How messed up are you? by Iremisst

Come on and answer me here people, nobody has posted here yet!!!

Damn shame, too- on such an important topic...

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Sunday, December 6, 2009 6:06 PM

BORIS

Luckily I'm Australian so we get basic healthcare for free. where I luck out is the non basic but necessary for me stuff. I have Mod-severe Tourette's so this means occasiaonal sprains strain dislocations and stress fractures. Can't afford physiotherapy and am not covered for it. so at the moment I am nursing an injured right arm: partially dislocated it 3 mnths ago due to overzealous twitchyfication, accidenatlly pinched a nerve when I clicked it back in...nerve still pinched...need physio...can't afford it...waiting till I can't move my arm at all and then will get it sorted at emergency department which is free here. Unfortunately I have to wait till my arm is completely F___ked up before I can have it fixed. oh well I have the other arm.

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Sunday, December 6, 2009 7:49 PM

bump

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Sunday, December 6, 2009 8:07 PM

GINOBIFFARONI

You might have more like in the RWED sub board down below

Either your with the terrorists, or ... your with the terrorists

Lets party like its 1939

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Sunday, December 6, 2009 8:21 PM

God, that's gotta be dehumanizing, Boris... I'm sure that the mostly uninjured arm isn't much help anyway and to have the other almost imcapacited and painfully, too. Is a partial dislocation not considered emergent care in Austrailia or were you not in a position to make it to the hospital? Or did you think you were not that badly injured? Or not wanna deal with doctors? I understand that last one!

My mother has a job with a flexible schedule that allows her to volunteer with the fuzzy-wuzzies but has no insurance... anyway three days ago she fell on her truck and completely dislocated her shoulder...She still in massive pain and also can't afford therapy, or the hospital visit... My Grandmother wanted to take her to a CHIROPRACTER because she thought it'd be CHEAPER!!I have a whole book worth of problems in my family...

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Sunday, December 6, 2009 8:34 PM

Just now realized am in talk story, very tired tonight, oh well.

Here's as good a place as any, we'll hold till you get back!

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Sunday, December 6, 2009 11:57 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

I went four years without visiting the dentist. When I got something that was kind of like coverage through a job and started going again, I was informed I had something close to twenty cavities. With (limited) help from the insurance, and some help from family, and some just stretching my

ing shoestring til it almost snapped, I've had about $3000 worth of work done this year. Work that probably could have been partially avoided if I hadn't been terrified of paying my own dental costs when I 'grew up.'
I haven't had new glasses or an eye exam for three years now. I can still see, but not as well as I might.
I went to my first doctor's appointment in well over a decade this year, because my mother was kind (and concerned) enough to pay for it. My thyroid might have problems. My adrenals might have problems. They might both have problems or there might be problems elsewhere. Right now all we know is what I've known for years; I'm fatigued and worn down a lot of the time, I have trouble getting to sleep, I crave food when I'm not hungry, and getting myself moving is pretty much a chore. If this D.O. can find out where the problems lie, he might be able to help me. We're trying to figure out a way to pay for testing. If I had insurance coverage beyond 'catastrophic' (which is almost more than I can really afford) then insurance might pay for some of the testing, though they generally refuse to pay for appointments with a D.O. so I would still be on my own paying to get the care and help I actually need.
So far in my life I have avoided serious debt. I've done that by going without. My whole family, a great deal of the time, has gone without. When there's a windfall, we usually celebrate with a trip to some kind of health care practitioner. So. Yeah. How messed up is THAT?
Do I think we need health care reform? No, I don't think 'reform' can even be a part of that sentence. We need health care. Right now, the caring for of health is pretty much nonexistent. And the caring for someone in poor health seems to fall pretty far below the 50% line. From where I stand, it's pretty remarkable I'm as healthy as I am. If I was actually allowed to care for that health instead of having to wait until something was ready to fall apart, or even beyond that point, I'd be in far better shape than I am.
My bottom line on the whole subject is that insurance companies and their greedy, uncaring agenda need to die. In a fire. Whoever can do that... whoever is willing to do that... will have my support. I voted for this guy who talked about doing something like that, but he's kinda pissing me off at this point. If big pharma and insurance companies are allowed to carry on as they have, controlling all the money and all the power and a whole lot of the available information... a lot of people are going to be miserable and unhealthy. Just like now. And they'll wonder why and they'll pop another pill that's all the treatment they can get coverage for, and they're not going to get any healthier. I really don't like being in that kind of world.
So how messed up am I? I'm less messed up than a lot of people, and I think that's pretty sad.

