One line on my mom's 5/3 ER bill (the day of her stroke .. she died 6/26)

[DemoTex]

One line on the bill. Surgery. $107,000. There was no "surgery." There was only a non-surgical ventilator installed.

Dr. DemoTex and I watched Sicko the other night. We both were horrified by what we already knew. We both agreed that the USA is really a fucked-up place. FUBAR, in fact.

Only my 88 year-old dad and her 86 year-old mom keep us here now. When they are gone, we are gone. Paris, probably. Dr. D. is fluent in French, and I speak a little French and a little German.

Old DUers might remember the story of my niece being gut-shot in Paris. Three surgeries, many days in the ICU. An MD in the ambulance. Total bill? $7000!

Montparnasse .. my choice of places to finish my life!

[DainBramaged]

1. I'm so sorry your Mom suffered a stroke and passed away

My Mom is 90 and STILL lives by herself. About that 'item', the hospital that performed my last brain surgery tried that, to the toon of an additional $166000. Horizon smacked them down and said UH, "YOU signed a contract YOU have to accept what we pay and will not pay for services CONFIRMED BY THE PATIENT that were NOT performed."


What a shitty thing to find out.

[LakeSamish706]

2. Apart from the medical system in France, they have a serious FU of there...

own as President there... Nicolas Sarkosy is one FU individual and would probably be classed as a French Poodle for GWB.

Edited to say:

I apologize for not giving you my condolences as well... That was very rude of me, in trying to get to my point instead of being sensitive....

[Lex]

3. Condolences to you on the passing of your mother.

:hug:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montparnasse - Wow, sounds perfect. (I had to look it up.)

[Juche]

4. Good luck

At the risk of raining on your parade and being yelled at (on the internet no less), my understanding (according to Krugman) is that the main reason we don't have a decent healthcare system in the US is racism.

In the 40s when FDR and Truman tried to start a UHC system, whites in the south feared it would lead to integrated hospitals. So they blocked it

In the 60s when democrats started standing up for civil rights, many rural whites switched and joined the GOP. As a result the GOP has enough majority power to block meaningful healthcare reform.

The idea that 'my' tax money will go to help 'those' lazy people who are different from me is a major factor in politics, like it or not. Its why we don't ahve UHC here.

I bring that up because I fear/wonder if the influx of Africans and muslims into areas like France may cause them to experience the same problem and the same descent into rabid right wingerism. Maybe the fact that Le Pen made it to the final round of voting a few years ago is a harbringer of the future.

My fear is that there may be a cultural and racial backlash in France and Europe (over immigration from Africa and the mideast) in the near future similiar to what the US went through that puts radical neocons in power in Europe.

[dflprincess]

17. I might buy that the argument you listed for 40s was used

but the rest of them sound like scare tactics put forth by an insurance industry that's scared of losing a very lucrative part of their business.

[Juche]

20. Its amazing you know I'm in the insurance industry

Which I'm not. The insurance industry is a useless middle man taking $300 billion out of healthcare spending a year.

But I do wonder if all the immigration and racial tensions in the EU will push their politics to the hard right the way it did in the US. That is why we don't have UHC here, due to racial tension pushing our politics rightward.

Hopefully the Europeans will figure something out w/o giving up their social safety net.

[dflprincess]

24. I did not mean to imply that you were in the insurance industry

I just thought the arguments sounded like something they'd put out - you don't need to be a part of the industry to figure out what kind of lies they may spew.

I don't think the Europeans will allow for profits outfits talk them out of their safety nets no matter what racist arguments get used. The only reason arguments like that work here is that we've never had a real safety net so many Americans can be convinced that somehow only "lesser" :sarcasm: humans will be helped by such a system.

[Romulox]

23. I think your analysis is WAY too over-simplified

For example, I see zero evidence that Americans care about poverty (including lack of health care,) among the largely white working class in Appalachia and the Rust Belt.

We have a class-based caste system that is related to, but is not dictated by, racism.

[exothermic]

5. My mom had a stroke on 6/24, Mac. We buried her this morning.

Have not seen the hospital bill (5 days) or the hospice bill for 8 days yet. We are dreading to see them. :cry:
Here's to our moms :toast:

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. Very sorry about your mom.

Welcome to DU.

[DemoTex]

7. Oh my dear Exothermic ...

Our moms! The best! RIP forever.

[uppityperson]

8. My condolences about your mom. RIP moms.

17 yrs for me.

[Ilsa]

14. No one knew us like our moms knew us.

:hug: I'm sorry for your loss. I remember when DemoTex lost his mom a few weeks ago. I hope you are doing well, D.T.

[malaise]

18. Deepest sympathy

Losing parents is so hard.

[Lorien]

19. I'm so sorry for your loss

don't worry about the bills now. Just take the time you need to deal with your grief first. :hug:

Oh, and welcome to DU.

[uppityperson]

9. My condolences to you on your mom and that is wrong.

When you are able, if you have the strength, challenge them on it. I really hate that sort of crap.

Montparnasse, would be a good place to be. I've family in France too.

[flvegan]

10. Some profit from our illness, some profit from our death.

Think about it. It's twisted.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Oh I am so sorry to hear about your mom

I lost mine in Oct 06 and DU was so comforting for me.

Be good to yourself and give yourself some time to grieve.

Je parles Francais un peux. Bon chance, bon voyage :hi:

[gblady]

12. I'm sorry

to hear about your Mom.

When I had a heart attack in March, I received a bill ($58,000 for 2 days)...part of which was $1500 for the ER...
I had a copy of my discharge papers which included a timeline of my arrival via airlift...which showed I was
in ER less than 5 minutes. I made an official dispute of the charge...and it was reduced to 378...the cost of
a DR saying I was stable enough to go to the cath lab...it is unbelievable what the medical/insurance complex has evolved into...

Maybe you can ask for a detailed accounting of that charge...

Enjoy France!

[EFerrari]

13. I plan not to get sick until I die. I can't afford to get sick AND live. n/t

[DemoTex]

15. I plan to die before I get sick .. seriously.

Painless suicide .. that's my plan.

[lonestarnot]

16. No one ever plans to get sick, maybe we can just limp through it until we fall into the other side.

:shrug:

[MiniMe]

21. Nothing wrong with questioning the hospital about the charge

Tell them you want to know exactly what the surgery was and get a detailed listing of the charges.

Condolences on your Mom, it had to be a difficult month for you and your family. :grouphug:

[Obamarama]

22. Montparnasse, indeed!

When I attended American University in Paris I lived in the Montparnasse area, on boulevard Raspail. Tres magnifique!

I posted yesterday in another thread that when I became violently ill from bad oysters on one of my visits to Paris a few years ago, I was able to get a doctor come on a house call to my hotel for a grand total of around $62.
France is where it's at, man. Bonne chance!