Cousin with broken jaw from bike accident... No doctor will operate.

[Flying Squirrel]

He's 37, unemployed, no insurance, can't even speak right now. Liquid diet. They won't even wire it shut, much less do anything else. Needs a metal plate in it. Since he's not currently using drugs or living on the street, the State of Washington will not give him any financial help. They say it would have to keep him off work for six weeks for them to help him. (Never mind that he doesn't have a job in the first place.)

No money, no operation. So sorry. All too common story, of course. Wonder how much it would cost for a round trip plane ticket to Europe, maybe they'd do something for him there.

[KT2000]

1. Washington can be brutal

if people do not have children they are generally SOL.
Single men are in an especially bad situation.
I am sorry for your cousin.
Can he find a free/low cost clinic somewhere. We have one in Sequim that is run by the Lutheran church. It helps for things a nurse can take care of, and sometimes a dr will accept a referral for diagnosis. Procedures get more difficult - it could approval from the hospital.

[Historic NY]

17. Wait as minute I thought it was progressive & flowing with milk & honey.....

he'd have a better chance in another state like NY.

[TheWatcher]

18. You're thinking of Seattle, as far as Progressive and Milk and Honey

It's Mordor outside of that.

[nannah]

47. Where in Wa does you cousin live?

i am a social worker who has worked in the general assistance program in WA for 18 years. The actual criteria for medical help is unable to work for 90 days or more, but if a situation is life threatening the issue of duration can be mitigated. a broken jaw could be a qualifier if he has to have the surgery to use his jaw again. without it being fixed he has limited ability to speak and eat; speaking is an essential element of most work. Tell me more about your cousins situation and i will try to help. What is his education level? what work has he done in the past? does he have more than $1000.00 in cash or valuables?

[KT2000]

57. You accidently replied

to my post. Try again in reply to OP.
You seem to have important info for him.

[nannah]

69. thanks. n/i

[sandnsea]

2. Call St Joseph Hospital in Bellingham

Ask about the bridge program.

There are also a bunch of free dental clinics that will do the work.

[babylonsister]

7. I was hoping you'd see this, sandnsea. I hope this info will help. nt

[medeak]

11. what an asset she is here! n/t

[Flying Squirrel]

10. I'll suggest it, thanks!

[sandnsea]

65. Here's a link

It has the free clinics that receive federal funding within 100 miles or so of a zip code. There are usually other programs too, but this is a good place to start.

http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC_byAddr.aspx

[riderinthestorm]

3. K & R for more exposure. Wish I had some suggestions. I am so sorry for your cousin.

:cry: This kind of story is just horrifying.

[JVS]

4. Maybe the Cubans could help. They generally like opportunities to demonstrate...

how fucked up American capitalism is.

[toppertwot]

49. VIVA CUBA!

Cuba is the place I was thinking about too! He needs a ticket to Mexico & one more to Cuba. Also, they have really nice good looking women there to boot.

[inenemyterritory]

5. Is

there a medical college or anything else that may be able to help.

I realize you have checked all of the alternatives, just checking.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Contact the Free clinics

http://www.freeclinics.us/

They might be able to help. They have a finder on the site.

[Fumesucker]

8. Sorry to hear of your cousin's misfortune..

I'm guessing that he was riding a bike to get around since without an income he wouldn't be able to afford a car, insurance, gas and etc..

[BrklynLiberal]

9. That is a sad sit;uation. Pls keep us posted if there is any change in the situation.

[Bitwit1234]

12. Canada has free clinics don't they. He might be able to

talk them into helping.Closer than going overseas.

[uppityperson]

13. If he goes to an ER, they have to treat him. Most hosps have a sliding fee scale thing you can apply

for, depending upon income. I got some bloodwork done here in WA, my insurance had run out, hosp gave me 75% off. If I'd had no income, it would have been lower. They may not tell you, but ask and see what they say as I think most hospitals have this, except for those exclusive private ones.

If he goes to an er, they have to treat him, legally cannot turn him away. Then apply for the sliding scale fee. It sucks. PM me if you want more info

[Flying Squirrel]

14. They have to TREAT him --

which they did. But they don't have to give him the required surgery he needs. The hospital is willing, but the surgeons are paid separately and none of them will agree to operate. No sliding scales with them. We're looking at as many different options as we can, of course, and hopefully at some point we'll find a way. Just the fact that he has to sit there in pain wondering whether they're gonna be able to find someone to do anything other than give him some pain pills is inexcusable.

