My mom wanted to go get clean from drinking too much beer. well we went to the emergency room at a hospital in the capital of CT. We waited for 4 hours and began to get tired. some people there said they waited overnight 12 hours plus! for a bed. what’s wrong with the system. why is it broken? It’s all becuase we are spending all of our money in Iraq. THAT’S IT!!!
American healthcare? What care…oh they care about the bottom line…my death is more profitable than my life. successful surgery is less profitable than long term care. We dont have healthcare, we have health “i dont care”.
I just got out of the hospital after having major lung surgery. I have short-term health insurance but they have already started the process of trying to label me with pre-exsisting condition. I expect them to deny all upcoming bills and it will force me into bankruptcy.
But the big deal right now is the the cost of prescriptions. Those are not covered and since this ordeal began 2 months ago I have spent well over $2000.
Most recently I had to pay $200 for 7 anti-biotic pills to combat pneumonia that I caught from BEING IN the hospital.
I was attacked and beaten (a drunken tourist was arrested and convicted) and was stitched up in the emergency room of the local hospital. Being without insurance I was eligible for State Victims assistance to cover the bills which were huge. There was a six week lapse between the hospital bills due date and the state sending payment, but there was no reasoning with the hospital.
They reported me delinquent on my payment, which started a cascade of interest rate hikes which destroyed my credit rating and caused severe financial hardship.
Even though the hospital was paid in full by the state victims fund they continued to harass me for years afterward for ‘unpaid balances’ which were the price differences between what they charge to insurance companies and myself, an uninsured assault victim who was forced to seek medical help through no fault of my own.
It has now been twelve years since my assault and I have been denied jobs, loans and negative background checks on uncounted occasions because of these idiots. There is no way I can estimate the financial damage these morons have done to me, lost wage increases and promotions alone are in the tens of thousands of dollars.
My son was hospitalized with respiratory distress, at follow-up visit was prescribed asthma maintenence med. Asked the doctor for samples, he didn’t have any. With my insurance, the script still cost $50. I didn’t have it and it was still two weeks until pay day. So, do I write a hot check or wait two weeks? Waited the two weeks….children shouldn’t have to wait or do without healthcare because of the greed of the healthcare industry. No one should.
I went to the Hospital with a tooth infection. I was unable to open my mouth to eat since my cheek had swelled. I waited in the er for two hours and they came in told me I needed antibiotics. Well no shit I knew that. so they said that since this wasn’t an emergency I need to pay right then to get the script.
So I had to go to another hospital and wait a few more hours and but these guys gave me the script.
I am an emergency Nurse in an inner city hospital that serves the indigent population. I see the maladies of the American healthcare system on a daily basis. I could rant for hours about the multitude of factors that affect the crippling healthcare system.
First of all, Chris. C’mon. Was it really an EMERGENCY that you and your mother go to the emergency department to get cleaned up? Unless you and your mother were both, simultaneously, going through DT’s, it wasn’t. I can understand and applaud your desire to seek treatment because it is a terrible addiction, but you should have gone to a treatment facility.
Okay, first problem. Right? Chris doesn’t even know where to go for help. Of course, that is, if there even is a place for him to get help like a treatment facility. Curses to the fiscal conservatives for the lack of funding for social programs!
Of course, the other problem is that the first triage nurse you saw, after you checked yourself in, couldn’t have sent you on your way to a treatment facility anyway, which is where you and your mother belonged. Do you know why? Because if you walked out that door, developed DT’s, and died…guess who would be sued? That is why you waited so long. It was NOT an emergency, but you had to be seen to be medically cleared/treated to save the healthcare workers their careers. But again, you needed to be in a treatment facility.
Mitch, grow up. if you want to use a played out slogan just type it and enter it. Dont you dare make such a broad implication that people like me and the others i work with, dont care. I go to work every week to care for people that many times don’t even care for themselves. Oftentimes, after I am cussed at by drunks, threatened by psychotics, and overworked. I return again to help those same individuals because I know they need help. Don’t make comments about something you obviously know nothing about…
Frank and Lisa, although part of this pains me to say…did you know wallmart offers many, many prescriptions for only four dollars? whether or not you do or do not have health insurance. I know, they are an evil corporation, which is why it slightly pains me to say it, but they do. I guess use them for what they are worth since our healthcare system doesn’t offer much.
Finally, Warren. Again, was this really an emergency? I understand that toothaches hurt, but an emergency? Please just realize while you were waiting your two hours, they were probably helping someone in respiratory distress, splinting someone’s broken extremity, etc.
I think what might really be the problem Warren is something you couldn’t name. In reality, your tooth probably had beeen bothering you for awhile. a week, maybe two…but you were postponing help because you hoped it would go away because you either A: don’t have health insurance or B: you dont know how to take personal responsibility for your health. My guess? you dont have insurance. don’t worry, it would probably suck like mine anyway;)
Anywho, you woke up one morning and your cheek was swollen and you realized you HAD to get help. It was at this point you went to the emergency department. The sad truth is that if you had health insurance, you could have gone to the dentist and avoided the entire situation…instead, how much did your ED visit cost? $400? $500?
I truly hope your movie can shed some light on the healthcare system. It is riddled with the fear of litigation(ends up costing healthcare who knows how much money because MD’s have to keep giving that same person with belly pain a CT everytime they walk in the door in case something really has gone wrong), and the lack of funding for preventative health education to name only two! Good luck! I hope you conquer the mountain!
Britney… for someone claiming to care… you sure some off as pretty condescending and as someone who really doesn’t have a clue. I could rant for hours about nurses who are missing that certain quality that makes them great. Anywho… You are missing a lot of the information that I hope this movie will provide.
You seem to base all your opinions on your experience with inner city indigents. I am sure you see more abuse of the system there but it is a small part of the problem.
Who are you to decide what constitutes an emergency anyway? You have obviously never had a real toothache.
AND.. You have the nerve to tell Chris to not make comments about something he knows nothing about, yet you made assumptions about each one of our posts.
It is obvious you have a hard time putting yourself in another’s shoes.
I would bet that a large majority of the people you see in the emergency room don’t have insurance. The reason they are in the ER is because of that fact. People without insurance will wait until the last possible moment to get treatment.. thus sending them to the ER where at least they WILL GET treated.
And since you know so much… Which healthcare plan covers dentistry?
I know all about Wal-Mart and Targets $4 list. Guess how many of the prescriptions I need are on that list? 1… and it is an anti-nausea that I have to take. Know why I take that? To combat the feeling I get from CHEAPER medications.. instead of being able to afford the $200 prescription that doesn’t cause nausea.
None of us are asking for FREE healthcare. I just want reasonable pricing. It shouldn’t cost me $200 for the same prescription I can get in Canada for $60. It shouldn’t cost me $250 just to walk into my doctors office to PICK UP that prescription. This is the real issue. The RAPE of Americans by American companies and nobody does a thing about it.
The reason you don’t see anything wrong with our healthcare is because you have obviously never had to use it. Most people have no idea how bad it is because they never need it.
The problem is people thinking they are covered and to later find out their insurance plans won’t cover it. OR they look for reasons not to.
Try putting yourself in these shoes… You go to the doctor for chest pain.. They think you have a heart problem and you go in for tests (if your insurance allows you to get it)… They find out you have a valve problem and need to operate. (Assuming your insurance will pay for preventive care..) But first you have some more tests and they find out you have congenital heart disease. Suddenly your insurance stops covering you because of pre-existing condition. OR they start investigating you to prove it.
That has happened to someone I know… and as I type this they are investigating my recent claims. Trying to pin it on pre-existing. Want to know what happens if they don’t pay my bills? I go bankrupt.
Hi, everybody, I am from Hungary, Europe and I have lived in the U.S. for 16 months. I must say that the biggest culture shock I’ve had here was discovering how the American health care system works and finding out how profit-oriented it is (instead of focusing on the human beings that need medical help). Due to my marriage to a National Guard reservist from the Northeast, I’ve been lucky to be covered by TRICARE, the military health care system (which claims to provide a “world-class” health system to military families) so I am grateful to my husband for that because it’s basically health insurance through his line of work.
Anyway, what I didn’t know in the beginning was that being covered means nothing if you’re not familiar with the zillions of little nuances and intricacies, rules and conditions and exceptions that make up a health insurance policy here. It took me several months of reading up on it and a lot of asking around over the phone to finally have a clear understanding of the different coverage plans and how to get medical services from network providers. Coming from a post-communist country, I’ve been used to free, good-quality, state-subsidized health care all my life (although the current Hungarian government - a bunch of money-grabbing jerk-offs - have recently been busy trying to privatize every aspect of the system there and to switch to the American version of health care…..what a BUMMER!). By the way, those forty years of state-funded Hungarian public health care in communism were financed with huge government loans from Western countries (which is probably true for other former Eastern Block countries, too) so there is definitely no such thing in the world as free health care in the absolute sense of the word.
All in all, my ultimate conclusion after having had some rather negative experience with the health care system here is that you don’t ever want to get seriously sick in this country, even if you have some type of health insurance. In fact, the best thing an average person can do here is to try to stay as healthy as they possibly can. I know that sounds absurd but I can’t think of any other way of beating the system…. unless, of course, Americans are willing to move to a country in the European Union or to Canada. I’m pretty sure that health care in those parts of the world is more about the human being than about ripping people off with obscene amounts of money. Because the health care system you guys have is absolutely one of a kind in the developed world! Unfortunately, paying a monthly premium for a health insurance policy or being covered through an employer here (if you can get them to cover you at all) doesn’t simply mean that you’re fully covered with no strings attached (like deductible, copay/cost-share, having to find a network provider, prior authorizations and all the other bullshit). And all the red tape that overcomplicating the health care system of a huge country like this creates!!! Doctors in this country are self-appointed, greedy kings and queens of the population (apart from some of them also being masters of life and death)!!! And they’re not even aware of the huge responsibility they have toward people! There are many ways health care in my home country sucks, too, but at least hospitals don’t charge you $500 (plus $200 to the ER doctor) for something like cleaning and stitching up a cut wound on your palm. And that was just a tiny injury! But, like I mentioned above, I was covered and TRICARE o n l y paid them $550 out of the $700 total. I find it too scary to even start to think about what I would do if I didn’t have health insurance. Besides, I will always have trouble seeing the overpriced dollar value of all the routine visits that I’ve had here so far.
It’s really good to know that there are people out there like Michael Moore who have the guts to address pressing social issues like this and are not afraid to take any flak for it from all the health industry people and the politicians that have a vested interest in keeping the status quo. I haven’t seen the movie yet but I can’t wait to watch it and I hope that a lot of people will go and see it outside the States, too, so they can have a better idea of what this aspect of America is really like.
PS: I think the following is a good review of the movie by a foreigner:
170 out of 205 people found the following comment useful:
More of Moore, thank God, 21 May 2007
Author: Ivo Martijn from Hilversum, The Netherlands
I was fortuned enough to watch Michael Moore’s documentary ‘Sicko’ at its second screening at the 60th Cannes film festival. It just might be his most important film yet, because this is really the first time he makes the essential point about America: in the US the dominant ideology is ‘me’ whereas the other nations on the planet think in terms of ‘we’ (I noticed this too when I studied in the States). Bowling for Columbine demonstrates the fear in American society induced by the media (if it bleeds, it leads) and where it leads to. Fahrenheit 9/11 exposes the Republican party, especially the Bush crowd, as a club that solely benefits the financial interests of the wealthiest people in the country, causing millions to suffer. This time, Moore shows that, even in the health care system, the nation is run by one single thing: the bottom line; the logic of money. The US seem to have forgotten that money is just an intermediate. If it becomes a goal in itself, people die. Unnecessarily.
We humans see everything as a story, whether we are aware of it or not: people’s lives, brands, world events, nations. There are basically two story lines: the hero’s journey (the individual who matures and fulfills his full capability, and the Greek tragedy (the hero violates the rules of the group and is sacrificed). We are at the same time individuals and members of a group. For every human being it’s always a struggle to find, in all circumstances, the right balance between being an individual and being a group member. Nations choose between these two stories as well. In every country on earth the group is the most important entity (more or less). Except in the US. There, it’s the individual. So instead of “one for all, and all for one”, America’s motto is “each for himself, and God for us all”.
In ‘Sicko’ Michel Moore demonstrates the atrocities this kind of thinking leads to. A man without health insurance (companies simply refuse people), whose middle- and ring finger are sown off, had to choose between paying 60.000 dollars for having his middle finger restored and 12.000 dollars for having his ring finger fixed. Being the “romantic” that he is, he chose his ring finger. A woman, formerly with a good job, bankrupted by her medical bills and forced to live in the study of her daughter, has to pay 240 dollars a month for her cancer medication but gets the same pills on Cuba for… 10 cents. 45 Million uninsured Americans live in fear that they might, some day, need medical care. The rest of the world doesn’t know these fears, because for them, medical help is free: paid for by tax money. The United States have become ruthless to it’s own people. It contradicts the image Americans have of themselves and their country, but it’s the awful truth.
As a film, ‘Sicko’ is slightly below ‘Bowling for Columbine’ and somewhat above ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ (Moore’s qualities as a filmmaker are admirably consistent). As an eye opener, it’s the most important thing Michael Moore has done yet. The true ’sicko’ is America. Hopefully this film will let the healing begin.
A Canadian’s experience with the US health system.
My ordeal started when I had to go the the ER (Texas Tech- affiliated hospital), for gastritis pains.
I figured well, in the US hteir great privitized system will mean that I get access to teh best care—-right!.
After waiting four hours to be seen/getting a 2000$ bill for services, I realized that all that Americans say about teh health system , is hogwash. Well actually there is a difference, in Canada I would have to wait,4 hours and walked out of the ER with no bills.
Perhaps the US should spend more on health care versus
a million dollars a minute in Iraq (or some ridiculous
dollar per minute ratio).
I have late-stage Lyme Disease. Although I had the bull’s eye rash and tested positive for the Western Blot three times over seven years, the medical community still denies that I have this disease and refuses to treat me. Not only does the medical community seem to be ignorant about Lyme but they deliberately downplay and hide how much of an epidemic it is and prefer to hand out anti-anxiety pills. My insurance company paid for many years of expensive procedures and specialists who thought I had more serious diseases like MS. Just think of all the money my insurance company could have been saved if ONE doctor would have figured it out! Needless to say, I gave up on conventional medicine, did my own research and discovered that other countries were CURING Lyme with an herb from the Amazon called Samento. After 6-8 weeks of taking this antiseptic herb, almost all 40 of my symptoms went away! A miracle! Our government, who may have created Lyme as a biological weapon in the 1950s, is being negligent. They are in bed with the pharmaceutical companies and as long as there is corruption in Washington, Americans will never get well or be allowed to find cures if corporations can’t generate billions of dollars. When Americans get sick, they can’t work, when they can’t work they put a burden on the healthcare system, the insurance companies and the economy. My 10 year old son has had Diabetes since he was 5. In Canada, they are having huge success rates with islet transplants yet the USA only has a waiting list for patients interested in a clinical trial. No children. And guess how long the trials will be? 10 years?!
I’m on Medicare. I switched from one provider to Kaiser Permanente for 2007. The Medicare.gov web site said it was more expensive, out of pocket, by about $1000.00. However, the reviews were great and I decided to go with Kaiser.
I switched back to my previous carrier at the end of the 1st Quarter. The fundamental reason is that the primary docs are scheduled with a new patient every 15 minutes, regardless of your problem(s). I had one visit with the first of two PCPs. I was expecting a discussion about my problems but all he did was give me an Rx and move on, in 15 minutes.
