Cancer and health insurance

[panader0]

If I get cancer, that's it. I have no insurance and can't afford any treatment. Basically, whatever malady I may get is the same. I'm hoping that good genes and a life of manual labor will carry me into my 70's or 80's.

[havocmom]

1. We will keep you and people like you in mind when we work for universal care

Been in your shoes. Know the worry. No one should die early for lack of access to care.

[Horse with no Name]

2. The other side of it as many families who have dealt with cancer

is that the because of the extreme expense of cancer treatment, even those that have health insurance find that it doesn't go very far and many reach their lifetime maximums and end up without it as well.

[RB TexLa]

3. Cancer expense insurance

It works, it saves houses, cars and lives. Best thing is just buy it put it in a drawer somewhere and hope you never have to use it.

[Lars39]

5. You first have to have the money to buy the policy.

Pay check to pay check existence doesn't stretch that far.

[liberalhistorian]

4. You and me both, buddy. I've been uninsured for over six months

now because my boss can't afford health insurance for himself, let alone for me. Individual policies, at several hundred a month even for HEALTHY people like me, are out of the question. Besides, if you're over the age of fifteen and have had even one case of the sniffles, they won't touch you. You should see some of their questionnaires!

I do my best to take care of myself and keep myself healthy, and my boss does the same, but there's always that fear of something happening, whether major illness or accident/medical emergency. If you don't qualify for Medicaid because you make too much money, as in my case, then forget it. You might as well sign your paychecks over to them for the rest of your life.

But even those WITH insurance get screwed when it comes to major illnesses like cancer. You're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment in many cases, and the co-payments can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. My best friend had cancer for several years, she had insurance and her family had money and she STILL had trouble paying for everything. After a few years of cancer (she had it seven years altogether), her insurance company dropped her and no one else would insure her. If her mother didn't have money, she wouldn't be alive today, and she's still paying off tens of thousands of dollars these many years later. She can't even get any kind of insurance now because of her past, even though now she's very healthy and maintains her health. It's enough to make you literally sick, isn't it?

[ComerPerro]

6. that's the worst thing about health insurance. They can refuse anyone