Too Sick to Work? Need Health Care? Take a Number

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Published on Wednesday, December 24, 2008 by the Associated Press
Too Sick to Work? Need Health Care? Take a Number
by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
WASHINGTON - Master toolmaker John McClain built machine parts with details so small they couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Then a lump on his neck turned out to be cancer.

Shalonda Frederick poses at her apartment in Glen Burnie, Md., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. Shalonda Frederick managed a bakery, where she decorated cakes for special occasions. One day her face and hands, and her arms and legs, started clenching up. Then she fell off a ladder at work. It turned out to be multiple sclerosis. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)Shalonda Frederick managed a bakery, and decorated cakes for special occasions. One day her face and hands, and her arms and legs, started clenching up. Then she fell off a ladder at work. It turned out to be multiple sclerosis.

McClain, 56, and Frederick, 33, are unlucky enough to have gotten seriously ill in their most productive years. Theirs is a daily struggle against life-changing circumstances.

As if that weren't enough, after years of counting on employer medical benefits, they are uninsured - and trapped in one of the most troubling gaps in the nation's health care system.

After reviewing their cases, the government declared McClain and Frederick too sick to work and started issuing them monthly Social Security disability checks. Then they found out they'd have to wait two years to get health care through Medicare. Even though workers and their employers pay the payroll taxes that fund Medicare, federal law requires disabled workers to wait 24-months before they can begin receiving benefits.

McClain and Frederick are far from alone. An estimated 1.8 million disabled workers are languishing in Medicare limbo at any given time. And about one out of eight dies waiting.

As many as one-third of those waiting are uninsured.

Frederick needs an expensive injection to control her symptoms; McClain, a scan of a new, and potentially problematic, spot. Neither can afford it. Instead, they fend off creditors, sink deeper into debt and fume that a system they paid into all those years isn't available when they need it.

"The government is the screwiest insurance company I ever saw," said McClain, of Allen, Texas. "What is it that I was paying for out of my check every pay period? They have taken the charge for Medicare out of my paycheck, and now that I need it, I can't have it."

With President-elect Barack Obama promising to guarantee health care coverage for all, advocates for the disabled are hoping that repeal of the Medicare waiting period is finally at hand.

"The current law is really indefensible," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. "There is no logic behind requiring people who are determined to be disabled to wait two years before they become eligible for Medicare." Bingaman introduced a bill to phase out the waiting period, and as a senator Obama co-sponsored it.

It turns out there is a simple explanation for the waiting period: cost.

In 1972, Congress and President Richard Nixon agreed to expand Medicare to cover not only seniors but the disabled. They created a waiting period to minimize costs and discourage people from gaming the system.

Over time, the consequences of the waiting period - and the costs of repeal - have only grown.

In the 1970s, there wasn't a whole lot medical science could do for many cancer patients. Now cancer is thought of less as a death sentence, and more as a manageable disease.

But as drugs and treatments for serious illnesses have improved, the cost of closing the Medicare gap has ballooned. Estimates range up to $12 billion a year. And that gives lawmakers pause.

"When it comes to people dying of cancer, you can't help but be sympathetic," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "But at a time when we have a big downturn in the economy, it may be questionable what can be done in a lot of these areas." Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate committee that oversees Medicare, said he hasn't made up his mind about a repeal of the waiting period.

A possible compromise that could save taxpayers money would be to subsidize a continuation of employer coverage for disabled workers during the 24-month wait. Many can keep their benefits now, provided they pay the full premium, which not all can afford.

But that wouldn't help those without job-based coverage.

The government already exempts people who need kidney dialysis and those with Lou Gehrig's disease from the waiting period.

Economist Pamela Farley Short of Penn State University, who has researched the issue, said the waiting period should concern all workers.

"It's easy to think it's not going to happen to me," she said. "But when you follow people over time, just over 15 percent of those who are 55 are going to be on Medicare before they turn 65. That doesn't seem so trivial."

Nearly 7 million disabled people under age 65 are now covered through Medicare.

Of those still waiting for coverage, about 60 percent manage to hang on to private insurance. Many draw down their retirement savings to pay premiums through a previous employer's health plan. Others fall into poverty and are picked up by Medicaid. As many as one in three, like McClain and Frederick, wind up uninsured.

McClain was diagnosed with cancer a little more than two years ago. He was at work one night when he reached up to scratch his neck and felt a big lump. He hadn't been feeling particularly well for several months. The next day he started getting dizzy and went to the emergency room.