[/sig]

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Monday, December 7, 2009 12:31 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

A long while ago, my wife got pregnant with our first daughter. Turned out to be officially a high-risk pregnancy, because of a back injury and some other factors. I changed jobs before we found out. In those days, a new employer would insure you after 30 days, not 6 months like it is often now. New employers' insurance immediately declared it was a pre-existing condition and said they wouldn't cover it. We went thru a local hospital high risk clinic, and except for a few extra tests, had no unusual troubles; carried to term, normal natural childbirth, mother and baby fine. Kid had some medical problems later, unrelated, we think, just normal child-developmental stuff, and she's in her 30's now. But I still carry that insurance company's name around in my head and will not take a job with any company that offers their insurance-- I've turned some down for that very reason and no other. I won't name them, but it's an easy name to guess-- It's got a color and an item of clothing, well, armor, anyway in it .

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Monday, December 7, 2009 12:45 AM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is widely recognized as the 'original' insurance company. As such, they are evil. The great evil that comes before evil. Harbinger, one might say. You do well to shun them, good sir.
I'm glad momma and baby made it through without issue.

[/sig]

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Monday, December 7, 2009 3:00 AM

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

I generally won't go to a doctor unless there are bones sticking out through the skin. And only occasionally even then. Anything less than that, and I just find it too much of a hassle trying to deal with the insurance BS, and too expensive otherwise.

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Monday, December 7, 2009 3:48 AM

The W.H.O. ranks Canada and the UK above the USA on their so-called list. Their list is based upon numbers treated for the cheapest price and does not take into consideration the quality. Would you go to any other country to seek treatment? You get what you pay for... end of story... well not yet.

Example 1 - 70 yr old male in Canada. Bladder Cancer. Waited 6 mo's after diagnosis to remove and have a stoma put in. Neo-Bladder and replacement growth bladder surgery is unavailable. S.O.P. when operating in the stomach region is to take out the appendix. Canada does not follow this S.O.P.... too expensive. 2 days later the patient has his appendix burst and dies after a number of attempts to repair. Real story...My Uncle.

Example 2 - 75 yr old female in Canada. Severe back pain. Needs surgery. She is told she will have to wait 9 mo's for surgery. She waited 10 mo's in extreme pain. Real story...My Aunt.

Example 3 - It is illegal in the UK to purchase a cortisone shot even with a prescription from a doctor if you are 65yrs or older. Hope you don't have severe joint pain. Real story... Uncle on vacation.

The moral of the story... suck it up and pay for the best care or you will get a system where you will not be able to get care even if you can pay.

p.s. Costa Rica ranks higher on the W.H.O. list than the U.S. but I wouldn't rush off to seek care there.

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Monday, December 7, 2009 4:21 AM

22CLAWS

Entirely pointy.

I have no health insurance.

22

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Monday, December 7, 2009 5:08 AM

ZEEK

I'm still relatively young and healthy. I have healthcare but I don't use it much. So, far the system has been fine for me. I'm guessing that will change as soon as I need something.

I'm still in favor of reform. I just see the system as inherently flawed when the insurance companies make money by denying care. I would be fine with reform just saying that healthcare companies can make no more than 5% profit and anything else has to be evenly distributed back to their customers. It would remove a lot of their incentive to deny care to those who need it.

