Should broke people receive health care?

[consumedconvert]

I think the reason most Americans opt out of health care coverage is that they can’t afford it, and just hope they won’t get sick; not because they actually don’t want it at all.

Sadly true, my friend. But I’m not sure Canada’s solution should be our own.

 

[jmcrae]

My condition has been covered in gory details in some of the SSA threads actually. I think you may have seen those? I am intersexed(Ambiguous genitals/‘hermaphrodite’ birth for those of you that don’t know the term) and rejected the doctor’s initial ‘guess’ as to my gender. Everyone rejects me based on the fact I am according to the APA a transsexual with an intersexed medical history. That completely blackballs me from as far as I can tell from all insurance companies that aren’t mandated by the government to cover me and believe me I’ve tried and submitted to dozens of them.

Have you heard about the clinic in Montreal for persons with your condition? I don’t know much detail, but I once knew someone in your situation, and she found the help she needed at the Montreal clinic.

 

[vern_humphrey]

All you’d have to do to “opt out” is neglect to pay your health care tax. That way, they wouldn’t send you your identity card, and you would just pay full price, cash up front, every time you went to see a doctor or to the hospital, for any reason.

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to opt out, though.

How about if through careful shopping, they found a more cost-effective policy?

I think the reason most Americans opt out of health care coverage is that they can’t afford it, and just hope they won’t get sick; not because they actually don’t want it at all.

Actually, there is plenty of evidence that a large percentage of Americans who don’t have health insurance don’t want it – they compare risks and costs and elect to be self-insured.

It’s quite telling that the new Massachusetts health care law puts extra taxes those who don’t have health insurance – hardly a way to make it more affordable for the poor, now is it?

 

[pathia]

Have you heard about the clinic in Montreal for persons with your condition? I don’t know much detail, but I once knew someone in your situation, and she found the help she needed at the Montreal clinic.

That’s not for people with physical intersex signs, conditions and deformities, people that go there had GID. I have GIDNOS, a different catagory of the condition. There pretty much aren’t any specialists for my particular disorder, it’s too rare and specific to do such a thing. Also, that’s in Canada, and therefore I’d pay out of pocket all over again as I’m not a citizen there.

 

[pathia]

Actually, there is plenty of evidence that a large percentage of Americans who don’t have health insurance don’t want it – they compare risks and costs and elect to be self-insured.
)

I don’t know about that, are there any studies that show this?

Every single person I know that’s without insurance, and that’s alot because those who are in the same ‘boat’ so to speak as me medically speaking sort of congregate together for support, ALL of us cannot get insurance. It’s a blanket policy to deny people with the history I have insurance without any way of appeal. Over half of us are regularly homeless and/or jobless, many times because of the shared medical issues we have.

 

[vern_humphrey]

In regard to drugs, have you contacted the drug manufacturer and told them your story? Include a letter from your physician. They may be quite willing to give you a break.

You might also contact Wal-Mart – they often help people who have large drug expenses.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I don’t know about that, are there any studies that show this?

I just cited the Massachussets heath care law, which forces people without health care to pay more taxes. What does that tell you?

Every single person I know that’s without insurance, and that’s alot because those who are in the same ‘boat’ so to speak as me medically speaking sort of congregate together for support, ALL of us cannot get insurance. It’s a blanket policy to deny people with the history I have insurance without any way of appeal. Over half of us are regularly homeless and/or jobless, many times because of the shared medical issues we have.

Have you tried the sites I posted? Have you contacted the manufacturer of your drugs and Wal-Mart?

And have you been to church? After all, we Catholics do have a duty to help the sick – and not slough it off on the government.

 

[jmcrae]

How about if through careful shopping, they found a more cost-effective policy?

Now you’re just fantasizing. You know of private comprehensive coverage that takes all comers regardless of health history, for less than $600.00 a year?

It’s quite telling that the new Massachusetts health care law puts extra taxes those who don’t have health insurance – hardly a way to make it more affordable for the poor, now is it?

I’d rather pay a tax than an insurance premium, any day.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Here’s an interesting article:
media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2004/09/29/Opinion/Americans.Without.Health.Insurance.Isnt.A.Looming.Issue-734979.shtml

According to the Census Bureau, there are 44.9 million Americans who lack health insurance. This translates to 15.6 percent of the population, the same as in 1996. What most media reports left out was that more people have health insurance today than ever before.