Eventually, the diagnosis came back: a tumor on his left tonsil.

McClain doesn't spare himself when it comes to blame. He started smoking cigarettes at 13, and, though he has cut down, has been unable to quit.

"I don't know how to say how stupid I am for still smoking," he said.

His cancer treatment has been arduous: Chemotherapy. Radiation. A feeding tube. Bouts of depression and anxiety. His weight dropped from about 150 pounds to 116. But the cancer seems to be retreating.

McClain has begun to feel his energy come back, and he yearns to go back to the machine shop. Yet he is worried about a small area in his throat. And he can't afford to pay for a scan because he lost his insurance at the end of October.

"I think I have around $22 in savings," he said. "After talking with my creditors and a debt management company, it sounds like bankruptcy. The funny part is, I have a perfect payment history to this day, and none of them can figure out how I made it this far."

Like McClain, Frederick, the former bakery manager, is spiraling toward bankruptcy.

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive disease in which the immune system attacks the protective covering around the nerves. It can lead to paralysis. Frederick was diagnosed in 2002.

"My MS affects my mobility," said Frederick, of Glen Burnie, Md. "I have shaky hands and legs. When I lay still at night, I can feel my muscles vibrate. It's like a dim humming and I can't sleep. I stretch my legs, and then I can't bend them."

Frederick had to leave the bakery because her hands shook too much to decorate cakes. Then, in the fall of 2007, she lost her fallback job as an event planner. Even with her disability check, she is behind on rent and utilities. Without health insurance, she can't afford an injection that costs around $3,000 each time and helps control her MS. She is supposed to get a treatment every three months. Her last was in July.

"They tell you to go to school and graduate and get a career," Frederick said. "I did all of that, so why is this happening now?

"I'm old enough to know that there are things in life that happen that aren't fair," she continued. "I was employed from when I was 15 to when I was 32. I worked my whole life and I paid into this fund."



© 2008 Associated Press
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Revenge Girl December 26th, 2008 6:52 pm
If you are American and can not work, but have children, the ONLY value you have for the state - is to provide the next generation of low skilled, low paid workers. This is how the USA keeps the Ponzi scheme (one of many) of the Social Security System solvent for the moment... By paying poor people to have children they can't afford to care for. Thus, the next generation can pay into the Soc. Sec. system, for the care of coming retirees.

This props up the economy, by funneling money from social services into consumption of commodities (for the kids - schools, doctors, pharmacuitical corps. etc.) and salaries for the bureaucrats and inurance companies that run the system. This is not sustainable. Unfortunately, most people have to become disabled and destitute before they find out just how much their government hates them.

When you read the government literature on disability - it's all about how the disabled person should get back to work. But says very little about getting them back to health. (Nothing is ever said about treating a person with dignity while they wait for a disability decision). Treating the applicant like garbage is the government's only assurance (besides corrupt doctors) that the disabled person will give up and go away (or become homeless and die). Obama's main points about disability from his website - are focused on disabled people working, and being treated fairly in the workplace.

If you don't have children, the government doesn't give a damn about you unless you are paying taxes, or willing to work for an hourly wage. Your life is only valued by the hour. But if you end up in a faith based shelter - the government will give them money.

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aminahyaquin December 26th, 2008 4:54 pm
The biggest shock to me was that i thought every person in USA had up to six years of emergency public assistance (minute amount but pays for such necessities as toilet paper and cleaning agents and doctors fees and personal hygeine products)under the so-called welfare reform
well i had no income whatsoever for over 18 months because if you are too sick to work there is NO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE UNLESS YOU HAve CHILDREN< AND IT IS THEN GIVEN ONLY FOR THEM!!

our nation has become a corporate welfare plutocracy

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snydly December 25th, 2008 9:36 pm
snydly

Eat wrong, medicine can't help.
Eat right, don't need medicine.

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TheVisitorfromAfar December 25th, 2008 3:45 am
All governments, religions, insurance, law, and medical-health "care" systems, are nothing more than monopolistic rackets designed to fleece the pockets of their respective citizens. This I learned at a very early age from my wise grandfather who taught me the way of knowing truth from untruth; that trust cannot be given cheaply it must be earned; what isn't seen isn't to be trusted, particularly regarding boasts by characters like the mealy-mouthed politicians and bureaucratic doctors who ASSURE US that "THEY have the answer, THEY can save us blahblahblah adnauseum.