So, I assumed that I got a lemon and changed PCPs for my next visit. Same thing.
I made another appointment and this time I brought a checklist of everything I wanted to talk about. When the doc’s admin assistant saw the list, she told me directly that there was “no way” there would be enough time to discuss “all these items.”
I said that if I didn’t get to discuss my items, I was going to raise holy hell. I got my time.
The next day or so, I also had a telephone conversation with the assistant administrator for that facility about the lack of time. Turns out officially that Kaiser schedules patients every 15 minutes but they know that this is causing complaints and they will be bumping the time to 20 minutes in August.
That explains why no one asks you why you want an appointment in the first place. They don’t care!
I had insisted that I see a urologist for consultation and I did get an appointment. He was much more relaxed and helpful. He also told me that I had an umbilical hernia! Apparently, both my PCPs live under a policy that first-time patients only get service for what they know about!
My other complaint is that Kaiser charges you a high co-pay, for EVERYTHING! I had to have additional lab work because the first lab work didn’t get all the data. I had to pay the co-pay for the second lab work. They also don’t give out sample medications, so you better know that what the doctor is prescribing is going to work for you the first time.
There are a lot of people who are happy with Kaiser. The two that I know both have their costs covered out of their retirement benefits.
I can’t WAIT for this movie to come out! I love all of Moore’s factual, insightful, films which expose the corruption within the system. To hell with the greedy politicians! Stand up and fight for better health care!
Begin by keeping C-students OUT of the Oval Office!!
I work in the insurance industry and I agree that the system needs help. However, we are all very quick to blame everyone else rather than look at the pathetic shape of Americans in general. In a country filled with overweight and unhealthy citizens whom the majority get little to no exercise can you blame an insurance carrier for having to charge more to cover these people. The highest prescribed medication in the country is Lipitor (cholesterol lowering), that is truly sad. In most cases with a little effort concentrating on a healthy lifestyle the problem could be corrected, but no i guess doing something yourself is not the American way. It should be easy, somebody or something should do it for me.
And as for Europeans or Canadians coming to America and saying how bad our system is and how we should just provide free insurance to all…that is just plain dumb. We have a population of 300 Million People, Canada has 30 Million People, the UK has 60 Million, HUNGARY has 9 Million People, that is like comparing apples to oranges. Where do we come up with that much money? Where do we come up with money to cover a flock of immigrants that will come to obtain free health coverage? Hmmmmm, I wonder, even if the US socializes health care the money has to come from somewhere and I have a feeling it would be that same somewhere that the government gets money now…TAXES! You may give everyone free health care but in the end, higher taxes will to pay for it will cost us the same as what private health insurance costs. Back to square one, which comes back to as a country we need to take better care of our health, change your diet, exercise, find something to make you happy (get off the anti-depressants and anxiety pills), and live a long life!
I work as a 911 paramedic, part-time, in southern California. Because I get paid so poorly (EMT-medics ~$13/hr; EMT-basics ~$8/hr) and the cost of living is so high here, I cannot afford the most basic of health insurance that would benefit me without being a waste or limiting me to care. This, in part, would explain why so many (NOT ALL) private medical providers are burnt out and disheartened, and therefore provide below-standard care.
It seems that those who are best served are those who are rich and can afford healthcare; those who are dirt poor/pregnant/druggies who are eligible for medicare/cal (for those reasons); or those who are incarcerated (when I work in the emergency room, the inmates are provided with the BEST of care, otherwise, they can easily sue for negligence). Unfortunately, I am just above the poverty level, in school with two part-time jobs, without any major health or circumstantial problems, so I am ineligible for healthcare assistance.
Kudos to Brittany! Loved your input. I’ve heard people yelling in the emergency room, about having to wait, while there are people having heart attacks or strokes in the next room. Boo,hoo-someone had to wait for 2 hours to be seen for a toothache, stitches or whatever-please! Like Ivo from the Netherlands said- the dominant ideology is “me”. It seems as though the most valid, common thread here is the insurance companies that think they can dictate health care (not only to patients but they try to tell the Doc’s what they can and can’t do-I’ve experienced this as a patient and a nurse) and the pharmaceutical companies that can immorally overprice prescription drugs. When Clinton was in office, the hot topic was universal health care…where is that topic with the new candidates for the upcoming elections? I hope this movie can revitalize that topic.
Frank, enough with the Spin Doctor approach. Nobody goes into the health care profession if you have a hard time putting yourself in someone elses shoes.
LISA- If you are ever in that position again, please tell the prescribing physician or RN. Most hospitals will give you a voucher for a free RX from the hospital pharmacy or some similar program. Some people can’t even afford the $4. I’ve been there.
Lastly, Todd- What are the taxes like in Canada? I’d be curious to know. I’m no economist, but I’ve always thought taxes in other countries are much higher than ours. Also, Americans can sue for virtually anything! But ironically, with any election, cutting taxes is always what politicians think we want to hear. Welcome to America!
The US health care system sucks. I had cancer 2x, luckily while I was married and on my now ex-husband’s insurance through work. I am an independent consultant and no one will insure me except my state plan (administered by BCBS - who flat out denied me when I applied as an individual), for $597 dollars a month. The system suck, Bush sucks and I just can’t wait to turn 50 next year and my monthly premium jumps to $700 a month.
Why did the American Association of Neurologist revamp the guidlines “Solely” for Plantiff Expert Witnesses and not for the Def’s Expert after 16 years?
“Neurologist who violates these provisions is subject to disciplinary action,” proves that the goal of the guidelines is to intimidate plaintiffs’ experts.
You’re never going to see discipline of a defense expert who violates these guidelines. Its really done to try to intimidate plaintiffs’ experts,
What is the difference between Malpractice and Manslaughter in this Country? See what happens when you try to sue - you cannot. It is frivolous until it happens to you.
When are the American middle class (or what’s left of it) going to wake up. The only way out of a serious illness without bankruptcy these days is by dying. Why are we paying (with out tax dollars) for state and federal workers to have great insurance when we are denied it?? Why can’t our tax dollars contribute to our individual health care instead. Someone is getting rich off this (Insurance companies, doctors, privately owned hospitals) - that is why our insurance premiums keep going up and our coverage down - its all about making a profit off our health care.
I’m a Pediatrician in Los Angeles and I trained at a L.A. County hospital, a place I consider the front lines of the healthcare industry. While it’s horrible that our country doesn’t supply its citizens with basic health coverage, I find it even worse that kids are excluded. These are the vulnerable, innocent members of our society who are our future! To see healthcare withheld from children is particularly sad…vaccines cost a ton, they’re in short supply, and without basic coverage we often see kids with far advanced disease. It’s beyond sad. It’s pathetic.
And what does our government want to do? Cut children’s benefits in favor of other programs…and why? Because children don’t vote! Thankfully there remain few county hospitals who offer care to all, because without them, where would we be? I know the waiting time can be long, and care delayed, but consider the volume of patients we are asked to see! I agree, the system is broken. Only the Feds have the $$$ to enact change…the time is now!
I had really great health care experiences when I was working for a Fortune 500 company. Now that my health care is through a union… blech…
BUT… I don’t think universal health care will be done well in this country. Have you seen the DMV?
I went to visit a friend in England. Coincidentally, when I arrived she went into the hospital for a possible ectopic pregnancy. She was basically in a gynmasium. They didn’t have a sonogram machine that could look at her fetus. At 4pm, they walked around with a tea/coffee machine that could steam your milk for you. It was the most technically advanced piece of equipment they had. Good shortbread. Bad medicine.
I guess I supposed to be the ideal conservative. I go to college paying my own way by working, get straight A’s, and never take unemployment or welfare checks. During college I needed health care to fix my right eye (big black spot), treat my fractured ankle, and fix my ear drum. Our Boise State insurance didn’t cover that and I spent all my money on tuition and rent (no car - not enough $$), so I just live with it (more than 3 years now). I am saving up $$ to go to Honduras where my wife is from. Honduras, a third world nation with a median income of $950 a year, will fix my ailments for very little money. My wife will have to have our child out of the country since no insurance company will cover the pregnancy - pregnancy is considered a pre-existent condition so she needs to be insured 12 months prior to pregnancy. How sad is this? My son can’t be born in America because we can’t afford it. I guess it is my wife’s fault for having a difficult pregnancy.
I posted this in the other forum. here it is. My situation. Please I am not looking for sympathy. I am social worker by trade. I hear things like this everyday that I am at work. It just hits harder when it happens to you. I have read all the comments here posted buy people and professionals.
Anthem BC/BS….
Denied medically necessary treatment for my daughter. Backlash caused me into a BK 7. losing everything, including our home! Also, the lack of child psychiatrists in the Cleveland area was at fault here. They had very few to non-existant contracts…many that were listed had 6m to 1 year wait lists or just not even taking new patients.
My beautiful daughter has mental illness which required treatment…DUH!
Would only cover 30 days a year in a hospital. If she had cancer, unlimited days in a hospital.
Had a long history of suicide attempts, yet the insurance company admitted by letter that hospitalization was medically necessary, but this letter is no guarantee of payment. WHF???
I as a single parent did everything humanly possible to save my daughter. I lost everything in the process.
The government had to take my daughter and place her in a hospital at their expense as I had no money to do so as she was and still is ill. Yes, I pay child support to the government for that.
I still pay insurance thru my paycheck for Anthem BC/BS yet my daughter receives no care from them.
On the flip side, if my daughter had a “physical” illness she would have all the treatment necessary.
Insurance companies treat people with mental illness as something lower than pond scum. They get away with it. The Ohio Dept of Insurance did NOTHING to help my daughter.
I would have given up my life to save my daughter, what parent wouldn’t?
So in the meanwhile, we have no home, (living in crappy apartment, because my credit was destroyed) no savings, (treatment took everything) and no credit. Yea, right, who will trust me?
I would have done anything to save my daughter. And, BTW, guess who made out like a bandit at the expense of my beautiful daughter..you guessed it. Anthem BC/BS.
So after reading this TRUE story, go hug your kids and thank the almighty that they are well!
Postscrip…there is a lot more to this. I can’t write everything that happened. I can’t tell you about the stress, I almost lost my job saving my daughter. But I would have given it up if it meant my daughter being well.
I get some kind of closure, I am starting to write about all that happened. Some members of my family do not understand what mental illness is and the effects it can cause. Some do. I have a few good friends out there that I spent a lot of time crying on their shoulder.
Being an epileptic nearly drove me insane; the 6 years I spent having uncontrolled seizures were nuts. The neurologists who insisted on using the latest pharmaceutical drug, Depakote -which had no inexpensive generic substitute- didn’t help any. For $350.00 per month, I took these useless pills, not able to hold a job (who wants to hire a seizure victim?)and sat around hiding from “life”. After half a decade, $16000.00 worth of pills (no insurance, of course, due to no steady job), numerous unpaid hospital bills, and ruined credit, they let me switch to the mediction I took as a teenager (for $25.00/month). Two weeks later, the seizures were gone. Why the neurologists insisted on using the expensive, useless Depakote for over 5 years, I’ll never know (do they get a kickback from pharmaceutical companies? I almost hope so, in my case). The cherry on top: the U.S. Dept. of Education compounded my college loan payments’ interest 8.5% daily; my $32,000.00 loan went to $72,000.00 during those years, and the interest keeps compounding. It will cost me over $200,000.00 to pay it off over the next 30 years. At least I no longer have seizures, and can enjoy my new “life”.
I work for one of the largest Hemo Dialysis companies in the world. I see on a daily basis how the dialysis unit’s profitability is the number one priority over patient care and comfort. If a patient is very ill, the manager wants that patient transferred out of their unit ASAP so that their “mortality rate” isn’t effected negatively, so their bonus isn’t effected later on. State law says we need a minimum of three people on the floor in case a patient codes; we run with two people on the floor for quite a few of our shifts. Instead of the unit buying Band Aids to place over the patient’s needle sites at the end of their treatment, we now use wadded up gauze and medical tape. Why? Because the Band Aids cost money, and if we don’t use them, it lowers the patient’s “Cost Per Treatment.” How sad.
Yea, its terrible, what was even worse was that my friend, who actually is very smart, was convinced that the reason that the prices were so high was because of all the suits. I was like “what, so people shouldn’t be allowed to sue the pharmaceutical companies?” Thats the way the government wants you to think. I couldn’t believe it.
My grandmother went to the hospital after what they thought was high blood sugar due to diabetes. After waiting in the waiting room for nearly 3 hours, and then 2 days later, the hospital still didn’t know what was wrong with her since her sugar was ok. She went to a family doctor a week later, and he tells her she might have had a mini-stroke. Don’t you think a doctor should test an 81 year old woman for things like this? Pitiful. Also during her two-day stay, one night there were “no doctors available” to come check her out. How is that even possible?
Wow! Some tragic and emotionally-charged posts in here.
First, regarding Clinton. While I liked the man, his “promise” to revamp the U.S. healthcare system was–tragically and intentionally–mismanaged. While I am not accusing the former president of anything illicit (God forbid), his appointment of his strong-willed and stubborn wife was a deliberate sabotage of the project. She formed a panel of experts that created a plan in her smoke-filled room without any input from Congress at all. (Compare this with Bill’s success getting NAFTA passed around the same time.) Those familiar with the Constitution will realize that this was a tremendous faux-pas; it would be akin to someone in the sales department of Microsoft handing an engineer a stack of code and saying “implement this into the next version of Windows.” Needless to say, she had difficulty even finding sponsorship, and Bill got to say to the people: “Well, we tried.”
Secondly, especially for A.J. and Mike: The primary thing that you’re ignoring regarding taxes and generating revenue for a socialized system is that we are already paying these “taxes.” Where do you think the money for employer-subsidized healthcare insurance is generated? In consumer-purchased products and salaries, that’s where. While it’s true that we (and corporations) will be paying more in taxes, the products that we purchase will pick up the majority of that tax burden [products’ costs - embedded health insurance costs + increased tax burden on companies = products’ costs]. Also, with this alleviated burden, salaries should be increased slightly as a result. The only losers in this situation are, of course, the insurance companies, whose continual purpose to maximize revenues and provide for the stockholder. They will suddenly find themselves without purpose. Wonderful! I find it irritating that people with business and marketing degrees are determining whether or not a life-saving procedure is warranted and–more importantly–paid for.
I have been battling an undiagnosed illness now for over three years. I have gone to numerous doctors, who turn me away with a clean bill of health. In the meantime, I can barely walk down stairs, my whole body gets the shakes, I am always tired, my skin is getting thinner, my hair is falling out, and I always feel out of it. I have slowly realized that the doctors don’t care about the patient, they care about their pocketbooks. I look healthy, so I must be. Well, I have been trying natural treatments, which have slowly gotten me my life back. Not cured, but better. I have also been able to successfully shrink a swollen node with turmeric powder at the suggestion of a friend. My slow turn-around is thanks to natural health books and vitamins/herbs. Doctors in this country have done nothing but make me highly cynical of the healthcare we get offered. (Just so everyone knows, my problems are with the healthcare offered, and not the insurance company I am under. I don’t even want to think about how bad others have it. Soon, I will be among the many without health insurance–going off dad’s plan. I am scared for myself and everyone. You are all in my prayers. Please take care.)