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Monday, December 7, 2009 6:06 AM

CHRISISALL

I'm with Kwicko, EVERY time I've gone to the Dr. about ANYTHING that required an X-ray, I got billed directly even though I am insured. And then I get threatened. I have to jump through such stupidly vicious hoops in that way, I won't go unless it's just to, like, ask a QUESTION. "Is that skin cancer? No? Just an infection/mole/whatever? Okay, thanks."
Broken bones I'll set myself.

F***ing insurance companies.

The laughing Chrisisall

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Monday, December 7, 2009 1:37 PM

So we have

denied care
lack of care
improper care
expense of diagnostic
expense of treatment
improper billing practices

Do you all feel like you have ACCESS even if you don't use it?

What about end-of-life management?

Anybody watch House MD?

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Monday, December 7, 2009 5:04 PM

BORIS

They do deal with partial dislocations in Aus emergency. I have just become a bit blase about them as they are a frequent occurence, so I just tend to roll them back in when they happen... unfortunately this time something got nipped or twisted and thats when things get complicated care wise. I could go to emergency but would get triaged down or sent to a GP which I would have to pay for. plus If I wait till twitch related injuries are really bad I may get a free Neuro consult now instead of waiting the 7 months til my scheduled appointment. It sounds a lot worse than it is. I'm used to this process, and its only a prob when the Tourettes gets really bad as it is now. and even then I manage to go to work and school etc so its not totally incapacitating. Hope your mother recovers, Full dislocations are very nasty and very painful. worse than fractures.

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Monday, December 7, 2009 5:28 PM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by Iremisst:

What about end-of-life management?

That's called a grenade.
Ever see "Aliens?"

The laughing Chrisisall

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Monday, December 7, 2009 6:17 PM

Yea, from here it does look pretty bad, but I have always said Life is all about what you have to get used to. It just sounds so horrible to have to bargain off pain levels with a health uncare system...Something I understand personally all too well, and yet still it makes me enraged. In my case, When I was 13 I started having joint problems, and walked on the sides of my feet for six months and the only person that noticed was the school janitor...
Anyway the doctors here see so many miserable people who let things go so long -mostly 'cause they have to financially- that the doctors own reality is...twisted, and so they end up marginalizing big things like children in pain- people in ridiculous amonts of pain! And they want you to beg for the pills you need just to get by! And I swear everyone I know is broke! In more ways than one!

Don't get me wrong, not trying to unload on you Boris... Just so sick of the way things are, and feeling so helpless to change anything,ever, ever! I don't think ANY great number of policy changes is going to change anything, either...

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Monday, December 7, 2009 6:19 PM

I'll take drowning, thanks Chrisisall, keep your filthy grenades!

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Monday, December 7, 2009 7:12 PM

Quote:

Example 1 - 70 yr old male in Canada. Bladder Cancer. Waited 6 mo's after diagnosis to remove and have a stoma put in. Neo-Bladder and replacement growth bladder surgery is unavailable. S.O.P. when operating in the stomach region is to take out the appendix. Canada does not follow this S.O.P.... too expensive. 2 days later the patient has his appendix burst and dies after a number of attempts to repair. Real story...My Uncle.

Example 2 - 75 yr old female in Canada. Severe back pain. Needs surgery. She is told she will have to wait 9 mo's for surgery. She waited 10 mo's in extreme pain. Real story...My Aunt.

Example 3 - It is illegal in the UK to purchase a cortisone shot even with a prescription from a doctor if you are 65yrs or older. Hope you don't have severe joint pain. Real story... Uncle on vacation.

Example 1 - 65 yr old male. Much-decorated Vietnam veteran. Purple heart, bronze star, silver star, all buried in the bottom of his sock drawer and never spoken about. Diagnosed with "cirrhosis of the liver" and sent on his way. Nobody even wanted to listen to him when he explained that he didn't drink alcohol, and never had. Four years later, he was finally diagnosed with liver cancer, which by then had spread to his brain, stomach, and lungs. He was given less than a month, and fought on for a year before succumbing. Real story... My Dad.

