Diagnosed with cancer and no health insurance

[gaspee]

This week, my 59 year old mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her mother died of colon cancer at 60 years old, 17 years ago.

My mother has no health insurance and isn't old enough for medicare. She worked her entire life in jewelry factories. She worked hard, lived paycheck to paycheck and raised five kids. One of them is my developmentally disabled brother who lives with me and my mother. The jewelry industry has long since moved from RI to China and my mother has delivered newspapers for a few years now. Delivering newspapers is a low paying job and you're officially an "independent contractor" and get no disability insurance and no access to group health care plans. You're not really an independent contractor since they make all the rules and set the prices, but that's the game the corporation plays to get out of paying employee taxes on you.

Anyway, my mother gets health care through the RI free clinic - which took months of waiting in line every week and winning the lottery (I've been trying for six months now - no luck for me and my untreated high blood pressure.) So she got a colonoscopy this week after months of digestive tract problems and now is waiting (will be a few weeks) for the free clinic to have slots for the CAT scan. No official diagnosis except the doctor telling her after the procedure that she has cancer.

We own our home and have a little equity (that took 40 years of my parents working low-paying blue-collar jobs working to build) that will be taken away to pay for treatment if she can get medicaid. She said she'd rather die than leave us homeless.

That's what you get in America if you're not wealthy - too bad if you followed the rules and were a good citizen your entire life. You're just a worthless piece of trash who deserves to die if you get sick and can't afford the price of the health care extortion racket. Lovely place we've built, eh? Pretty sick when your net worth decides if you're going to live or die. Actually, that has probably been true for most of human history. When the next person tells you this is the best country in the world, remember that fact - your net worth is the greatest predictor of your survival rate.

Because she went so long with symptoms and had to wait months for testing, we're quite afraid of what the CAT scan will show when she finally gets one.

We had a pretty nice life going - the modest bills get paid, we have enough extra to eat out once in awhile - but between the upcoming bills and the loss of one income, that's all going to change. Whether the cancer is treatable or not, it's all pretty much downhill from here.

Health Insurance reform is going to do jack-shit for my family.

[dana_b]

1. omg - I'll keep your mom and you in my thoughts

this should not happen here.

[pnwmom]

2. We've been through colon cancer with relatives on both sides of the family.

One relative had a very large cancer (grapefruit sized) but it hadn't spread outside the colon and she's doing fine eight years later. The other one died in his 70's.

I hope your mother's cancer is limited. Try not to think about the worst while you wait for the results -- I know that's hard though.

Are you sure you have to lose all your equity in order to qualify for Medicaid? I looked into that once for a relative and I thought you could keep a house. Does your state have a high-risk insurance pool?

I hope you'll let me know how this goes. FWIW, I care.

[gaspee]

9. We're working on the paperwork

We're trying to get her onto medicaid but the hoops you have to jump through are indescribable. My mom's sister is coming up from New Jersey to help with all the paperwork and one of my sisters is coming from Florida. They're both very forceful women and have had to jump through government hoops to get disability (one for MS and one for a disabled child) and kind of know the ropes better than I do.

Thanks.

It's a pretty stressful time but we're gonna get through it. One thing being low-income laborers has taught the family - and that's how to be strong.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

65. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007. I did not have health insurance.

I immediately qualified for Medicaid through a program for women with certain kinds of cancer. All I had to do was go to my local health department, show them my social security card and sign a statement attesting that I did not have insurance. I was promptly (like in five minutes) signed up for Medicaid and kept it the whole time I was receiving surgery and chemo. The Medicaid ended the minute I was finished with treatment. I still have to have blood tests and other exams every three months and take a very expensive Rx for the next 10 years but I DID have insurance during the worst of the expenses.

My thoughts are with you and your mother.

PS - I found out about the Medicaid program from my daughter who works at a family medical practice in South Carolina (I'm in Kentucky) - she said she thought every state has the program. Check it out.

[gaspee]

113. thank you

I'm trying to work my way through the responses and am making copious notes.

[rebel with a cause]

68. Gaspee, get you a caseworker...

There should be one at the clinic, hospital or if need be at the public assistance office. Caseworkers usually know ways to get your medical needs taken care of. There are certain medical organizations/corporations that will pay some of these bills in order to get tax write offs. They also know how to handle the paper work. I know if I had not gotten disability when I did there were several caseworkers that had them lined up for me. Also, my original case worker worked her behind off to get my disability for me, along with the great clinic GP I found. I was volunteering for Obama in 2004 when he found out I had no insurance and all these problems he had some of his staff help me find a 'free clinic'.

I was in a big mess in 2004-2006. Sixty one, disabled due to health problems and dying from those problems and heart disease due to no health care benefits. Still struggle but doing a lot better as far as having medicaid and SS pension.

I don't think they will hold the house against your mother, but if they do there are ways of handling that. Your aunts will probably know the ropes since they have been in the system for a while.

[madmax]

90. gaspee - get out the yellow pages

find a lawyer who specializes in Social Security Disability. Explain your Mom's situation, then call your Senator and Congress critter.

My son went through the same thing - no insurance, diagnosed w/cancer. Within a few weeks he was seeing doctors, getting the tests and started on chemo.

Our politicians are a useless bunch most times but, try making the calls. You may be surprised and it definately beats just dealing with the people who work at SS and Medicare.

I wish you and Mom the very best. :grouphug:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

104. thank god you have help to do the bureaucracy dance!!!

I'm so glad to hear this.

Thinking good thoughts for you all to leave no stone unturned, and find the exact help you need.

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. I believe this is true also.

>>>>I looked into that once for a relative and I thought you could keep a house. >>>>

You might post this q to the Disability Forum.

They know lots.

[Nite Owl]

3. I'm so sorry gaspee

I hope that your mom gets the medicaid and gets the care she needs. It's such a bad state that this country is in and all the hope of it getting better is gone now. What they are doing to us is no less than pre-meditated murder, they are knowingly taking our lives.