One significant problem with the 44.9 million uninsured is how the Census Bureau got the information. In its survey, the Bureau records how many people did not have insurance at any time in the previous year. That means someone who changed jobs and had a temporary lapse in insurance is treated the same as someone who couldn’t afford insurance all year long. According to the Pacific Research Institute, a public policy research organization, "three-quarters of the uninsured remain so for less than a year."

Also, the Census Bureau appears to have trouble counting the number of people on Medicaid who don’t qualify as uninsured. According to the Bureau, 35 million people used Medicaid in 2003. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that 53 million people had received Medicaid assistance. This means the Census Bureau is counting people with Medicaid as uninsured, which creates an inaccurate picture of the situation.

 

[pathia]

I just cited the Massachussets heath care law, which forces people without health care to pay more taxes. What does that tell you?

Have you tried the sites I posted? Have you contacted the manufacturer of your drugs and Wal-Mart?

And have you been to church? After all, we Catholics do have a duty to help the sick – and not slough it off on the government.

I just posted back a bit, every single company on that site is who rejected me. In fact I used that very site you linked to is what I used to find insurance companies, of which ALL rejected me. Every single one listed on that site for my zip code has rejected me.

I have contacted the drug companies, I get some handouts for free from my doctor too, but it is very sporadic and inconsistent and not something I can rely on. If I don’t have my dosage correctly all the time consistently I suffer dramatic…psychiatric and physical problems to say the least. I can’t work if I go without them for long, I become more or less disabled.

Walmart is notoriously ‘conservative’, they won’t give out drugs to someone like me as a matter of policy as far as I can tell. Part of what I am on is considered birth control and some is ferility, which they don’t always carry as a matter of free market choice and such. Several of them are exceedingly expensive and rare and have to be special ordered at every pharmacy I go to.

I have been very unwelcomed at church in the past, any number of my other threads I have been posting on details this in as gory level as my anatomy and birth defects.

 

[Naztakuan]

I just posted back a bit, every single company on that site is who rejected me. In fact I used that very site you linked to is what I used to find insurance companies, of which ALL rejected me. Every single one listed on that site for my zip code has rejected me.

I have contacted the drug companies, I get some handouts for free from my doctor too, but it is very sporadic and inconsistent and not something I can rely on. If I don’t have my dosage correctly all the time consistently I suffer dramatic…psychiatric and physical problems to say the least. I can’t work if I go without them for long, I become more or less disabled.

Walmart is notoriously ‘conservative’, they won’t give out drugs to someone like me as a matter of policy as far as I can tell. Part of what I am on is considered birth control and some is ferility, which they don’t always carry as a matter of free market choice and such. Several of them are exceedingly expensive and rare and have to be special ordered at every pharmacy I go to.

I have been very unwelcomed at church in the past, any number of my other threads I have been posting on details this in as gory level as my anatomy and birth defects.

You’re church unwelcomes you because you have birth defects? That’s awful. Do they even understand your condition? There are no doctors in the congregation? Sounds to me like they’re just being uncharitable. If it was my parish, you’d totally be welcomed in. But then again our congregation is so small these days that we don’t really scrutinize anything. Beggars can’t be choosers right? Do the people think you have these defects by choice?
If only perfectly health people can get health insurance, what’s the point of insurance?

 

[pathia]

You’re church unwelcomes you because you have birth defects? That’s awful. Do they even understand your condition? There are no doctors in the congregation? Sounds to me like they’re just being uncharitable. If it was my parish, you’d totally be welcomed in. But then again our congregation is so small these days that we don’t really scrutinize anything. Beggars can’t be choosers right? Do the people think you have these defects by choice?
If only perfectly health people can get health insurance, what’s the point of insurance?

It is not a very direct unwelcoming, but everyone is rather unnerved by my presence. No matter how I dress, I’ll come across as androgynous, ergo if I come in dressed in a ‘feminine’ manner I ding people’s radar for being a transsexual or a crossdresser. If I dress in a more androgynous outfit I’ll be seen as a lesbian or a really effeminate gay man. I seem to physically make people uncomfortable with my presence even before they get to know me.