What's most striking to me in this article, is that there's an appalling lack of COMMUNITY everywhere...in effect, the SYSTEM is breaking down and the Chaos Theory is fast becoming a reality!

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Pangolin December 25th, 2008 2:03 am
In the US denial of health care is used as a major threat to keep wages low and employees in line. If you should become so sick that you are no longer a "worker" then the system isn't interested in keeping you alive.

In addition to the problems noted by all of the other commentators the mental health care in the US seems to be designed to promote suicide. Ask anybody with a family member with mental-health issues whether they can get compassionate and effective care and the answer is always no. I had a family member commit suicide three blocks from his county mental health clinic. Upon investigation it became clear to me that he had absolutely no chance of receiving effective crisis care should he have requested it.

The system needs to be scrapped from the education of doctors to shutting down private, for-profit, insurance companies. Cuba puts doctors in clinics four years after they start post-secondary education. In the US it takes eight years and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.

Shut it down and rebuild from day one.

Fighting the forces of rather dim lighting wherever they may be found!!

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OleManRiver December 24th, 2008 9:32 pm
Bill Clinton to President-elect Obama:

"You married my ex-wife: you can't be much smarter than me."

Just another anecdotal...

Actually the whole issue of health care is a nightmare of conflicting demands. Most of us for example have no idea how SEMANTICS may or may not make us sick.

Several years ago---more than a decade ago---I suggested to a cousin who had an advanced degree in biology, that words could create emotions. She denied it. Outright. Her brother worked for the NSA. My father worked for NASA.

I guess I should not quit writing right now. On my paternal side several Elders have written books. They had no "medical care." There were no doctors. They were Midwest farmers and they boiled their linens. Back then, those large families were still part of the landscape. War and the application of science changed the 20th Century.

Today, we are just beginning to see the "health care" costs of using "depleted uranium weapons" in wars we had no right to start. There is hubris here. Robert Oppenheimer recognized it at the Trinity test more than half a century ago. We have become Vishnu. We have become Nature.
We have become God. We are idiots.

-30-

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MikeCorbeil December 24th, 2008 8:59 pm
"Siouxrose December 24th, 2008 5:56 pm

Sioux Rose

...

This was the thought I had upon reading this, .... We know that medical school costs a fortune. What should occur is that a percentage of those with scholastic aptitudes suitable for attending medical school should get all their tuition & classes FREE with the understanding they will staff a clinic for a minimum of 3-4 years. ...

We need more barter... if there's no money, one person's trade can answer another's need. ... Any thoughts on the idea of medical training in exchange for community service?"

ANY THOUGHTS? Well, one is 'Cuba', which I've read also has a program through which U.S. citizens can acquire medical schooling in Cuba, perhaps even at no cost, that is, no tuition, as long as the students agree to work for the poor or only the poor for some number of years after obtaining their MD accreditation.

Another thought is about Iraq as it was under the govt of Saddam Hussein, when all schooling was free, that is, covered by the govt's coffers filled from I guess the national energy resources of Iraq being sold, and once Iraqis became and started working as MDs, then access was free to the Iraqi population.

A third idea is to not copy the medical system in Canada, or not the one in Quebec anyway, for while I think it was once good here, decades ago, I believe that it's been on the decline for well over a decade, perhaps since the 1980s.

The healthcare system may cost less on a per capita basis in Canada than costs amount to in the U.S., but what if you don't get medical or hospital service for the money the system does cost you or taxpayers? What if you have to wait for two years, and that's when you're lucky, such as due to someone cancelling their appointment or having died, f.e., before you can get urgently needed surgery? What if ...? Etcetera.

Pharma. products being less expensive than in the U.S. is beneficial alright, for the people who need this stuff anyway, that is; but this lower cost is not due to the govt healthcare system being or providing universal or single-payer here, not as far as I'm aware anyway. I think it's simply that the govt better, more stringently regulates the pharma. industry in Canada. Besides, single-payer healthcare is not for pharma. products; when you are resident here and have your health card, and then get prescriptions from doctors, then you pay for the prescribed meds when picking them up at the pharmacie. Then the govt covers the doctor bill, while you cover the pharma. cost; dual- not single-payer. Perhaps the tax dollars going to the healthcare system help with keeping pharma. meds at lower costs, but patients still have to pay a good portion for their meds, and I doubt the pharma. corporations in Canada are gougers like their counterparts in the U.S.