[napi21]

4. Did you check with places like the Am. Cancer Society and other

groups like them? I have no idea if they will help your mom, but it's worth a try.

[peace13]

5. I am so sorry to hear this.

Love and energy sent to you and your Mom. May the Docs come up with a treatment. Peace, Kim

[StarfarerBill]

6. I'm so sorry, Gaspee. My thoughts and best wishes are with you.

I lost my mother in 1998 due to COPD at age 73; I hope your mother will be with you much longer.

:hug:

[Stinky The Clown]

7. ...

:hug:

[monmouth]

8. This is my biggest fear. My prayers are with your mother and you...n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. Hideous.

What a society they've left us with. I'd say it hit full tilt with Reagan and his war on "big gu'ment" and this war on "socialism" ( for lack of a better word) has been going on... enabled by both DEM and Repub regimes..... ever since.

Sending good thoughts your way.


>>>>Lovely place we've built, eh? >>>>

And HOW.

[malaise]

11. Too sad

:grouphug:

[gaspee]

13. Thanks

I just want to thank everyone - I might not answer too much - I'm bawling like a baby right now - this is the first time I've cried since getting the news. My mom is my best friend and I'm filled with rage at our system while still trying to keep it together enough to do what needs to be done.

[patrice]

64. .

:grouphug:

[renate]

71. oh my gosh, I'm so sorry

One positive thing to think of... this would be so much worse without the Internet (and without DU and so many good people here to give you advice). If there's help out there--and I think there is--you WILL find it.

You and your mother are in my prayers. :hug:

[Coventina]

14. So very sorry about your mom's illness.

I agree with everything you said in your post.

What the insurance industry, with the help of those in government, have done to "We the People" is criminal. There's simply no excuse for it.

:hug:

[DailyGrind51]

15. No one who hasn't had something like this happen to family can really understand.

There really are no "existing programs" or other options, you either have health coverage or you die. Having had cancer nearly 30 years ago, I fully understand what your mom is experiencing, although I was very fortunate to have my employer's group insurance, I still had to come up with over $30K in co-pays and deductibles.

[pnwmom]

31. "you either have health coverage or you die."

That may have been true 30 years ago, and it may be true in some states, but it's not true everywhere. It is dangerous to pass this thought along because someone might believe you and avoid going to the doctor if they think they have cancer. Some states do have programs for people in this situation. We have a relative without insurance who's getting treatment for cancer due to some kind of "option" in his state.

[DailyGrind51]

81. I'm happy for your family member, but I am also aware of patients

who sought aid for health coverage in my state and how they had to live later, having liquidated their assets to qualify, sadly, not life-affirming situations.

[rebel with a cause]

70. I have had this happen to me and I survived because

I had people and organizations help me. Since 2005 I have nearly died from congestive heart failure and had cancer in both breasts. You don't have to die, you have to find the right people that can help you and not be too proud to let them. You have to fight for the right to get the help you need. Her aunts will help with this I am sure. A defeatist attitude does not do anyone any good.

[DailyGrind51]

83. I am happy for your favorable outcome! Many people, like me, have no family left.

If I was to become disabled, most of the people I know are too busy with their own lives to have the time to care for anyone else. I have no doubt that there are fortunate people like you, but consider the plight of the single person or the elderly person who outlives his/her family. If you are unable to advocate for yourself and have no one to advocate for you, how can you receive help? You present a great argument, for those who prefer the status quo, "Rely on 'existing programs'!" Eric Kantor used the same argument.

I don't buy into that attitudinal stuff, myself, at the time I was diagnosed, I was in a bad marriage and a lousy job, in subsequent years, I lost the rest of my immediate family members, yet I am still alive after almost 30 years!

[rebel with a cause]

101. As a member of the bad attitude crowd

I should not throw stones. I have been in a bad marriage, had a lousy job and a lot of other hard luck times. I survived them, not so well it seems but I am still here. By the way, I have never been called a fortunate person by anyone who knows me. For years my friends nickname for me was Timex because I took a licking and kept on ticking. lol

As far as having family to take care of me, I have always taken care of myself even when I was married. Only after I got so sick that I was close to death did my adult children step in and care for me, and that was not always a happy experience but that is a long story that I won't go into. No one advocated for me in my family but me. I live with my daughter now but that is not a good situation and we may soon change it. I love and appreciate her and my son for helping me when I was at my worse, but.....

I had caseworkers and doctors that advocated for me with SIS and a single person (which I was in the beginning) and elderly can have that also. As far as preferring the status quo, I don't. I am all for health care reform including the un-privatization of health care facilities. But what I would like to see happen and what is feasible are too different things. As a life long survivor I have learned to roll with the punches. In order to survive I will use what might be distasteful to me, but will do what I have to do. There is time ahead to work for change but you have to survive to be around to do so.

At one time as a single mother I had to beg for help from a local church. Did I want to do this. No! If it had only been me I might not have but because my children were hungry I swallowed my pride and did what I had to. Did I want to go to a free clinic, meet with caseworker after caseworker and put myself out there like that? No! But that got me from being on death's door and completely dependent on other people to care for me to the point where now I can survive on my own.

When I see someone who is afraid and looking for a way to survive, I see two things I can do. I can tell them the horror stories I have gone through and that there is no hope, or I can give them encouragement and some things they can try to make it. Something I read one time....If you see a drowning man you can either throw him a life saver or an anchor. The choice is yours.

[nightrain]

16. knr. Gaspee, I am so very sorry to hear about your mother. I'm so sorry

that she has had to wait so long and jump through so many hoops to get care/diagnostic treatment. I wish you all well as you go through this piece.

I'm glad she had some actual care via the free clinic, it's not enough and certainly not fast enough. As a country we should do much better!

Please keep us posted...

[Starry Messenger]

17. I'm so sorry gaspee

((hugs))

[Frustratedlady]

18. That's a heavy load for all of you to carry.

I hope you are able to work something out with Medicaid. I can't imagine they are waiting for the CTScan. Good luck and keep us informed.