I have always had a great experience with our health care system. I have friends in Canada and the UK that wish they had it as good as we do. I like that we now have a site here that will show how dumb it will be to make our health care worse by making it social. I mean if you want to have higher taxes and hope you never need a kidney (ask anyone from the UK how long it takes to get an organ transplant). Love the United States….if you dont, spend an extended period of time in another country and get sick. I promise you, you will want to come home.
God forbid that one gets sick in America without medical coverage, you are treated worst than an animal in the emergency room, wait between 3 to 4 hours to see a Dr …then what, if you cant afford the treatment or have the money for meds….America country that is great for the well to do, but stinks if you are poor.
I support the movie because it might help exposing the truths about wellness that the American public is so reluctant to embrace.
Each individual is responsible for their own well being in life. Everyone wants the medical profession to “fix” them. This is a delusion that even the majority of of the medical profession in this country feeds like a cancer on a regular basis, and technology makes it esier for us to do this without awareness or knowledge of what we are doing.
There are poor people in other countries that have been living healthy lives for centuries without the abuse of “modern” medicinal access that we in America have been killing ourselves with now since the overuse of antibiotics.
Collectively, we, both as practitioners and lay people, are literally self destructing in our own egos…and all we can do now is try to educate people to see the truths that we blatantly refuse to accept.
Hope.
Hope for better and have the courage to accept we have been very wrong.
I have had several bad experiences with health care, and I sympathize with all of you. Do to the total lack of health insurance in my state, I am FORCED to go to the ER for treatment. It is not due to a lack of personal preventative care, rather the regular flux of a body living just above poverty level.
For the people who are passing judgement: If there is one thing I’ve learned in my life it’s that you can NEVER walk in someone else’s shoes, and it is both an ignorant and conceited act.
The truth is all this money flying around is being grabbed by someone: the higher ups. Inflated salaries for private physicians/specialists and the high level administration. NO one needs $100k/yr to survive. NO one. And that’s an uber-conservative figure.
I have Bi-Polar disorder (and speaking of which .. one of you said ‘[find something that makes you happy and stop taking thos anti-depressants]’ .. to you I say FEH. Most people taking those meds NEED them for conditions which CANNOT be otherwise controlled,) and I have struggled for years to find affordable mental health care.
Here I am, a genius level IQ, incredible musical talent but unable to function in society well enough to perform. I pushed myself, though. I TRULY did. I forced myself into college and vowed to make a go of it, no matter what issues I encountered. I am no longer a student.
I finally found a free mental health clinic! Guess what? They’re not listed anywhere. The government does *NOT* want people to know about them. In fact, I was instructed NOT to mention the clinic by name because they’re already under big brother’s ever-watching eye. I had to call a crisis line THREE TIMES before I even knew this place existed.
So I’m on meds now, but at what cost to my life? I applied for Oregon Health/Care Oregon three times over the past three years, and was rejected each time because I wasn’t pregnant or “… of a certain ethnicity.” So I’m a white male. What gives? I pay 12% of my income in taxes, have no children, no insurance!! What am I paying taxes for? I have an invoice on my table right now for over $2,000 due to emergency room visits for panic-attacks and BP cycle breaks.
I am sick and tired of people talking about the plethora of avenues available. If you look more closely, these are people who’ve had the benefit of higher education and are on a career track; they have insurance, terrible as it might be, but they can actually call to make appointments. I spent three years searching and six hours in a waiting room for a fifteen minute appointment JUST for a script I already knew I needed.
This was kind of a ‘poor me’ posting, but the truth is I’m alive and that’s what matters. I’m just tired of people saying THEY’RE tired of hearing people complain. Most people have a good reason to complain. And, if you’re tired of people complaining, get off your high horse. Stop listening. Stop reading these posts and stop patting yourself on the back for being ‘better’ than us.
The healthcare insurance premium for my husband, myself, and our 2 year old son runs $568 a month. That comes out to $6,816 a year. We only have a yearly income of $36,088. I can only make an educated guess that even if we did go universal healthcare, any taxes that may be charged would be significantly less than almost $7,000 a year. That’s not including the deductibles, co-pays, and the 20% of the bill that we pay on top of the insurance premiums. I know that we’re one of those families that really cannot afford this amount of premium for healthcare insurance, but with our having a small child, my husband being an asthmatic, and my being treated for clinical depression, the costs of the premiums versus paying for our treatment and prescriptions directly is really a crapshoot, not to mention (God forbid) if something catastrophic should happen to one of us. I’m not blaming any industry in particular for the high premiums or the high medical charges. The litigious, insurance, and medical industries all have a hand in the complete and utterly broken United States healthcare system. I think that the Kucinich / Conyers bill on Universal / Single-Payer healthcare plan deserves a good look by the American people. This is a very convoluted situation and I can only hope that something can and will be done soon as soon as possible to fix this crisis.
The truly amazing thing is how so many Americans have been propagandized into defending the system that will kill them if it gets the chance.
Thank heavens for Michael Moore. we have been bombarded with propaganda from the healthcare industry for generations…it’s embarrassing that so many americans have bought it hook, line and sinker.
It’s time to dismantle America’s third-world healthcare system once and for all…and rejoin the civilized world by going to a single payer system.
Kudos to you!! Next why not focus on medicaid waste? As a nurse, the amount of money wasted on the “disabled” is shocking. I’m not talking about people with terminal or chronic illnesses, or those with physical or mental disabilities that are unable to work. I’m talking about the “career” patients, who suffer from chronic “un-documented” back pain (most common), anxiety disorder, substance abuse, and depression, who hospital jump to the point that they are in the hospital more than not. If they claim chest pain or shortness of breath, they have learned that this will guarantee them a room. They receive the same cardiac and pulmonary (not counting GI or neuro) work ups every other month costing us taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars per person. I work in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and on any given day we have at least 5 of these patients just on my floor! The doctors and hospital are so lawsuit scared that the same people show up regularly with the same complaints and still get admitted (minimum one week stay). We have even had to call security to remove these people after discharge. The reason these particular patients are dreaded by the healthcare personnel is that they are the most rude and demanding patients EVER! They are the ones to make out special hand written menus, watch the clock for pain medication (it has nothing to do with pain, but the buzz wore off and time for a new), and the doctors never get to see them because they are off the floor down smoking with friends. We have even busted some for recieving drugs from people out in the smoking area. There are the significant others who try to spend the night, and do, in the patients bed because they now have a roof to spend the night under.
Don’t touch medicare, the elderly who have contributed their entire lives and they deserve to be taken care of by the rest of us. But having to pay for medicare and a supplement, as well as medications and co-pays makes me ashamed. We give the medicaid people a free ride, no copays, no supplements and free medications. Shame on this country.
The atrocities of the insurance companies have been exposed, now hit the government provided free ride we have been giving to this coutry’s parasitic community
An interesting “factoid” about insurance premiums - I’ve been reading through these posts so far, and no one has mentioned “the percentage of income” angle (at least, directly) - through my company, insurance is $370 for a single person a month. Let’s say my rent is $740 a month (about average for 1-bedroom apartment in my area). Then if I’m paying for health insurance, it’s 50% of the cost of my rent! I know there is some formula somewhere, as to the percent of a person’s income that should reasonably go toward housing (or a mortgage) - I mean, how can health insurance equal half the amount of someone’s RENT? Is that REASONABLE???
And re: people’s poor eating habits - yeah, again, there’s the corporations pushing all this junk food on us and our children nonstop - people are working full-time or more, raising families - grabbing “a quick bite to eat” - wow, biggie fries! Etc. And then the insanity of having super-skinny female celebrities shoved in our faces all the time, then “women’s magazines” with the schizophrenic covers, i.e., LOSE 5 POUNDS IN A WEEK!!! right next to a picture of a 4-layer cake. And then studies have shown living in suburbs, having to DRIVE everywhere, packs on the pounds!! WHO DESIGNED THE CAR-INTENSIVE SUBURBS!!! Not us people with the “poor eating habits” who “don’t take care of ourselves.” FAT AMERICANS WHO DON’T EXERCISE were created by the CORPORATIONS who laid out endless miles of concrete and stuck us all in cars for long commutes to sedentary jobs. YES, personal responsibility - but how about some CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY TOO!!!!! No, it’s the American Way: BLAME THE VICTIM
Our premium for family of 3 went from $900 a month with Aetna to $1300 a month in just 2 years. We are now uninsured. It’s just too much. Almost one third of our income.
Also…why can’t we get generics as fast as everyone else in the world? I pay $60 a month for my sons Zyrtec. I can order generic all over the world, just can’t get it here in the good ole USA. And the pharmaceutical companies are probably payin off the FDA to make it illegal to order it!
We have MAJOR CORRUPTION in our government. We need to rebel, demand a change, kick em out, and start over!
My husband and I own a small business and the only employees we have are ourselves. We refuse to purchase healthcare for ourselves because of the fact that the cost would outweigh what we could actually afford. If we want to pay our house payment and feed our kids there is NO WAY insurance would be affordable. Not to mention the “pre - exisiting” condition clause that every insurance company has. I have a few minor health issues and my husband hasnt been to a doctor in many years. I have calculated that it is actually cheaper right now to pay out of pocket for any health care expenses we have. All the insurance reps that we have spoke to over the past 6 months try to sell sell sell and the common thread among every single agent for every single company is the same “WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU AND YOU NEED EXTENSIVE TREATMENT?”
I watched Michael Moore on Oprah this afternoon and I cannot wait for this film to arrive in the theaters. Maybe if each and every one of us made a stand against this problem in some way we could possibly make a difference. I cannot wait for the president to see this. Thank you Michael for creating this film, it is possible that this could somehow help save lifes in the future.
I was laid off from my company about six months ago. I am a 31-year-old very healthy female. I applied for an individual health insurance plan (Blue Cross)…can’t believe how expensive an individual PPO (most good Dr.s only take PPO) plan cost. I was shocked to learn that I would be denied due to my cholesterol. Well I don’t have bad cholesterol, my cholesterol is actually very good. LDL 91..normal. HDL 118 (good cholesterol…you want that number as high as possible). The insurance companies were just looking at the total number, not taking into consideration the ratio. My doctors were shocked at how high (good high) my HDL was and said that is very good. Anyway, to make a long story short. I got the run around from all the underwriters saying they were all nurses and I was telling them if they knew what they were talking about I would not be denied. They wanted my cholesterol lowered but you want your HDL as high as possible. So in order to get insurance I would have to become unhealthy. The insurance company’s really need to get a clue what they are talking about. I am still without insurance.
Suzie, you gave me my laugh for the day (and I haven’t even seen the movie yet!) - You wrote:
“Kudos to you!! Next why not focus on medicaid waste? As a nurse, the amount of money wasted on the “disabled” is shocking. I’m not talking about people with terminal or chronic illnesses, or those with physical or mental disabilities that are unable to work. I’m talking about the “career” patients, who suffer from chronic “un-documented” back pain (most common), anxiety disorder, substance abuse, and depression,
—-
I have to admit, when I read your post it made wonder if you are a nurse…or just someone on this board who works for the insurance industry, trying to shift the American public’s anger and frustration to an easier, “unsympathetic” target. Yeah, I work in the medical field too. And amazingly enough, from my vantage point there aren’t actually too many of the patients you describe! I think this whole “undocumented back pain” thing is a hoax. They do all kinds of tests and studies and have all kinds of treatments (ever hear of an epidural steroid injection? A diskectomy? A TENS unit? Etc, etc?)
And re: depression and anxiety, oh, I just roar with laughter! Life is a struggle, sometimes people need help - and what do they get - not that lengthy expensive “talk therapy” (hey, it can work!), no just switch from Wellbutrin to Zoloft to Prozac etc etc etc. Ever hear of something called the “Prozac poop-out effect?” Yep, even the effect of antidepressants can wear off over time. Hey, why doesn’t a hospital start up a “hospital stay addicts support group” for these “career patients?” No, its easier to just keep doing the same expensive thing because of “concern of litigation.” Oh uproarious. If what you say is actually true.
The most that I’ve seen in seven years of “career patients” are those with substance abuse problems of longstanding, who are suffering from liver problems, etc. THEY can be in and out of the hospital a lot. And when people come from an abusive background/poor/and abusing more than one substance and alcohol…but where are we back to? Oh yeah, people moving on out to the suburbs and leaving the poor behind. Structural unemployment, robots in factories to reduce (or eliminate entirely) labor costs, now jobs going overseas in a big way. Enjoy your patios and tractor mowers everyone! Your one-hour commutes in your huge SUVs from point A to B!!!!
******
Observation: Why have these 24-hour superexpensive “Turbo ERs” open, when ALL A PERSON MAY NEED IS A NURSE PRACTITIONER!” Duh, if we’re crowding the ERs with our “nonemergent complaints” THEN WHY DON’T YOU HOSPITALS OPEN UP 24-HOUR CLINICS STAFFED BY NPs, LPNs, and physician assistants????????????????????????????? Let me walk out of an ER with a $100 bill, instead of $3,000! Throw in $50 because it’s at 1 a.m.! A NP could ALWAYS REFER AN EMERGENT CASE ON TO A “REAL” EMERGENCY ROOM!!!!
I am so SICK of so-called “health care professionals” who can’t use any IMAGINATION OR INTELLIGENCE in solving these problems. I wish I had been able to go see an NP at 1 a.m., instead of having my own no-insurance, $3,000 ER visit. I just needed to see an NP, that’s all!!!!!!!!!!! BUT I DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE!!!!!! THE HOSPITAL DID NOT GIVE ME A CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!!
HOSPITAL: WILLIAM “THE BULLY” BEAUMONT IN MICHIGAN
I work for a healthcare insurance company that encompasses the Medicaid population. I enjoy my job, but the whole healthcare is so mind boggling and ridiculous. My day consist of telling providers their claims denied because: no prior authorization was received, claim wasn’t received within 180 days,needing the primary EOB, or my personal favorite the claim denied in error - an internal problem.
Recently a young teen was seen in the ER for a broken wrist and was referred to an orthopedic dr in the area, the only ortho we contract with in this town. Come to find out that ortho will not see this patient because he has state insurance. It is unconceivable! It boils down to the “ALMIGHTY DOLLAR”!
I don’t have a plan on how to fix it, but something needs to happen.
My mom was recently hospitalized for septicemia - she had a bladder infection that went systemic. Frankly, she received outstanding care - and did not pay one cent out of her own pocket. Is this because she’s older and is covered by medicare or because she has excellent private health insurance supplementary coverage - I don’t know. This is in Michigan (and I know that she received care in California for a heart incident when traveling once also and it was excellent) - I frankly don’t know. I think the biggest problem with our system is that it’s all moved to employer provided insurance. If you’re not gainfully employed and your employer doesn’t provide you with a good program (which I believe a lot of them don’t in an effort to cost cut) you’re hosed, otherwise, you might actually have really good coverage and really good care, like my mom.
Diagnosed with cancer three months ago. Fully insured via a networked HMO. I decided that I wanted to receive the best care possible as this is a deadly disease. My hospital of choice was Sloan Kettering for treatment. MY HMO has denied treatment at this facility. I now pay for all costs out of pocket.
I injured my knee and went to my Primary Care Physician for a referral to a sports medicine doctor. My PCP examined me and said there was soft tissue damage, no bone involvement and that I didn’t need an X-Ray. When I called to make an appointment with the specialist, his office person told me that I must appear at the appointment with an X-Ray. I told her that my doctor told me I didn’t need one; it wouldn’t show anything and would be a waste of time and money and needlessly expose me to radiation. She said no X-Ray, no appointment. So I had to return to my PCP for an X-Ray requisition and go the hospital for a knee X-Ray, knowing that the specialist will look at it, say it shows nothing and order an MRI. Waste? Stupidity? Needless billing? Needless radiation? Yup. Yup. Yup. Yup.
