Let 50 Million Die

  At the CNN GOP debate when a question came up about people not having health care  the Tea Party mob yelled out “let them die.”  Others cheered that statement.  There you have the Tea Party and sorry to say the GOP.
  CNN has a story today saying that 50 million in U.S. lack health care insurance. 

“NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The number of people who lacked health insurance last year climbed to 49.9 million, up from 49 million in 2009, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Nationwide, 16.3% of the population was uninsured last year, statistically unchanged from 2009…”

  At the debate when Ron Paul was asked the question about people not having health care insurance … He said he was a doctor and in the old days the church took care of the poor without health care.  Well I am not a doctor and was not a doctor but I worked at eight hospitals and I never saw any hospital treating any patients for free.  I worked at “church” hospitals.  At one hospital before I went to work for that hospital they had a signs up in the ER area saying this is not a free hospital and you must have insurance or the money to pay for your treatment right now.  Years later, of course, they could not get by with having a signs like that so they had signs up saying the law requires us to tell you that we will treat people and if you do not have the money to pay we will try and work something out and we do treat a few patients for free. 

  If you or your child is sick and you do not have insurance … Let us take your child as an example.  Your child is sick.  If you do not have insurance can you find a doctor that will treat your child in the office?  You better have lots of dollars in your billfold.  You know that.  You can not get in to see a doctor without insurance.
  So then when your child is very sick can you take the child to the ER for treatment?  Yes.  Will they treat your child in the ER?  Yes.  You will get a big BIG bill from the hospital, the ER doctor, the lab and xray and other bills and they will DEMAND that you pay those bills.  If you do not pay the bills they will attempt to collect from you.  They will call you.  They will turn you over to collection agencies.
  But you say your child did get treatment right?   Well they saw your child and they gave you an idea of what is wrong and they might have given you a limited Rx for a few days of medication BUT one thing they did give you and that was oral and written orders that you are “To See Your Doctor” for follow up treatment of your child.  The ER does not do follow up treatments.  They take care of the “emergency” visit and tell you to see a doctor in the doctors office.  You say your kid broke his arm.  They might fix the problem at the ER depending on how bad it is OR they might just splint the broken arm and tell you to see see an Orthopedic doctor and they will give you the name of a doctor and tell you to see the doctor in his office.  The first thing the office is going to ask  you when you call is what insurance do you have?

  We need national health care for all Americans.   We also need to make sure that we never vote for any Republican.

 

Comments

[Knee Pain Treatment]

Health is a primary topic and we have to more care of health and health insurance.

[Dick]

Paul Krugman's column today discusses the turn to the right and the acceptance by many of turning a cold shoulder to those in need. Sure some make a willful choice not to have health insurance and therefore predictable health care but many don't have a choice and there is a new mood of coldness towards those millions.

From Krugman's column:

And what this means is that modern conservatism is actually a deeply radical movement, one that is hostile to the kind of society we’ve had for the past three generations — that is, a society that, acting through the government, tries to mitigate some of the “common hazards of life” through such programs as Social Security, unemployment insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.

Are voters ready to embrace such a radical rejection of the kind of America we’ve all grown up in? I guess we’ll find out next year.

----

Having candidates on the national stage espouse "I've got mine and to hell with you" philosophy legitimatizes it for millions but again and again we see that millions can be wrong. Yeah, I get to define "wrong". The far right has been defining right and wrong for years - time the rest of us assert that right also.

[Jim Howard]

Did Krugman mention the Ron Paul staffer? I guess one of Ron Paul's staffers and one of his key people and get this about 30 years of age. Had a pre-existing medication condition and could not get health care insurance. He came down very sick and was in the hospital for a few weeks and died.
His medical bill was $150K. Ron Paul and some others came up with $50K of it but could not come up with the other $100K. So there is no money to pay it!
Remember at the debate the question for Ron Paul and his answer that churches and friends could pay for medical things like that.
Also remember a couple of people yelling out "Let him die" of course they were not talking about the staff member because no one knew about it at the point.
Of course, I guess, under Obama care they guy could have got medical insurance.

[Ecommerce]

Health insurances should be prioritized by the government. many people need it.