[Odin2005]

19. (((HUGS)))

This is why healthcare MUST be a FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT, not a commodity.

[BeanCounting]

20. I know it sucks for you now........

I'm sorry to hear about your mom, it's a tough one. But if you can pull it together with the help of your sisters and jump through those medicaid hoops, it will be well worth it. I was in the same situation five years ago with my husband. With two kids still to raise it was tough getting the medicaid, and we did get to keep our house and car (only if it's not too valuable of a car) but once you are on it, it's carte blanche for medical care. Tests get done faster, no deductibles or copays or being afraid to get the mail to see which provider is going to ream you because their service wasn't covered by your plan. Hang in there, do the paperwork, and you can concentrate your energies on your mom. good Luck and Best Wishes!

[arcadian]

21. USA! USA! USA!

How much more of this shit are we gona take. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

[EFerrari]

22. gaspee, I'm so sorry.

My mom and I are holding things together with mirrors. If one of us gets sick, I don't know what I'll do. The health insurance bill will do jack for me, too and this jobless recovery is the icing.

[Bitwit1234]

23. Rush Limbaugh says we have wonderful heath insurance

send him a letter tell him you mother would like to get a chance to see how this WONDERFUL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM would help her. Better yet send every single one of the people who voted against the good parts of the Health Care a letter telling them what they should have done to help these people who have no health insurance.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. So so sorry

A dear friend is in the hospital right now recovering from colon cancer surgery.

Hope your mom gets the care she needs soon :hug:

[Berry Cool]

25. I am so sorry and my prayers are with you and your mom and family.

This is so wrong. People who worked hard and played by the rules should not lose everything.

[Christa]

26. Oh no

my heart goes out to you

:cry:

[Coyote_Bandit]

27. .

:hug:

[Barack_America]

28. gaspee, I'm very sorry.

Particularly that your mother did not have access to the yearly colonoscopies she should have been getting since she was 40, with her family history.

I hope very much that the CT scan shows that the disease has not spread.

[Vinca]

29. Have her sell you the house for a dollar so she can get Medicaid

and still have a roof over her head. Supposedly, in this "wonderful" health care bill, there is a provision that will allow those of us who are too well off for Medicaid and too poor or have pre-existing conditions to buy into something immediately. I'm not too hopeful, but maybe a miracle will happen and that will actually happen. I don't know what to say. Your mother's situation is one of my worst fears since colon cancer also runs in my family. My mother died of it at 42. I guess all you can do is try to get her to the state of dirt poor or become a lottery winner. Those of us in between are put out with the trash. It makes you wish you were a Canadian.

[virgogal]

30. Doesn't Medicaid have a "look back" period? In MA it's five years

so I don't know if the house sale would work,but I could be wrong.

What a mess to be in.

[pnwmom]

32. I don't think you have to sell a house to qualify for Medicaid.

But you can have very little in assets beyond a house.

[Ms. Toad]

87. There are look back periods,

as well as provisions to try to keep you from being unable to live because everything is gone. It is really important to find someone who really knows the rules in your state to help you through the maze.

[UpInArms]

33. ... I am so sorry

:grouphug:

we are all so screwed and I am so sorry and I wish I were a witch and could do anything to change any of all of this

:cry:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

34. Go see a a SS disability lawyer to see what your options are nt.

[nannah]

94. no, don't go to a lawyer, go to the social security office or

state aid office. with your mother's diagnosis of colon cancer, age, and work history she will qualify for medicaid without any intervention from an attorney. under medicaid rules you can keep the home in which you are living. there is a 5 year giveaway rule for medicaid so don't try to sell or giveaway anything now. i am a social worker who sets up medical for people in WA state. i have to go to work now, but will return tonight if you have any more questions.

[gaspee]

114. THANK YOU

This is just the kind of info I need - thank you so much! My sister and aunt are going to get here later this week and they will be a lot of help - I am useless at this kind of stuff. But I'm good at covering work for my mom, taking care of my brother and dad for her and doing all the cooking - so I"m good for something - just not paperwork and red tape, my frustration level is way to low.

[Haole Girl]

35. This thread is just so very sad

Please excuse my curiosity. What I can't help asking myself is why she waited until she had symptoms to have the colonoscopy (?). Yes, I realize she didn't have insurance, but... well.. you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

I know it doesn't matter now.

I wish your mother & family only the best. :hug:

[Tryingtogetby]

48. Possible reason for no tests...

Depends on situation. Me and my wife have just gotten insurance through her job after 1.5 years without (kids on chips). I did not go to doctor and would not have gotten any tests done unless an extreme emergency would have occurred...
Why?
Because we were pretty sure of getting insurance again and I was scared of having something minor turn into a "pre-existing condition".
Maybe she was hoping to get one of the fewer and fewer jobs with insurance.

[SharonAnn]

52. If you have no insurance or it doesn't cover routine health checks, it costs many, many $$$

Several thousand dollars

Gastroenterologist fee
Hospital outpatient procedure (surgery) room fee,
Anesthetist fee
Pathology fee

etc., etc. etc.

[gaspee]

74. Tests are expensive

She'd been trying to get into the free clinic for two years before she finally got in.

The free clinic only has so many resources and you have to wait your turn.

[Haole Girl]

100. I know it is expensive

Just had to pay out-of-pocket for a colonoscopy last week, for myself, since the deductible on our insurance is $2,800. :-(

Like I said, it doesn't matter now. Hopefully, they have caught it at an early stage and your mother can get the treatment she needs as soon as possible.

:grouphug:

[me b zola]

36. My thoughts and best wishes are with your mother, you, & your entire family

:hug:

It should not be like this. :argh:

[madisongrace]

37. In California you can keep your home and still get Medicaid. n/t

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dflprincess]

43. With your attitude, what the hell are you even doing on this site?

Your lack of compassion for the poster and your inability to understand what this health care "system" we have does to people emotionally and financially is unbelievable.

[gaspee]

75. I am so glad

I was offline most of yesterday afternoon and did not see this post.