What's evidently needed in the U.S., or everywhere, for that matter, is single-payer, universal healthcare coverage for everyone and for both hospital and doctor fees, as well as for pharma. meds.

Why not cover both, or even more? After all, it takes a sick society to put pharma. products, so meds, in the hands of greedy, capitalist, corporatist, ... business. Business is fine when it comes to non-essential things, so electrical appliances, motor vehicles, and much more, but when it comes to what's definitely essential for health, then medical, including pharma., and we could probably, if not simply should, include psychology and psychiatry, as well as chiro. and perhaps some other soft "medical" practices; all of these should be protected from corporate profit(eers), predators.

And we should be able to add agriculture, given food should not be subject to the profiteers of the world and should be available as needed for everyone.

Utupia!

Anyway, Cuba and Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, made their healthcare systems work, and both proved to do well even during severe economic sanctions imposed by criminals U.S. and Europe.

Barter is definitely good when two or more parties get the trade they'll accept, and it's yet another matter of good that the govt has screwed with, by imposing taxes on bartering, when there are cases the govt knows about, and then once the evaluation for the value of the trade has been determined. Iow, bartering is good, but don't tell the govt that you're doing this; unless you want to pay taxes.

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GwNorth December 25th, 2008 6:38 pm
When I am comparing the Canadian system to the American , I am always keeping in mind that OUR system in Canada is not as highly rated as others.

One of the problems is that in trying to thget their balanced budgets, the Federal Government started downloading costs to the Provinces.

Another is that for some odd reason in the mid 1990s it was thought our medical schools were turning out too many Doctors and that there would soon be a surplus. This prompted the same Government to try and slow the training of Doctors.

A major reason for our health care not being as Good as some smaller countries is also geography.

My parents actually had to move from one town to a major City for medical care as the drive to get the type of care they needed was not available in that smaller town. I really do not see a PRACTICAL means of addressing this.

Canada is a whole lot of territory with the bulk of people living in a strip along the Southern border. It is simply NOT practical to put in all the advanced diagnostic machines in a smaller center .

In smaller countries the high end gear and facilities can be put in a major center because no part of that country is more then an hours drive or two from one of those larger cities.

In Canada you can drive 8 hours from one town of 1200 people and the biggest town you pass through will not be much larger.

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NYCartist December 25th, 2008 7:26 pm
GWNorth:oddly, the US started cutting back on training doctors also, around the time it happened in Canada. The government said schools were turning out too many doctors in the US. Here, hospitals started using a lot of foreign trained doctors for residents and interns, I think. Many nurses from the Philippines,also.

Also, many US students went to other countries to go to medical school due to fewer places here and costs.

I have a pal with my disabling illness in England, who has a bit of a way to go (she's in a small town)for specialized care (like a dentist in a hospital clinic)but not like Canada. I do think Canada could do better in re giving paid attendant care hours so folks can live at home, if a relative doesn't want to supervise or do care giving. I know someone who just went into a nursing home, unwillingly, at 60, with a disability and could have lived at home, but spouse didn't want to bother. I know that for the same person I am writing about, private funding was required to supplement to get more than the hours alloted by the government for an aide/attendant to help with care, going out, etc. Spouse was out at work. (Not a high salary.)

It's really bad here for disabled people who want to stay in our own homes, if some assist is needed for shopping, personal care, someone to go out accompanying disabled person. The nursing home lobbyists in the US are very effective. www.adapt.org is a group fighting for attendant care at home in the US. Canada is still better than here. I appreciate your comments in various places. Thanks.

I didn't see "Sicko". What country do you think has the best single payer health system?

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GwNorth December 26th, 2008 12:21 am
I think France and Japan have good systems but for very different reasons. What I would like to see is Canada adopt a blend of the two.

First I would never give up the Insurance system in Canada . Everyone must have the right to health care and should not be denied coverage for pre existing condtions and or because they do not have enough money.

I would ALLOW a parallel system of private Insurers/providers with severe restrictions. If a person In Canada wants to pay extra, out of pocket for care it should be allowed with a percentage of those extra monies plowed back into the public system.

An extra tax if you would on the profits that would otherwise occur. There are concerns here that such would drain the Public system of money and of professionals but France seems able to handle this.

The other thing I would do is form one authroity that oversees healthcare coast to coast. This group would be less concerned with DELIVERY of health care then with the prevention.

