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My Sudden Trip to Hell

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Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#51

Post by 10122018 »

realshowbiz wrote: post #44
twoquestions wrote: post #42

Considering the bills for a condition like this, I'd be wondering if it's even worth it to go to the doctor. My life isn't worth the destitution visited on everyone I know necessary to keep me alive, and I can't imagine the moral calculus his family had to go through. I'm glad this guy could get the care needed to survive, and I wish him the very best in his recovery.

Yes. You have one life, and it’s worth living with or without money.

Spoken like somebody who has money. Do you have any idea how much pain and suffering a person can endure due to having no money? I don't think it's your place to say that person's life is worth living.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#52

Post by rfrey »

realshowbiz wrote: post #44
twoquestions wrote: post #42

Considering the bills for a condition like this, I'd be wondering if it's even worth it to go to the doctor. My life isn't worth the destitution visited on everyone I know necessary to keep me alive, and I can't imagine the moral calculus his family had to go through. I'm glad this guy could get the care needed to survive, and I wish him the very best in his recovery.

Yes. You have one life, and it’s worth living with or without money.

twoquestions seems more concerned about impoverishing everyone they love.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#53

Post by aantix »

kerkeslager wrote: post #47

It's a sign of what it's like to be an American that the following stood out to me: The timing of his illness is rather unfortunate, as it caught him in New York, rather than Toronto, which probably cost him a lot of money.

Pay for it with taxes, pay for it with premiums and bills. You’re paying for it.

No one works for free, the medicine costs money. The money comes from somewhere.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#54

Post by flr03 »

saiya-jin wrote: post #45
bitL wrote: post #39

A friend of mine had her young brother suddenly developing a narrow line on the skin, growing quickly; 24 hours later both his arms and legs were amputated to keep him alive. I am wondering if having allowed emergency wide-spectrum antibiotics freely for such cases would help? Time seems to be extremely critical in such cases.

I would consider it a mandatory equipment of the household. Primarily I take them on trips to remote 3rd world countries where you can't rely on quick quality health care, even though most of the time I come back home with them untouched. For me its usually Sumamed, plus whatever specific for destination (malaria pills, stomach/throat, eyes etc.). Just beware of the expiration - they may lose potency and better renew…

You really don't want people to have ready to use antibiotics at home. It's already very difficult to contain bacteria resistance to antibiotics.

Very soon people would not only die from rare bacteria related decease but any kind of random bacteria infection.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#55

Post by hylaride »

corry wrote: post #46
twoquestions wrote: post #42

Considering the bills for a condition like this, I'd be wondering if it's even worth it to go to the doctor. My life isn't worth the destitution visited on everyone I know necessary to keep me alive, and I can't imagine the moral calculus his family had to go through. I'm glad this guy could get the care needed to survive, and I wish him the very best in his recovery.

He's Canadian I believe; so while I'm not sure how his care in NYC would be billed, I think it would be still covered by OHIP (the public health insurance in Ontario Canada) or maybe travel insurance. Certainly all the care he received in Toronto would have been covered, assuming he's Canadian.

It would NOT be covered by OHIP. He'd need travel insurance, which most Canadians have via benefits (depending on how established his company was, he may or may not have it). Most travel insurance will pay up to the point of bringing you back home when it's medically safe.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#56

Post by C1sc0cat »

aantix wrote: post #53
kerkeslager wrote: post #47

It's a sign of what it's like to be an American that the following stood out to me: The timing of his illness is rather unfortunate, as it caught him in New York, rather than Toronto, which probably cost him a lot of money.

Pay for it with taxes, pay for it with premiums and bills. You’re paying for it. No one works for free, the medicine costs money. The money comes from somewhere.

Just seems to cost a lot more in total in the USA than it does elsewhere.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#57

Post by didbsivdf »

aantix wrote: post #53
kerkeslager wrote: post #47

It's a sign of what it's like to be an American that the following stood out to me: The timing of his illness is rather unfortunate, as it caught him in New York, rather than Toronto, which probably cost him a lot of money.

Pay for it with taxes, pay for it with premiums and bills. You’re paying for it. No one works for free, the medicine costs money. The money comes from somewhere.

Yes, but consider that the US taxpayer pays per capita more or less what the Canadian taxpayer does on health care, while covering only Medicaid and Medicare.

The Canadian, on the other hand, doesn’t have insurance premiums or deductibles.

(For the record, I hate the CND health care system. It’s just that, knowing both systems, the US’ is worse :)

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#58

Post by waterside81 »

udkl wrote: post #50
twoquestions wrote: post #42

Considering the bills for a condition like this, I'd be wondering if it's even worth it to go to the doctor. My life isn't worth the destitution visited on everyone I know necessary to keep me alive, and I can't imagine the moral calculus his family had to go through. I'm glad this guy could get the care needed to survive, and I wish him the very best in his recovery.

Can anyone make a good guess on how much this would have cost here in the US and if it had happened in Canada ?

If it had happened in Canada the cost is zero. We don’t have deductibles or anything like that for these sorts of surgeries. Drugs yes, operations no.

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#59

Post by narcindin »

corry wrote: post #48
corry wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's Canadian I believe; so while I'm not sure how his care in NYC would be billed, I think it would be still covered by OHIP (the public health insurance in Ontario Canada) or maybe travel insurance. Certainly all the care he received in Toronto would have been covered, assuming he's Canadian.

Don't want to spark a healthcare debate, but want to mention that I bet NONE of the non-US readers on HN would have given a single thought about the costs involved if this was happening in their countries. It's wild to me that the potential financial impact of this was part of the picture for many of the US people reading it (especially the startup founders who are probably without insurance right now, and this would…

"Don't want to spark a healthcare debate..." but you do want to get in your jabs under the pretense of "not starting a debate".

How do I respond to this comment without "starting a debate"?

Re: My Sudden Trip to Hell

#60

Post by 10122018 »

corry wrote: post #48
corry wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's Canadian I believe; so while I'm not sure how his care in NYC would be billed, I think it would be still covered by OHIP (the public health insurance in Ontario Canada) or maybe travel insurance. Certainly all the care he received in Toronto would have been covered, assuming he's Canadian.

Don't want to spark a healthcare debate, but want to mention that I bet NONE of the non-US readers on HN would have given a single thought about the costs involved if this was happening in their countries. It's wild to me that the potential financial impact of this was part of the picture for many of the US people reading it (especially the startup founders who are probably without insurance right now, and this would…

Nope. I'm in Australia and enduring a living hell due to not being able to afford medical (dental) treatment. Affordable healthcare is not a problem that is exclusive to the US.
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