[uppityperson]

15. Sounds like you have done what I can think of, it is inexcusable.

I will keep thinking and I am sorry.

[Heddi]

59. send him to Harborview. Level 1 Trauma and Community hospital. 80% of patients are uninsured, homele

homeless, immigrants, etc.

Harborview is a state-run hospital and is also a community hospital. I am an RN. I work there, have worked there, and I am not lying or exaggerating when I say that 80% of the patients that are admitted have no way to pay for their services they receive.

Send him there. They will treat him, and the social workers there will set him up for whatever resources he needs once he's released from the hospital (home health, medical coupons, etc)

[KT2000]

20. the law was changed

The ERs legally have to stabilize life threatening conditions but once stabilized, the patient can legally be released, they usually say - see your family doctor.

[Lorien]

35. Yep. Our ER simply makes patients wait for-freaking-ever

the uninsured are packed into an overflowing waiting area where they sit or lay on the ground for DAYS. The last two times that I went there I stayed all day but never saw so much as a nurse. People were bleeding, vomiting, and passed out but the ER staff just stepped over them like they were useless trash.

[sandnsea]

66. That's always been the law

They usually treat the patient fully though, especially nonprofit religious hospitals.

[SheilaT]

61. Hospital ERs only have to

stabilize a patient. That's all, and it sounds like that was done for the cousin. The follow up surgery is something else.

[ShamelessHussy]

16. His story should be recorded and posted on the Internet

so we have an easy to access repository of REAL PEOPLE and their experiences that we can easily link to, and counter the world view of the elite M$M with our friends, family, neighbors, and reps, from the show me state (that means everybody) who don't get it yet.

i wonder if we could organize something like that here on DU :shrug:

My sympathies to you and yours, and I hope a real solution comes soon. I wonder what would happen if he went to an emergency room in canada or mexico? Maybe a virial video would help these folks get the treatment they need, even if it was from another country.

[chatnoir]

19. K & R for exposure

I wish I had some ideas for you. My heart goes out to your cousin - he must be in such pain.;(

[Nailzberg]

21. Sorry to hear that. My support so it goes back to the top.

I had a bicycle accident when I was 15. Was into racing bikes back then. Flipped over the handbars at about 35 MPH, my face broke the fall. Fractured my jaw, lost four teeth (reinserted by the ER docs, 12 Novocaine shots to my gums), plastic surgery, and after the fracture healed, a maxi-facial surgeon re-broke my jaw to set it properly, eight screws and wired shut for eight weeks. Liquid diet the whole time.

It really sucked, but was under my parent's insurance at the time. I really feel for your cousin. Wish I knew more about care options without insurance.

[kath]

22. In the laaa-aannd of the fuh-reeeeeee and the hooooome of the brave. (insert musical notes)

USA! USA! We're Number One!!

I'm SOOOOOOO fuckin' sick of this country, which is so far behind the rest of the developed world in so many ways.

[atomic-fly]

23. maybe he should go take photos of some police officers

until they throw him in the slammer.

[Hepburn]

48. I was talking to a pal today who just finished Med School in the Dominican Republic.

She is in town for about 3 weeks and I am going to sit down and discuss a move to the DR a lot more with her. A real eye opener about what one can get overseas compared to here. Shocked at some things. Her mom could not get hip surgery here, is now a resident of the DR. Her mom was confined to a bed, had the surgery in the DR and is starting to get up and about again! Unreal.

[mnhtnbb]

51. I have friends who just moved to the DR. Today. Literally.

[Hepburn]

54. It sure sounds interesting to me...

...I am seriously going to investigate.

[SammyWinstonJack]

76. Great country, eh?

:puke:

[ClayZ]

24. Sacred Hearts Hospital in Spokane or Providence in Everett!

Thier mission is to help the poor.

[Flying Squirrel]

41. Providence is where he went

The hospital would help, but the surgeons are paid separately and they are the ones balking.

[Heddi]

60. SEND HIM TO HARBORVIEW ER. 80% of the patients admitted there are homeless, uninsured,

They will treat him and they will do the surgery without any question about ability to pay, etc. 80% of the patients that are admitted are non-paying---no insurance, homeless, immigrants, working poor, king county jail inmates, etc

[a la izquierda]

25. Okay, the suggestions for getting the immediate problem...

of the jaw solved are great. In the future, suggest that he look into coverage from USA Cycling. It's rather inexpensive; there's also supplemental policies through "adventure" companies. I can't remember which one my husband used, but he bought a month policy for about $37. He doesn't have insurance at the moment, and this at least ensures that if he crashes on his bike, he can get medical attention.
I know he's unemployed, but perhaps you can help him with this low-cost option (or another family member).
I hope your cousin gets his surgery and heals quickly. I had a serious wreck on my bike last week, and am awaiting results to see if I fractured the head of my femur. Thank god I'm still a student, or I'd have no insurance.