There are many issues that are problematic with health care in the US; the crux of which are that we don’t live in a capitalist country where the forces of the market dictate the value of goods and services. Adam Smith would cry about our current system!
What we have is a corporatist kleptocracy where greed is the credo and favors and bribes are the coins of the realm. “Universal” health care is a good idea but it would stanch the flow of research, development and creativity on behalf of medical researchers and doctors. What would be their incentive to achieve or move forward?
In order to fix health care we need to reform our government so that small business can flourish and capitalist principles can once again take hold. People like Hillary Clinton want to have a dialogue about “universal” care but she is a corporatist like Bush, Obama, and the rest of the crooks. “Universal” health care would rob researchers, doctors and nurses of their rightful profit from their intellectual property. This would in turn stop them from producing and leave the majority with a health care system that would make our current system look wonderful.
Moreover, “universal” health care would leave most of the current system in tact and raise taxes on an already overburdened middle class. This tax revenue would go to the government and fatten the pockets of congressmen’s friends like the CEO’s of drug companies who make profits for their shareholders; neither of which know anything about health care.
How is this different from our current system you ask? Instead of insurance companies robbing you the government is robbing you. It takes people who make money, like the middle class, pay for the care of those who allegedly “need” health care. I would rather pay an insurance premium for my health care than pay for those who make no contribution to have health care.
Universal health care robs those that make contributions to society with their minds and turns them into slaves for government apparatchiks, corporations, and those who produce nothing. Reverting back to true capitalism would make health care better and more available and affordable for all. It would destroy the massive market share consolidation of drug companies and insurance companies thereby increasing competition and lowering prices.
Healthcare is a run away train. For 5 years a doctor lied to us that my husband’s tumor was not growing. It was. When I went to Senator Kean’s office in New Jersey to help us report the horrific behavior we were blocked. Assemblyman Munoz is a doctor he was covering for his friends. The State of NJ said they are there to protect the doctors not the patients.
I reported it to NY they found a problem with the behavior and NJ was forced to investigate. The problem the case is still pending investigation
The movie will open up the eyes of many. There are many people who think the reason an individual is having problems with the Healthcare system is because they are not good at negotiating what they are entitled to.
Discrimination for using healthcare comes in many forms Pfizer Pharmaceutical told me to get out and they did not care if my husband died. When I complained they sent Berkeley Heights NJ police stating I was stealing from them. They brought out a person from their legal department and filed a report I was stealing from them.
When I reported to the State of NJ and the Union County prosecutors office that they illegally filed a false report Mr. Romankow’s office refused to investigate and file charges for filing an illegal report and the police ripping up the original report and altering it to say I wanted Pfizer and the police at my home as witnesses. I complained to Senator Kean’s office nothing happened because Richard Bagger was the former Senator who is also a Senior Vice President at Pfizer. They control our legislators and police and the FBI. Joe Billy was the head of the NJ Unit and he just happened to work with the Head of Security of Pfizer. They both worked in NY together at the FBI. Kean’s office had the FBI come to my house (which is illegal only a federal level offical can request the FBI) to have them write I had Panic Disorder.
Pfizer should explain how I met a woman in Boston who stated she understand because she and 7 other families lost their jobs with a division of Pfizer because spouses were ill.
“Universal” health care would rob researchers, doctors and nurses of their rightful profit from their intellectual property. This would in turn stop them from producing and leave the majority with a health care system that would make our current system look wonderful.
__________________________
That’s the “wonderful” thing about message boards - anyone can post anything with no evidence, no data, for their opinions. It is false that “researchers, doctors and nurses” receive a “rightful profit” from “their intellectual property.” No, the corporation does - whatever you invent, design, create, investigate while EMPLOYED by a CORPORATION (including a UNIVERSITY), IS LEGALLY OWNED BY THE CORPORATION. THE CORPORATION sees the profit. Also, the National Institutes of Health FUND MEDICAL RESEARCH - check out their website at nihDOTgov. Corporations and our government fund research. A researcher can get a big fat grant, but they certainly do not INDIVIDUALLY see any “profit,” the corporation and its stockholders do, or the university they are employed by, etc.
And what is this idea that what motivates first-class research is MONEY???? The profit motive??? Go read books about researchers - the strongest motivation is intellectual hunger, ambition to be the first to discover something (i.e., have a disease or a treatment or surgical instrument named after you), the desire to cure a disease that has plagued human beings forever - NOT the big house, fancy car, etc. I again roar with laughter at the thought that the ONLY thing that motivates human achievement and creativity is MONEY. Read up on Albert Einstein for instance - there’s no TOUR now of some MANSION he owned, with 10 luxury cars in the garage etc. HE DIDN’T CARE ABOUT MONEY. I think this is true of most first-rate researchers. If the lack of profit is going to drive a lot of SECOND-RATE researchers out of medical research, ’cause there’s no social-status-country-club type stuff in it anymore - I say GOOD RIDDANCE, don’t let the screen door hit your behind on the way out.
End the discrimination of the ill and disabled and their families by self insured employers. They will not hire healthy family members because someone is ill in the family.
Pfizer fires people and tells them they don’t care if family members die. They harass the families. They did it to us in NJ and we met a woman in Boston who said they did it to her family in Boston.
I am self-employed and am doing OK with the business. I cannot afford to hire anyone if I have to include any kind of insurance, so I outsource when I have to.
I can only imagine how things would be if I get really sick. I’m certain I will be financially ruined. Once again, the wealthy get the best care, and the wealthy do not have to worry about the things we mere mortals have to.
Not *once* will you hear a story from a sick individual or family (who isn’t wealthy) in the US about how well the system works for them. The system sucks, and obviously panders to the already-wealthy insurance companies to feed the bonuses of the already wealthy big-shots.
I have read the comments from those who think the complainers should suck it up (i.e., we live in the greatest nation in the world, you should be a great American like me, thank you Hannity). Can you imagine how they’d change their tune if they became ill, could not afford the co=pay and/or premium hikes which are certain to come, and maybe have to get help in Canada. Happens often.
I have insuarnce, but if anything serious happens that requires long term care or a planned operation I will return home to Ireland for such services. Its not that the government there will foot the bill for most things, but anything else I have to pay is actually affordable.
And for the record, my wife and I have whats considered a ‘good leath care plan’ here.
American Healthcare… isn’t that an oxymoron? When recently discussing how healthcare works in the states with a Canadian aquaintance, her only response was “What a frightening way to live your life…”
One of my favorite reasons against “universal” healthcare is the myth of having to wait months for an appointment (great propaganda, the Commies would be proud). IF you are lucky, in the USA you get one in about a month. When we needed to see a doctor in Europe (Italy and Czech Rep.), we saw one the same day. And the doctors still do house-visits of the sick, elderly, and handicapped!!
I hate to see the new European politicians getting greedy and messing with their healthcare systems and trying to follow their American “heroes” (Hungary, Czech…), it is shortsighted.
I am not poor, just self-employed. I don’t want anything for free; just dependable, decent care for fair money. (And the Massachusetts “plan” - or scam? - will not solve the problem.)
And Mike: more people (in a country) mean more expenditures on healthcare, yes; but also more income for the entire system!
My Daughter had earwax removed when we were checking out an ear infection. The doctor’s office called it surgery and charged 300 dollars. What else can I say…
Healthcare Insurance causes job discrimination for many ill and disabled families. Companies that are self insured strategically dismiss the well spouse or parent. The American Government must stop the discrimination.
As a resident training in county hospital and now practicing in private practice in upper middle class area, there is a hugh disparity of health, pt’s own desire for proper maintainance, and resources for supporting proper health care. From my impression, patients in low social economical status, do not have enough resources to pay for meds to keep them out of the hospital. Also, they tend to have more chronic illnesses because of lack of early preventative screening and poor dietary and exercise. When this situation occurs, it is a slippery slope of which leads to potential side problems (i.e. loss of pay due to frequent hospital trips, impaired work functions due to illnesses).
In terms of perspective for medical care for upper middle class, the major problem is the rising insurance preminum, thus patients are being hit with this and high prices for meds. Fortunately, wal-mart and target are providing a lot of meds that cover wide spectrum of illnesses and helps me to provide meds to patients.
My Mom was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer by a specialist at a cancer center after several unhelpful trips to her doctor. He told her she was alergic to milk, that was why her stomach was so swollen. Pure incompetence & very likely a profit issue for him as well.
Then we went through the cancer treatment. It was a money making machine & I am disgusted that sickness is BIG business. Do you really think the people making all the money want to change anything?
Natural remedies my grandmother used effectively would never even be offered at a doctors office today because nobody makes any money if the treatment isn’t patented, trademarked, copywritten etc. Of course, there’s the additional profit to be made from the second round of prescriptons to deal with the side effects of the first round of medications prescribed. Don’t you just love writing with those fancy pharmacutical pens at your doctor’s office? Don’t you just love the generosity? I throw them away every chance I get. They disgust me.
My Mom passed away at age 53. The Bible tells us God’s people are dying from lack of knowledge. I believe it.
If American’s want good health advice, they need to visit a veternarian or start reading about some natural cures. I recommend Kevin Trudeau’s books with the secrets “They” don’t want you to know about.
I just wanted to make a comment for those of you who work in the health insurance industry (and therefore have an income that is dependent on people and companies purchasing health insurance) and who are making critical comments on this website.
It is important that people look after themselves and their health. The truth is that many of us know that we should eat 5-10 fruits and vegetables per day, get plenty of exercise to deal with stress (which is a lot more physically damaging than most people realize, esp. in the long term), fresh air and also a good nights sleep. Not everybody is living a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people don’t actually realize how bad their diet is, how exercise is something you have to make a priority (making sure you have an adequate amount), that a good nights sleep is really 8 hours (not 6, not 4, not 2), and how these variables can in the end damage your immune system so that your body cannot fight disease. THEREFORE, people do have the means to take some responsibility for their health.
HOWEVER, it is ridiculous and naive for anyone in the health insurance industry to suggest that our health is entirely in our own hands. Healthy people get cancer, accidents and physical traumas do occur that we have no way of foreseeing, and there are genetic diseases that one cannot help but suffer. There is also the simple factor of aging: as our bodies get older, our immune system weakens, and we are more susceptible to illness.
I personally think that the profit oriented American healthcare system is in serious need of an overhaul. I am 35 and healthy now, but I hate to think of what might be in store for me, as I get older. Like all Americans in good health, I keep my fingers crossed.
I recently went to the Mayo Clinic for some diagnostic tests. My bill for two days of outpatient testing was over $10,000. of which I will have to pay whatever my insurance decides they won’t allow. At this point in my illness, it was either go there or give up so I don’t feel there was much of a choice. It’s a fantastic facility and I would have loved to have been able to stay there for treatment, but the fact is that you can only do that if you’re rich or have insurance that covers all your care. If you’re not a person with money, like me, the alternative is to go for diagnostic tests and then return home for treatment. If you have no insurance, you’re what—screwed??
I don’t think anyone who believes everyone in this country should receive the same level of health care thinks it will be free. If we weren’t having to pay for the Iraq fiasco and taxes weren’t being cut to the wealthy, it seems like a completely doable and sane idea. What’s crazy is to be the most powerful country on the planet and have people dying for lack of care and their lives being disregarded by insurance companies who have their hands up the backs of the people sworn to represent us in Washington. Worse yet is that we, who are paying their salaries, allow it.
Smarten up people. You have to be your own advocate when it comes to healthcare. You need to be smarter consumers. It’s supply and demand folks. If you want to go crawling to the ER every time you have a cold or an ear infection instead of to the health department or free clinic, it’s going to cost you and everybody else. If we went to a nationalized system we’d be in even more trouble. I want to know what Michael Moore proposes to do. More government? More regulation? Come on! We have enough government infringing on our lives and costing us more money in taxes to do what corporate America can do at a fraction of the cost. Not to mention, if you make too much money for government assistance and still can’t “afford” your medications, sign up for the pharmaceutical companies’ plans to get free and discounted medication. And ask your doc for a cost saving alternative to each prescription.
Here is my advice, stop eating so much crap, exercise, stop buying cigarettes (they cost a fortune to buy and even more on the healthcare end), stop drinking alcohol and pop, stop having unprotected sex, stop sitting in front of video games (how can you afford Dish and X-Box anyway?) get your free high school diploma, and get a full-time job with benefits!!! If you decide to have children, get married first, and STAY MARRIED (leading cause of poverty is single parenthood in this country)! Follow those steps and quit your whining!
If you want to see pain and suffering, go to Africa! We are fortunate. Count your blessings and take some personal responsibility people! My grandparents came to this country with the American dream and little more than a second-grade education. We are privileged to live in America. Don’t you people ever forget it! If you don’t like it here, leave!
I broke my elbow and I didn’t have insurance so I had to pay $500 just to see a doctor for 3 minutes, all he did was look at one x-ray and told me it was broken. Than he left. They wrapped it up, and told me to go see another doctor at another office. When I got there they charged me $500 just to put a cast on my arm. It would have saved me lots of money if the hospital would have just done it in the first place. I think they all work together to bleed the poor people dry.
Not a huge deal, but my insurance provider no requires me to send in my prescriptions so that my company can give me the medication. It’s been ongoing for a few months now, and I still think it’s kind of weird. I doubt you’ll ever see this comment, but good luck from a fellow Michiganian, and know that I’ve seen and loved every one of your movies!
I am 27 years old, and I don’t have health insurance. There are programs out there for those that need assistance. In NJ, I qualified for hospital assistance, and was able to receive quality healthcare at no cost to me. I filled out an application, and was asked about my banking information, my paychecks, and my income. Since my income was so low, I qualified. This does not mean that I abuse the system. I don’t. Since I received hospital assistance, I was allowed to chose a family care doctor just in case I was sick so that I did not have to go to the emergency room. This past Tuesday, I saw a doctor, when I was sick. Since I did not have insurance, he gave me samples and I was really appreciative. Now, I am feeling much better, and I can go to work tomorrow. If I did not recieve any medical attention, my infection could have spread to my lungs which could have been serious. My situation is temporary. I am getting a job in the medical field in September, and I have empathy towards people that need help. Health insurance is a business, as the health insurance companies goal is to make money from the premiums, and not pay for the claims.
I am 23-years old and have been denied coverage from 36 different health care providers because I am prone to epileptic seisures. Because of this, I have to save money from my paychecks each month in order to stay alive. What the hell is wrong with this country?
May 25th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
My mom wanted to go get clean from drinking too much beer. well we went to the emergency room at a hospital in the capital of CT. We waited for 4 hours and began to get tired. some people there said they waited overnight 12 hours plus! for a bed. what’s wrong with the system. why is it broken? It’s all becuase we are spending all of our money in Iraq. THAT’S IT!!!
May 25th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
American healthcare? What care…oh they care about the bottom line…my death is more profitable than my life. successful surgery is less profitable than long term care. We dont have healthcare, we have health “i dont care”.
May 26th, 2007 at 6:29 am
I just got out of the hospital after having major lung surgery. I have short-term health insurance but they have already started the process of trying to label me with pre-exsisting condition. I expect them to deny all upcoming bills and it will force me into bankruptcy.
But the big deal right now is the the cost of prescriptions. Those are not covered and since this ordeal began 2 months ago I have spent well over $2000.