Example 2 - 32 yr old male. Severe back pain, subpluxation of vertebra in lower back (vertebra slips sideways and forward, pinching the spinal cord), which causes excrutiating pain and loss of mobility and inability to walk, stand, or sit. No insurance, told to basically "walk it off". Lived with the pain for 15 years now. When it's bad, I occasionally dream of suicide and stockpile illegally-obtained prescription painkillers, and keep a loaded gun by the bed, "just in case there are no more good days". When it's good, I only have to stretch for an hour and soak in a hot tub to get up and around for the day. Real story... Myself.

Example 3 - 45 yr old male. Crushed big toe, when a 350-pound pallet dropped on foot after falling off truck. Toe popped like a grape, bone shattered. (This was the third time for that toe, so the bone is basically powder at this point...) Went to emergency clinic, and was told to "try to stay off it for six weeks". Asked the doctor if he ever worked for a living. He didn't get it. Real story... Myself again.

So it seems we're at least as adequate at providing really horrible healthcare here in the good old US-of-Fuckin'-A. And as an added bonus, we also get the benefit of paying two to four hundred times as much for the "privilege".

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

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Monday, December 7, 2009 7:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by Iremisst:

What about end-of-life management?

That's called a grenade.
Ever see "Aliens?"

The laughing Chrisisall

Three words: "Paging Doctor Kevorkian."

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:24 AM

Ewwww to the toe thing, did it heal ok?????
Do ya have any feeling in it & does it LOOK like a toe still?

Saw a Ziggy catoon this morning said; "Laughter is the best medicine, I want you to go home and giggle twice a day" which sounds about right...

If everybody is FOR humane assisted euthanasia, then why can't we set up some regulation for it?

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:37 AM

Well, hope you take a lesson from what happened to your dad and get all your tests and really learn to fight with the doctors...It's the only way... If you don't fight for your own life, ain't no one else gonna!

My dad went to the doctor 4!!! times for E.D. and frequent urination the year he finally got diagnosed with prostate cancer, and they never once ran a g*dd@am p.s.a. test... by the time they caught it it's too late. And it's not like they didn't know my father's parents both died of cancer, oh and two of my great grandparents, too, the doctors always say "Well, you can't think you'll get it, too- you just have to live your life" And a short one it will be too, if you let them tell you that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 22Claws:
I have no health insurance.

How old are you? 22?
And how long have you not had any insurance?

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Iremisst:
Ewwww to the toe thing, did it heal ok?????
Do ya have any feeling in it & does it LOOK like a toe still?

It healed, mostly. Still throbs like a sumbitch sometimes. It looks like a toe, only canted over to the left a bit. The toenail even grew back, eventually. :)

As for getting tests, etc., good luck. You pay for 'em out of pocket, and if they DO find something, then you're magically either found to have a "pre-existing" condition, or they just drop you anyway. Awesome system we've got here.

I won't go to the doctor precisely because I'm afraid they MIGHT find something, and then I'd be royally screwed.

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 6:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Toe popped like a grape,

BTW, I will never look at a squished grape the same way ever again

Could I reccommend a good titanium/steel re-inforced boot?

Simon: Could you just.. not.. do that again..EVER!

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 6:21 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Well, I feel limited about replying to this thread by keeping any political views out of it, but here goes.

I paid for my own healthcare for about 10 yrs, w/ no insurance, and now pay for my own insurance. I take care of myself so I don't have to pay as much, which is what we all should do. I don't smoke, ( never have ) and keep my bp and cholesterol in check so I don't have any prescriptions.

There is no 'crisis' in healthcare. That's how I see it.

The T.Rex they call JANE!

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 6:39 AM

Quote:

There is no 'crisis' in healthcare. That's how I see it.

Not to get too horribly off-topic, but that's the problem - you're basing your diagnosis of the ENTIRE healthcare system off of YOUR subjective experience.

If I were to apply that kind of logic to, say, national security, I could say that there 100% is absolutely no possible threat of any future terrorist actions against the USA, because I personally have never been the subject of a terrorist attack. And unemployment doesn't even exist in this country, because I've got a job.