I think I can guess what it said and I just have to say -- THIS is why we have the system we do - people like that poster.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cbdo2007]

53. People get a grip here. This should be a wake up call to anyone else out there like the poster

who is low income and probably qualifies for Medicaid and hasn't filled out the paperwork yet so now they're going through all of this while dealing with cancer.

Part of the problem in the US with our health care/insurance system is that there are people dying all over the place who qualify for Medicaid but don't have Medicaid and come up with all these reasons why they shouldn't even bother with it when they falsely think they won't qualify for it.

If you don't have insurance currently, call your local Medicaid office first thing tomorrow morning and get the paperwork moving.

Fine, call me an ass here and punch me in the mouth. I'll take my lumps. I'm extremely upset reading the OP because if they actually qualify for Medicaid and have been going through this dance for months with their local clinic and not getting tests and stuff done because they never did the paperwork to find out if they qualify....when they could have been getting treatment all along then there's really not much else we can say here and there really is no one to blame. The title of the OP was that they got a cancer diagnosis but don't have insurance. From all indications, it appears that the only reason they don't have coverage is because they haven't applied for it, not because they can't get it.

I hope and pray for the best for this family. We've all had family members in similar circumstances and please folks, if you read this and know someone who is low income and doesn't have health insurance, tell them to call Medicaid tomorrow or help them call and get the ball rolling. You could be saving their life.

[gaspee]

76. Don't qualify

We tried. My Developmentally Disabled brother gets Medicaid (but no disability because he has a job as a cart boy at the grocery store) and my 70 year old stepfather with dementia gets Medicare.

With my dad's very low social security check, my mother's income from delivering newspapers and my brother's income from his job, my mother did not qualify for either medicaid or RICare.

We've tried in the past - we were just trying to get her to the age of Medicare without any significant health issues and hoping against hope that the Medicare buy-in would have been part of the health insurance bill.

[cbdo2007]

91. Thank you for responding. I'm sorry if I posted some things that were insensitive

or hurtful, that wasn't my intention. I do get very upset by stories like yours and I wish you all the best. I encourage you to call EVERYONE you can find at regional medical centers, local clinics, the SSI office, medical education facilities, even your local state congress people and notify them of your story and your situation and they will put you in contact with people and help you figure out what to do.

Also, you should talk to a real estate attorney and figure out how you can get your Mom's name off the house somehow. I'm not saying to cheat the system or do anything illegal, like another poster insinuated I was donig, but there are probably ways for her to transfer ownership to you or sell it and put the proceeds in a trust that her name isn't on, or something to allow her to qualify yet still allow her access to the money somehow, through you or whoever.

I'm thinking about you and your family and praying for you and again I apologize for any additional grief that my comments may have caused.

[Ms. Toad]

89. It is very rare for adults without disablities to qualify.

Here are the general rules:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidEligibility/02_AreYouEligible_.asp#TopOfPage

I don't see any that apply - and our state without a disability mom would not have qualified.

[sabrina 1]

62. First, you don't know what you are talking about regarding

having access to Medicaid if you are working at all.

But even with your 'belief' that there are programs ~ somewhere ~ if a person gets sick, what kind of country forces its citizens into such a stressful situation at the worst time in their lives?

I've been through this with a friend who was considered too 'rich' to get Medicaid, too sick to be accepted by the ironically named 'health insurance' companies, and the stress of trying to get medicaid and being turned down, despite the knowledge that without care he would die, was just plain unbelievable. I have family in Europe and not one of them has to worry about getting sick, losing their homes, going bankrupt, being refused care for any reason, and especially they do not have to worry about following your advice to 'get around' a draconian system that puts profits first and people last.

I feel sorry for you because you are a perfect product of an abusive system, completely willing to accept the abuse even if it means your or someone else's life, because you have been so conditioned to believe that you don't deserve any better. So, you defend the abusers and slam the victims. And that is why it continues.

Health Care is a right. And from now on I hope Americans will demand what every other civilized country takes for granted. We gave them the benefit of the doubt to do the right thing this time, and they betrayed the people once again. Now, I hope that a Single Payer system will be a major issue for every candidate who runs for office. No more compromise.

[RayOfHope]

41. they live in RI. Whats your point? nt

[madisongrace]

116. Guess three times, and I'll bet you could figure out my point. n/t

[last1standing]

40. I'm very sorry to hear this, gaspee.

No one should have to beg for their life or be financially destroyed for it.

[REP]

42. She should apply for SS Disability and apply to teaching hospitals for care

Many teaching hospitals have programs for low income, uninsured cancer patients. That's how my cancer was treated when I was uninsured and low income.

She probably qualifies for SSDisability. Start the process now. And good luck.

[Lars39]

44. While that sounds good in theory, it's not always possible.

It is so difficult to get SS Disability now and teaching hospitals won't always take in uninsured patients, even if they are indigent. Found this out the hard way with my brother. He finally got VA benefits.

[REP]

47. Still worth trying; it worked for me and has worked for others

Two possible solutions are better than all the hug-emotes in the world.

[Lars39]

56. Definitely worth trying!

I think the hospital my brother appealed to had been overwhelmed with requests. :(

[RayOfHope]

80. You're right, its a great idea. But if she lived where I did the closest teaching

hospital is 3 hours away, and if money is tight even getting there, and then lodging there is the issue of lodging for those making that trip.

Its better than nothing, but can still be too far out of reach financially.

[w8liftinglady]

57. I was going to suggest this as well...I have insurance but use a teaching facility

They are a lot more up to date,and take longer to explain and listen.I worked at this same hospital for many years and know most of our patients had no funding.

[defendandprotect]

45. Rise of the right . . . fall of democracy . . . disgrace of America . . .

All of these experiences need more attention ---

the reality of all of this is being ignored --

Terrible news --

[applegrove]

50. vibes.