This group would look at all the science, be totally independent of Private groups and lobbyists and have the means to prevent all these chemicals, toxins, processed foods and the like from getting into our system in the first place.

They should deliver HEALTH and not treatment. They should focus on prevention of illnesses rather then PROFITS of companies, be they food suppliers, drug firms whatever.

When I mentioned Japan, while it may have not been the intent of that Government, they do have overall a healthier population simple because of lifestyle.

When you look at the numbers from Japan, they may not be as successful in treating cancers and the like but the people there dont catch develop the same diseases we do simply because they are "healthier".

I hope Canada NEVER becomes like the United States wherein we feel we have the "best system in the world" . We do not have the best. We have strengths and weaknesses and as a country we should look outwards and pick the best of every system integrating it into our own along with a serious effort at prevention.

A very simple example. A lot of schools make Physical education programs an option. Those should be mandatory. The Government of BC recently introduced tax breaks if one joins a fitness program in a gym...good idea.

We slapped ever higher taxes on things like Cigarettes.....at one time well over 50 percent of the people smoked and now its down to 17 percent. I have no problem with "sin taxes".

lets slap an extra tax on junk food, processed foods, pesticides, herbicides all with the proviso that the monies raised go IN to the health care system.

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Dogface December 24th, 2008 8:25 pm
We all sit on our asses and go ho hum,
and they run us over one by one.

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Yrsa December 24th, 2008 7:22 pm
SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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NYCartist December 25th, 2008 11:00 am
Yrsa:Yes! And easier to get social security disability (which is gatekeeper now to medicare for disabled).

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DrDon5 December 24th, 2008 6:16 pm
Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer. Single-Payer Single-Payer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAWZrfYXs-c

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Siouxrose December 24th, 2008 5:56 pm
Sioux Rose

Wow. From the money for the submarines to the health "care" executives' salaries, the info my fellow CD readers offer to this thread is demoralizing to say the least.

This was the thought I had upon reading this, and it's inspired by the CD article espousing an alternative to money, a sort of "eco-dollar" currency. We know that medical school costs a fortune. What should occur is that a percentage of those with scholastic aptitudes suitable for attending medical school should get all their tuition & classes FREE with the understanding they will staff a clinic for a minimum of 3-4 years. In other words, society pays their educational fees and then they supply free health care to citizens. I would go a step further as to suggest that small clinics could be set up in some of the homes now in foreclosure. Had intelligent persons been in charge of the dissemination of funds, then they would have insisted that a percentage of these abandoned properties return to the states as collateral in exchange for the monies the banks so "graciously" accepted from taxpayers.

We need more barter... if there's no money, one person's trade can answer another's need. When I was a destitute young mother, I was able to use my wits to trade for just about everything needed. This is the way of Indigenous societies and it can be a wonderful, egalitarian model. Any thoughts on the idea of medical training in exchange for community service?

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jclientelle December 24th, 2008 6:48 pm
It should be that way - and I think there are still some limited programs of debt forgiveness for young doctors who serve in rural communities and other places that are short on medical care. I would like to see the cost most medical training for doctors, pediatricians, nurse practicioners, midwives etc. to be forgiven in exchange for salaried work in a clinic in an underserved area.

One of my children wanted to be an obstetrician, but was discouraged both by the cost of training, and by talking with practicing doctors who were disenchanted because of complicated and unfair insurance restrictions and the cost of malpractice insurance.

Joe

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NYCartist December 25th, 2008 11:03 am
jclientelle:Joe, hi. Free education would take care of cost of training doctors. I do want to remind folks that during the Great Depression, NYC's university/the colleges were free (but women had restrictions.).

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Truthseeker58 December 24th, 2008 4:14 pm
I called for an appointment with my doctor, who has been my good doctor for 14 years, this morning. I was told she no longer accepts ANY insurance, so you have to pay and then YOU get reimbursed from the insurance company. Scary. Now I have to find another doctor. I feel she is fed up with the insurance companies but her actions just make the patients a victim TWICE.

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chessgames56 December 25th, 2008 7:34 pm
That can be a good thing if your doctor lowers her prices accordingly. My Dr. does not accept insurance either, but charges about one third the fee of his peers, and prescribes the LEAST expensive drug first. Most doctors who accept insurance charge uninsured patients the maximum rate! To me this is a piggish policy.

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NYCartist December 24th, 2008 5:14 pm
Truthseeker58:yes.

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VinnieTheSnake December 24th, 2008 3:36 pm
There is only one solution to our health care crisis and it is Single-Payer health care for all of us.