I really, honestly hope you never lose your job and insurance coverage and then get sick, because you'll find out real quick that once that happens, you're basically out on your own, FOREVER, when it comes to anything even remotely connected (however tenuously) to that "pre-existing" condition of yours.

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 8:47 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Iremisst:
Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Toe popped like a grape,

BTW, I will never look at a squished grape the same way ever again

Could I reccommend a good titanium/steel re-inforced boot?

Simon: Could you just.. not.. do that again..EVER!

Sorry 'bout that.

Never found a steel-toe that felt comfortable. Hard enough just to find ANY shoes in my size. Perils of wearing a size 15 shoe...

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 9:15 AM

you and my dear old grandpa, they had one store that carried size 15 house slippers, so that's what he wore...house slippers....EVERYWHERE!

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 9:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Well, I feel limited about replying to this thread by keeping any political views out of it, but here goes.

I take care of myself so I don't have to pay as much, which is what we all should do.

There is no 'crisis' in healthcare. That's how I see it.

First, I find that politics, religion (and if you know the country song>>HER) when entered into the equation of a well-mannered discussion, bring emotionalism in and then the discussion is shot to hell

You will never really find me discussing any of those things in open forum.
I might say one or two things but then leave the room, not everyone's cuppa tea, but if someone else puts specific rules in their post I try to follow them out of common decency.

Second, you take care of yourself...GREAT, then you are not currently part of the problem... But for those people who have so many health problems that (through no fault of their own) simply taking care of yourself becomes a Herculean task, so I feel that shouldering some of the burden is the task of our semi-civilized society... Consider yourself blessed to have such unencumbered physical DNA.

Thirdly, while I asked for your oppinions and I appreciate you taking the time to make a contribution, if you think there is no heathcare crisis in this country, then you simply do not know enough people, especially veterans.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 12:30 PM

CORNCOBB

I'm lucky enough to live in a country with health-care. Except in rare exceptional cases, it's readily available to all, no matter what some scare-mongers would have the American people believe.

Given my health problems, the injuries I have suffered in my life, and the fact that I am incredibly poor (despite having worked hard at my education and being well-qualified as a result), if I'd been born and raised in the USA I'd be very messed up indeed. In fact I'd probably be dead by now.

The UK has a lot of problems, but our NHS has done well by me.

"Gorramit Mal... I've forgotten my line."

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 1:20 PM

I like the remarks by your countryman Daniel Hannan.

Only the rich in the UK can afford private insurance with private doctors so that they do not have to queue-up for visits and then wait for months for a surgery.

Then this...
"Thirdly, while I asked for your oppinions and I appreciate you taking the time to make a contribution, if you think there is no heathcare crisis in this country, then you simply do not know enough people, especially veterans."

Who runs the VA system? The Federal Government? and people want to turn the whole thing over to them.

The US Constitution gives limited power to Congress. One is to regulate interstate commerce. Letting companies compete across state lines like auto insurance is exactly what is called for by the Constitution here.

Who knows the price of a blood test and a 15 minute GP consultation? The price varies by insurance company.

What is the price of breast augmentation? Because we pay out of pocket for cosmetic/elective surgery the price has come down and more innovative procedures have been implemented.

Every woman who has breast augmentation knows their surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses, costs, recovery time, and the reputation of all involved. They also shopped around and got the best price too.

You get what you pay for. Instead of a new car at $500/mo + gas + insurance + tax + tags, buy a used vehicle and get yourself covered. I guess you have to have priorities or big brother can pay for everything and you have to wait your turn and ask permission. Your choice.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 1:56 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
take care of myself so I don't have to pay as much, which is what we all should do. I don't smoke, ( never have ) and keep my bp and cholesterol in check so I don't have any prescriptions.