One of my more untreated problems is extreme social anxiety. If I’m around more than about ten strangers I suffer profoundly traumatic panic attacks. I can’t afford the medicines for this, which makes something like Mass literally impossible. I would have a panic attack as soon as I sat down to the point I might actually be arrested, I quite literally come close to losing my mind.

It is hard to describe what occurs, because I really don’t remember the incidents well, it’s all very blurry in the way you are if you’ve ever drank way way too much, the sensation is similar. I just have snippets of memory.

That’s getting pretty darn off the subject of this thread though, but that’s why I don’t really attend church anymore. My mental health really can’t handle so many strangers at once right now. So some of my observations literally could be paranoid delusions, but they feel so real to me I can’t make an honest judgment.

 

[DanteAlighieri]

…or to pay for a $200,000 screwdriver.

$200,000 for a screwdriver? Either they make it in a swimming pool, or they use some pretty extraordinary vodka!


Peace,
Dante

 

[rlg94086]

It is not a very direct unwelcoming, but everyone is rather unnerved by my presence. No matter how I dress, I’ll come across as androgynous, ergo if I come in dressed in a ‘feminine’ manner I ding people’s radar for being a transsexual or a crossdresser. If I dress in a more androgynous outfit I’ll be seen as a lesbian or a really effeminate gay man. I seem to physically make people uncomfortable with my presence even before they get to know me.

One of my more untreated problems is extreme social anxiety. If I’m around more than about ten strangers I suffer profoundly traumatic panic attacks. I can’t afford the medicines for this, which makes something like Mass literally impossible. I would have a panic attack as soon as I sat down to the point I might actually be arrested, I quite literally come close to losing my mind.

It is hard to describe what occurs, because I really don’t remember the incidents well, it’s all very blurry in the way you are if you’ve ever drank way way too much, the sensation is similar. I just have snippets of memory.

That’s getting pretty darn off the subject of this thread though, but that’s why I don’t really attend church anymore. My mental health really can’t handle so many strangers at once right now. So some of my observations literally could be paranoid delusions, but they feel so real to me I can’t make an honest judgment.

Hi pathia,

I have a bad habit of reacting after only part of a post, so I started to write the following after reading your first paragraph…
I don’t mean to sound calous, but I’m surprised you haven’t gotten over that. My brother’s birth defect is quite evident, so people would look at him funny and/or whisper to their kids. He learned to ignore it. I realize your situation is a little different, but you have to develop a “who cares” attitude for your own self-preservation. One thing you do have going for your is guilt - most people know they should react differently. Also, don’t assume that everyone reacts because of disgust. It is more likely because of their own fear of the unknown and/or prejudice. If you don’t project your insecurities (i.e. be friendly…act like everyone else) people will get over their initial fear/prejudice.
I know after reading the following paragraphs, that you are already keenly aware of your part of the problem. You might want to check with your local parish to see if there is a mental health resource. I used one myself for an issue I had, and while I was able to pay, the therapist said they could work things out if I couldn’t. As Vern said, “we have a duty to help the sick.” You have more going on than your physical side. Besides, maybe they can help guide you on that as well?

Part of the value of a community is that we help each other. Plus, if you are genuinely seeking your faith, other Catholics will rally around you. You need to trust me on this. I realize not all of them will, but you certainly will find loving people in any parish. You will also be surprised at the direct resources available, such as Catholic doctors. There is a whole network of them! I know the idea of a religious doctor may give you flashback nightmares, but they aren’t all going to be intent on trying to change you - “first, do no harm.”

 

[pathia]

You will also be surprised at the direct resources available, such as Catholic doctors. There is a whole network of them! I know the idea of a religious doctor may give you flashback nightmares, but they aren’t all going to be intent on trying to change you - “first, do no harm.”

I’ve been seeing therapists since I was eight years old, I’ve never stopped. I KNOW I should trust religious therapists again, but they trigger episodes when there’s only one of them, it doesn’t matter how good hearted or open minded they are, I was damaged during ‘religious therapy’ from times I don’t even remember clearly, it’s a primal uncontrollable reaction. The last time I saw one I ended up fainting and on the way down I smacked my head into the corner of a desk, I woke up in an MRI or CAT scan machine at the ER, I can’t remember it’s blurry for obvious reasons. Yet another one of those big bills on my medical tab!