[cap]

51. the home will be taken away at some point AFTER your Mom passes

go to an attorney and set up a Medicaid Trust Fund (It's no big deal... pretty standard procedure for people at all income levels) and put the house in the Medicaid Trust Fund with all her assets. What will happen is that a Trust will do a spend down of her assets until she hits the Medicaid eligibility and then Medicaid will kick in for her treatment.

If you were a spouse, I know you could stay in the house until you died. The creditors will eventually own the house. I don't know the rules for kids or what happens in the case of an adult child with a disability. But there are different rules for houses than there are for other assets.

Remember your Mom's assets are the only assets involved. Not yours. So spend down her money and then she goes on Medicaid.

There's a whole lot of issues tied up in this... that's why you need to see an attorney. Go to the free legal clinic or a student clinic at a university.

As for yourself, try the minute clinics at Walmart. But get on the stick about the high blood pressure.

I feel for you my Mom died quickly but she really only had the house, medicare medicare supplemental and a small pension. If she hadn't died within the 90 day period that Medicare paid for in a nursing home, we would have been in the same boat.

I really feel for you when I hear that your Mom was up in RI in the jewelry factories. My family was from RI and I had an aunt in the jewelry factories.

[gaspee]

78. Thank you for the advice

It's VERY helpful -- my mom is really stressed about it because her dad died slowly and the house he and my grandmother worked their entire lives was lost to pay for his care. He was a mason - extremely talented - our families all have gorgeous kitchens and bathrooms and we're not wealthy people at all.

My mom worked for Monet for many many years. The old factory is now a car dealership. All of the decent jobs for people like the people in my family are gone - it's all low paying service sector jobs now.

My step dad worked for general dynamics for years - he paid for it with his health. It was a good paying job though and we had really good health insurance. Those days are long gone.

I have two degrees and I deliver newspapers.

[cap]

97. Your situation is particularly heart breaking to me...

in the Great Depression, my grandparents were immigrants from Poland who worked hard and got screwed. They lived on Benedict St in Pawtucket. Grand Dad worked in the railroad and Babcia (Grandmother) worked in the silk mills. Grand Dad lost one eye in an industrial accident, went to Boston, where they operated on the wrong eye and totally blinded him. This was in the good old days when there was no malpractice insurance and before ADA. So Grand Dad was out of work permanently. They were running the silk weaver at below subsistence wages. My family was starving. Babcia collapsed on the job because her food was going to her kids. She got laid off from her silk weaving job. Unemployment was 70% in Pawtucket. They were moving the mills south. Babcia had a nervous breakdown and was put in a state mental institution. They were the only folks in their neighborhood who owned their house which they lost to foreclosure. The house was almost paid off. My uncle was 11 and remembered when the house was auctioned off. The kids ended up in foster care.... which was a hellish experience that even 50 years later, none of them could talk about. I asked my uncle what games he played with my mother when he was a kid and he replied they didn't have time for games: they walked over a mile to school, they went to school, and they came home to do chores. The kids were slave labor in small shops and construction firms. They handed their pay over to their foster "parents" along with the stipend the state gave the foster parents. It was a widespread practice in Rhode Island. There was a series in the Providence Journal about the exploitation of kids in foster care during the Great Depression. The kids went from family to family as each family milked them for what they could get out of them.

I hope your Mom has applied for SSDI (disability). Oh yeah, can your developmentally challenged brother be on SSDI or any state assistance? If he isn't working, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation is supposed to help him. There is money for him to get to work and pay for therapy, if that is a possibility for him. If he can't work, he should be on SSDI. If he is on SSDI and thinks he can do something, Ticket to Work program is supposed to help him bridge the gap... although I wouldn't give up SSDI eligibility completely given how shaky jobs are these days.

Once you are on SSDI, you can get Medicare before 67 which is a heck of a lot better than Medicaid. If you can scrape up the extra cash for Medicare supplemental, your Mom will have a fighting chance at decent medical care. Get an attorney to help you with the process. Don't give up with the first rejection. It has been standard practice to deny people on their first application. Do it now. Because you can get back pay from the date of application. It has been hilarious to see the folks rejected. I had an in-law who was literally in intensive care for months with his chest open and his heart sticking who was rejected. Work the system with standard procedures and then also look for the back channels. My relative got his by his wife writing to the judge and sending pictures of him with tubes ticking out. He got it a week after that letter was sent. Document your condition well. Who do you know who knows somebody? If you are volunteering for your local politician, see if he will step in. Go over the head of the clerk who is taking your application and get to the decision maker. It can take an awfully long time to get SSDI.

Here's a thought for you... Since your Mom worked in the jewelry industry, maybe she knows something about making jewelry. Right now, it is coming to light that kids jewelry from China is full of extremely poisonous cadmium. How about making some kid-safe jewelry and flogging it in yuppie areas where they still have money to throw at kids. There is a subsection of Moms who are getting paranoid about cheap crap from China poisoning their kids. Go look at the internet boards for autistic kids. The rates of autism are going through the roof and people are getting concerned. Those parents are doing all kinds of stuff to detoxify their children. They are also fund raising and selling jewelry with autistic emblems. Those folks would not be amused if they were wearing toxic jewelry! Also, try to get the license to put the logo of popular toys, cartoons, etc on the jewelry. There are loads of good designers from the Rhode Island School of Design who are out of work. Maybe you can partner with them.

Did I say it was a crime for us to be sending our jewelry factories overseas?... same shit as what happened with my family in the Great Depression when those mills went South. Support the unions who are fighting for those jewelry making jobs to stay in RI! Pawtucket, RI was the birthplace of the union movement in America! It's the same shit, different assholes as what my grandparents went through! Why are we doing this to ourselves all over again! And we are poisoning ourselves! I am sure that safety conditions in those silk mills during the Great Depression weren't great. Jewelry making has a lot of toxic chemicals. My Dad was a chemist at Providence College and did some consulting for the jewelry making companies. He literally saved people's lives by coming up with safe practices. They were poisoning themselves. And not just the workers. Management itself was sucking in the toxic environment! Note to self: if I buy jewelry, buy it from a local craftsman who is picky about his or her materials. So we are getting jewelry that will poison ourselves. Great. Hope the upper class who is profiting from this gets burnt from their own bling.