I don't smoke. I never have. I don't drink. I never have. I don't pump any form of chemical into my body. I never have. I'm healthier than most people, but that doesn't mean I'm perfect and never need care. Seeing as I'm a college student from a middle class (at best) background, I don't have gobs of money to throw at basic care. I believe I mentioned the toll my dental bills have been taking. This wasn't a case of me never brushing my teeth or flooding them with sugar every day. I've had tartar and plaque problems for as long as I can remember, and nothing I do on my own solves the problem, I need professional care every once in awhile. Likewise, nothing I did led to my vision problems. My eyes just kind of started failing when I was nine. I don't have the money to throw at that right now, so I wear old glasses. I take care of them, and they've lasted me for years, but there's nothing I can do on my own to fix my eyes or enhance my vision. So. Yeah. By all means, take care of yourself, I think that should be first and foremost for all people. Do research, do what you can, absolutely keep yourself healthy. But don't think that means nothing will ever happen to you, nothing will ever go wrong, nothing will need to be covered. Healthy people should get free or reduced health care, since they put less strain on the system than people who don't care for themselves and destroy their bodies. But even healthy people, like me, can be refused care because I'm not perfect. And that is outrageous. Whatever you might say, you cannot convince me that it's right that I'm refused coverage at a cheaper company, just because there may or may not be something amiss with my glands. I mean, really.

[/sig]

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 2:37 PM

4 years without a dentist and you knew you were prone to cavities and such. I don't have dental or vision coverage and I pay out of pocket. Every six months I get a dental cleaning and every year I get x-rays. $80 for the cleaning and $50 for the x-rays. A bit less than $3000 and pain. An educated health consumer is a healthy consumer.

What I do. I have an acidic mouth. I always have. I am prone to getting cavities and canker sores if I ever bite my cheek and stuff. I use Pro-Namel, and Listerine twice a day. I also floss everyday.

So I spent $840 and 8 visits to the dentist in 4 years vs $3000 and 1 visit. You get what you pay for.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 3:07 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Yes. Thank you. Because of course I had the money to visit the dentist and I just opted not to. Guess I shouldn't have paid for silly things like... food. And shelter. And transportation so I could continue getting to work. I didn't even buy clothes for six years. Or new glasses for three. OF COURSE there was wiggle room in my budget. Goddamn, how did I miss that?

[/sig]

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 3:35 PM

Not saying your lazy or anything but I put myself through college and worked one full time and two part time jobs. I paid for the health care that I could afford because I have had a catastrophic illness. Pre-existing condition has always been a part of my life and will always be. I shop around but I suck it up. I shop for the best dentist and I pay for visits. I don't gamble, drink, smoke, or go out to fancy restaurants. I have been unemployed now for three years. I am racking up the debt in student loans as I finish up my masters. I currently work three part time jobs to get by since my unemployment ran out. Unemployment just made me a lazy dependent.

So if you are disabled, have an IQ less than 75, or struggle with an addiction you can find programs to help. Otherwise, toughen up buttercup and pay for what you get.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 3:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by xraftermanx:
Not saying your lazy or anything but I put myself through college and worked one full time and two part time jobs. I paid for the health care that I could afford because I have had a catastrophic illness. Pre-existing condition has always been a part of my life and will always be. I shop around but I suck it up. I shop for the best dentist and I pay for visits. I don't gamble, drink, smoke, or go out to fancy restaurants. I have been unemployed now for three years. I am racking up the debt in student loans as I finish up my masters. I currently work three part time jobs to get by since my unemployment ran out. Unemployment just made me a lazy dependent.

So if you are disabled, have an IQ less than 75, or struggle with an addiction you can find programs to help. Otherwise, toughen up buttercup and pay for what you get.

Easy for you to say, AFTER taking all the unemployment you could.

Thing is, if you AREN'T disabled, have an IQ more than 75, and don't struggle with an addiction, you're shit outta luck on the getting any kind of help department. Unless you're you, sucking on the government teat while claiming IT made you lazy, instead of admitting that your laziness made you lazy, and you sucked the tit for all it was worth, because of your own laziness.

Glad to hear you finally toughened up, though.