Most recently I had to pay $200 for 7 anti-biotic pills to combat pneumonia that I caught from BEING IN the hospital.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Health care in America! Total joke! God forbid something should happen to me and I have to go to the hospital. The bills alone would kill me!
May 26th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I was attacked and beaten (a drunken tourist was arrested and convicted) and was stitched up in the emergency room of the local hospital. Being without insurance I was eligible for State Victims assistance to cover the bills which were huge. There was a six week lapse between the hospital bills due date and the state sending payment, but there was no reasoning with the hospital.
They reported me delinquent on my payment, which started a cascade of interest rate hikes which destroyed my credit rating and caused severe financial hardship.
Even though the hospital was paid in full by the state victims fund they continued to harass me for years afterward for ‘unpaid balances’ which were the price differences between what they charge to insurance companies and myself, an uninsured assault victim who was forced to seek medical help through no fault of my own.
It has now been twelve years since my assault and I have been denied jobs, loans and negative background checks on uncounted occasions because of these idiots. There is no way I can estimate the financial damage these morons have done to me, lost wage increases and promotions alone are in the tens of thousands of dollars.
May 27th, 2007 at 2:51 am
My son was hospitalized with respiratory distress, at follow-up visit was prescribed asthma maintenence med. Asked the doctor for samples, he didn’t have any. With my insurance, the script still cost $50. I didn’t have it and it was still two weeks until pay day. So, do I write a hot check or wait two weeks? Waited the two weeks….children shouldn’t have to wait or do without healthcare because of the greed of the healthcare industry. No one should.
May 28th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I went to the Hospital with a tooth infection. I was unable to open my mouth to eat since my cheek had swelled. I waited in the er for two hours and they came in told me I needed antibiotics. Well no shit I knew that. so they said that since this wasn’t an emergency I need to pay right then to get the script.
So I had to go to another hospital and wait a few more hours and but these guys gave me the script.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:51 am
I am an emergency Nurse in an inner city hospital that serves the indigent population. I see the maladies of the American healthcare system on a daily basis. I could rant for hours about the multitude of factors that affect the crippling healthcare system.
First of all, Chris. C’mon. Was it really an EMERGENCY that you and your mother go to the emergency department to get cleaned up? Unless you and your mother were both, simultaneously, going through DT’s, it wasn’t. I can understand and applaud your desire to seek treatment because it is a terrible addiction, but you should have gone to a treatment facility.
Okay, first problem. Right? Chris doesn’t even know where to go for help. Of course, that is, if there even is a place for him to get help like a treatment facility. Curses to the fiscal conservatives for the lack of funding for social programs!
Of course, the other problem is that the first triage nurse you saw, after you checked yourself in, couldn’t have sent you on your way to a treatment facility anyway, which is where you and your mother belonged. Do you know why? Because if you walked out that door, developed DT’s, and died…guess who would be sued? That is why you waited so long. It was NOT an emergency, but you had to be seen to be medically cleared/treated to save the healthcare workers their careers. But again, you needed to be in a treatment facility.
Mitch, grow up. if you want to use a played out slogan just type it and enter it. Dont you dare make such a broad implication that people like me and the others i work with, dont care. I go to work every week to care for people that many times don’t even care for themselves. Oftentimes, after I am cussed at by drunks, threatened by psychotics, and overworked. I return again to help those same individuals because I know they need help. Don’t make comments about something you obviously know nothing about…
Frank and Lisa, although part of this pains me to say…did you know wallmart offers many, many prescriptions for only four dollars? whether or not you do or do not have health insurance. I know, they are an evil corporation, which is why it slightly pains me to say it, but they do. I guess use them for what they are worth since our healthcare system doesn’t offer much.
Finally, Warren. Again, was this really an emergency? I understand that toothaches hurt, but an emergency? Please just realize while you were waiting your two hours, they were probably helping someone in respiratory distress, splinting someone’s broken extremity, etc.
I think what might really be the problem Warren is something you couldn’t name. In reality, your tooth probably had beeen bothering you for awhile. a week, maybe two…but you were postponing help because you hoped it would go away because you either A: don’t have health insurance or B: you dont know how to take personal responsibility for your health. My guess? you dont have insurance. don’t worry, it would probably suck like mine anyway;)
Anywho, you woke up one morning and your cheek was swollen and you realized you HAD to get help. It was at this point you went to the emergency department. The sad truth is that if you had health insurance, you could have gone to the dentist and avoided the entire situation…instead, how much did your ED visit cost? $400? $500?
I truly hope your movie can shed some light on the healthcare system. It is riddled with the fear of litigation(ends up costing healthcare who knows how much money because MD’s have to keep giving that same person with belly pain a CT everytime they walk in the door in case something really has gone wrong), and the lack of funding for preventative health education to name only two! Good luck! I hope you conquer the mountain!
May 29th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Britney… for someone claiming to care… you sure some off as pretty condescending and as someone who really doesn’t have a clue. I could rant for hours about nurses who are missing that certain quality that makes them great. Anywho… You are missing a lot of the information that I hope this movie will provide.
You seem to base all your opinions on your experience with inner city indigents. I am sure you see more abuse of the system there but it is a small part of the problem.
Who are you to decide what constitutes an emergency anyway? You have obviously never had a real toothache.
AND.. You have the nerve to tell Chris to not make comments about something he knows nothing about, yet you made assumptions about each one of our posts.
It is obvious you have a hard time putting yourself in another’s shoes.
I would bet that a large majority of the people you see in the emergency room don’t have insurance. The reason they are in the ER is because of that fact. People without insurance will wait until the last possible moment to get treatment.. thus sending them to the ER where at least they WILL GET treated.
And since you know so much… Which healthcare plan covers dentistry?
I know all about Wal-Mart and Targets $4 list. Guess how many of the prescriptions I need are on that list? 1… and it is an anti-nausea that I have to take. Know why I take that? To combat the feeling I get from CHEAPER medications.. instead of being able to afford the $200 prescription that doesn’t cause nausea.
None of us are asking for FREE healthcare. I just want reasonable pricing. It shouldn’t cost me $200 for the same prescription I can get in Canada for $60. It shouldn’t cost me $250 just to walk into my doctors office to PICK UP that prescription. This is the real issue. The RAPE of Americans by American companies and nobody does a thing about it.
The reason you don’t see anything wrong with our healthcare is because you have obviously never had to use it. Most people have no idea how bad it is because they never need it.
The problem is people thinking they are covered and to later find out their insurance plans won’t cover it. OR they look for reasons not to.
Try putting yourself in these shoes… You go to the doctor for chest pain.. They think you have a heart problem and you go in for tests (if your insurance allows you to get it)… They find out you have a valve problem and need to operate. (Assuming your insurance will pay for preventive care..) But first you have some more tests and they find out you have congenital heart disease. Suddenly your insurance stops covering you because of pre-existing condition. OR they start investigating you to prove it.
That has happened to someone I know… and as I type this they are investigating my recent claims. Trying to pin it on pre-existing. Want to know what happens if they don’t pay my bills? I go bankrupt.
May 30th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Hi, everybody, I am from Hungary, Europe and I have lived in the U.S. for 16 months. I must say that the biggest culture shock I’ve had here was discovering how the American health care system works and finding out how profit-oriented it is (instead of focusing on the human beings that need medical help). Due to my marriage to a National Guard reservist from the Northeast, I’ve been lucky to be covered by TRICARE, the military health care system (which claims to provide a “world-class” health system to military families) so I am grateful to my husband for that because it’s basically health insurance through his line of work.
Anyway, what I didn’t know in the beginning was that being covered means nothing if you’re not familiar with the zillions of little nuances and intricacies, rules and conditions and exceptions that make up a health insurance policy here. It took me several months of reading up on it and a lot of asking around over the phone to finally have a clear understanding of the different coverage plans and how to get medical services from network providers. Coming from a post-communist country, I’ve been used to free, good-quality, state-subsidized health care all my life (although the current Hungarian government - a bunch of money-grabbing jerk-offs - have recently been busy trying to privatize every aspect of the system there and to switch to the American version of health care…..what a BUMMER!). By the way, those forty years of state-funded Hungarian public health care in communism were financed with huge government loans from Western countries (which is probably true for other former Eastern Block countries, too) so there is definitely no such thing in the world as free health care in the absolute sense of the word.
All in all, my ultimate conclusion after having had some rather negative experience with the health care system here is that you don’t ever want to get seriously sick in this country, even if you have some type of health insurance. In fact, the best thing an average person can do here is to try to stay as healthy as they possibly can. I know that sounds absurd but I can’t think of any other way of beating the system…. unless, of course, Americans are willing to move to a country in the European Union or to Canada. I’m pretty sure that health care in those parts of the world is more about the human being than about ripping people off with obscene amounts of money. Because the health care system you guys have is absolutely one of a kind in the developed world! Unfortunately, paying a monthly premium for a health insurance policy or being covered through an employer here (if you can get them to cover you at all) doesn’t simply mean that you’re fully covered with no strings attached (like deductible, copay/cost-share, having to find a network provider, prior authorizations and all the other bullshit). And all the red tape that overcomplicating the health care system of a huge country like this creates!!! Doctors in this country are self-appointed, greedy kings and queens of the population (apart from some of them also being masters of life and death)!!! And they’re not even aware of the huge responsibility they have toward people! There are many ways health care in my home country sucks, too, but at least hospitals don’t charge you $500 (plus $200 to the ER doctor) for something like cleaning and stitching up a cut wound on your palm. And that was just a tiny injury! But, like I mentioned above, I was covered and TRICARE o n l y paid them $550 out of the $700 total. I find it too scary to even start to think about what I would do if I didn’t have health insurance. Besides, I will always have trouble seeing the overpriced dollar value of all the routine visits that I’ve had here so far.
It’s really good to know that there are people out there like Michael Moore who have the guts to address pressing social issues like this and are not afraid to take any flak for it from all the health industry people and the politicians that have a vested interest in keeping the status quo. I haven’t seen the movie yet but I can’t wait to watch it and I hope that a lot of people will go and see it outside the States, too, so they can have a better idea of what this aspect of America is really like.
PS: I think the following is a good review of the movie by a foreigner:
170 out of 205 people found the following comment useful:
More of Moore, thank God, 21 May 2007
Author: Ivo Martijn from Hilversum, The Netherlands
I was fortuned enough to watch Michael Moore’s documentary ‘Sicko’ at its second screening at the 60th Cannes film festival. It just might be his most important film yet, because this is really the first time he makes the essential point about America: in the US the dominant ideology is ‘me’ whereas the other nations on the planet think in terms of ‘we’ (I noticed this too when I studied in the States). Bowling for Columbine demonstrates the fear in American society induced by the media (if it bleeds, it leads) and where it leads to. Fahrenheit 9/11 exposes the Republican party, especially the Bush crowd, as a club that solely benefits the financial interests of the wealthiest people in the country, causing millions to suffer. This time, Moore shows that, even in the health care system, the nation is run by one single thing: the bottom line; the logic of money. The US seem to have forgotten that money is just an intermediate. If it becomes a goal in itself, people die. Unnecessarily.
We humans see everything as a story, whether we are aware of it or not: people’s lives, brands, world events, nations. There are basically two story lines: the hero’s journey (the individual who matures and fulfills his full capability, and the Greek tragedy (the hero violates the rules of the group and is sacrificed). We are at the same time individuals and members of a group. For every human being it’s always a struggle to find, in all circumstances, the right balance between being an individual and being a group member. Nations choose between these two stories as well. In every country on earth the group is the most important entity (more or less). Except in the US. There, it’s the individual. So instead of “one for all, and all for one”, America’s motto is “each for himself, and God for us all”.
In ‘Sicko’ Michel Moore demonstrates the atrocities this kind of thinking leads to. A man without health insurance (companies simply refuse people), whose middle- and ring finger are sown off, had to choose between paying 60.000 dollars for having his middle finger restored and 12.000 dollars for having his ring finger fixed. Being the “romantic” that he is, he chose his ring finger. A woman, formerly with a good job, bankrupted by her medical bills and forced to live in the study of her daughter, has to pay 240 dollars a month for her cancer medication but gets the same pills on Cuba for… 10 cents. 45 Million uninsured Americans live in fear that they might, some day, need medical care. The rest of the world doesn’t know these fears, because for them, medical help is free: paid for by tax money. The United States have become ruthless to it’s own people. It contradicts the image Americans have of themselves and their country, but it’s the awful truth.
As a film, ‘Sicko’ is slightly below ‘Bowling for Columbine’ and somewhat above ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ (Moore’s qualities as a filmmaker are admirably consistent). As an eye opener, it’s the most important thing Michael Moore has done yet. The true ’sicko’ is America. Hopefully this film will let the healing begin.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:09 am
A Canadian’s experience with the US health system.
My ordeal started when I had to go the the ER (Texas Tech- affiliated hospital), for gastritis pains.
I figured well, in the US hteir great privitized system will mean that I get access to teh best care—-right!.
After waiting four hours to be seen/getting a 2000$ bill for services, I realized that all that Americans say about teh health system , is hogwash. Well actually there is a difference, in Canada I would have to wait,4 hours and walked out of the ER with no bills.
Perhaps the US should spend more on health care versus
a million dollars a minute in Iraq (or some ridiculous
dollar per minute ratio).
May 31st, 2007 at 10:27 am
I have late-stage Lyme Disease. Although I had the bull’s eye rash and tested positive for the Western Blot three times over seven years, the medical community still denies that I have this disease and refuses to treat me. Not only does the medical community seem to be ignorant about Lyme but they deliberately downplay and hide how much of an epidemic it is and prefer to hand out anti-anxiety pills. My insurance company paid for many years of expensive procedures and specialists who thought I had more serious diseases like MS. Just think of all the money my insurance company could have been saved if ONE doctor would have figured it out! Needless to say, I gave up on conventional medicine, did my own research and discovered that other countries were CURING Lyme with an herb from the Amazon called Samento. After 6-8 weeks of taking this antiseptic herb, almost all 40 of my symptoms went away! A miracle! Our government, who may have created Lyme as a biological weapon in the 1950s, is being negligent. They are in bed with the pharmaceutical companies and as long as there is corruption in Washington, Americans will never get well or be allowed to find cures if corporations can’t generate billions of dollars. When Americans get sick, they can’t work, when they can’t work they put a burden on the healthcare system, the insurance companies and the economy. My 10 year old son has had Diabetes since he was 5. In Canada, they are having huge success rates with islet transplants yet the USA only has a waiting list for patients interested in a clinical trial. No children. And guess how long the trials will be? 10 years?!
America has lost its way and its morals.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I’m on Medicare. I switched from one provider to Kaiser Permanente for 2007. The Medicare.gov web site said it was more expensive, out of pocket, by about $1000.00. However, the reviews were great and I decided to go with Kaiser.
I switched back to my previous carrier at the end of the 1st Quarter. The fundamental reason is that the primary docs are scheduled with a new patient every 15 minutes, regardless of your problem(s). I had one visit with the first of two PCPs. I was expecting a discussion about my problems but all he did was give me an Rx and move on, in 15 minutes.
So, I assumed that I got a lemon and changed PCPs for my next visit. Same thing.
I made another appointment and this time I brought a checklist of everything I wanted to talk about. When the doc’s admin assistant saw the list, she told me directly that there was “no way” there would be enough time to discuss “all these items.”
I said that if I didn’t get to discuss my items, I was going to raise holy hell. I got my time.