I wonder if your Mom's cancer has any environmental basis to it from working in a toxic environment and if she is entitled to workmen's comp. Start looking up environmental medicine. Start listening for typical medical problems that factory workers in the jewelry business typically have. You know, the Bush administration stopped enforcing OSHA safety standards and I would not be surprised if the jewelry companies took advantage of the situation. It would be a typical corporate tactic that follows history: start running the workers lean and mean, ignore regulations in order to make a buck, mass layoffs, strip the factories and send them elsewhere. If you have the energy for it, start looking at where the jewelry companies were dumping their toxic waste. In addition to poisoning workers, it might have drifted over into your neighborhood and is causing developmental delays in children.

Also, for your mom, in the interim, see if there are any clinical trials she can qualify for. It will get her free care that is better than the free clinics.
Ditto for yourself. I can't speak to your particular situation but my Mom got her cardiac situation under control after her quintuple bypass by eating boiled vegetables and baked potato with very little meat (steamed or baked -- chicken or fish) and 20 minutes of treadmill or walking each day. No dairy. Used Benetol and Take Control to lower her cholesterol and got off of Lipitor. Heck of a diet, but she got her situation under control. You need to stay strong for your own family. Start a garden in your backyard this year.

Oh yeah, did I tell you to avoid stress! :) . Do what you can to put yourself in a your happy spot. It is easier said than done. But it is true that all of the goings on are only one part of life, believe it or not. The sun still shines warm on your shoulders and there are things and people to be happy about. Spend a certain amount of time on your problems and then move on to happy thoughts. Work on building some happy moments with your Mom. You will need them in the times to come and, if anything should happen, you will treasure the memories.

Regardless of your circumstance, you are an educated person with two degrees so you have a lot more knowledge than my grandparents had and there is a lot more legislation that works in your favor. Also, the federal government is labor friendly these days. The secretary of labor is an SEIU gal. You have more ability to deal with this situation as dire as it seems. It was a huge mistake by the upper classes to let you get educated! :) We can't guarantee outcomes but there are things you can do to mitigate the worst of this.

Suck it up, Buck up, and Fight Back -- but with a smile on your face. You have the mighty tradition of unionization and fighting for workers' rights in RI in your blood! Start channeling it! These issues were supposed to have been settled by our grandparents! Why in the hell are we fighting the same battles!

Get in touch with your happy warrior. You are now spinning the stories to tell around the campfire to your own children. Just like the old timers did. You know, how they walked uphill both ways with barbed wire strapped to their bloody stumps!

Suck it up, Buck up, Fight Back, and Smile! Go get 'em, tiger! Good Luck!

[kayla9170]

54. I tried to understand your post for the most part...

My Daddy passed from Cancer and it does suck not having insurance. My Daddy worked for GM for 40 years and had insurance but regardless, with treatment, he passed away six weeks after diagnosis. I can feel for what you and your Mother are going though on the Cancer angle, for sure and she is in my prayers.

As for health care reform, you are right, it cannot help her now. First, it is not passed yet. Second, even if it is passed the program has to get up and running. Depending on her Stage of cancer, it might not help her with the treatments, right away or in time.

In the same aspect, it would have helped her if passed earlier and in place. You speak on her not having insurance and being a self employed person. I am sure that she did not make over $40,000 a year performing her job. Due to his, under the current version of the Obama plan, she would have been able to obtain cancer screening for FREE with no deductibles or co-payments. With her history of cancer in your family, this would have been valuable to catch the cancer early. Colon cancer has a very good remission rate, if caught early.

I feel for your situation and appreciated your post. Still, like in my late Daddy's case, millions of more people will be diagnosis with Cancer for many years to come. If President Obama Free Preventive Care screen program saves 50% of those souls, I believe this Health Care Reform is worth it.

Also, I lost my Mother to breast cancer. No insurance also, in 2005. I wished she could be alive today to know that in a short period of time, if she just caught her breast cancer later in life, she could be a soul saved by this Health Care Reform. For her, she was under the Bush Healthcare Plan....i.e. screw the poor and she was STAGE 4 when she found out about her cancer....too scared to go to the doctor because she did not have the money on her Medicaid spend down case.

Three months after diagnosis, she turn 65 and was eligible for Medicare. Too late for her Cancer but the hospital and hospice program did EVERYTHING they could medically to make her comfortable. She was only given 4 months, but she lived 8 months. Due to those extra months of life, I believe in Government Sponsored Health Care and I will believe in President Obama Health Care Plan.

I will continue to pray for your Mother and her recovery.

[Blue Texas Voter]

118. Health Care

My husband retired from Gm after 30 years, we have insurance right now but benefits are being took away, premiums are going up, deductables are higher but I still feel lucky to have any insurance, premiums are took out of his pension check with little left over for bills the insurance does not pay. It makes me sick that in America in 2010 people are dying every day because the riches country in the world has not cared enough in the past to get healthcare for those who cannot afford it, the Insurance companies are nothing but organized crime lords who can get away with taking your money for their big homes, maids, cars , vacations, and still deny the ones that can pay the enormous premiums health care because of preexisting illness, and the Reublicans think this system is working great. I will also pray for the woman with cancer
lord knows the Republicans don't care about the 42,000 that dye every year due to no Insurance.

[Juche]

55. Can she go overseas

Mexico and India supposedly have good treatment that is lower cost. But I really don't know what to tell you. This country is fucked up.

[winyanstaz]

58. Dear Gaspee...I am sorry to hear of your mother's cancer..

If I am ever diagnosed with cancer myself..I will drink Essiac's Tea...sometimes also known as Native Legends Tea.
I have two friends that had cancer that tried it and both are now doing fine.
You can find it on the www.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Essiac%27s+Tea&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Myself, I would also google: Alternative Healing Remedies and do some homework.

a good place to start:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Alternative+Healing+Remedies+for+cancer&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

I am not a Dr. so I can't tell you what to use or to do.
I am only sharing what I, myself would use.
I hope your Mom gets all the care she needs as soon as possible and I hope you get some help as well.