[marew]

26. unbelievable! So sorry.

I hope the rethugs are happy. This is exactly the world they want. They are completely devoid of feeling and compassion. Greed and selfishness is the name of the game for them.

[cayanne]

27. Send this to Rachael, Keith and Ed

Maybe they can get the attention of someone to help. Perhaps Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta. Someone is bound to help with exposure. Good luck.

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. K&R

[CrispyQ]

29. Too bad your cousin lives in the greatest country in the world

with the best health care on the planet. :eyes:

Posts like this steam me. Our "everything for profit" system is destroying lives, our country & our planet. Will we learn & change before it's too late? Unlikely.

[Doctor_J]

31. I wonder what King Glen would say about this

[Doctor_J]

30. Being in WA, he's in driving distance of BC

take him there.

[Juche]

32. Can he apply for the pre-existing program in washington

I don't know if they'd over it, and I don't know how long the waiting period would be but it is something to look into. It'd cost about $250/month.

[DollyM]

44. I don't know about Washington but . . .

Our pre-existing insurance program in Illinois has a $2000.00 deductable right off the top. The insurance is more than I can afford in the first place but with the deductable, I might as well make payments.

[Bluerthanblue]

33. here are some places

that might be able to help- or who might be able to point you somewhere.
http://www.scn.org/crisis/medical.html
:grouphug:

[Flying Squirrel]

40. Thanks!

I'll pass it on.

[Bluerthanblue]

50. you are very welcome, hope something helps-

:grouphug:

[Capitalocracy]

34. Yes, I'd say call a hospital in Canada, or go somewhere else

Here in Argentina they would do it, private hospitals are cheap and the public hospitals will get the job done for free. But if you can get it done in Canada, that would be easier in terms of travel expenses.

[Ignis]

36. B-b-but we passed HCR! Everything's better now!

:(

[The Gunslinger]

39. Don't worry they said they will keep working on it though.........

What have they done to make it better so far??? First they made the greedy ins companies more powerful, I guess the greedy doctors are next.

[mwooldri]

37. :( :( :(

Apart from requesting entrance into a psychiatric hospital, I don't know how to help him.

I'm out of options, unless he's only recently unemployed and can get COBRA coverage.

I'm so sorry :cry:

[ctwayne]

38. $1,000,000 A Year Per Soldier

Your cousin is not the nation's first priority. We are spending $1,000,000 a year for each soldier in Afghanistan. That means each 1,000 soldiers costs us a cool billion. If we didn't waste all this money blowing up mud brick villages in Afghanistan, we might have some funds for your cousin's care.
My best advice for your cousin is, if and when he recovers, he join the military.

It is one of the few jobs left that gives you free medical care. You would be surprised how many young people join the military in order to see a doctor or to get their teeth fixed.

[roody]

42. Cuba would be cheaper.

[ColesCountyDem]

43. If the hospital receives Hill-Burton funds, they HAVE TO help him. n/t

[shanti2]

45. No they don't.

Once you apply and get accepted, they will cover your care
EXCEPT for any surgeon's bills etc. And to get approved for
the surgery is quite difficult. All they legally have to do is
stabalize your condition so you don't die. So many hospitals
now days are having financial difficulties and simply can't
cover the costs like they used to.

[ColesCountyDem]

46. I've never known one who wouldn't.

Strange how they do it in WA. The hospitals here ALL 'write off' care and physician billing, if you're denied by Medicaid.

:shrug:

[davidwparker]

52. Sorry to hear that. We are one COLD society. n/t

[Desertrose]

53. Contact Keith Olberman's show.....

or Rachel or The Ed Show.


MSNBC is doing free clinics...maybe they can put some pressure on someone somewhere.


I'm so sorry about your cousin. No excuse for not having health care in this country.

[newtothegame]

55. Ah, the fresh smell of change. nt

[truedelphi]

56. There once was a solution touted by a young and

Ambitious Senator Wannabe from Illinois.

While running for the Senate in 2004, he basically said that the most logical and cheapest way to reform the broken Health Care System would be to have Universal Single Payer Health Care, and that what it would take would be a full Democratic Majority in the House and the Senate, and a Democrat in the Oval Office.

I have no idea what happened to the guy. Supposedly he won the election in 2008, and is in the Oval Office right now.

