UK NHS Tried Every Method To Save Young Alcoholics Life. Birfer Story a Smear

[TheBigotBasher]

Some PUMA/Birther creature was trying to spread a story about the UK rationing health care and thus allowing a man to die - proving universal health care sucks.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6115954

Their story was based on BBC under-reporting. So bad was the under-reporting, it meant that the story was incorrect.

If you do a bit more looking round the Conservative leaning Times notes

He did not realise that he was developing cirrhosis of the liver until he was admitted to hospital for the first time 10 weeks ago. Once at University College Hospital in London he deteriorated quickly despite reportedly receiving the most advanced therapies available short of a transplant, including a one-off treatment with an artificial liver from San Diego, California.

Which gold premium insurance system allows International experimental treatment - with NO deductibles whatsoever?

The important point to remember, is that Mr Reinbach’s family will not have any medical bill to pay, will not even know how much his treatment cost, will not have needed to worry about how to finance any of the treatments he was given. In fact, it is quite possible that his family qualifies for assistance with (or full) funeral costs.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6721483.ece

[Taverner]

1. Did anyone bother to mention that no HMO would have covered that?

The only way it could have been covered is in cold hard cash.

[TheBigotBasher]

3. What this Birfer did not want to understand

was if there was no liver, there was no liver. If there are is one liver available and 3 patients, how do your decide who gets it.

I would like to know from that silly PUMA/Birfer thing which US insurance Company would have given someone like him life saving experimental treatment as a walk off the street patient, with no co pays?

[Warpy]

2. Ignorant conservatives need to realize

that after any organ transplant, good health follow through by the patient is essential. Drugs have to be taken in the right dosages and on schedule and blood work followed meticulously to ensure the patient is responding well.

Active drinkers are simply incapable of doing these things. In addition, rushing this kid through a liver transplant would have put him through a drastic surgery and miserable recovery with little chance of short term, let alone long term, success.

Conservatives need to realize that heroics aren't always compassionate and often ruin a person's quality of life for the amount of life they have left.

They've all got their knickers in a knot because this was a relatively young guy for whom the alcohol road was a short one. Unfortunately, for some people that is the case. It's hard to see young people die, but sometimes there is no way to save them from themselves beyond incarcerating them and that is no way to live.

He'd likely have been put on Medicaid had he been here. He'd never have gotten a transplant here, either.

[TheBigotBasher]

4. The point is that this Jody

who has an agenda to sell, did not do any research. The NHS did not send him home, they gave him every single treatment going, including experimental International treatment, but they could not give him a new liver.

What US insurance programme would have done that?

[Warpy]

10. Absolutely none

and even Medicaid has its limits. He might have gotten a portal shunt and Lactulose every two hours, but that would have been the end of it.

The portal shunt can be successful if the patient is motivated to avoid all alcohol and drugs for the rest of his life. Most aren't willing to do that, and I suspect this kid was one of them.

It's sad to see a young person die, but sometimes it's inevitable.

[TheBigotBasher]

12. This is the point I am making

and I wish that people would let the thread from the PUMA/Birther go the way of this patient.

Not one American Insurance comapny, would have provided AS STANDARD to a walk off the street patient, who had only gone to hospital because he allowed things to get so bad the most advanced treatments available short of a transplant including a one-off treatment with an artificial liver from San Diego, California - FOR FREE. Nothing to pay. In fact the Dept of Work and Pensions will probably give him a grant towards funeral costs.

That is right. The Government, rather than sending a bill will send money

[TheBigotBasher]

14. He may have even had that

The issue is here that he did not go and get treatment until such a point that all treatments, including artificial liver treatments were unable to work. To say the least he left it until last minute.

Other than a liver transplant and livers do not grow on trees, it was too late for this man, however unlike any US insurance policy - the NHS did everything possible to try and save him.

[abumbyanyothername]

11. These are the same people who were

screaming about Mickey Mantle getting two liver transplants. They are just using these cases to stir up opposition.

I am pretty sure that they don't believe what they are saying.

[Horse with no Name]

15. He'd have never even made the list or the news

Nothing. It is a non-story if it happened here.:(

[TheBigotBasher]

16. He would not have made it to the local rag.

In part this is because the UK Government have added behavioural rationing into the NHS, something not done for the last 60 years, so it makes news in the UK. However if you have 1 liver and 3 patients able to accept it, how do you decide who gets it?

[Beaverhausen]

5. I'm arguing this with another RWer on another site

The RW story is that if he had received the transplant, he'd have a 75% chance to live. The rules are too harsh and this will happen here if blah blah blah...

[gratuitous]

7. The only possible response

"Name one hospital, medical center, or amateur taxidermist in this country under our wonderful health care system (best in the world!) that would have given this kid a liver transplant under the circumstances and facts outlined in the article."

Don't go deaf listening to the crickets as your right wing correspondent vanishes for all time.

[TheBigotBasher]

8. Show them the Times article.

The Times (although not what some GOP people would call Conservative) is Conservative leaning and owned by Murdoch. They would not exactly be promoting "Commie propaganda".

It is BBC mis-reporting. By leaving out the detail, the story becomes falsified because people fill in the gaps. You would have to have congressional levels of health care to have had every other form of treatment, short of a transplant.

In addition, there are no bills for the family to pay and because he may have ended up on a disability benefit, he is likely to have qualified for free funeral or costs towards it.

[TheBigotBasher]

17. What did your right winger say?

Every insurance company, because of how rare it is to get a liver excludes alcoholics from treatment,not only did the NHS not exclude this patient from treatment, they tried everything, short of an actual transplant. Including experimental treatments. Where else will do that, without charging $millions?

[BlooInBloo]

6. (shrug) They just don't care about the truth. They only want to see Obama fail at something.

[TheBigotBasher]

9. I have seen a few of the mad fools returning

One on GU:P with all kinds of mad push polls (some idiotic when will the President sack Hillary or balls), and of course the one spreading the falsified version of this story.

I kind of liked it when they had picked up their knitting needles, and jumped over to whatever race hate site they left to do joint practice sessions of bunny boiling and cross burning.

Throw some katnip towards the usual places and maybe they will go again.

[TheBigotBasher]

13. The main issue is

that unless the US have invented a liver tree - no one will be able to have immediate liver transplants. Those wearing the "liver is evil - punish it t-shirts" may or may not be aware of that.

As for the US inventing liver trees - err no. Not given US addiction to God botherers restricting scientific research.

[TheBigotBasher]

18. A further example of the difference between the UK system

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/20/755707/-Why-I-Support-Single-payer-Healthcare