[debbierlus]

59. I am so sorry. I will keep fighting for single payer and a humane system

I am so sorry.

[Zhade]

60. Sometimes I really hate this fucking country.

NT!

[bjb]

107. Number One my....

I just lost my cousin yesterday to cancer. He battled it for a year and a half. He had health insurance and they lost the house. His wife has to be out of it by February 1st.She loses her husband and her house. What a country! In Canada this would not happen. If you get sick you are taken care of period. We sure don't want a socialist system like that. What is the matter with the people in this country?

[The Midway Rebel]

61. There but for the grace of God go many of us.

Prayers for you and prayers that we all get the Democratic leadership we need.

[patrice]

63. If there is a state medical school not too far away, check with them for her treatments

My younger sister, who was laid off shortly before she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and was therefore without health care insurance, went to our state university medical school who went all of the way for her, bone marrow transplants, everything, didn't stint her treatments one bit. They did right by her and bought her probably about 3 years, even though she could hardly pay them anything at all.

Please read up; there may be some alternative things you should consider doing until your mom does get into treatment, but, and this is based on being around a few cancer cases in my family, do not mix alternative and conventional treatments. I think they can be alternated with the right kind of timing, but NOT mixed.

I know I don't really need to tell you this, but a lot of stuff is going to happen because of this diagnosis, things that may be disorienting, so Most of all, first and foremost, more than anything else, your job during this is to love her. Others will be responsible for their specialties, their jobs are to be professionals, to know things and to manage resources, you can and probably will be a part of that process as her advocate, but your number one job, more so than all of that, is to make it right by loving her.

[Divine Discontent]

66. my sorrow for hearing your story. I lost my Dad to Alzheimers and fortunately care was covered by

his previous disability. See a disability lawyer asap as someone else wisely thought of. prayers for you all tonight, and I concur with your final harsh statement.


This is the reform I voted for??? bullshit it is! I don't care about the rules and such, if I got in power I would destroy my chances of re-election just to twist and turn every damned arm to understand that UNIVERSAL health care for all of Americans was the way to go, even if I didn't say I was for it in the primaries and general. I would do it knowing millions of lives would be saved - I would know it was for the greater good. I don't think he cares about the greater good as much as I had hoped he did.

[tango-tee]

67. Dear Gaspee,

My thoughts go out to you and your family. How terrible to receive this diagnosis and face financial devastation at the same time. I only wish there was something I could do.

[flyarm]

69. my kindest thoughts go out to your mother and your family..it is devistating to go through all this

and on top of it have no insurance.

This should not be possible in the richest country in the world.

What your mom is going through is heartbreaking!

My Mother in law died from a botched colonoscopy..and it was horrible..so I understand ...

Your mom has my kindest thoughts and prayers...as well as you and your family going through this.

Sending hugs and love...fly

[democrank]

72. My best to you and your family, gaspee.

This country should be ashamed of the state of our health care crisis.

[gaspee]

73. I just want to thank everyone

Who gave support and suggestions - I'm going to look into all of them - and it now being Monday, I can actually make some phone calls.

It's the helplessness that is so tough - again, thank you.

[Paper Roses]

77. You family will be in my thoughts. You have no idea how close

to home your story is. I am older than your Mom and live in fear that something will happen medically and everything will be gone. Into the pockets of those with no healthcare payment worries. They cannot begin to understand what we all fear, nor do they care. We're sitting ducks.

I will think the most positive thoughts for your Mom and the rest of your family.

Can you call your Congress critters with your story. Even Chaffey's office, he still has big connections. Maybe they can speed things for you and guide you through a procedure that will help get some real help.

There is an advocacy organization in Boston called "HealthCare for All". Contact them and ask if they service your area or if there is an organization in RI that will guide you through the process of getting some kind of help. See if they have a Rhode Island office. Link to MA office below.

http://hcfama.org/

What is happening to you is a result of our do nothing, increasingly dunce, uncaring, all talk, no action Congress. This should not happen and yet they are letting it happen. What crumbs thrown will help some in 2014 but what about the here and now?


My nightmares are your reality and I feel so badly. This should not happen in America.

[midnight]

79. This is why this H.C. reform is not user friendly. Our families are being left out of

its function.

[Joanne98]

82. I'm so sorry.

[DisgustedInMN]

84. My heart goes out to you and your..

.. whole family.

It's beyond my capability to understand how our Nation CONTINUES to treat us like this. I expect from Republithugs, but it REALLY hurts to have DINOs that prove that they aren't much better and a President and other Democratic "leaders" that don't have the spine to stand up to them and FORCE them to do the right thing.

:grr:

[katkat]

85. so sorry, projo?

Gaspee, I am so sorry about your Mom.

What is the CAT scan for, if they have already diagnosed this? Is there hope of surgery?

How about contacting projo for an article to perhaps get some help? Can you put the home in your name and avoid its loss?

[NikolaC]

86. I am sorry about what is happening to your Mom

I hope that the cancer can be treatable and that your Mom gets the help that she needs :hug:.

[secondwind]

88. so very sorry for you and your entire family.

[nannah]

92. you won't lose your home to medicaid

it is medicare that takes your home if you have to go into long term care. if your mother is dx with colon cancer she can apply for SSI (supplemental security income) if she doesn't qualify for social security disability income. if she has enough work quarters to apply for SSDI her medical eligibility is a bit more complicated depending on where you live. do you have a social worker to help you with this?

[gaspee]

111. My DD brother has a social worker

And my parents have a fairly good long-term relationship with her. Another suggestion I'm going to use - thank you!

[cleveramerican]

93. Fight Fight Fight

call a lawyer ,call the editor of the local paper, call your state rep, your house member, your senator.

fight fight fight, don't give up ever.

even if it seems hopeless, get mad, get moving and get noisy.

