Kelly, as you know I haven't had insurance since July - I talked to my Neuro and he lowered my visit cost plus the hospital where I got my Infusion a couple weeks ago has a "no insurance" plan, I just had to fill out some paperwork and send it in to them.

I would speak to your town hall, and ask about programs available from the welfare officer. I would also speak to a couple of local churches. They have neighbor helping neighbor funds to help folks just like you. I give weekly to the local one here, and we do lots of great things for locals. Oil in the tank, co pay for a visit, A months supply of meds, blankets, transportation costs, money to do laundry. and so on. I would be upset if that money that I chipped in every week sat on the shelf and didnt get sent into the community, and unless you ask...it wont help you either.

Alot of Medical offices will deeply discount services or provide ala carte services to those without insurance. You can go in, and pick which services you want. lets say your BP is always fine, and you dont need your temp/resp and so on taken. Skip the service that is provided when you enter the room, and only pay for a sit down consult at his desk instead. Many dentists will also discount, because now the staff isnt tied up begging the insurance company to pay their fair share. Discounts can range from 10 to 50%, and if you start knocking services off the plate, it can go even lower.

I hope you find some help. No one should have to do without medical care in this day and age.

Kitty...For the first time in EVER I will not have insurance next month. I have been paying into my states Risk Pool Insurance, it's a little over $500/month just to cover ME. We have been paying another $500/month to cover my husband and kids through his business...which just went under.

I'm not sure what we are going to do, but since we are moving in May, we will decide after the move.

Check into your states risk pool program. Thank goodness we have the LDN and our med is so affordable. At least we have that.

Given a choice, I think we'd all choose the cadillac version of healthcare, especially on someone else's dime, but most adults have to pay these costs out of their own pockets . . . and many simply can't.

I mean no offense with that statement, but you probably can't relate too much to the the 25%+ of the US population who has no health insurance coverage because they don't have family that can (or will) pay that on their behalf.

A socialized healthcare system does mean that people who are used to the best might not continue to get that, so that people who have nothing can at least have something. It is a "love thy neighbor" type approach, and it does require that they "rob peter to pay paul" to some extent.

I know that might not be considered the "American" way (it sometimes tends to be every man for himself), but at the end of the day, a universal healthcare system does give us what we NEED, but maybe not always what we WANT or desire.

It's a cultural thing, and I hope the US does embrace it for the good of the country as a whole. I also hope that the government does not take advantage of people in the process, which is what many people are afraid of.

(Sorry for the deviation, Kelly ...).

Cherie

No need to apologize, Cherie. I agree with you!

That's what I'm worried about. I have no faith in the government taking control of our lives with the socialized health care. (I felt the same way in the 90's when Hillary Clinton was trying to get the socialized medicine set up back then)

Government taking control of our health care insurance, our banks, and everything else scares the crap out of me. We're becoming a welfare state. Yes, I know I'm living a mini-version of that right now because my dad is helping me with things. (hopefully that wont be too much longer) But, I'd like a little less government governing us.

They could go ahead and let the companies that are failing fail. Rather than reward them for bad decisions. Our economy will recover eventually. Those companies will fail, but there will always be other companies that will be able go take their place. Our economy will recover without de-valuing our dollar even more to "rescue" everyone.

I just dont want to end up with one of my parents being told that they're being refused health care because of their age and medical condition means that some guy in Washington DC doesnt think it's not cost effective to allow them to be treated. I havent had any faith in our government for quite awhile, no matter who was running it. But even less now that we've been "stimulated" with money that my future decendents will still be paying for years from now.

I dont think we need socialized medicine. I think they could offer free insurance to the people who really need it or give people who need the money to pay for their private insurance some sort of stipend so that they can choose their own private insurance. But, I dont think they need to be standing behind the doctor's and mandating the treatments that people will be getting (or not be getting) based on their ages or seriousness of their medical conditions.

and now I'm stepping away from my computer so hopefully this thread doesnt blow up into a huge political thread.

I agree. I DONT want socialize medicine to take hold in the USA. I dont want some goverment official telling my MD that I cant have an MRI because I just had one a year ago, nor do I want to go on a wait list for 6 months, even though its emergent. I want my MD to be in charge of my medical care, and my banker to be in charge of my finances, and my mechanic to be in charge of my car...its a slippery slope, and once you start sliding, its hard to control the direction you are racing down the hill in.

Given a choice I would have my old insurance back....heck, I'd have my old life back! But I wasn't given a choice. It's easy to find fault with socialized medicine and the governments involvement when you have something or someone to fall back on.

Just put yourself into the shoes of someone who has no insurance. Or somebody to fall back on in the event they cannot work.

I understand the fear that people have, if they feel they can not trust their government. Like I said, I hope that does not pan out in the US.

Our doctors do decide what kind of treatment we need, and when we need it. I completely trust my doctors to make good decisions in that regard; when something is important, and when it is less so. I don't make the decisions, and nor do I think I should.

That only works out well when there is faith and integrity in the system though.

Cherie

I just cant completely trust doctors.

My dad has worked with all sorts of doctors for over 50yrs now. He's seen so much stuff and realizes you cant completely trust the doctors for everything.

Especially since he knows which doctors are drug addicts and alcoholics. (one of the head doctors just recently committed suicide or "accidentally" killed himself trying to get all gorked out...while he was at work and dealing with patients. That doctor went into a call room, set himself up with an IV stand of saline and whatever his drug of choice was, and then screwed something up and accidentally offed himself)

I'd like to be in control of my healthcare, rather than trusting someone who may or may not be shooting himself up with some sort of controlled substance while in the stairwell around the corner from where he's about to treat me.

Maybe my opinion of doctors may be a bit colored from growing up in a family full of nurses, x-ray techs and paramedics that sit around the table at Thanksgiving and Christmas and tell stories of the doctors and other nurses that they work with who are drug addicts.

Not all doctors are like that...I'm sure it's just a small percentage of doctors that are like that. But, I dont want total control of my health decisions being made by someone who is not me.

I especially do not want some political appointee being the one telling the doctors that I might actually trust, that they cant treat me the way they want to treat me or that I cant choose my own treatment or that I cant choose the doctor that I want.

Yes, they should have something set up for the people who cant afford insurance. I just dont like the backhanded way that Congress and the Senate snuck the healthcare stuff into a financial bill.