when i was 18 or 19 (about 20 years ago) a friend's wife died of leukemia. they were about 35 or so..
now, follow me for a minute...
they were both born on a sioux reservation (husband and wife). they left the reservation about 13 years before, renouncing their government check to find something more. he worked on a work-over rig, about 70 to 90 hours a week when there was work and on unemployment when things got to slow. she stayed at home with their 4 kids.
he didnt have insurance at work and couldnt afford insurance on his own.
after a year of treatment and a huge stack of bills, she was told her leukemia was in total remission and to go home.
6 months later she died with no notice...leaving 4 children and a husband...
i have 2 questions for anyone who cares...
1. if an insurance company had been paying the medical bills do you think there is any chance they would have sent her home?
2. if you dont like the way the present administration is working on the problem, who would you choose to work on it?
i dont know if anyone has noticed, but no one has done a god damn thing about this issue ...EVER.
now that i am the father of 3 and have 1 more on the way...I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE. Sure, when i was younger i sat around feeling "some" sympathy for the unfortunate, but i knew "this is just the way it goes" and it sure as hell "wasnt my responsibility to help them out". But now that i'm older and i think back....would i have been willing to pay 5% tax to save the life of my friend's wife? HELL YES i would have been. Would i be willing to pay 5% to save the life of YOUR wife/kid/mother/father...would you?
dont get me wrong...i have excellent insurance. medical, dental, and vision. i have flexpay medical option (you put away tax-free money to spend it later on medical bills). I pay 125 every 2 weeks and my employer pays the rest. I've been offered many other jobs both in-house and contract that pay better than this one, but the insurance benefits are worth too much to someone who supports 4 other people (and 1 on the way). it would be very easy for me to say "screw off, i earned my good insurance, you go do the same" but the truth is i'm lucky. the truth is, not many people are that lucky.
Re: Lack of health care killed 2,266 US veterans l
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