While millions upon millions of Americans don't have any health care insurance and/or are one serious illness or accident away from financial ruin, I'm one of the lucky few who enjoys universal health care. When I'm sick or injured, I go to the doctor or hospital to get serviced and it's simple as a, b, c. There are no co-payments nor deductibles. I don't pay a monthly nor annual premium. It's a grand "insurance" system that greatly reduces my level of anxiety when it comes to health care matters.
Would you like to get in on this wonderful deal? It only takes two simple things -- you must be disabled and you must be dirt poor! (Actually, if you're almost entirely destitute, you don't even have to be disabled.)
Go out and lose your job. Make sure that no one else in your immediate family makes very much money. Move to an area where there are few jobs and make sure you're one of the unlucky ones who never gets hired. Sell all of your excess belongings to help cover the bills which, because of your almost nonexistent income, you can't keep up with anyway.
Learn to eat cheap and make sure you apply for food stamps. Cut out all extraneous expenses. No more vacations!! No more eating out!! No more shopping for the latest fashions -- your very few clothing purchases will come from thrift stores. Frequent the food bank and apply for energy assistance every winter. Apply for almost every form of subsidy that you qualify for. You'll still have trouble making it from month to month!
If you can do all of this, then and only then, you will probably qualify for one of this nation's only forms of universal health coverage -- Medicaid.
Before I got on Medicaid, I simply didn't go to the doctor. We couldn't afford it. When I was sick or injured, I simply suffered. All those years of neglect are now coming back to bite me on the butt big time.
In March, I had my gall bladder removed. I showed up at the local emergency room in utter agony. Rather than being whisked off to see the financial counselors before being seen by ER staff, I simply handed them my Medicaid card. Later, after the surgery, no bill arrived in my mail box.
In May, I received my first pair of bifocals. I hadn't upgraded my vision prescription for over a decade and I was wearing the same frames I had purchased in the early 90s!! Like many people, my vision has been slowly deteriorating over the years and my old lenses were no longer doing the job. In essence, I was wearing a pair of glasses that only improved my vision about half ass.
But that all changed when I went to the optometrist! I handed them my Medicaid card and, in short order, I had a sparkling new pair of glasses. I could see again!!! I didn't hand them any money and no bill arrived later on.
I'm currently going through the process of getting a full set of dentures made. Sometime in the next month or two, I will undergo oral surgery to have all my rotten teeth removed -- teeth that have not seen a dentist's drill for over a decade -- under general anesthesia. This procedure needed pre-approval, but said approval was granted 2 weeks ago.
When the time comes, I won't need to write a check or wait anxiously for a big bill to arrive. As in the other cases, I'll simply hand them my Medicaid card and the financial arrangements will be taken care of for me.
I think it's a sad indictment indeed that our nation only affords this type of universal coverage to disabled and/or poor people like me. It should be this way for everybody!! A person should not have to sink to the lowest rungs of society to insure their health care matters are taken care of.
Would you like to get in on this wonderful deal? It only takes two simple things -- you must be disabled and you must be dirt poor! (Actually, if you're almost entirely destitute, you don't even have to be disabled.)
Go out and lose your job. Make sure that no one else in your immediate family makes very much money. Move to an area where there are few jobs and make sure you're one of the unlucky ones who never gets hired. Sell all of your excess belongings to help cover the bills which, because of your almost nonexistent income, you can't keep up with anyway.
Learn to eat cheap and make sure you apply for food stamps. Cut out all extraneous expenses. No more vacations!! No more eating out!! No more shopping for the latest fashions -- your very few clothing purchases will come from thrift stores. Frequent the food bank and apply for energy assistance every winter. Apply for almost every form of subsidy that you qualify for. You'll still have trouble making it from month to month!
If you can do all of this, then and only then, you will probably qualify for one of this nation's only forms of universal health coverage -- Medicaid.
Before I got on Medicaid, I simply didn't go to the doctor. We couldn't afford it. When I was sick or injured, I simply suffered. All those years of neglect are now coming back to bite me on the butt big time.
In March, I had my gall bladder removed. I showed up at the local emergency room in utter agony. Rather than being whisked off to see the financial counselors before being seen by ER staff, I simply handed them my Medicaid card. Later, after the surgery, no bill arrived in my mail box.
In May, I received my first pair of bifocals. I hadn't upgraded my vision prescription for over a decade and I was wearing the same frames I had purchased in the early 90s!! Like many people, my vision has been slowly deteriorating over the years and my old lenses were no longer doing the job. In essence, I was wearing a pair of glasses that only improved my vision about half ass.
But that all changed when I went to the optometrist! I handed them my Medicaid card and, in short order, I had a sparkling new pair of glasses. I could see again!!! I didn't hand them any money and no bill arrived later on.
I'm currently going through the process of getting a full set of dentures made. Sometime in the next month or two, I will undergo oral surgery to have all my rotten teeth removed -- teeth that have not seen a dentist's drill for over a decade -- under general anesthesia. This procedure needed pre-approval, but said approval was granted 2 weeks ago.
When the time comes, I won't need to write a check or wait anxiously for a big bill to arrive. As in the other cases, I'll simply hand them my Medicaid card and the financial arrangements will be taken care of for me.
I think it's a sad indictment indeed that our nation only affords this type of universal coverage to disabled and/or poor people like me. It should be this way for everybody!! A person should not have to sink to the lowest rungs of society to insure their health care matters are taken care of.
i am lucky because my husband has a job, and we have insurance. still, the bill for having a baby will be over $3000. i still need to get my wisdom teeth out (because they have cavities) and i won't be able to get that done for a long time because that will be around $2000... even with insurance. we "own" a house and some land but we live as you describe, making minimal purchases, never eating out, etc... mostly for financial reasons. (but even if i were rich i would choose to live simply.) i count myself very fortunate in this life because i haven't ever been dirt poor or disabled, but i still avoid going to the doctor because of the expense! our country is in desperate need of health care reform! but i really don't have any idea of what system would work, sadly.
ReplyDeleteOn this I agree with you, Trey. Profit motive is not a good way to allocate health care.
ReplyDeleteIktomi,
ReplyDeleteThese days it's rough on so many families whether they do or don't have health insurance. Like I wrote, most of you are one health care crisis away from financial catastrophe! That singular fact doesn't bode well for this nation.
Dasein36,
OMG!! A radical leftist and rightist in agreement. Does this mean the world will end soon? :D
Uh oh. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat do the characters in your new profile picture say?
It's the word, Tao.
ReplyDeleteHI R T -
ReplyDeleteAmazing huh? Well, I got the disabled part down but we still make too much money. Eesh. I am glad Skipp has health insurance but it costs a fortune - his is free as a manager but he has to pay for mine $130.00 per week comes out of his check DO the math. We barely scrape by and we live quite simply. I am not complaing though, I am glad for allwe have and can manage. We just ordered our seasoned fire wood and are happy we can. :-)
Love to you
Gail
peace.....