The next day or so, I also had a telephone conversation with the assistant administrator for that facility about the lack of time. Turns out officially that Kaiser schedules patients every 15 minutes but they know that this is causing complaints and they will be bumping the time to 20 minutes in August.
That explains why no one asks you why you want an appointment in the first place. They don’t care!
I had insisted that I see a urologist for consultation and I did get an appointment. He was much more relaxed and helpful. He also told me that I had an umbilical hernia! Apparently, both my PCPs live under a policy that first-time patients only get service for what they know about!
My other complaint is that Kaiser charges you a high co-pay, for EVERYTHING! I had to have additional lab work because the first lab work didn’t get all the data. I had to pay the co-pay for the second lab work. They also don’t give out sample medications, so you better know that what the doctor is prescribing is going to work for you the first time.
There are a lot of people who are happy with Kaiser. The two that I know both have their costs covered out of their retirement benefits.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I can’t WAIT for this movie to come out! I love all of Moore’s factual, insightful, films which expose the corruption within the system. To hell with the greedy politicians! Stand up and fight for better health care!
Begin by keeping C-students OUT of the Oval Office!!
June 1st, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I work in the insurance industry and I agree that the system needs help. However, we are all very quick to blame everyone else rather than look at the pathetic shape of Americans in general. In a country filled with overweight and unhealthy citizens whom the majority get little to no exercise can you blame an insurance carrier for having to charge more to cover these people. The highest prescribed medication in the country is Lipitor (cholesterol lowering), that is truly sad. In most cases with a little effort concentrating on a healthy lifestyle the problem could be corrected, but no i guess doing something yourself is not the American way. It should be easy, somebody or something should do it for me.
And as for Europeans or Canadians coming to America and saying how bad our system is and how we should just provide free insurance to all…that is just plain dumb. We have a population of 300 Million People, Canada has 30 Million People, the UK has 60 Million, HUNGARY has 9 Million People, that is like comparing apples to oranges. Where do we come up with that much money? Where do we come up with money to cover a flock of immigrants that will come to obtain free health coverage? Hmmmmm, I wonder, even if the US socializes health care the money has to come from somewhere and I have a feeling it would be that same somewhere that the government gets money now…TAXES! You may give everyone free health care but in the end, higher taxes will to pay for it will cost us the same as what private health insurance costs. Back to square one, which comes back to as a country we need to take better care of our health, change your diet, exercise, find something to make you happy (get off the anti-depressants and anxiety pills), and live a long life!
June 1st, 2007 at 10:50 pm
I work as a 911 paramedic, part-time, in southern California. Because I get paid so poorly (EMT-medics ~$13/hr; EMT-basics ~$8/hr) and the cost of living is so high here, I cannot afford the most basic of health insurance that would benefit me without being a waste or limiting me to care. This, in part, would explain why so many (NOT ALL) private medical providers are burnt out and disheartened, and therefore provide below-standard care.
It seems that those who are best served are those who are rich and can afford healthcare; those who are dirt poor/pregnant/druggies who are eligible for medicare/cal (for those reasons); or those who are incarcerated (when I work in the emergency room, the inmates are provided with the BEST of care, otherwise, they can easily sue for negligence). Unfortunately, I am just above the poverty level, in school with two part-time jobs, without any major health or circumstantial problems, so I am ineligible for healthcare assistance.
June 2nd, 2007 at 12:07 am
Kudos to Brittany! Loved your input. I’ve heard people yelling in the emergency room, about having to wait, while there are people having heart attacks or strokes in the next room. Boo,hoo-someone had to wait for 2 hours to be seen for a toothache, stitches or whatever-please! Like Ivo from the Netherlands said- the dominant ideology is “me”. It seems as though the most valid, common thread here is the insurance companies that think they can dictate health care (not only to patients but they try to tell the Doc’s what they can and can’t do-I’ve experienced this as a patient and a nurse) and the pharmaceutical companies that can immorally overprice prescription drugs. When Clinton was in office, the hot topic was universal health care…where is that topic with the new candidates for the upcoming elections? I hope this movie can revitalize that topic.
Frank, enough with the Spin Doctor approach. Nobody goes into the health care profession if you have a hard time putting yourself in someone elses shoes.
LISA- If you are ever in that position again, please tell the prescribing physician or RN. Most hospitals will give you a voucher for a free RX from the hospital pharmacy or some similar program. Some people can’t even afford the $4. I’ve been there.
Lastly, Todd- What are the taxes like in Canada? I’d be curious to know. I’m no economist, but I’ve always thought taxes in other countries are much higher than ours. Also, Americans can sue for virtually anything! But ironically, with any election, cutting taxes is always what politicians think we want to hear. Welcome to America!
June 2nd, 2007 at 1:48 am
The US health care system sucks. I had cancer 2x, luckily while I was married and on my now ex-husband’s insurance through work. I am an independent consultant and no one will insure me except my state plan (administered by BCBS - who flat out denied me when I applied as an individual), for $597 dollars a month. The system suck, Bush sucks and I just can’t wait to turn 50 next year and my monthly premium jumps to $700 a month.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:08 am
Why did the American Association of Neurologist revamp the guidlines “Solely” for Plantiff Expert Witnesses and not for the Def’s Expert after 16 years?
“Neurologist who violates these provisions is subject to disciplinary action,” proves that the goal of the guidelines is to intimidate plaintiffs’ experts.
You’re never going to see discipline of a defense expert who violates these guidelines. Its really done to try to intimidate plaintiffs’ experts,
What is the difference between Malpractice and Manslaughter in this Country? See what happens when you try to sue - you cannot. It is frivolous until it happens to you.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:26 am
Where can I buy your band “Get Involved?”
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
When are the American middle class (or what’s left of it) going to wake up. The only way out of a serious illness without bankruptcy these days is by dying. Why are we paying (with out tax dollars) for state and federal workers to have great insurance when we are denied it?? Why can’t our tax dollars contribute to our individual health care instead. Someone is getting rich off this (Insurance companies, doctors, privately owned hospitals) - that is why our insurance premiums keep going up and our coverage down - its all about making a profit off our health care.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I’m a Pediatrician in Los Angeles and I trained at a L.A. County hospital, a place I consider the front lines of the healthcare industry. While it’s horrible that our country doesn’t supply its citizens with basic health coverage, I find it even worse that kids are excluded. These are the vulnerable, innocent members of our society who are our future! To see healthcare withheld from children is particularly sad…vaccines cost a ton, they’re in short supply, and without basic coverage we often see kids with far advanced disease. It’s beyond sad. It’s pathetic.
And what does our government want to do? Cut children’s benefits in favor of other programs…and why? Because children don’t vote! Thankfully there remain few county hospitals who offer care to all, because without them, where would we be? I know the waiting time can be long, and care delayed, but consider the volume of patients we are asked to see! I agree, the system is broken. Only the Feds have the $$$ to enact change…the time is now!
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:23 am
I had really great health care experiences when I was working for a Fortune 500 company. Now that my health care is through a union… blech…
BUT… I don’t think universal health care will be done well in this country. Have you seen the DMV?
I went to visit a friend in England. Coincidentally, when I arrived she went into the hospital for a possible ectopic pregnancy. She was basically in a gynmasium. They didn’t have a sonogram machine that could look at her fetus. At 4pm, they walked around with a tea/coffee machine that could steam your milk for you. It was the most technically advanced piece of equipment they had. Good shortbread. Bad medicine.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:57 am
I guess I supposed to be the ideal conservative. I go to college paying my own way by working, get straight A’s, and never take unemployment or welfare checks. During college I needed health care to fix my right eye (big black spot), treat my fractured ankle, and fix my ear drum. Our Boise State insurance didn’t cover that and I spent all my money on tuition and rent (no car - not enough $$), so I just live with it (more than 3 years now). I am saving up $$ to go to Honduras where my wife is from. Honduras, a third world nation with a median income of $950 a year, will fix my ailments for very little money. My wife will have to have our child out of the country since no insurance company will cover the pregnancy - pregnancy is considered a pre-existent condition so she needs to be insured 12 months prior to pregnancy. How sad is this? My son can’t be born in America because we can’t afford it. I guess it is my wife’s fault for having a difficult pregnancy.
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I posted this in the other forum. here it is. My situation. Please I am not looking for sympathy. I am social worker by trade. I hear things like this everyday that I am at work. It just hits harder when it happens to you. I have read all the comments here posted buy people and professionals.
Anthem BC/BS….
Denied medically necessary treatment for my daughter. Backlash caused me into a BK 7. losing everything, including our home! Also, the lack of child psychiatrists in the Cleveland area was at fault here. They had very few to non-existant contracts…many that were listed had 6m to 1 year wait lists or just not even taking new patients.
My beautiful daughter has mental illness which required treatment…DUH!
Would only cover 30 days a year in a hospital. If she had cancer, unlimited days in a hospital.
Had a long history of suicide attempts, yet the insurance company admitted by letter that hospitalization was medically necessary, but this letter is no guarantee of payment. WHF???
I as a single parent did everything humanly possible to save my daughter. I lost everything in the process.
The government had to take my daughter and place her in a hospital at their expense as I had no money to do so as she was and still is ill. Yes, I pay child support to the government for that.
I still pay insurance thru my paycheck for Anthem BC/BS yet my daughter receives no care from them.
On the flip side, if my daughter had a “physical” illness she would have all the treatment necessary.
Insurance companies treat people with mental illness as something lower than pond scum. They get away with it. The Ohio Dept of Insurance did NOTHING to help my daughter.
I would have given up my life to save my daughter, what parent wouldn’t?
So in the meanwhile, we have no home, (living in crappy apartment, because my credit was destroyed) no savings, (treatment took everything) and no credit. Yea, right, who will trust me?
I would have done anything to save my daughter. And, BTW, guess who made out like a bandit at the expense of my beautiful daughter..you guessed it. Anthem BC/BS.
So after reading this TRUE story, go hug your kids and thank the almighty that they are well!
Postscrip…there is a lot more to this. I can’t write everything that happened. I can’t tell you about the stress, I almost lost my job saving my daughter. But I would have given it up if it meant my daughter being well.
I get some kind of closure, I am starting to write about all that happened. Some members of my family do not understand what mental illness is and the effects it can cause. Some do. I have a few good friends out there that I spent a lot of time crying on their shoulder.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Being an epileptic nearly drove me insane; the 6 years I spent having uncontrolled seizures were nuts. The neurologists who insisted on using the latest pharmaceutical drug, Depakote -which had no inexpensive generic substitute- didn’t help any. For $350.00 per month, I took these useless pills, not able to hold a job (who wants to hire a seizure victim?)and sat around hiding from “life”. After half a decade, $16000.00 worth of pills (no insurance, of course, due to no steady job), numerous unpaid hospital bills, and ruined credit, they let me switch to the mediction I took as a teenager (for $25.00/month). Two weeks later, the seizures were gone. Why the neurologists insisted on using the expensive, useless Depakote for over 5 years, I’ll never know (do they get a kickback from pharmaceutical companies? I almost hope so, in my case). The cherry on top: the U.S. Dept. of Education compounded my college loan payments’ interest 8.5% daily; my $32,000.00 loan went to $72,000.00 during those years, and the interest keeps compounding. It will cost me over $200,000.00 to pay it off over the next 30 years. At least I no longer have seizures, and can enjoy my new “life”.
June 3rd, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I work for one of the largest Hemo Dialysis companies in the world. I see on a daily basis how the dialysis unit’s profitability is the number one priority over patient care and comfort. If a patient is very ill, the manager wants that patient transferred out of their unit ASAP so that their “mortality rate” isn’t effected negatively, so their bonus isn’t effected later on. State law says we need a minimum of three people on the floor in case a patient codes; we run with two people on the floor for quite a few of our shifts. Instead of the unit buying Band Aids to place over the patient’s needle sites at the end of their treatment, we now use wadded up gauze and medical tape. Why? Because the Band Aids cost money, and if we don’t use them, it lowers the patient’s “Cost Per Treatment.” How sad.
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Yea, its terrible, what was even worse was that my friend, who actually is very smart, was convinced that the reason that the prices were so high was because of all the suits. I was like “what, so people shouldn’t be allowed to sue the pharmaceutical companies?” Thats the way the government wants you to think. I couldn’t believe it.
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:35 pm
My grandmother went to the hospital after what they thought was high blood sugar due to diabetes. After waiting in the waiting room for nearly 3 hours, and then 2 days later, the hospital still didn’t know what was wrong with her since her sugar was ok. She went to a family doctor a week later, and he tells her she might have had a mini-stroke. Don’t you think a doctor should test an 81 year old woman for things like this? Pitiful. Also during her two-day stay, one night there were “no doctors available” to come check her out. How is that even possible?
June 4th, 2007 at 3:11 am
Wow! Some tragic and emotionally-charged posts in here.
First, regarding Clinton. While I liked the man, his “promise” to revamp the U.S. healthcare system was–tragically and intentionally–mismanaged. While I am not accusing the former president of anything illicit (God forbid), his appointment of his strong-willed and stubborn wife was a deliberate sabotage of the project. She formed a panel of experts that created a plan in her smoke-filled room without any input from Congress at all. (Compare this with Bill’s success getting NAFTA passed around the same time.) Those familiar with the Constitution will realize that this was a tremendous faux-pas; it would be akin to someone in the sales department of Microsoft handing an engineer a stack of code and saying “implement this into the next version of Windows.” Needless to say, she had difficulty even finding sponsorship, and Bill got to say to the people: “Well, we tried.”
Secondly, especially for A.J. and Mike: The primary thing that you’re ignoring regarding taxes and generating revenue for a socialized system is that we are already paying these “taxes.” Where do you think the money for employer-subsidized healthcare insurance is generated? In consumer-purchased products and salaries, that’s where. While it’s true that we (and corporations) will be paying more in taxes, the products that we purchase will pick up the majority of that tax burden [products’ costs - embedded health insurance costs + increased tax burden on companies = products’ costs]. Also, with this alleviated burden, salaries should be increased slightly as a result. The only losers in this situation are, of course, the insurance companies, whose continual purpose to maximize revenues and provide for the stockholder. They will suddenly find themselves without purpose. Wonderful! I find it irritating that people with business and marketing degrees are determining whether or not a life-saving procedure is warranted and–more importantly–paid for.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I have been battling an undiagnosed illness now for over three years. I have gone to numerous doctors, who turn me away with a clean bill of health. In the meantime, I can barely walk down stairs, my whole body gets the shakes, I am always tired, my skin is getting thinner, my hair is falling out, and I always feel out of it. I have slowly realized that the doctors don’t care about the patient, they care about their pocketbooks. I look healthy, so I must be. Well, I have been trying natural treatments, which have slowly gotten me my life back. Not cured, but better. I have also been able to successfully shrink a swollen node with turmeric powder at the suggestion of a friend. My slow turn-around is thanks to natural health books and vitamins/herbs. Doctors in this country have done nothing but make me highly cynical of the healthcare we get offered. (Just so everyone knows, my problems are with the healthcare offered, and not the insurance company I am under. I don’t even want to think about how bad others have it. Soon, I will be among the many without health insurance–going off dad’s plan. I am scared for myself and everyone. You are all in my prayers. Please take care.)
June 4th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I have always had a great experience with our health care system. I have friends in Canada and the UK that wish they had it as good as we do. I like that we now have a site here that will show how dumb it will be to make our health care worse by making it social. I mean if you want to have higher taxes and hope you never need a kidney (ask anyone from the UK how long it takes to get an organ transplant). Love the United States….if you dont, spend an extended period of time in another country and get sick. I promise you, you will want to come home.