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:10 PM

I paid into the unemployment for 12 years and what I call being lazy during that period was searching for jobs and being shot down. Applying for one job opening with hundreds of other applicants. Rejection is a bitch especially if its for a job that you are over-qualified for and don't even want.

I made a choice to interview for jobs and take on an extra class towards my masters rather than take odd jobs, or a minimum wage job that would just reduce the unemployment benefits. The choice was easy. I just worked harder at school.

I've never been laid off in my life and I collected a fraction of what I put in. Detroit has a 30% unemployment rate. I count myself lucky just to be so underemployed and to be racking up the student loans to better myself.

I may have chosen poorly on a masters though. I'm getting certified to teach and my masters at the same time. The can't beat join em' adage. Yet the aging teachers are not retiring and now schools are laying off. The masters will allow me to teach at a college level but only as adjunct faculty. Its tough to get the full time gig. So I will work multiple jobs for a few more years to come.

Hope that addresses the laziness question. Even with the fullest of full loads I have a 3.7 average and I am on the Deans List. Lazy people don't make the Deans List.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by xraftermanx:
Every six months I get a dental cleaning and every year I get x-rays. $80 for the cleaning and $50 for the x-rays. A bit less than $3000 and pain.

I don't know where you been gettin' your teeth cleaned, But I've done extensive shopping around in my area and almost everyone charges $200 or more for a cleaning and $100 bucks for xrays and misc. fees these days, sorry no dental colleges here. God forbid you actually have a cavity. I have pretty healthy teeth but messed up roots and nerves and have had to have two root canals. And I'm a frugal son-of-a-gun so if we had been even slighly worse off, woulda just had to have them pulled. On top of that my husband had to have molars (wisdom teeth) surgically removed $500 (six years ago) so for your average family things add up, & too quickly!

But the thing I have the most problem with is your seeming lack of compassion. Peoples lives are complicated, and who are you to judge? Are you perfect? I believe for the most part people try to keep up but everyone needs to ask for help at some point in thier lives, so congrats if you've gotten by, some don't. And it sounds like to me that maybe you haven't had enough compassion in your own life so in taking a tough stance you'll feel better about yourself and your own lack of support...

On that note, I'm sorry you have been out of work for so long, I know how hard it is.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:48 PM

Also you REALLY should know that harsh mouthwashes have been known for years to be a major contributer to mouth and throat cancers and the FDA has known for years, also they may be making your acidic mouth problem even worse... you might want to try Biotene mouth wash (cvs &walgreens have it) It uses natural ingredients and has mouth lubricants and doesn't kill the helpful bacteria you need in your mouth...Just FYI

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 4:58 PM

Thank you for that. I do feel for you. I do not want to diminish any hardships that you are going through or have gone through.

In my family a top priority is health. You could say we are cursed with large and small problems. I have a big family so we have seen a lot. I had A-plastic anemia and a bone marrow transplant when I was 3. My mom has PBC and had a liver transplant 16 years ago. My dad had bladder cancer and had it removed 7 years ago. My brother was born with Downs Syndrome and died in surgery. My sister has hypothyroidism. My aunts, uncles, and cousins have a plethora of other ailments.

If we didn't have health insurance we would be paying until we died. Yet that is the way it should be if you are able to afford it and do not purchase it. I take care of my teeth and pay for those dental visits because I have learned the costs of missing a cleaning and having a tiny cavity and paying for it in cash and pain.

I have heard through my parents and their chronies in AZ that some dentist who practice in the US also practice in Mexico for half the price. So that's one way. I saw the work on one guy down there who had a mouthful of trouble and it was good work. Prices in Detroit are cheap. Housing is cheap, buildings are cheap, and a company's overhead is cheap. A little scary sometimes. Murder rate is higher in Detroit than it is in Bagdad. True fact.