But if so, a person has to wonder what happened to his understanding of the need for the Universal Single Payer thing-ee.

[Safetykitten]

67. Horrifying. But amazingly this will get worse and worse.

This HCR is a rocket sled to disaster that is beyond imagination in how it will literally fuck everything that was worked for a Great Society in the past. The tentacles will be all over everything and how it will make everything else not work, yet demand to be fed and cared for under the 2014 promise of nothing.

[truedelphi]

72. After being wiped out by a medical bankruptcy, my household is on

A County provided insurance program.

One of the big flaws in this particular system is that the month that it expires (it expires each year) you are not told that it expires.

Our food stamps expired the same month. We knew that.

We were told by one worker that the Food Stamp application automatically re-upped the insurance. That turned out to not be true.

Our main social worker told us that our insurance was not cut off - that it was just a computer glitch and that we did not need to re-apply, as we were still on the insurance.

I underwent a major procedure in March, the cutoff month.

I didn't find out until April 4th that I wasn't insured. I had spent over four and a half hours on the phone in March trying to establish what the current situation of our household was in regards to the insurance.

We still have not been re-imbursed for the procedure and probably never will be since we were not able to get anyone to make a call into the Insurance Administration before the one month deadline.

In a sense, we are lucky that a relative loaned us the money and is being sweet about being paid back. Without that loan, I might not be here typing this - it was a needed procedure.

Yet in another sense, I don't think I am lucky.

Because this nation's Whores of A Political Class have all backed away from Universal Single Payer Health Care, the following has occurred to me:

One) Medical Bankruptcy has wiped out decades of our savings
Two) No one in CorpoRATe America will hire me, as the high cost of insurance premiums makes hiring someone my age an economic nightmare. So I have no hope of getting a job related insurance policy.
Three) My County provided insurance is good, unless I need surgery unexpectedly as in an emergency, and then the Administrator of the insurance is all "You are supposed to ask in advance if you can have the procedure"
Four) When you need a specialist, it is a nine month wait. For many conditions a nine month wait could be a death sentence. Example: There is only one neurologist for the population of two counties on this plan.

[defendandprotect]

58. Terrible situation ---

trust you will find some help -- must be some American surgeon left who

is not overcome by greed -- though if there is, I imagine there are many who

need that surgeon's help!!

What's so sickening is that a few right wingers -- especially in the White

House and Congress -- could prevent true universal health care for Americans --

MEDICARE FOR ALL ---

I'd like to say that Obama doesn't have a clue about the pain and suffering

going on in America, but I doubt that's true --

I'm over my disappointment -- I'm moving into intense disgust for this man!!

And his disgusting right wing team!!

[colsohlibgal]

62. Only In America

Our screwed up for profit insurance company gatekeeper system was a key plot in a "CSI" episode I just watched, the writers correctly skewered HMOs.

Why we need an unnecessary profit sucking treatment denying 3rd party is beyond me and most others on earth beyond our borders.

I get so angry every time some Obama apologist trumpets him passing "historic" health care reform. If they aren't just deluded I'm shocked they can use that adjective with a straight face - or maybe they mean historic for the leech insurance and drug companies.

So sorry about your cousin and the fact this is hardly an isolated travesty.

[midnight]

63. How is it that billions of dollars were spent to sell us reform that took away

universal health care?

[truedelphi]

73. + 1. n/t

[truedelphi]

74. + 2. n/t

[truedelphi]

75. Plus on into infinity.

Along with you, I will never quit asking that question.

[aquart]

64. Copy this story to every elected rep you have, state, fed, local.

And to every media outlet. Start a Facebook page. Put it on Twitter.

[nannah]

68. Where in Wa does you cousin live?

i am a social worker who has worked in the general assistance program in WA for 18 years. The actual criteria for medical help is unable to work for 90 days or more, but if a situation is life threatening the issue of duration can be mitigated. a broken jaw could be a qualifier if he has to have the surgery to use his jaw again. without it being fixed he has limited ability to speak and eat; speaking is an essential element of most work. Tell me more about your cousins situation and i will try to help. What is his education level? what work has he done in the past? does he have more than $1000.00 in cash or valuables?

[Flying Squirrel]

71. Thanks, his mother thinks Harborview will do it but I'll get back to you

if that doesn't work out or the other suggestions I've gotten so far. I appreciate everyone's help!

[gmoney]

70. Neil Boortz says he can go to any emergency room and be treated for free

Of course, Neil Boortz is absolutely full of shit.