June 4th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
God forbid that one gets sick in America without medical coverage, you are treated worst than an animal in the emergency room, wait between 3 to 4 hours to see a Dr …then what, if you cant afford the treatment or have the money for meds….America country that is great for the well to do, but stinks if you are poor.
June 4th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I support the movie because it might help exposing the truths about wellness that the American public is so reluctant to embrace.
Each individual is responsible for their own well being in life. Everyone wants the medical profession to “fix” them. This is a delusion that even the majority of of the medical profession in this country feeds like a cancer on a regular basis, and technology makes it esier for us to do this without awareness or knowledge of what we are doing.
There are poor people in other countries that have been living healthy lives for centuries without the abuse of “modern” medicinal access that we in America have been killing ourselves with now since the overuse of antibiotics.
Collectively, we, both as practitioners and lay people, are literally self destructing in our own egos…and all we can do now is try to educate people to see the truths that we blatantly refuse to accept.
Hope.
Hope for better and have the courage to accept we have been very wrong.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I have had several bad experiences with health care, and I sympathize with all of you. Do to the total lack of health insurance in my state, I am FORCED to go to the ER for treatment. It is not due to a lack of personal preventative care, rather the regular flux of a body living just above poverty level.
For the people who are passing judgement: If there is one thing I’ve learned in my life it’s that you can NEVER walk in someone else’s shoes, and it is both an ignorant and conceited act.
The truth is all this money flying around is being grabbed by someone: the higher ups. Inflated salaries for private physicians/specialists and the high level administration. NO one needs $100k/yr to survive. NO one. And that’s an uber-conservative figure.
I have Bi-Polar disorder (and speaking of which .. one of you said ‘[find something that makes you happy and stop taking thos anti-depressants]’ .. to you I say FEH. Most people taking those meds NEED them for conditions which CANNOT be otherwise controlled,) and I have struggled for years to find affordable mental health care.
Here I am, a genius level IQ, incredible musical talent but unable to function in society well enough to perform. I pushed myself, though. I TRULY did. I forced myself into college and vowed to make a go of it, no matter what issues I encountered. I am no longer a student.
I finally found a free mental health clinic! Guess what? They’re not listed anywhere. The government does *NOT* want people to know about them. In fact, I was instructed NOT to mention the clinic by name because they’re already under big brother’s ever-watching eye. I had to call a crisis line THREE TIMES before I even knew this place existed.
So I’m on meds now, but at what cost to my life? I applied for Oregon Health/Care Oregon three times over the past three years, and was rejected each time because I wasn’t pregnant or “… of a certain ethnicity.” So I’m a white male. What gives? I pay 12% of my income in taxes, have no children, no insurance!! What am I paying taxes for? I have an invoice on my table right now for over $2,000 due to emergency room visits for panic-attacks and BP cycle breaks.
I am sick and tired of people talking about the plethora of avenues available. If you look more closely, these are people who’ve had the benefit of higher education and are on a career track; they have insurance, terrible as it might be, but they can actually call to make appointments. I spent three years searching and six hours in a waiting room for a fifteen minute appointment JUST for a script I already knew I needed.
This was kind of a ‘poor me’ posting, but the truth is I’m alive and that’s what matters. I’m just tired of people saying THEY’RE tired of hearing people complain. Most people have a good reason to complain. And, if you’re tired of people complaining, get off your high horse. Stop listening. Stop reading these posts and stop patting yourself on the back for being ‘better’ than us.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:02 am
The healthcare insurance premium for my husband, myself, and our 2 year old son runs $568 a month. That comes out to $6,816 a year. We only have a yearly income of $36,088. I can only make an educated guess that even if we did go universal healthcare, any taxes that may be charged would be significantly less than almost $7,000 a year. That’s not including the deductibles, co-pays, and the 20% of the bill that we pay on top of the insurance premiums. I know that we’re one of those families that really cannot afford this amount of premium for healthcare insurance, but with our having a small child, my husband being an asthmatic, and my being treated for clinical depression, the costs of the premiums versus paying for our treatment and prescriptions directly is really a crapshoot, not to mention (God forbid) if something catastrophic should happen to one of us. I’m not blaming any industry in particular for the high premiums or the high medical charges. The litigious, insurance, and medical industries all have a hand in the complete and utterly broken United States healthcare system. I think that the Kucinich / Conyers bill on Universal / Single-Payer healthcare plan deserves a good look by the American people. This is a very convoluted situation and I can only hope that something can and will be done soon as soon as possible to fix this crisis.
June 5th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
The truly amazing thing is how so many Americans have been propagandized into defending the system that will kill them if it gets the chance.
Thank heavens for Michael Moore. we have been bombarded with propaganda from the healthcare industry for generations…it’s embarrassing that so many americans have bought it hook, line and sinker.
It’s time to dismantle America’s third-world healthcare system once and for all…and rejoin the civilized world by going to a single payer system.
June 5th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
29 year old law student. Uninsured.
June 5th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Kudos to you!! Next why not focus on medicaid waste? As a nurse, the amount of money wasted on the “disabled” is shocking. I’m not talking about people with terminal or chronic illnesses, or those with physical or mental disabilities that are unable to work. I’m talking about the “career” patients, who suffer from chronic “un-documented” back pain (most common), anxiety disorder, substance abuse, and depression, who hospital jump to the point that they are in the hospital more than not. If they claim chest pain or shortness of breath, they have learned that this will guarantee them a room. They receive the same cardiac and pulmonary (not counting GI or neuro) work ups every other month costing us taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars per person. I work in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and on any given day we have at least 5 of these patients just on my floor! The doctors and hospital are so lawsuit scared that the same people show up regularly with the same complaints and still get admitted (minimum one week stay). We have even had to call security to remove these people after discharge. The reason these particular patients are dreaded by the healthcare personnel is that they are the most rude and demanding patients EVER! They are the ones to make out special hand written menus, watch the clock for pain medication (it has nothing to do with pain, but the buzz wore off and time for a new), and the doctors never get to see them because they are off the floor down smoking with friends. We have even busted some for recieving drugs from people out in the smoking area. There are the significant others who try to spend the night, and do, in the patients bed because they now have a roof to spend the night under.
Don’t touch medicare, the elderly who have contributed their entire lives and they deserve to be taken care of by the rest of us. But having to pay for medicare and a supplement, as well as medications and co-pays makes me ashamed. We give the medicaid people a free ride, no copays, no supplements and free medications. Shame on this country.
The atrocities of the insurance companies have been exposed, now hit the government provided free ride we have been giving to this coutry’s parasitic community
June 5th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
An interesting “factoid” about insurance premiums - I’ve been reading through these posts so far, and no one has mentioned “the percentage of income” angle (at least, directly) - through my company, insurance is $370 for a single person a month. Let’s say my rent is $740 a month (about average for 1-bedroom apartment in my area). Then if I’m paying for health insurance, it’s 50% of the cost of my rent! I know there is some formula somewhere, as to the percent of a person’s income that should reasonably go toward housing (or a mortgage) - I mean, how can health insurance equal half the amount of someone’s RENT? Is that REASONABLE???
And re: people’s poor eating habits - yeah, again, there’s the corporations pushing all this junk food on us and our children nonstop - people are working full-time or more, raising families - grabbing “a quick bite to eat” - wow, biggie fries! Etc. And then the insanity of having super-skinny female celebrities shoved in our faces all the time, then “women’s magazines” with the schizophrenic covers, i.e., LOSE 5 POUNDS IN A WEEK!!! right next to a picture of a 4-layer cake. And then studies have shown living in suburbs, having to DRIVE everywhere, packs on the pounds!! WHO DESIGNED THE CAR-INTENSIVE SUBURBS!!! Not us people with the “poor eating habits” who “don’t take care of ourselves.” FAT AMERICANS WHO DON’T EXERCISE were created by the CORPORATIONS who laid out endless miles of concrete and stuck us all in cars for long commutes to sedentary jobs. YES, personal responsibility - but how about some CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY TOO!!!!! No, it’s the American Way: BLAME THE VICTIM
June 5th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Our premium for family of 3 went from $900 a month with Aetna to $1300 a month in just 2 years. We are now uninsured. It’s just too much. Almost one third of our income.
Also…why can’t we get generics as fast as everyone else in the world? I pay $60 a month for my sons Zyrtec. I can order generic all over the world, just can’t get it here in the good ole USA. And the pharmaceutical companies are probably payin off the FDA to make it illegal to order it!
We have MAJOR CORRUPTION in our government. We need to rebel, demand a change, kick em out, and start over!
June 5th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
My husband and I own a small business and the only employees we have are ourselves. We refuse to purchase healthcare for ourselves because of the fact that the cost would outweigh what we could actually afford. If we want to pay our house payment and feed our kids there is NO WAY insurance would be affordable. Not to mention the “pre - exisiting” condition clause that every insurance company has. I have a few minor health issues and my husband hasnt been to a doctor in many years. I have calculated that it is actually cheaper right now to pay out of pocket for any health care expenses we have. All the insurance reps that we have spoke to over the past 6 months try to sell sell sell and the common thread among every single agent for every single company is the same “WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU AND YOU NEED EXTENSIVE TREATMENT?”
I watched Michael Moore on Oprah this afternoon and I cannot wait for this film to arrive in the theaters. Maybe if each and every one of us made a stand against this problem in some way we could possibly make a difference. I cannot wait for the president to see this. Thank you Michael for creating this film, it is possible that this could somehow help save lifes in the future.
June 5th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I was laid off from my company about six months ago. I am a 31-year-old very healthy female. I applied for an individual health insurance plan (Blue Cross)…can’t believe how expensive an individual PPO (most good Dr.s only take PPO) plan cost. I was shocked to learn that I would be denied due to my cholesterol. Well I don’t have bad cholesterol, my cholesterol is actually very good. LDL 91..normal. HDL 118 (good cholesterol…you want that number as high as possible). The insurance companies were just looking at the total number, not taking into consideration the ratio. My doctors were shocked at how high (good high) my HDL was and said that is very good. Anyway, to make a long story short. I got the run around from all the underwriters saying they were all nurses and I was telling them if they knew what they were talking about I would not be denied. They wanted my cholesterol lowered but you want your HDL as high as possible. So in order to get insurance I would have to become unhealthy. The insurance company’s really need to get a clue what they are talking about. I am still without insurance.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Suzie, you gave me my laugh for the day (and I haven’t even seen the movie yet!) - You wrote:
“Kudos to you!! Next why not focus on medicaid waste? As a nurse, the amount of money wasted on the “disabled” is shocking. I’m not talking about people with terminal or chronic illnesses, or those with physical or mental disabilities that are unable to work. I’m talking about the “career” patients, who suffer from chronic “un-documented” back pain (most common), anxiety disorder, substance abuse, and depression,
—-
I have to admit, when I read your post it made wonder if you are a nurse…or just someone on this board who works for the insurance industry, trying to shift the American public’s anger and frustration to an easier, “unsympathetic” target. Yeah, I work in the medical field too. And amazingly enough, from my vantage point there aren’t actually too many of the patients you describe! I think this whole “undocumented back pain” thing is a hoax. They do all kinds of tests and studies and have all kinds of treatments (ever hear of an epidural steroid injection? A diskectomy? A TENS unit? Etc, etc?)
And re: depression and anxiety, oh, I just roar with laughter! Life is a struggle, sometimes people need help - and what do they get - not that lengthy expensive “talk therapy” (hey, it can work!), no just switch from Wellbutrin to Zoloft to Prozac etc etc etc. Ever hear of something called the “Prozac poop-out effect?” Yep, even the effect of antidepressants can wear off over time. Hey, why doesn’t a hospital start up a “hospital stay addicts support group” for these “career patients?” No, its easier to just keep doing the same expensive thing because of “concern of litigation.” Oh uproarious. If what you say is actually true.
The most that I’ve seen in seven years of “career patients” are those with substance abuse problems of longstanding, who are suffering from liver problems, etc. THEY can be in and out of the hospital a lot. And when people come from an abusive background/poor/and abusing more than one substance and alcohol…but where are we back to? Oh yeah, people moving on out to the suburbs and leaving the poor behind. Structural unemployment, robots in factories to reduce (or eliminate entirely) labor costs, now jobs going overseas in a big way. Enjoy your patios and tractor mowers everyone! Your one-hour commutes in your huge SUVs from point A to B!!!!
******
Observation: Why have these 24-hour superexpensive “Turbo ERs” open, when ALL A PERSON MAY NEED IS A NURSE PRACTITIONER!” Duh, if we’re crowding the ERs with our “nonemergent complaints” THEN WHY DON’T YOU HOSPITALS OPEN UP 24-HOUR CLINICS STAFFED BY NPs, LPNs, and physician assistants????????????????????????????? Let me walk out of an ER with a $100 bill, instead of $3,000! Throw in $50 because it’s at 1 a.m.! A NP could ALWAYS REFER AN EMERGENT CASE ON TO A “REAL” EMERGENCY ROOM!!!!
I am so SICK of so-called “health care professionals” who can’t use any IMAGINATION OR INTELLIGENCE in solving these problems. I wish I had been able to go see an NP at 1 a.m., instead of having my own no-insurance, $3,000 ER visit. I just needed to see an NP, that’s all!!!!!!!!!!! BUT I DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE!!!!!! THE HOSPITAL DID NOT GIVE ME A CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!!
HOSPITAL: WILLIAM “THE BULLY” BEAUMONT IN MICHIGAN
June 6th, 2007 at 1:47 am
I work for a healthcare insurance company that encompasses the Medicaid population. I enjoy my job, but the whole healthcare is so mind boggling and ridiculous. My day consist of telling providers their claims denied because: no prior authorization was received, claim wasn’t received within 180 days,needing the primary EOB, or my personal favorite the claim denied in error - an internal problem.
Recently a young teen was seen in the ER for a broken wrist and was referred to an orthopedic dr in the area, the only ortho we contract with in this town. Come to find out that ortho will not see this patient because he has state insurance. It is unconceivable! It boils down to the “ALMIGHTY DOLLAR”!
I don’t have a plan on how to fix it, but something needs to happen.
June 6th, 2007 at 2:13 am
I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS MOVIE’S RELEASE!
Hurry Hurry Hurry!
THANK YOU, Michael Moore, for your great genius and many talents.
You are helping so many people with your works!
Thank you for hitting the nail on the head!
Bless You,
EL in Houston, TX
June 6th, 2007 at 6:39 am
My mom was recently hospitalized for septicemia - she had a bladder infection that went systemic. Frankly, she received outstanding care - and did not pay one cent out of her own pocket. Is this because she’s older and is covered by medicare or because she has excellent private health insurance supplementary coverage - I don’t know. This is in Michigan (and I know that she received care in California for a heart incident when traveling once also and it was excellent) - I frankly don’t know. I think the biggest problem with our system is that it’s all moved to employer provided insurance. If you’re not gainfully employed and your employer doesn’t provide you with a good program (which I believe a lot of them don’t in an effort to cost cut) you’re hosed, otherwise, you might actually have really good coverage and really good care, like my mom.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Diagnosed with cancer three months ago. Fully insured via a networked HMO. I decided that I wanted to receive the best care possible as this is a deadly disease. My hospital of choice was Sloan Kettering for treatment. MY HMO has denied treatment at this facility. I now pay for all costs out of pocket.
