What if you can't pay for your health needs?

Let's say you're poor, you don't have health insurance and your new born child is diagnosed with a genetic illness that requires him to be connected to a medical machine for the first year and then afterwards to other expensive medical treatments on a regular basis.

Or let's say you're what's usually called lower middle class, you're not really poor but you don't have much savings either (despite living quite frugally). You weren't insured yourself because your employer didn't include health insurance, instead you were insured through your husband. Now you get diagnosed with cancer, on the same day your husband loses his job (real case! not invented). Also the insurance of your husband finds a loophole which allows them not to cover you because the employer of your husband had less than 20 employees (and thus the insurance, for a weird reason, doesn't need to pay for you). You and your partner than take all your savings (around $20'000) to get the first series of medical tests and operations to get rid of the tumor. Then the money is used up. But the doctors tell you that you should really follow this up now with chemo therapy, otherwise the tumor could grow again. But you don't have the money for it.

What could be done in these cases?

What should be done in these cases?

How could you, or your child, survive this?

Go to a childrens hospital that doesn't ask for payment like the Shriners hospital.

Go to a city hospital where they can't refuse service to anyone.

all

1) they automatically qualify for what already amounts to universal health care for the poor
2) with one income they may now be poor or every hospital has a certain amount of charity set asides-apply for these, apply for new medical trials while you sue the insurance company and your employer for failing to disclose

allthegoodnamesweretaken wrote:Go to a childrens hospital that doesn't ask for payment like the Shriners hospital.

Go to a city hospital where they can't refuse service to anyone.

all

This.

Also, another option I've used in the past is going to a low-income clinic.

We have $50 a visit clinics that I utilize; but the real issue is catastrophic care.

We need more clinics, for sure. The lines/waits/stresses on workers is too much.

...I live in Canada.

Repeat after me:

"I pledge and affirm my allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second of Canada, and her heirs"

Now go to the hospital and get treated. You don't have to sue, or beg. Health care in the richest nations on the earth is not a privilege, it is a right.

If you had to add up how many more people die each year because of lack of what the rest of the English speaking world accepts as minimal care, and compare it to the Iraq and Afghanistan casualty rates, you might stop wondering if bringing guns to health care rallies might not be a bad idea.

that includes English speaking South Africa?

Davelaw wrote:that includes English speaking South Africa?

Are they still a British territory?

Seriously. I don't know if they are.

sacrificialgoddess wrote:

Davelaw wrote:that includes English speaking South Africa?

Are they still a British territory?

Seriously. I don't know if they are.

South Africa is a commonwealth country

allthegoodnamesweretaken wrote:Go to a childrens hospital that doesn't ask for payment like the Shriners hospital.

They'll treat the kid for free? Even if it has continuous and expensive medical needS?

Go to a city hospital where they can't refuse service to anyone.

They'll do the chemo for free (or a much lower price)?

TigersEyeDowsing wrote:We need more clinics, for sure. The lines/waits/stresses on workers is too much.

who will finance these clinics?

John T Mainer wrote:Repeat after me:

"I pledge and affirm my allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second of Canada, and her heirs"

Now go to the hospital and get treated. You don't have to sue, or beg. Health care in the richest nations on the earth is not a privilege, it is a right.

If you had to add up how many more people die each year because of lack of what the rest of the English speaking world accepts as minimal care, and compare it to the Iraq and Afghanistan casualty rates, you might stop wondering if bringing guns to health care rallies might not be a bad idea.

Uh, doesn't Obama want to bring the US system closer to the better functioning health care systems of the rest of the western world?

Celsus wrote:

allthegoodnamesweretaken wrote:Go to a childrens hospital that doesn't ask for payment like the Shriners hospital.

They'll treat the kid for free? Even if it has continuous and expensive medical needS?

Actually the Shriners will. That is what they do.

sacrificialgoddess wrote:

Celsus wrote:

allthegoodnamesweretaken wrote:Go to a childrens hospital that doesn't ask for payment like the Shriners hospital.

They'll treat the kid for free? Even if it has continuous and expensive medical needS?

Actually the Shriners will. That is what they do.

Wow, cool. How do they finance it? (edited: oh, it's a Masonic charity?)

Uh, seems they have trouble financing the whole thing though:

On April 9, 2009, Ralph Semb, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Shriners Hospitals for Children, said "Unless we do something, the clock is ticking and within five to seven years we'll probably be out of the hospital business and not have any hospitals."

(from Wiki)

I think probably it is time to stop trying to police the world and start spending our money in this country to better the lives of individuals here.

Celsus wrote:

TigersEyeDowsing wrote:We need more clinics, for sure. The lines/waits/stresses on workers is too much.

who will finance these clinics?

and neighborhood clinics are for profit

gillyflower wrote:I think probably it is time to stop trying to police the world and start spending our money in this country to better the lives of individuals here.

what happened to the global village?

Davelaw wrote:

Celsus wrote:

TigersEyeDowsing wrote:We need more clinics, for sure. The lines/waits/stresses on workers is too much.

who will finance these clinics?

and neighborhood clinics are for profit

so if there is a profit to be made then why aren't there more/enough clinics?

American doctors have higher wealth expectations and we stupidly limit the amount of foreign trained professionals that can enter this country

the clinics are general practice; the majority of American med school graduates specialize

Medical school is expensive, as All has thrown out there... I'm sure once a doctor graduates he expects to be paid well, and not spend his days working for peanuts with the trash of society.

the artificially high cost of medical school is part of the problem

Davelaw wrote:

gillyflower wrote:I think probably it is time to stop trying to police the world and start spending our money in this country to better the lives of individuals here.

what happened to the global village?

Do you mean why don't I think of everyone in the world before I try to care for the needs of the people in my family and my friends?