I'm paying $3600 a year now in premiums plus the $4800 a year my employer pays to Cigna for my PPO plan.

And so my employer has to add the cost of this insurance premium to the products we make. How does that help US manufacturing in the "global economy"? It has never made any sense to me to tie health care to employment.

Rep. Kucinich says his plan will cost each of us $3000 a year and cover everyone. He's worked out the numbers, I've read it and it makes sense to me.

You take the profit out of health insurance and it becomes affordable. It's real simple.

Why is there an industry that considers it acceptable to make a profit from our health care? Who thought that was a good idea? Leeches. Vultures.

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Truthseeker58 December 24th, 2008 4:09 pm
You said it all, VINNIE! You are so right.

They wouldn't even let Kucinich speak at the so-called debate on our healthcare in the US -- a 'debate' given by an insurance company -- AARP. Leeches and vultures is exactly what they are.

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countcoup December 24th, 2008 3:25 pm
This is one more example of the US system of government being in the hands of a few 'money interests'. When the American people as a whole realize that it is counter productive to allow the Medical needs of all of us to be in the hands of yet one more business interest. The insurance companies.
If one examines the situation at arms length. The insurance companies take in money, and when the insured need medical care the insurance co. is supposed to pay the costs; unless they can escape paying which is what they do.. The insurance cos. are in business to take IN money not put it OUT. They collect massive sums each year, and use the money to finance their own and other business interests, usually for their 'stock holders', who if they do not receive their 'return', put their money elsewhere, and this makes the insurance co. more open to seeing that the "money flows in, not out ; and out means to the people who need the medical care. Top this off with a culture (and I have personal experience with this) of the Medical Professionals, the Doctors and Hospital Administrators, who essentially are the 'delivery personnel' for a system designed to return 'maximum value' for the $s invested.
The U.S.A. has spent one trillion (or at least will admit to that amount) on two wars meant to 'bring democracy' essentially to those who do not want it. Yet, thousands of people are forced to do without the basics of health care, and all of this defying the logic that the best medicine is 'preventive medicine'. If the Doctors for example were to exhibit the courage to organize, they could make the government turn completely around, it may mean that they will not make the 'U.S. Average of $1.5 mill per annual', but how much better a society would the US enjoy, if everyone were as healthy as modern science can provide.
There are alternative forms of health care, but proper diagnosis is essential.
Now that the US and most of the world are on the verge of a major economic catastrophe, when many of the wealthy who once were immune to the poor quality health care that limited funds brings, there may be enoungh people speak out and make the changes.
The US imagines itself a world leader. The best form of leadership is example.
Perhaps when the Americans set the example the rest of the world will follow their lead. It is long over due. And essentially in the hands of the "people", only they can make the changes. The politicians are too fat with the favors they curry from the money people; like insurance companies.
Only the "people" can take control of their lives, and their health.

This as with so many aspects of life in the U.S.A. this matter in the hands of the people, who have given that control up to a few. Only they can take it back.

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rev.charity December 24th, 2008 6:51 pm
"The US imagines itself a world leader. The best form of leadership is example.
Perhaps when the Americans set the example the rest of the world will follow their lead."

Maybe the US should start seeing itself for what it is. A self centered infant with no foresight. the US is a world leader in denying us rights that we are due, causing us to suffer. I have a chronic and extremely painful medical condition and no insurance. I also can't get medical insurance because I happen to have a very painful medical condition. So when it all gets to be too much, I have no choice but to go to the doc. and beg them to help me, although none of them are willing to treat me with the long term and complete care that I need because of money. It makes me so scared to know that our gov't is more willing to squander money to such a degree that our grandchildren will be in debt, than to spend that money wisely and provide us all with a system that sustains us and the future. Greed may just mean the end of us all.

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sherman r lafollette December 24th, 2008 2:30 pm
one over-looked sad, misstatement is that obama is planning to give all health care coverage; if only that were true. considering his very tenative beginning i wuld say he does not have the marbles to attempt doing anything that even resembles such a major restructuring. the man portends to be a huge dissapointment.

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VinnieTheSnake December 24th, 2008 3:56 pm
Actually Obama said he was going to cover all children. It was Hillary who was going to cover everyone. And by cover, they both meant insurance from for-profit health insurance companies. And if we couldn't afford those premiums, our tax dollars would subsidize the cost.

