5 faces of the uninsured

[Lucky... 0]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2009-09-22-faces-uninsured_N.htm

Self-employed

History of heart disease puts coverage out of reach

Patrick Bruce had a top job in corporate marketing and a big house in Windermere, Fla. His kids went to the finest schools.

In 1992, he says, his family was "living the great American dream."

Today, Bruce rents a 500-square-foot cottage near Charleston, S.C. He shops at garage sales and second-hand stores. And his health care comes from a free clinic for the poor.

Bruce's fall began nearly 25 years ago, in 1985. After 15 years working for Disney, McDonald's and Red Lobster, Bruce decided to go into business for himself. He was covered through his wife's health insurance until 1993, when they divorced. Then he started paying for his own policy at $187 per month.

By 2002 he says he was paying $400 a month. That's when he decided to drop his insurance coverage with plans to reinstate it in a few months' time when a friend said she'd be able to help him get a cheaper policy.

Bruce was fit, had no health problems. What could happen? A massive heart attack in July.

The fees for his triple bypass a bill he has never paid came to $71,000. Bruce, now 61, has been uninsured ever since.

As a self-employed worker, he can't afford the $1,800 or so a month insurance companies have quoted him for someone with a history of heart disease.

Instead, he pays $34 a month for a cholesterol-lowering drug and gets his blood pressure checked at the clinic. He watches his weight. But he gets no cancer screenings, no colonoscopies or prostate tests.

If Congress doesn't pass a bill that helps make insurance affordable, he can enroll in Medicare at 65.

"I'm not necessarily a big Obama fan," says Bruce, a self-described lifelong Republican until his heart attack. "But when he was talking (on Sept. 9 to Congress), it was like he was talking to me."


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Healthcare, if passed, could mean the end of the Republican Party. Once people get it, the 40 some million helped immediately, plus the others allowd to retire due to it, etc will be in such love with the new HC that anyone who runs under a platform of HC retraction will go the way of Ron Paul, and the distrust that people will have in any Republican promising not to retract / contract HC will make them unlikely to be elected.

It would be interesting to be alive during a period of major political shift.

[dreamdancer 0]

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Healthcare, if passed, could mean the end of the Republican Party. Once people get it, the 40 some million helped immediately, plus the others allowd to retire due to it, etc will be in such love with the new HC that anyone who runs under a platform of HC retraction will go the way of Ron Paul, and the distrust that people will have in any Republican promising not to retract / contract HC will make them unlikely to be elected.

this is true. even thatcher didn't have the balls to mess around with or sell off any bits of our nhs (after all we'd fought a world war to get it)

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[Lucky... 0]

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Healthcare, if passed, could mean the end of the Republican Party. Once people get it, the 40 some million helped immediately, plus the others allowd to retire due to it, etc will be in such love with the new HC that anyone who runs under a platform of HC retraction will go the way of Ron Paul, and the distrust that people will have in any Republican promising not to retract / contract HC will make them unlikely to be elected.

this is true. even thatcher didn't have the balls to mess around with or sell off any bits of our nhs (after all we'd fought a world war to get it)

Is that so? Didn't know that. The Whig Party died out as the Republicans gave the people what they wanted and the Dems hung around, barely. Republicans were elected as president for 44 of the next 52 years, then they corrupted. WHat a send-off if it's true, GWB being the last Repub president! Kinda brings all together. We had the Repub senator defect a few months ago, saying this wasn't the same party he joined decades ago. They need to check themselves.

[LongWayToFall 0]

So...... 400 a month times "a few months" equals a savings of....... 71,000.
He would still be fucked if he hadn't been paying his government healthcare option plan.


Moral of the story=Don't get divorced.

Just kiddin!

[mnealtx 0]

[reply_________________________________________________


Healthcare, if passed, could mean the end of the Republican Party. Once people get it, the 40 some million helped immediately, plus the others allowd to retire due to it, etc will be in such love with the new HC that anyone who runs under a platform of HC retraction will go the way of Ron Paul, and the distrust that people will have in any Republican promising not to retract / contract HC will make them unlikely to be elected.

It would be interesting to be alive during a period of major political shift.

[ianmdrennan 2]

I think you miss the point.

He can't get insurance at a reasonable price anymore.

Now, you could argue that if he hadn't dropped it, it's unlikely the price would have risen, but even that's not guaranteed.

Remember, the discussion is about affordable health insurance for everyone (at least to me it is)

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[idrankwhat 0]

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Now, you could argue that if he hadn't dropped it, it's unlikely the price would have risen,..