I know darned well it is irrational, but my mind works itself into such a state the only way to keep me calm is to sedate myself, which then slows my mind to a point of being unable to actually have a proper therapy session. It’s a vicious circle and my current therapists and I have yet to figure out exactly what to do about it.

 

[rlg94086]

I’ve been seeing therapists since I was eight years old, I’ve never stopped. I KNOW I should trust religious therapists again, but they trigger episodes when there’s only one of them, it doesn’t matter how good hearted or open minded they are, I was damaged during ‘religious therapy’ from times I don’t even remember clearly, it’s a primal uncontrollable reaction. The last time I saw one I ended up fainting and on the way down I smacked my head into the corner of a desk, I woke up in an MRI or CAT scan machine at the ER, I can’t remember it’s blurry for obvious reasons. Yet another one of those big bills on my medical tab!

I know darned well it is irrational, but my mind works itself into such a state the only way to keep me calm is to sedate myself, which then slows my mind to a point of being unable to actually have a proper therapy session. It’s a vicious circle and it.

Well, you may not necessarily believe in the efficacy of prayer, but I will pray for you. It’s all I can do. I know you were dealt a tough hand. I can’t even imagine myself in the same position. I know it is easy for people to judge and/or give direct advice, but far harder to actually help you find answers/solutions. My heart goes out to you, but you are too far away for a :console: or :hug3: .

 

[pathia]

Well, you may not necessarily believe in the efficacy of prayer, but I will pray for you. It’s all I can do. I know you were dealt a tough hand. I can’t even imagine myself in the same position. I know it is easy for people to judge and/or give direct advice, but far harder to actually help you find answers/solutions. My heart goes out to you, but you are too far away for a :console: or :hug3: .

I appreciate the thoughts and well wishes regardless. Lets try to get this back on topic though I seem to have a talent for derailment.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to plug the holes that at least in my case exist while keeping the free market alive? The only viable solution I currently have is to move to California or to Canada or the UK. As far as I can tell CA is the only state in the USA I could get health care at easily without a fuss about my past medical issues.

This seems…suboptimal, to say the least.

 

[ElizabethPH]

I appreciate the thoughts and well wishes regardless. Lets try to get this back on topic though I seem to have a talent for derailment.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to plug the holes that at least in my case exist while keeping the free market alive? The only viable solution I currently have is to move to California or to Canada or the UK. As far as I can tell CA is the only state in the USA I could get health care at easily without a fuss about my past medical issues.

This seems…suboptimal, to say the least.

I’ll pray for you too pathia.

I’d move to Cali

I can get coverage like I’ve said before but they won’t cover a certain condition I have and they will only cover up to 500 dollars for another issue I have When it gets bad enough I go get treated…I tend not to even do that lately afterall it’s not life or death illness so I can live with it. I keep my focus on God and all this doesn’t worry me so much.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Walmart is notoriously ‘conservative’, they won’t give out drugs to someone like me as a matter of policy as far as I can tell. Part of what I am on is considered birth control and some is ferility, which they don’t always carry as a matter of free market choice and such. Several of them are exceedingly expensive and rare and have to be special ordered at every pharmacy I go to.

Did you ask Wal-Mart?

I have been very unwelcomed at church in the past, any number of my other threads I have been posting on details this in as gory level as my anatomy and birth defects.

I look around at the people attending my little church – Saint Mary’s of Mountaint View, Arkansas, and I find that difficult to understand. We might not have the resources to give all the help someone needs, but we would never turn anyone away.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I contacted the Virginia Bureau of Insurance:

BOI Main Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1157
Richmond, Virginia 23218

BOI Street Address:
1300 East Main Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

BOI Main Number for Consumer Inquiries: 804-371-9741

BOI Ombudsman and Consumer Service Hotline (Toll Free and Nationwide):
877-310-6560

State Corporation Commission’s Toll Free Number for Virginia Residents:
800-552-7945

They informed me there are two insurance companies that have Guarenteed Issue policies:

Care First (800) 544-8703
Anthem of VA (800) 334-7676

They did say the premiums are high – but let’s take it a step at a time. First we have companies that will accept you. Next, we need to find a way to pay for it – here in Mountain View, our church “adopts” people in need. We pledge to provide support, both financial and otherwise, for people who need it.

Go to your parish and talk to them seriously about the problem and ask for help – it is, after all, one of the things Christ created His Church to do.