How much money did the politicians receive from the health industry in 2008? $68,605,929

How much did the health insurance companies pay their people?
UnitedHealth Group Corporation William W. McGuire CEO $54,129,501
CIGNA Corporation Wilson H. Taylor Retired Chairman $24,741,578
Aetna Inc. William H. Donaldson Chairman $12,650,393

Total compensation for the top 10 executives: $117,083,711, exclusive of unexercised stock options in 2000. You think it's less now? Why can't I find out how much they made last year?

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jclientelle December 24th, 2008 6:50 pm
Good information. Thanks. And do I need to say - Single Payer.

Joe

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aminahyaquin December 24th, 2008 2:18 pm
Yes, sisters and brothers, i have had the same horrific experience. but in my case it was more difficult becAUSE i lost my STATE job and insurance FOR WHISTLE-BLOWING. to discredit me and stymy a law suit, this small state used big time politics. i lost my reputation, career,vehicle, and farm before i lost my health.

i could not get treatment or see a physican and gain treatment or pay for medicine following my heart attack. the heart attack was not even my most serious health problem --it has been an almost unrelenting nightmare.
iam certain that the governemnt is economizing by allowing people to die. ironically two people in similar circumstance to mine did die. i think 1 in 8 is way too low to adeqyuateky describe the fatality rate. many people die in the two to three years it can take to get disability!

i was too sick to work and had had lost my job for whistle-blowing, i had to fight six months to get unemployment by which time i had no savings left.

i have worked since i was aged 13 years old, and paid taxes since i was 16. i am 56 and still awaiting a medical card, no local hospitall will treat me without insurance unless i need emergency care.

it is truly a miracle and testimony to holistic methods that i am still alive.

and BTW they arrested the guy, my former boss, wagainst whom as a mandated reporter i reported and they covered it up until he got so socio=pathic they couldn't cover it anymore.
i have become so ill i can hardly walk to the mailbox without getting winded.but i have alnost no chance of ever getting a lawyer because his crimes of sexual assault, coercion and harassment against vulnerable women prisoners and staff that reported to him are "only sexual".seems no one in this state does sexual crime based lawsuits .

anyway the whole organizational culture there was criminal.
our nation's safety net with its gaping holes and social injustice, is a crying shame.

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NYCartist December 24th, 2008 3:01 pm
aminahyaquin:every story represents one of thousands that are similar. Good luck.

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Revenge Girl December 24th, 2008 5:47 pm
If you have a severe injury or illness and you have worked all your life and paid taxes:

Prepare to wait 4 to 6 months before The Social Security Administration will read your application and deny it. Wait another 6 to 9 months for them to deny your appeal. Then wait two to four more years while you get a lawyer to help you fight them. Meanwhile, they will accuse you of lying, and try to humiliate you.

While you wait for disabllity, you get nothing until all your money has been taken from you by collection agencies working for the Hospitals and HMOs. Then you can ask the state for help. If you ask the state for food stamps - they will put a welfare lien on your house. However, you can't ask the state for diagnostic tests (which would help the disability claim) because the HMO doctor's won't order them if you are on the state insurance plans. The HMO Ceo's don't like Drs to order diagnostic tests until you are on Medicare - then they will order lots because Medicare pays for it.

Once you get disability, you will get all the prescription medication you can swallow - but no physical therapy from Medicare. Why? Only people who "will get better" get physical therapy. Since PT will only make a disabled person "feel" better - they prefer to give out medication - it makes more profit for the politically connected corporations and doesn't require anyone to do anything.

At this point the system is set up to take the worker's money and deny them benefits while funneling profits to corporations. Just like any insurance company - that's the cost effective way of doing "business" (not health care). Now that the baby boomers are beginning to show the ill health effects aging, overwork, stress, and lack of healthcare - I hate to tell all you people but in a nutshell: We are paying them so that bureaucrats can collect their salaries, and we are paying them to accuse us of lying if we ever become disabled.

And if you become disabled, the most ethical person you will meet throughout all of this horrible process...will be a lawyer!

