Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

pastebin.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 170 posts

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#81

Post by danielweber »

grecy wrote: post #39
danielweber wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say "the alternative" as if every other country on Earth has one system, and the US has a second system, and that first system is what we should have. Whereas all those other countries have a bunch of different systems (compare Canada to the UK to France to Singapore). And each of those systems has real tradeoffs for real people. (To be clear: I'd be fine with many, even most, of those tradeoffs, but people who a…

All developed countries (excluding the US) share similarities, that when painting with a broad brush, can be called the same. Namely: People pay taxes that pay for healthcare for every single citizen. No person is without care. (end of comparison). (You can tell people it's exactly the same as how they pay for Elementary and High School, how they pay for police and firemen, etc. etc.) EDIT: Implied in my broad statem…

> People pay taxes that pay for healthcare for every single citizen. No person is without care. (end of comparison).

The Netherlands and Switzerland have a system of compulsory insurance that's closer to PPACA than it is to "pay taxes that pay for healthcare for every single citizen."

Germany has a combination of sickness funds combined with insurance mandates.

Singapore has compulsory health savings accounts.

The US technically has "no person without health care" because you can get it in emergency rooms, and I'll have to spell this out that I think that's a horrible system, but it meets a "no person without health care" checklist.

I think almost any other system would be preferable to the American system, but again they do involve real tradeoffs for real again.

EDIT FOR PARENT EDIT It's definitely not true that no one pays out of pocket for health care in any other country.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#82

Post by adamnemecek »

declan wrote: post #45
soperj wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Main reason I never want to live in America is health care. Just knowing that no matter what I'll be admitted to the hospital and treated is something I never want to live without. *2nd reason would be gun violence.

You seem to be mistaken on both counts. First, a federal law called EMTALA requires hospitals to provide emergency treatment regardless of citizenship or ability to pay. Second, there is more violence in the UK (about 2.5x-3x times as much per capita -- 993 violent crimes/100K vs. 399 violent crimes/100K) than the United States. And more pro-2A decisions from courts have led to a trend of reduction in US gun violence…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentiona...

US: 4.7 per 100,000 inhabitants

UK: 1.2 per 100,000 inhabitants

Germany: 0.8 per 100,000 inhabitants

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#83

Post by robotresearcher »

declan wrote: post #45
soperj wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Main reason I never want to live in America is health care. Just knowing that no matter what I'll be admitted to the hospital and treated is something I never want to live without. *2nd reason would be gun violence.

You seem to be mistaken on both counts. First, a federal law called EMTALA requires hospitals to provide emergency treatment regardless of citizenship or ability to pay. Second, there is more violence in the UK (about 2.5x-3x times as much per capita -- 993 violent crimes/100K vs. 399 violent crimes/100K) than the United States. And more pro-2A decisions from courts have led to a trend of reduction in US gun violence…

Those violent crimes in the UK don't tend to involve guns and/or becoming dead.

UK homicide rate: 1.2 per 100,000 persons US homicide rate: 4.7 per 100,000 persons

You are more than twice as likely to get beaten up in the UK than the US. You are around 4 times as likely to be murdered in the US than the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentiona...

The UK has a violence problem, probably at least in part due to the drinking. I feel less safe in London than LA. But it is crazy to deny that US gun violence isn't a thing.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#84

Post by tptacek »

michaelochurch wrote: post #75
tptacek wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this is false.

You might be able to get ER treatment for when the cancer throws a clot and causes a stroke or infarction, but somehow I'm guessing that ERs don't perform chemotherapy and radiation for people who can't pay. Am I wrong on that? Do ERs perform chemotherapy?

Public hospitals, for instance, are required to provide indigent/uncompensated care.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#85

Post by holyjaw »

joshmn wrote: post #52
heidijavi wrote: post #4

Sorry to hear about this. Do you have a portfolio/github where I can check your ruby on rails previous code?

I don't, I actually have everything with Beanstalk (private repos) inb4 someone says "that's $$$ that you could be spending on yo momma" -- I used to sleep with one of their execs and put me the plan they give their employees.

Clone some things over to a public repo – even just some stuff you think showcases your skills.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#86

Post by altero »

kjackson2012 wrote: post #50

I'm sorry for your problems, but could you please clarify a few questions for me because there are a lot of problems with what I'm reading: 1) You claim to be 22 years old, but your dad hasn't had a relationship with your mom in 25 years... what does that even mean? 2) You're 22 years old and you accumulated $150k already? What sort of work did you do, and for how long? 3) You claim to be penniless, but you spend you…

Relax.

I found this believable. Hi lived in LA and saved some money. Single person, some reasonable skills, shared accommodation, not buying ijunk.... he could made this savings in 2 years. Not everyone has student loan.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#87

Post by maxerickson »

staunch wrote: post #74
maxerickson wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://minnesotahelp.info/Public/default.aspx?se=healthcare

Looks like a reasonably useful resource but there's no where there he can call to get the service I just described.

Sure, it would be nice if there was a single point of contact. Minnesota appears to do things at a county level:

http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMI...

(that's a couple of clicks from my other link)

The point is, there are resources to access. Hopefully they have been looked into already.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#88

Post by protomyth »

michaelochurch wrote: post #69
soperj wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Main reason I never want to live in America is health care. Just knowing that no matter what I'll be admitted to the hospital and treated is something I never want to live without. *2nd reason would be gun violence.

Gun violence is not a good reason to avoid the US. It's actually very rare. If you don't get involved in the drug trade and are middle-class are higher, the odds are overwhelming that you'll probably never see a gun fired at a person. Our healthcare system is terrifyingly bad, however. It's a damn good reason to avoid living here.

Violence of all sorts is not even in the top 10 anymore for the average US citizen.

Sadly, the "free" government healthcare provided to Native Americans and Veterans is horrible, too.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#89

Post by rl3 »

> Does my family qualify for assistance? No. Plain and simple.

Can you elaborate on this?

Prestigious, well-endowed, non-profit hospitals - typically major university medical centers - usually have the most robust financial assistance programs available. Most of them will simply write off the cost of your treatment if you really can't afford it.

I can't say for sure how it works for terminally ill cancer patients, but, I haven't seen anything to indicate disqualification or lack of coverage would take place. I'm sure it depends on the hospital though.

If she's currently receiving treatment from a for-profit hospital without deep pockets, then it's a safe bet their financial assistance program(s) are probably bullshit.

Re: My mom is dying, and my bank account is dry. I need help

#90

Post by clavalle »

delluminatus wrote: post #56
thatthatis wrote: post #18

Serious question: Why were these bills paid by the son who would have no financial obligation in the case of his mother's bankruptcy? America's health care safety net is bankruptcy and the 'cannot refuse critical treatment based on ability to pay' role of emergency rooms. Seems the right course to take in these situations is to string along the hospitals until it ends up in bankruptcy and only pay out of pocket from…

The problem is that cancer treatments are extremely expensive and not usually very effective. Believe me; the hospital is not pulling these charges from thin air. The right course to take is avoid contracting cancer for as long as possible, and if you do get cancer, to find and treat it ASAP. If you do get late-stage cancer, you can pay for a drug and treatment regimen that may provide you with a few more months of l…

Cancer, even late stage cancer, can be successfully treated.
Post reply on HN