Just don't let one entity control any industry. Otherwise we'll get what we had with the phone company years ago. The big innovation for 50 years was the invention of touch tone.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 5:05 PM

If you can send me links to peer-reviewed studies and a FDA warning I'll stop using Listerine. The active ingredient in Listerine is alcohol. So if it is true and the studies are peer-reviewed and statistically significant then everyone who drinks adult beverages would have a case.

I'll check into Biotene though. I am always up to try something new. Thanks for the tip.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 5:12 PM

Quote:
Just don't let one entity control any industry. Otherwise we'll get what we had with the phone company years ago. The big innovation for 50 years was the invention of touch tone.

You DO have one entity controlling the industry: the health insurance lobby.

Seems you're making an argument for ALLOWING a government-run option. Allowing a not-for-profit insurance option DOES NOT turn control of the entire industry over to the government, unless you readily admit that having only a for-profit industry such as we have now gives control of the entire industry to for-profit insurance companies, which care nothing for your health and everything for their wealth.

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 6:08 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by Iremisst:

You will never really find me discussing any of those things in open forum.
I might say one or two things but then leave the room, not everyone's cuppa tea, but if someone else puts specific rules in their post I try to follow them out of common decency.

Second, you take care of yourself...GREAT, then you are not currently part of the problem... But for those people who have so many health problems that (through no fault of their own) simply taking care of yourself becomes a Herculean task, so I feel that shouldering some of the burden is the task of our semi-civilized society... Consider yourself blessed to have such unencumbered physical DNA.

Thirdly, while I asked for your oppinions and I appreciate you taking the time to make a contribution, if you think there is no heathcare crisis in this country, then you simply do not know enough people, especially veterans.

You asked for input, and I gave it. Your reply was to claim that I " don't know enough people". Whether I do or not, that's irrelevant. But the concept of a 'crisis' is greatly overused in this country, and in this matter. Saying there's not a crisis isn't saying all's peachy and perfect. There's a lot of middle ground between the two. Now, 'crisis' might be a more accurate word to describe how the Gov't runs the VA Hospital, which I consider separate ( for the time being ) to healthcare for the general public.

Finally, I'll just say this. No one should be forced by the Federal Gov't to pay for someone else's healthcare. ( Those who serve in the military obviously fall outside of that area )

The T.Rex they call JANE!

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 6:10 PM

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

In an attempt to respond to the inital thread inquiry:

There have been times when I went without insurance, but I'm still young (in relative terms of course) and I simply took the risk. I currently am covered and yes, it is pricey, but it's the way things are.

I have only had to invoke a claim once in the past 5 years. In 2007 my wife and I flew to California for a wedding. On a journey down the pacific coast highway we decided to stop at a scenic coastal cliff ridge. While my wife went down to the water to dip her toes I (stupidly) thought I might poke around the rock cliff. In flip flops I attempted to scale something that soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division wouldn't have tried. Short story: I fell 15 feet onto a boulder. I was VERY lucky and suffered only a broken finger on my left hand. (Sounded like a piece of dry kindling snapping when it broke).

The time spent in a California ER was horrible. I got labeled a low priority and sat in an ER hallway chair as they attended a heart attack and a burn victim. Eventually an X-ray indicated that the finger was off-joint with a shard floating in the meat. The doc said he could re-set and asked if I wanted a local. I said no suspecting that each and every thing I got that added even a penny of cost would somehow balloon later. So without a local he reset my finger as I sat in that ER hallway chair. It was horribly painful yes....but the honest thing about pain (chris might understand this from his martial arts) is that once you achieve a certain level of it you kinda just find a way to dwell with it until it ends. It stops getting worse....it just IS.

The whole experience cost me a four figure sum WITH insurance and I've often questioned why that was. I turned down the local and refused to take any drugs from them. I never got quartered in a room, having sat in a hallway chair for free the whole 5 hours. The only real costs to the hospital were the X-ray, 45 minutes of a doctors time, 20 minutes of the X-ray tech's time, and the time spent by the admitting receptionist on my admission and release paperwork. When you further consider that those folks were ALREADY at work anyway, what was the real cost?

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 6:10 PM