The Shame of American Health Care

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

I had contracted to inspect a home for an out of state buyer today which was canceled due to a murder/suicide. It appears that my buyer Mike Khoury was unable to maintain his financial stability through yet another wife who contracted terminal cancer. America is the only civilized nation where people are forced into bankruptcy or worse due to unforeseen medical calamities. God rest their souls.

Read the whole story here: http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...led_wife_self/

[ldapkus]

That's sad however, the majority of Americans are having second thoughts about government subsidized healthcare.

[Ed Bancroft]

The majority of Americans are not having second thoughts about health care, they simply are not speaking up. Call it the rural majority.
We are one of the few industrialized countries in the world where you can die because you do not have insurance or good insurance.
This should have been dealt with in the 60s. and is the skeleton in the closet of every person of age during that time.

[ldapkus]

Sorry I got my numbers wrong.

[Ed Bancroft]

I guess I'm in the 18%.

True leaders, sometimes have to go against the polls to accomplish what will be good for all in the long run.........I am far from liberal on most issues, but this needs doin'

[Sean Fogarty]

I agree with ED, somthing needs to change.

[cjustason]

Gov has no bussiness changing it.

[Michael Larson]

I am quite certain that joey is pulling our chain. Why he would do that I wil leave up to you to figure out.

Does he want us to believe that the Khourys had the means to purchase a home in FL when they had just been foreclosed upon and while Mr. Khoury was tending to his ill wife's needs.

Please also realize that both Mr. and Mrs. Kourey were eligible for the government run medicare program.

This is a tragic story of the frailty of human life and depression and not a commentary on the American Health care system.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

Michael
As you have stated before government run medical is available . so why do i here people go on about not being able to get it or on a waiting list. Something must be done my friend . May be Obama"s Plan is not perfect but at least it is a start. If the powers to be are so brilliant why havent they not stepped up to the plate with some kind of plan? Even the recent turn of events In the long Kennedy term has a plan. So it was easy for the Republican To debunk the Obama Plan they had nothing to loose. People where afraid they where going to have less of care. ( more fear)

Talk is cheap and free. One question have you Personally ever had to get Medicare? ( not a story from google or a friend of a friend ) My Wife took months to get her veteran Father on it. My Neighbors the same .

[Michael Larson]

Wayne,

Yes something needs to be done but the posted story has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

[Keith Runquist, CMI]

Michael beat me to it. These people WERE on government heathcare. No mention of outstanding medical bills in the article. However they did owe $11,000 to the government in taxes they couldn't pay. I really doubt if debt would make people kill themselves and loved ones but if it did, it was debt to the government that did it. Sad story on many levels but nothng to do with healthcare or the ability to pay for it.

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by krunquist

Michael beat me to it. These people WERE on government heathcare. No mention of outstanding medical bills in the article. However they did owe $11,000 to the government in taxes they couldn't pay. I really doubt if debt would make people kill themselves and loved ones but if it did, it was debt to the government that did it. Sad story on many levels but nothng to do with healthcare or the ability to pay for it.

Keith -

Please quote the part of the article where it shows that they were on medicare.

Do you know have any idea about how much cancer treatments cost?
It would be safe to assume that having to pay for cancer treatments for one spouse would break most people. This man went through it thrice.

My guess is he owed (or - since there was no mention of outstanding medical bills - paid) a LOT more to the doctors than the $11,000 in property taxes.

[Nick Gromicko]

No one knows what Federal government health care would look like. But we do have Massachusetts which is very similar to the Senate legislation (only on a state level). I have to wait 15-20 minutes to see a general practitioner in Colorado (with or without health insurance). It takes an average of a 63 day wait in Massachusetts.

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by wwilson3

If the powers to be are so brilliant why havent they not stepped up to the plate with some kind of plan?

Because our representatives in Congress are more interested in the $$$ to thier campaign funds from the 4 billion dollar/quarter insurance companies, than actually helping the people of the USA.

[Nick Gromicko]

I do like some of Obama's proposals though, including:

• Not kicking 21-year olds off their parent's insurance on their birthday and instead moving that up to age 26. In this economy, kids have to live with their parents longer.
• Portability of course. This 50 different little countries thing has to end. It is driving me nuts with regard to state approval of our education too. Every time we release a new course, InterNACHI has to submit it to all these different states with different forms and separate fees.
• Pre-existing condition issue of course.

But these problems could be solved with simple regulation. Why does the most inefficient, wasteful organization on the world need to take it over? Next Obama will want to take over car companies... oops, I forgot, he did that already.