treat them as quickly as possible.

Right now our system in setup to reward Drug companies and doctors whenever their patients are sick, becuase you only go to a doctor when your sick, you only need drugs when you are sick. Why not realign the priorities of the system? Reorganize the system to fit the Ancient Chinese model?

Drug companies would be compelled to develop cures, instead of treatments. They would also be compelled to keep the cost of their drugs low, because again, the real money is in keeping people healthy. They can't stay healthy if they can't afford your drugs. Hospitals wouldn't waste time trying to figure out how they were going to get paid while their patients slowly died, they would realize that if their patient died, they wouldn't get paid.

They current system is set up so that if your healthy, you pay the insurance company, and if your sick... you pay the insurance company... And if you get sick too much, and cost the insurance company too much money, they'll raise your rates or cut your policy.

I know that certain diseases can't be cured.. yet, terminally ill patients wouldn't be able to retain a doctor, even in the Ancient system, because if your always sick, and there's nothing the doctor can do about it, he'll never get paid. There is no motivation to accept such a patient in either system. That is where the government should come in. Patients with illnesses that prevent them from ever being healthy, or with illnesses too costly to treat in the private sector, should be the responsibility of the Federal Government. That's what the goverment is for, to pay for things that are needed that do not generate a profit.

They do it for mass transit systems. In many cities, city busses do not generate a profit, The revenue they recieve from their fares is not sufficient to keep the busses running. However the city still needs those busses so that those without cars can still get around. A private company would not be responsible for filling such a need if their is no way to profit from it, so the government subidizes the city busses income to keep them running.

The government should subsidize the healthcare of individual patients that cannot afford the monthly payments, or have illnesses to costly or longlasting for the private sector to accomidate on their own.

[FlaGranny]

21. The ancient Chinese health care system,

believe it or not, was the model for HMOs. HMOs were supposed to be a good thing, because your doctor got paid while you were well. The old Chinese physicians worked harder to get you better so they'd keep getting paid. Modern HMOs work very hard to withhold treatment because the catch is - you have to keep sending them your money when you're sick - unlike the Chinese system.

[Mutley]

19. He's living the 'American Dream', I see.

I'm so sorry about your FIL. :hug: He will be in my thoughts until he recovers, and finds a way to pay for this.

You're so right about healthcare. Something really is horribly wrong when a family that makes over $100K/year can't deal with this kind of a tragedy without considering bankruptcy.

[ultraist]

20. That is just so wrong...

Someone who has done everything "right," worked hard all of his life, paid his bills, now has to consider bankruptcy over an illness.

I'm so sorry your father in law and your family has to go through this; my best to him for his treatment and recovery. :hug:

[BJW]

22. If your father has access to DISABILITY insurance coverage

which is different than HEALTH insurance coverage, have him or an experienced lawyer READ the POLICY (not just the
"summary plan description--which is what they usually give to people instead of the actual policy) VERY CAREFULLY first before he quits or takes medical leave.

The big insurance companies really do screw extremely ill people over on technicalities.

I am sorry to hear that your father is so ill, and I hope he and your familyi get through it all okay.