June 6th, 2007 at 8:41 am
I injured my knee and went to my Primary Care Physician for a referral to a sports medicine doctor. My PCP examined me and said there was soft tissue damage, no bone involvement and that I didn’t need an X-Ray. When I called to make an appointment with the specialist, his office person told me that I must appear at the appointment with an X-Ray. I told her that my doctor told me I didn’t need one; it wouldn’t show anything and would be a waste of time and money and needlessly expose me to radiation. She said no X-Ray, no appointment. So I had to return to my PCP for an X-Ray requisition and go the hospital for a knee X-Ray, knowing that the specialist will look at it, say it shows nothing and order an MRI. Waste? Stupidity? Needless billing? Needless radiation? Yup. Yup. Yup. Yup.
June 6th, 2007 at 9:13 am
There are many issues that are problematic with health care in the US; the crux of which are that we don’t live in a capitalist country where the forces of the market dictate the value of goods and services. Adam Smith would cry about our current system!
What we have is a corporatist kleptocracy where greed is the credo and favors and bribes are the coins of the realm. “Universal” health care is a good idea but it would stanch the flow of research, development and creativity on behalf of medical researchers and doctors. What would be their incentive to achieve or move forward?
In order to fix health care we need to reform our government so that small business can flourish and capitalist principles can once again take hold. People like Hillary Clinton want to have a dialogue about “universal” care but she is a corporatist like Bush, Obama, and the rest of the crooks. “Universal” health care would rob researchers, doctors and nurses of their rightful profit from their intellectual property. This would in turn stop them from producing and leave the majority with a health care system that would make our current system look wonderful.
Moreover, “universal” health care would leave most of the current system in tact and raise taxes on an already overburdened middle class. This tax revenue would go to the government and fatten the pockets of congressmen’s friends like the CEO’s of drug companies who make profits for their shareholders; neither of which know anything about health care.
How is this different from our current system you ask? Instead of insurance companies robbing you the government is robbing you. It takes people who make money, like the middle class, pay for the care of those who allegedly “need” health care. I would rather pay an insurance premium for my health care than pay for those who make no contribution to have health care.
Universal health care robs those that make contributions to society with their minds and turns them into slaves for government apparatchiks, corporations, and those who produce nothing. Reverting back to true capitalism would make health care better and more available and affordable for all. It would destroy the massive market share consolidation of drug companies and insurance companies thereby increasing competition and lowering prices.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Healthcare is a run away train. For 5 years a doctor lied to us that my husband’s tumor was not growing. It was. When I went to Senator Kean’s office in New Jersey to help us report the horrific behavior we were blocked. Assemblyman Munoz is a doctor he was covering for his friends. The State of NJ said they are there to protect the doctors not the patients.
I reported it to NY they found a problem with the behavior and NJ was forced to investigate. The problem the case is still pending investigation
June 6th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
The movie will open up the eyes of many. There are many people who think the reason an individual is having problems with the Healthcare system is because they are not good at negotiating what they are entitled to.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Discrimination for using healthcare comes in many forms Pfizer Pharmaceutical told me to get out and they did not care if my husband died. When I complained they sent Berkeley Heights NJ police stating I was stealing from them. They brought out a person from their legal department and filed a report I was stealing from them.
When I reported to the State of NJ and the Union County prosecutors office that they illegally filed a false report Mr. Romankow’s office refused to investigate and file charges for filing an illegal report and the police ripping up the original report and altering it to say I wanted Pfizer and the police at my home as witnesses. I complained to Senator Kean’s office nothing happened because Richard Bagger was the former Senator who is also a Senior Vice President at Pfizer. They control our legislators and police and the FBI. Joe Billy was the head of the NJ Unit and he just happened to work with the Head of Security of Pfizer. They both worked in NY together at the FBI. Kean’s office had the FBI come to my house (which is illegal only a federal level offical can request the FBI) to have them write I had Panic Disorder.
Pfizer should explain how I met a woman in Boston who stated she understand because she and 7 other families lost their jobs with a division of Pfizer because spouses were ill.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Union Plumber wrote:
“Universal” health care would rob researchers, doctors and nurses of their rightful profit from their intellectual property. This would in turn stop them from producing and leave the majority with a health care system that would make our current system look wonderful.
__________________________
That’s the “wonderful” thing about message boards - anyone can post anything with no evidence, no data, for their opinions. It is false that “researchers, doctors and nurses” receive a “rightful profit” from “their intellectual property.” No, the corporation does - whatever you invent, design, create, investigate while EMPLOYED by a CORPORATION (including a UNIVERSITY), IS LEGALLY OWNED BY THE CORPORATION. THE CORPORATION sees the profit. Also, the National Institutes of Health FUND MEDICAL RESEARCH - check out their website at nihDOTgov. Corporations and our government fund research. A researcher can get a big fat grant, but they certainly do not INDIVIDUALLY see any “profit,” the corporation and its stockholders do, or the university they are employed by, etc.
And what is this idea that what motivates first-class research is MONEY???? The profit motive??? Go read books about researchers - the strongest motivation is intellectual hunger, ambition to be the first to discover something (i.e., have a disease or a treatment or surgical instrument named after you), the desire to cure a disease that has plagued human beings forever - NOT the big house, fancy car, etc. I again roar with laughter at the thought that the ONLY thing that motivates human achievement and creativity is MONEY. Read up on Albert Einstein for instance - there’s no TOUR now of some MANSION he owned, with 10 luxury cars in the garage etc. HE DIDN’T CARE ABOUT MONEY. I think this is true of most first-rate researchers. If the lack of profit is going to drive a lot of SECOND-RATE researchers out of medical research, ’cause there’s no social-status-country-club type stuff in it anymore - I say GOOD RIDDANCE, don’t let the screen door hit your behind on the way out.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Last post ….. Change can not happen fast enough
June 6th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Good luck Michael … we need more people like you to stand up and voice what is happening
June 6th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
End the discrimination of the ill and disabled and their families by self insured employers. They will not hire healthy family members because someone is ill in the family.
Pfizer fires people and tells them they don’t care if family members die. They harass the families. They did it to us in NJ and we met a woman in Boston who said they did it to her family in Boston.
June 6th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I am self-employed and am doing OK with the business. I cannot afford to hire anyone if I have to include any kind of insurance, so I outsource when I have to.
I can only imagine how things would be if I get really sick. I’m certain I will be financially ruined. Once again, the wealthy get the best care, and the wealthy do not have to worry about the things we mere mortals have to.
Not *once* will you hear a story from a sick individual or family (who isn’t wealthy) in the US about how well the system works for them. The system sucks, and obviously panders to the already-wealthy insurance companies to feed the bonuses of the already wealthy big-shots.
I have read the comments from those who think the complainers should suck it up (i.e., we live in the greatest nation in the world, you should be a great American like me, thank you Hannity). Can you imagine how they’d change their tune if they became ill, could not afford the co=pay and/or premium hikes which are certain to come, and maybe have to get help in Canada. Happens often.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I have insuarnce, but if anything serious happens that requires long term care or a planned operation I will return home to Ireland for such services. Its not that the government there will foot the bill for most things, but anything else I have to pay is actually affordable.
And for the record, my wife and I have whats considered a ‘good leath care plan’ here.
What ever happened to America?
June 6th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
American Healthcare… isn’t that an oxymoron? When recently discussing how healthcare works in the states with a Canadian aquaintance, her only response was “What a frightening way to live your life…”
June 6th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
One of my favorite reasons against “universal” healthcare is the myth of having to wait months for an appointment (great propaganda, the Commies would be proud). IF you are lucky, in the USA you get one in about a month. When we needed to see a doctor in Europe (Italy and Czech Rep.), we saw one the same day. And the doctors still do house-visits of the sick, elderly, and handicapped!!
I hate to see the new European politicians getting greedy and messing with their healthcare systems and trying to follow their American “heroes” (Hungary, Czech…), it is shortsighted.
I am not poor, just self-employed. I don’t want anything for free; just dependable, decent care for fair money. (And the Massachusetts “plan” - or scam? - will not solve the problem.)
And Mike: more people (in a country) mean more expenditures on healthcare, yes; but also more income for the entire system!
June 6th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
My Daughter had earwax removed when we were checking out an ear infection. The doctor’s office called it surgery and charged 300 dollars. What else can I say…
June 7th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Healthcare Insurance causes job discrimination for many ill and disabled families. Companies that are self insured strategically dismiss the well spouse or parent. The American Government must stop the discrimination.
June 7th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Healthcare discrimination is job discrimination if companies self insure.
June 7th, 2007 at 11:43 am
As a resident training in county hospital and now practicing in private practice in upper middle class area, there is a hugh disparity of health, pt’s own desire for proper maintainance, and resources for supporting proper health care. From my impression, patients in low social economical status, do not have enough resources to pay for meds to keep them out of the hospital. Also, they tend to have more chronic illnesses because of lack of early preventative screening and poor dietary and exercise. When this situation occurs, it is a slippery slope of which leads to potential side problems (i.e. loss of pay due to frequent hospital trips, impaired work functions due to illnesses).
In terms of perspective for medical care for upper middle class, the major problem is the rising insurance preminum, thus patients are being hit with this and high prices for meds. Fortunately, wal-mart and target are providing a lot of meds that cover wide spectrum of illnesses and helps me to provide meds to patients.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
My Mom was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer by a specialist at a cancer center after several unhelpful trips to her doctor. He told her she was alergic to milk, that was why her stomach was so swollen. Pure incompetence & very likely a profit issue for him as well.
Then we went through the cancer treatment. It was a money making machine & I am disgusted that sickness is BIG business. Do you really think the people making all the money want to change anything?
Natural remedies my grandmother used effectively would never even be offered at a doctors office today because nobody makes any money if the treatment isn’t patented, trademarked, copywritten etc. Of course, there’s the additional profit to be made from the second round of prescriptons to deal with the side effects of the first round of medications prescribed. Don’t you just love writing with those fancy pharmacutical pens at your doctor’s office? Don’t you just love the generosity? I throw them away every chance I get. They disgust me.
My Mom passed away at age 53. The Bible tells us God’s people are dying from lack of knowledge. I believe it.
If American’s want good health advice, they need to visit a veternarian or start reading about some natural cures. I recommend Kevin Trudeau’s books with the secrets “They” don’t want you to know about.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I just wanted to make a comment for those of you who work in the health insurance industry (and therefore have an income that is dependent on people and companies purchasing health insurance) and who are making critical comments on this website.
It is important that people look after themselves and their health. The truth is that many of us know that we should eat 5-10 fruits and vegetables per day, get plenty of exercise to deal with stress (which is a lot more physically damaging than most people realize, esp. in the long term), fresh air and also a good nights sleep. Not everybody is living a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people don’t actually realize how bad their diet is, how exercise is something you have to make a priority (making sure you have an adequate amount), that a good nights sleep is really 8 hours (not 6, not 4, not 2), and how these variables can in the end damage your immune system so that your body cannot fight disease. THEREFORE, people do have the means to take some responsibility for their health.
HOWEVER, it is ridiculous and naive for anyone in the health insurance industry to suggest that our health is entirely in our own hands. Healthy people get cancer, accidents and physical traumas do occur that we have no way of foreseeing, and there are genetic diseases that one cannot help but suffer. There is also the simple factor of aging: as our bodies get older, our immune system weakens, and we are more susceptible to illness.
I personally think that the profit oriented American healthcare system is in serious need of an overhaul. I am 35 and healthy now, but I hate to think of what might be in store for me, as I get older. Like all Americans in good health, I keep my fingers crossed.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I recently went to the Mayo Clinic for some diagnostic tests. My bill for two days of outpatient testing was over $10,000. of which I will have to pay whatever my insurance decides they won’t allow. At this point in my illness, it was either go there or give up so I don’t feel there was much of a choice. It’s a fantastic facility and I would have loved to have been able to stay there for treatment, but the fact is that you can only do that if you’re rich or have insurance that covers all your care. If you’re not a person with money, like me, the alternative is to go for diagnostic tests and then return home for treatment. If you have no insurance, you’re what—screwed??
I don’t think anyone who believes everyone in this country should receive the same level of health care thinks it will be free. If we weren’t having to pay for the Iraq fiasco and taxes weren’t being cut to the wealthy, it seems like a completely doable and sane idea. What’s crazy is to be the most powerful country on the planet and have people dying for lack of care and their lives being disregarded by insurance companies who have their hands up the backs of the people sworn to represent us in Washington. Worse yet is that we, who are paying their salaries, allow it.
June 7th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Smarten up people. You have to be your own advocate when it comes to healthcare. You need to be smarter consumers. It’s supply and demand folks. If you want to go crawling to the ER every time you have a cold or an ear infection instead of to the health department or free clinic, it’s going to cost you and everybody else. If we went to a nationalized system we’d be in even more trouble. I want to know what Michael Moore proposes to do. More government? More regulation? Come on! We have enough government infringing on our lives and costing us more money in taxes to do what corporate America can do at a fraction of the cost. Not to mention, if you make too much money for government assistance and still can’t “afford” your medications, sign up for the pharmaceutical companies’ plans to get free and discounted medication. And ask your doc for a cost saving alternative to each prescription.
Here is my advice, stop eating so much crap, exercise, stop buying cigarettes (they cost a fortune to buy and even more on the healthcare end), stop drinking alcohol and pop, stop having unprotected sex, stop sitting in front of video games (how can you afford Dish and X-Box anyway?) get your free high school diploma, and get a full-time job with benefits!!! If you decide to have children, get married first, and STAY MARRIED (leading cause of poverty is single parenthood in this country)! Follow those steps and quit your whining!
If you want to see pain and suffering, go to Africa! We are fortunate. Count your blessings and take some personal responsibility people! My grandparents came to this country with the American dream and little more than a second-grade education. We are privileged to live in America. Don’t you people ever forget it! If you don’t like it here, leave!
June 7th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I broke my elbow and I didn’t have insurance so I had to pay $500 just to see a doctor for 3 minutes, all he did was look at one x-ray and told me it was broken. Than he left. They wrapped it up, and told me to go see another doctor at another office. When I got there they charged me $500 just to put a cast on my arm. It would have saved me lots of money if the hospital would have just done it in the first place. I think they all work together to bleed the poor people dry.
June 7th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Not a huge deal, but my insurance provider no requires me to send in my prescriptions so that my company can give me the medication. It’s been ongoing for a few months now, and I still think it’s kind of weird. I doubt you’ll ever see this comment, but good luck from a fellow Michiganian, and know that I’ve seen and loved every one of your movies!
-Jade [an above-average 14-year-old.
]
June 7th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
I am 27 years old, and I don’t have health insurance. There are programs out there for those that need assistance. In NJ, I qualified for hospital assistance, and was able to receive quality healthcare at no cost to me. I filled out an application, and was asked about my banking information, my paychecks, and my income. Since my income was so low, I qualified. This does not mean that I abuse the system. I don’t. Since I received hospital assistance, I was allowed to chose a family care doctor just in case I was sick so that I did not have to go to the emergency room. This past Tuesday, I saw a doctor, when I was sick. Since I did not have insurance, he gave me samples and I was really appreciative. Now, I am feeling much better, and I can go to work tomorrow. If I did not recieve any medical attention, my infection could have spread to my lungs which could have been serious. My situation is temporary. I am getting a job in the medical field in September, and I have empathy towards people that need help. Health insurance is a business, as the health insurance companies goal is to make money from the premiums, and not pay for the claims.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:38 am
I am 23-years old and have been denied coverage from 36 different health care providers because I am prone to epileptic seisures. Because of this, I have to save money from my paychecks each month in order to stay alive. What the hell is wrong with this country?