It would be a short argument.
http://slides.kff.org/chart.aspx?ch=1182

[Ion01 2]

He goes to a free clinic......do you know where those free clinics typically come from? The Big Evil Business!!! They contribute money to such causes....sometimes for the audacity of having thier name on the clinic! We have to stop these evil empires from helping society! The fed needs to step up now!

[Ion01 2]

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Healthcare, if passed, could mean the end of the Republican Party. Once people get it, the 40 some million helped immediately, plus the others allowd to retire due to it, etc will be in such love with the new HC that anyone who runs under a platform of HC retraction will go the way of Ron Paul, and the distrust that people will have in any Republican promising not to retract / contract HC will make them unlikely to be elected.

Just like in the UK where everyone love public healthcare so much! They love it so much they die for it.....litterly, while waiting to be treated. Some love it so very much they come here to get treated by our third rate system instead of using thier own wonderful public system!

this is true. even thatcher didn't have the balls to mess around with or sell off any bits of our nhs (after all we'd fought a world war to get it)

[lawrocket 3]

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By 2002 he says he was paying $400 a month. That's when he decided to drop his insurance coverage with plans to reinstate it in a few months' time when a friend said she'd be able to help him get a cheaper policy.

Bruce was fit, had no health problems. What could happen? A massive heart attack in July.

So here's a guy who rolled the dice and lost. Yep. Nothing indicated that he couldn't afford insurance. he was insured until a divorce, then had to pay $187 per month. Then up to $400 per month. So, 15 years of insurance at $400 per month.

This is, in my mind, a CLASSIC example of the uninsured. Someone with wealth who decided that he would rather spend his money elsewhere. Then, "woe is me."

Boo hoo. I know a local attorney who opted out of health care coverage (he had a new wife, 30 years younger than him) and they traveled and she doesn't work, etc. A triple bypass later and he's still facing the bills.

Had this guy just kept his damned insurance he'd STILL be covered. But nooooooo. He decided to spend his money elsewhere instead of on peace of mind. So he dropped his insurance with plans to reinstate it. Yeah. Smart thinking there to go uncovered, there, buddy. By the way, I'm sure he knows that he was within a 60 day period to cover pre-existing conditions when he had his heart attack.

And now he wants me to cover his ass?

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The fees for his triple bypass a bill he has never paid came to $71,000.

Apparently, his life is simply not worth that. What a way to say thanks to the folks who saved his life. Don't pay them.

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Bruce, now 61, has been uninsured ever since.

I guess he's decided not to get a job, where he could get group coverage.

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As a self-employed worker, he can't afford the $1,800 or so a month insurance companies have quoted him for someone with a history of heart disease.

Apparently, his business is going shitty and has been for a long time. Ever think about looking for a job? Maybe even part-time?


This is just the sort of shit that people are out there looking to subsidize. Isn't that great? The wonders of society where this guys should be rewarded!

I ask this - will the government pay his bypass bill? Or will it make sure that the only people who deserve to get paid end up shafted?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[diablopilot 2]

What he said.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Lucky... 0]

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He goes to a free clinic......do you know where those free clinics typically come from? The Big Evil Business!!! They contribute money to such causes....sometimes for the audacity of having thier name on the clinic! We have to stop these evil empires from helping society! The fed needs to step up now!

You miss the point, he can't go to a doctor for regular checkups, he has to wait until he's sick and then they pursue you for it.

AGAIN, CONSERVATIVES, HOW YOU MAKE A LIBERAL IS YOU TAKE A CONSERVATIVE AND PUT HIM/HER IN A PLACE OF NEED, THEN YOU HAVE A LIBERAL.

[Lucky... 0]

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So here's a guy who rolled the dice and lost. Yep. Nothing indicated that he couldn't afford insurance. he was insured until a divorce, then had to pay $187 per month. Then up to $400 per month. So, 15 years of insurance at $400 per month.

It was a bad string of occurrences that led to his demise. You make assumptions he could still afford the 400/mo, nothing states that.

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This is, in my mind, a CLASSIC example of the uninsured. Someone with wealth who decided that he would rather spend his money elsewhere. Then, "woe is me."

As long as you understand why liberals / moderates refer to conservatives as incompassionate. Again, you assume he had welth, his business had slipped it stated.

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Boo hoo. I know a local attorney who opted out of health care coverage (he had a new wife, 30 years younger than him) and they traveled and she doesn't work, etc. A triple bypass later and he's still facing the bills.

He s/b punnished.

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Had this guy just kept his damned insurance he'd STILL be covered. But nooooooo. He decided to spend his money elsewhere instead of on peace of mind.

You make that assumption.

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And now he wants me to cover his ass?

No, compassionate healthcare won't cost you, there is no relationship; please illustrate one.