You will feel better.

[closeupready]

95. K&R - I hope everything works out for you and your mother.

:hug:

On a side note, if I had to do it over, I would have gone into banking, since that is where the money is, and in America, money is all that matters, nothing else does, it appears.

[era veteran]

96. So sorry for you and your family

Try this site, they are wonderful http://blochcancer.org/

[cap]

98. here is a link for a plan in RI for subsidies for high risk individuals with no insuarnce

you might want to keep your eyes on this.

All those Health IOUs from aging workers in toxic industries are now coming due. RI has a bit of a problem.

http://www.ohic.ri.gov/documents/Insurers/Reports/2009%20HRP%20Report/High%20Risk%20Pool%20Feasibility%20Study.pdf

[gaspee]

112. Oh yeah

My dad worked at general dynamics for many years -- copd, dementia... the chickens are coming to roost.

thank you - I"m very appreciative of suggestions and any kind of tips.

[SOS]

99. An idea...

You are in RI, not too far from Montreal.
You and your mom could fly to Cuba via Canada.
The treatment cost would be easily affordable and you could be completely freed from the nightmare of American health care.

It may seem like a far out suggestion, but a DUer in similar straits went to France for his triple bypass.
In the US it would have cost him 60,000, in France he paid $12,000.

Here's an article on the good progress Cuba has made in cancer care:

"Successful clinical trials in several countries have already established Cuba as a world leader in cancer research and treatment."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4583668.stm

Whether Cuba or Canada or Europe, "medical tourism" is an idea to consider.

Best wishes for both your mom and you in this difficult time.

[swilton]

102. I will be thinking of you and your mom

you are not alone....

[BlancheSplanchnik]

103. I truly wish there were something I could say that would help

I'm deleting what I originally said here because I was upset at hearing what you're going through, so I wasn't really being helpful. Just upset for your sake.

I don't know of helpful suggestions, except for contacting media, local TV, congress reps... But there is A LOT of truly helpful advice here. (I'm even bookmarking in case I need info someday)

And, also, as others have said: DON'T GIVE UP!

My wishes to you and your Mom for the exact help you need at every step to appear at the exact right time.

[aquart]

105. Send this to every elected official you have.

From the president on down to your local city councilman. Reid and Pelosi. Then to every tv and radio station. And to Big Ed and Olbermann.

And Alan Grayson.

Silence is consent. Never suffer in silence. And never suffer alone.

[Doctor_J]

110. Better attach a check for $10,000 with the letter

otherwise it won't have any effect.

[GMA]

106. Hate, hate, hate this, and my heart goes out to your mother,

who is just a little older than I. But I'm still not convinced that what they're doing in Washington is going make things any better--and we'll be taxed for several years before anything meaningful goes into effect.

My husband is self-employed, and we've been without health insurance for over four years. I think we're finally on the verge of getting high-deductible, major medical coverage. We've been very lucky to have a doctor who gives us a major discount for paying cash, and we're both pretty healthy, but I know the odds are against us continuing without needing more coverage.

Having said all that, I have a younger sister who is an addict and an alcoholic. We tracked the medical bills she accrued a few years ago, and they were approaching 100K, but she was never turned away, got every test she or the doctors ordered, even when we notified the hospitals that she would be unable to pay, and was looking for drugs.

That's what happens if you're willing to abuse the system.

I don't know what the answers are, but I'm not optimistic about the current legislation.

[totodeinhere]

108. It's infuriating that you will have to use up your equity before you can get Medicaid.

These types of means tests need to go. And believe it or not, this so-called health care reform bill making it's way through Congress relies on means tests as well. People shouldn't have to sacrifice everything they have worked for all their lives just to be able to qualify for some meager government assistance.

Your mother will be in my thoughts and prayers, although I am beginning to doubt more and more everyday that there is a God, so perhaps those prayers won't do any good. It's so sad and frustrating.

[shireen]

109. Send this as a letter to Obama

after all, we know he reads 10/day to keep in touch with the real world. Maybe your letter will get selected, and if it does, it would be interesting to see the response, if any. Your letter is as 'real-life' as it gets!

I am so sorry to hear about your mom's condition and the looming tsunami of debt. :hug:
If you decide to hold a fundraiser, please PM me. I don't have much but will be honored to contribute what i can afford.

[mstinamotorcity]

115. First Let me say

that i hope your mother gets the treatment she needs and that you also get the treatment you need.I don't know the make up of your state or county,but you might try different charitable organizations that deal with cancer.Some of them offer free or low cost programs or assistance.As for your blood pressure there are some things that you can do to help in lowering your blood pressure with the support of medication.But you can start those things now. Monitoring sodium intake is key.Fast foods,pre-packaged foods,frozen foods are all high in sodium.Whole grains ,fruits,and vegetables are key to good health.Caffeine has also been known to increase blood pressure,lay off the coffee and colas,and some energy drinks. If you have a cold be careful to ask the pharmacist if the over the counter medication will raise your blood pressure.You also can monitor your pressure with a home pressure kit or some local drug stores.Suggestion for you Check around for a low cost office visit to a neighborhood physician and get your prescription filled at Wal-mart.You can usually find a better deal in inner city neighborhoods,when looking for a physician.Most of them do the job because they care not for the paycheck.Not saying all doctors are out for a paycheck.Yes i know how much med school cost no response necessary.Wishing you the Best Hope i have helped.

[Justitia]

117. Rhode Island Cancer Council: 1-866-879-4100 (toll free)

http://www.ricancercouncil.org/about/mission.php

I have no idea if they can help, but their website says they "Help with finding financial and/or pharmaceutical assistance"

My uninsured son has kidney disease and I found the most help / info from kidney disease related organizations (and kidney programs thru the state).

Speaking of which: PLEASE DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO ADDRESS YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE

High blood pressure often leads to kidney failure (and a host of other problems), even a slight elevation.

Please keep us posted on your mom's situation.

Best wishes to you.