Comment from my wifes friend who has cancer

[liberal N proud]

We have been visiting my wifes home town which became mine as we lived there for 20 years. We spent the afternoon yesterday with a friend who has been battling cancer for several years. The spirit this woman exhibits is amazing. But she made a comment that is very important in this health care debate:

"If it's not the cancer that kills you the bills will."

Her cancer has been somewhat debilitating in the fact that she can't work more than 2 - 3 days a week due to the ongoing chemo treatments, her insurance has a high deductible to make it affordable. She has had to let her mortgage lapse at times in order to pay her bills. While we were visiting this week, she had to make the decision weather to pay $3000 dollars for medicine or pay her bills.

My father-in-law and I put new gutters on her house this week because she could not afford to hire it done and the rain was literally swamping her house.

This woman lives in a very simple small home, not some huge mansion.

Remember this, getting sick is causing a large number of bankruptcies in this nation.

[graywarrior]

1. In addition to the disease killing you, the bills killing you, it's the stress and

knowing that no one seems to give a rats ass that you are dying but could possibly live if you had health care.

My illness is not life threatening right now. I need surgery soon. I can't get it. It interferes with my daily life including working. It doesn't have to be this way. If I could afford surgery, I'd be back to working within a week. Right now, I do nothing but worry.

I feel so bad for your friends wife. It's not fair to have to a battle with a disease on your hands and also deal with this other crap.

[liberal N proud]

2. I often wonder how many times these stories are repeated across this land

How many people are suffering needlessly because some lobbiest for corporations keep paying off congress.

It's not what America was built on.

[graywarrior]

3. There is a lot of it up here in NH where I live

Dental care is another issue. Teeth that are not taken care of contribute to medical issues. No one I know can afford the dentists in northern NH. We all drive 250 miles to Tufts Dental School once a month.

[Kansas Wyatt]

4. The thing about employer or insurance based health care...

When people, who pay the bills or are the ones working for the health care, get really sick or hurt, then it immediately puts them in jeopardy. Without government based health care, everyone can and will be screwed over.

What if you cannot work for an extended period of time?
Who is going to pay the insurance bill and ever increasing DEDUCTIBLES & CO-PAYS?

Unless you are wealthy, you are not as secure and safe as you think you are.


The Corporate Masters of this country have set up so many 'SHELL GAMES' to screw 'We The People,' and our alleged Government Representatives set up those 'shell games' for their Corporate Masters. Our whole government needs to be cleared out and rebuilt. It's the only way to end all the frauds they have set up.

[chill_wind]

5. Yes, it harkens right back to the latest bankruptcy data- 62%

tied to devastating medical bills, and a major percentage of those had health care "insurance".

In how many other civilized countries on earth does this disgraceful, inhumane reality exist?

[Merryweather]

6. I'm from Britain, and you wouldn't believe

how many of my fellow Brits complain about the NHS. They should take a look at the American system, realise how lucky we are to have FREE, universal healthcare and STFU. Whatever flaws the NHS has, and it has a few, they're worth putting up with just so we don't have to worry about having our lives and our families' lives ruined on several levels if something awful happens to us. We are guaranteed care because there's no insurance middleman in it solely for a profit. It's proof socialised healthcare works, whatever hysterical right-wingers say.

I've heard similar horror stories from friends in the US, and they've made me grateful for our healthcare system - probably the single greatest achievement of any British government. I really hope Obama and the Democrats manage to get a single payer, public option through Congress.

[tavalon]

7. I'm looking at the beginning of this process

Honestly, I will leave the medical bills to last place on payment schedules. I need to keep a roof over my family's head.