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I guess he's decided not to get a job, where he could get group coverage.

That won't accept pre-existing conditions.

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This is just the sort of shit that people are out there looking to subsidize. Isn't that great? The wonders of society where this guys should be rewarded!

I know, what a humane thing to do, give the guy HC....ya know, you're right, some people just want to lavish in luxury.

[mnealtx 0]

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You miss the point, he can't go to a doctor for regular checkups, he has to wait until he's sick and then they pursue you for it.

Bull - there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Lucky... 0]

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You miss the point, he can't go to a doctor for regular checkups, he has to wait until he's sick and then they pursue you for it.

Bull - there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

Except cash.

[mnealtx 0]

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So here's a guy who rolled the dice and lost. Yep. Nothing indicated that he couldn't afford insurance. he was insured until a divorce, then had to pay $187 per month. Then up to $400 per month. So, 15 years of insurance at $400 per month.

It was a bad string of occurrences that led to his demise. You make assumptions he could still afford the 400/mo, nothing states that.

And YOU assume he couldn't - nothing states THAT, either.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[mnealtx 0]

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You miss the point, he can't go to a doctor for regular checkups, he has to wait until he's sick and then they pursue you for it.

Bull - there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

Except cash.

Prove it.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[billvon 3,114]

>there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

True. And then he could just not pay afterwards. Which, of course, is the GOP version of a healthcare plan.

[mnealtx 0]

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>there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

True. And then he could just not pay afterwards. Which, of course, is the GOP version of a healthcare plan.

Nice hyperbole there, bill - got any more?

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Lucky... 0]

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You miss the point, he can't go to a doctor for regular checkups, he has to wait until he's sick and then they pursue you for it.

Bull - there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

Except cash.

Prove it.

It's a story allegedly based upon a factual situation, these situations are known to be prevalent. I know it's unusual for you to have people post citations, but I did. If you care to impeach it then go for it.

It's a USA Today article, if they are a bunch of liberal-pandering agenda-driven media types then go for that angle.

[billvon 3,114]

>Nice hyperbole there, bill . . .

Hyperbole? A hyperbole is figure of speech in which statements are intentionally exaggerated. And since a conservative here actually suggested this approach for 'cash patients' who had trouble paying, there's no exaggeration.

[mnealtx 0]

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You miss the point, he can't go to a doctor for regular checkups, he has to wait until he's sick and then they pursue you for it.

Bull - there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient.

Except cash.

Prove it.

It's a story allegedly based upon a factual situation, these situations are known to be prevalent. I know it's unusual for you to have people post citations, but I did. If you care to impeach it then go for it.

It's a USA Today article, if they are a bunch of liberal-pandering agenda-driven media types then go for that angle.

Spare me the hyperbole - if it can't be proven he had the money to pay for a checkup, it can't be proven he didn't. You can't have it both ways.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[pirana 0]

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Once people get it, the 40 some million helped immediately, plus the others allowd to retire due to it, etc will be in such love with the new HC . . .

So 40 million people are going to immediately avail themselves to the new "free" health care, and a whole bunch more are going to retire (I'm guessing because they no longer need the "free" care available thru employers and will get the "free" care thru the government).

Who foots the bill?

Not even addressing that in the 40 million are at least 10 million, maybe 15 million illegals; which will make getting here illegally that much more attractive to a whole lot more people that want to get in on the "free" health care.

Your vision is incredibly myopic.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[pirana 0]

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This is, in my mind, a CLASSIC example of the uninsured. Someone with wealth who decided that he would rather spend his money elsewhere. Then, "woe is me."

He represents about 5 million of the 40 million uninsured. So not a classic example, but representing a good portion of the whole. People that choose not to be covered even though they can afford it, then everything is boo-hoo and the system sucks and look what they've done to me when they need it.

The classic example is a non-citizen. They make up the largest chunk of the uninsured - which is why that 40 to 45 million number that gets thrown about is such a farce.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[pirana 0]

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AGAIN, CONSERVATIVES, HOW YOU MAKE A LIBERAL IS YOU TAKE A CONSERVATIVE AND PUT HIM/HER IN A PLACE OF NEED, THEN YOU HAVE A LIBERAL.

No, that would be an example of a person who's principles are situational; though it could easily represent a simple majority of the population. They are not conservatives or liberals, they just borrow whatever label makes them feel good at the time or will get them the most mileage.

I don't do those kinds of labels. If our elected officials gave them up they might be able to see past them and get something meaningful done instead of getting paid to bicker like the Hatfields and McCoys.

BTW, I'd be fine with the demise of the Rep party, so long as we could sweep out the Dems with them.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley