151–160 of 317 posts
Don't have much to give right now, but it's a great cause. Such a shame to see anyone like this, especially someone as kind and active in the community (judging by people who know him). Wishing him all the best.
I had $6.14 on my bank account, and sent $5. ANYTHING helps.
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The problem with your Rand-esque proposal that if we all saved and lived below our means would be rolling in it, is that we don't all have the privilege of living in state or region that provides reasonable healthcare. Any guesses what a family policy with a $10,000 (?!) deductible goes for in Maine? $1,400. Say what? That's if you don't get insurance through your employer, which is becoming more rare everyday as ins…
The Affordable Care Act requires routine medical visits to be covered by your insurance provider without a copay. If you aren't seeing a doctor every year, you're throwing away money. http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/insurance-plans/health...
The miserable irony of this is that then the government winds up making a deal with FOR PROFIT insurance companies. Companies which would be failing their investors if they weren't wringing every cent out of the policy holders to pad their own pockets and generate wealth off the suffering of others.
My personal opinion is that the ACA is a stepping stone to a single payer or something close to it in the USA. Meanwhile it is absolutely the worst of both government spending and private corporations. Now we just have to wait a whole other oscillation of the liberal-conservative pendulum, which tends to take 10-20 years.
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Right.. That "national scam" is working great all over Europe. It's cool when you can pay your treatments, but cancer treatments are in the 6 figure range - enjoy paying that from you bank account.
The funny thing is, at least here in the US, even if you have medical insurance you are totally ripped off your pockets if you have something like cancer. Mostly, you just don't pay the price which was anyway artificially inflated by this scam I'm talking about. There was an article only a few days back about this guy who had his appendix treated: http://imgur.com/a/WIfeN He had to pay $11k out of the total $55k bill…
In fact the US would look cheaper for the majority of the population. Which is comparing against a low bar.
I don't think you could classify that as a working system.
I donated $50, but I really wish US (and other countries) would reconsider their broken healthcare systems. My dad died of cancer a few years ago and I am really glad we lived in Denmark when he got it - - with a great public healthcare system. He lived 2 years with his cancer, which is a lot when you are counting days. Not many normal people can afford these things (as each of my dads treatments cost about 20.000USD…
We need to educate the youth to start thinking about life holistically and not just in terms of vacations and latest toys.
I donated $50, but I really wish US (and other countries) would reconsider their broken healthcare systems. My dad died of cancer a few years ago and I am really glad we lived in Denmark when he got it - - with a great public healthcare system. He lived 2 years with his cancer, which is a lot when you are counting days. Not many normal people can afford these things (as each of my dads treatments cost about 20.000USD…
I donated $100, and yeah, our healthcare system is a goddamn travesty. I don't get it. If you're fortunate to live long enough, the one thing that's guaranteed to eventually happen is you're going to get sick in a very expensive manner. It's not an "if" question, it's a "when" question. I don't think that should mean financial ruin. People against universal healthcare must think they're just immune to ever getting si…
Wrong, there's still a large part of the population who will end up dying of what we call "natural causes" such as Heart attacks and stuff like that. These are very inexpensive, because you don't see them coming, usually. So, no, not everyone on Earth dies from Cancer.
PHP is the first language that I ever learnt and it has had a great influence on my life. Thank you for everything you've done Richard. Please spend the rest of your days peacefully.
It's so sad that the country where Richard lived, worked and paid taxes for about 30 years can't provide for him. I'm glad to be able to help. But what happens to those that don't reach the front page of HN? No one enduring the stress of a terminal cancer should have to stress about getting ends to meet during their last months alive. EVER
> It's so sad that the country where Richard lived, worked and paid taxes for about 30 years can't provide for him. I'm not sure why your first instinct is to think that he should rely on his country rather than on his family and friends.
Does that make sense?
Then he passed away.
His kids didn't lose their house. His kids didn't lose their opportunity to go to college.
Not to too bad for pretty small city in the middle of nowhere in Mexico.
I wonder how one of the richest nations on earth, with the biggest army, can't provide for the healthcare of its citizens when much poorer nations (mexico, uruguay, etc.) can.
A matter of priorities I guess...
I donated $50, but I really wish US (and other countries) would reconsider their broken healthcare systems. My dad died of cancer a few years ago and I am really glad we lived in Denmark when he got it - - with a great public healthcare system. He lived 2 years with his cancer, which is a lot when you are counting days. Not many normal people can afford these things (as each of my dads treatments cost about 20.000USD…
I don't particularly see this as being a strong problem with American healthcare. You can buy health insurance to pay for any and all medical expenses. The healthcare system is broken if you do an honest day's work and can't afford insurance, but that's not what we're talking about here. There is a reason that most of the best hospitals in the world are American, and the way we fund our healthcare is that reason. Yes…
Uh, do you have anything to back that up, apart from the standard assumption that "US is #1 at everything!"?
And even if you had 10/10 top hospitals globally, overall average quality is a better metric than handpicked best-of-class examples.
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> The healthcare system is broken if you do an honest day's work and can't afford insurance, but that's not what we're talking about here. Isn't it, though? If you replace "insurance" with "appropriate medical care" that does in fact sound like what we're talking about. This individual was a programmer, who based on his blog only quit his job once he was physically unable to perform the duties required - and yet, is…
You can buy insurance which covers home health care and doesn't cost a cent after a deductible of a few thousand dollars. You can buy insurance which provides income if you can't work because of an illness... there are also several government programs that help the disabled. You can also save money for emergencies and not live in debt beyond your means your whole life as too many Americans do. Sometimes bad luck stri…
In lots of countries, if you get too sick to work, the government will assist you in paying for housing. In lots of countries, they'll do it if you're just unemployed, too.
There's no righteousness to the fend-for-yourself ideals of the USA. It doesn't have to work that way. You can choose, as a society, to sacrifice extreme wealth for greater equality. It doesn't make those countries better, but nor does it make them worse.
The widespread and persistent belief in the USA that whatever the USA does is the best way, and all other countries are dumber and weaker, is one of the most distasteful things about living here as an immigrant. It doesn't have to work this way. The American way is not automatically the best one.