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NYCartist December 25th, 2008 11:06 am
Yes.Been there. Took me several years. I love your last line. NOSSCR free referral service, I mentioned it somewhere else: www.nosscr.org

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NYCartist December 24th, 2008 1:31 pm
Been there....I must point out that the beginning of the article leaves out how long it takes to get the government to agree with you and your doctors that you are "too sick to work"....many months, if you are lucky and years if you are not. The decision on who gets labelled "disabled" is done at the state level. There is a free lawyers referral group:National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives NOSSCR. www.nosscr.org

You often have to fight to get deemed eligible for Social Security Disability, which is the first step to getting Medicare. There are some ugly similarities to how the VA doesn't give veterans coverage by saying they are not really ill. It's all in the name of saving money by the same government that throws it at nobid contracts, corporations.... Too often, we get "divided up" as people, thinking "well, this problem is about that group, not me" and yet, it's all connected.

I reread the article and smile,wryly at: delay to discourage people from "gaming the system". That is a HUGE myth, that there are people "gaming the system". Delay also in the hopes of having you give up, or in some cases, die during the process.

When I pointed out in the comments section of another article, that in my fight, having a newly named illness,(CFS, now called CFS/ME) I had to be examined by a psychiatrist (in addition to the medical letters I'd submitted), to decide if I was qualified physically ill. Part of the exam was an IQ test. (Not told why. I won't even speculate.) One of the questions was, "name the composer of the opera "Faust". I mentioned it to Thomas More, a commenter on CD, as evidence of cultural bias in testing, but it fits here,too.

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jclientelle December 24th, 2008 6:39 pm
What's your problem? Naturally it follows that if you are sick, someone has to ask you about Faust. Of course they do. It would be counterproductive of you to ask why.

It makes as much sense as anything in the Alice in Wonderland health care system.
(By the way, the question has improved. It used to be "Who wrote Faust", which has two different answers.)

Joe

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NYCartist December 25th, 2008 11:32 am
jclientelle:Joe, Depends on how symptomatic I am, how rushed=better or worse typing.(CFS/ME illness.)What delights me is that when the psychiatrist asked me "who wrote the opera Faust?" that I was able to remember the answer,since I love opera. However, the IQ test question is a good example of cultural bias in testing. (And the whole thing in re requiring such a test for determining social security disability surprises many.) Totally delighted to know that someone read my CD comments,you. Was telling spouse that I hoped someone read the one I put on one article, as it is so stamina drain. He said someone would. Thanks Joe. Happy New Year. To us all. PS I was thinking of you when I heard the segment on the Coal plant sludge in Tenn on DemocracyNow this week, www.democracynow.org. The guy from Green Peace was saying how the kids in the area were getting asthma from the air, living in the area of the coal burning plant. We,you and I, had discussion on one article's comments about how kids get asthma from environmental triggers.

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Mordechai Shiblikov December 24th, 2008 1:09 pm
After eight years of George Wanker Bush, the answer is: MONEY. The lives of USA'ns are worth as much as Iraqis, i.e. NOTHING. The compassionate conservatives only want three things from you: your vote, your obedience and your money . . . MONEY being the most important.

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GwNorth December 24th, 2008 1:06 pm
Maybe what it will take to wake America up is lining up all these people with illnesses who do not have enough money to pay for their treatment over a ditch wherein they are executed with a Bullet to the head.

The Government can claim it a "Sound Business measure" as these peoples are a cost that the Corporation of America can not afford to pay.

In many ways that more humane then leaving them to linger and suffer, running up massive debts and worrying everyday where the money for the next treatment will come from.

The US Navy announced it has given a contract to GE to build 8 Virginia class Nuclear Submarines at a cost of over 2 billion each. This to "defend" against some imagined enemy and in order to PROTECT Americans.

It hard to get a grip around. Do those Nuclear submarines really make life better
for the people in these articles and the tens of millions of other Americans struggling with health care costs?

Is it really any solace that at least North Korea cant sneak up to the US Coastline and land 10 million troops because the USA has 8 brand new Nuclear Submarines that can ly waste to entire countries?

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Jesus Hussein Christ December 24th, 2008 1:04 pm
The United States was one of only four countries in the world (include Palau, the Marshall Islands and Ukraine) to vote against the UN resolution for food being a human right. For this government of soul-amputated pillagers, medical assistance as a human right isn't even a subject that is discussed in "polite company."

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Judah December 24th, 2008 12:57 pm
A simple question of which is worth more: money or people's lives.

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tmullins December 24th, 2008 1:03 pm
A simple answer, Profit care comes ahead of Patient care in America.

http://www.wisecountyissues.com click my web site link and see what is deemed, defended and supported as The Acceptable Standards of Health Care in East Tennessee. A three day procedure turned into a ten month long nightmare thanks to their acceptable standards of care.

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