This is my plan when a major illness rears its head.
So, just sit back and watch it happen to others too, instead of standing up for yourself, your fellow man, and your collective human rights?
How horribly American :(
Indeed. This is America
It stands to reason that country with the highest level of gun ownership also has the highest level of selfish cowards
In fact I do believe there may be a correlation there old bean 🤔
Hate to break it to ya, but nobody’s had the ability to fight all that money. Pres Obama made the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and the Republicans gutted the shit out of it since then. Currently they’re killing mother’s and children by dismantling abortion services everywhere they can. We live in hell and half of our voting population has sworn their souls to a political party that lies to and screws them constantly, but they still vote for because it’s “their party.” The other half is stuck with leadership that factionalizes the second they get power, and is basically just the Republicans from the 80s.
they still vote for because it’s “their party.”
No, they vote ‘R’ because they know the Party hates who they hate. The instant Republican “values” stop maliciously attacking women, LGBTQ+ folks, and brown people, they will start voting like Independents.
My father is having a lot of health issues and I am worried every day that he is going to choose this path too.
Speaking of “non-system,” wouldn’t Go Fund Me be mad about that? I’ve heard they’re really anal about using funds in any way that deviates from the stated purpose.
Snitches get stitches; which may require a GoFundMe of its own.
Snitches get GoFundMe to pay for stitches
Considering the potential fallout, I can’t imagine such a decision ever coming from them when it’s related to funds meant for the healthcare of an individual used for his funeral instead.
So what happens when an ill family member passes? Go back to go fund me?
Refunds, mostly.
First corporate job. There was a lifetime maximum…wtf? I spent more on my first house.
There’s a certain irony between people having insurance who also need a gofundme… It begs the question, what exactly is the purpose of the insurance?
To take your money then say no when you need healthcare.
Basically, everything is priced arbitrarily high to a comical degree because of insurance so you “need” insurance companies to “negotiate” prices (which are already set for them, there’s no actual negotiations - just the goofy “retail” price and the still exploitative “insurance” price) and then if its covered the insurance pays a fraction of THAT (closer to a “normal” price) and its considered settled.
So, even if your insurance won’t cover it, you need it so you get the exploitative price instead of the comical price from the provider. There’s no way to pay the “normal” price unless you’re an insurance company.
There was a period of a few years where I did not have insurance. I’m a pretty healthy person, so I figured the risk was acceptable. The few times I did need to go to the doctor, when I told them I did not have insurance and would be paying out of pocket, they adjusted the prices for me automatically.
I thought it was ridiculous, even then, but I wasn’t going to complain about getting a reasonable price, obviously.
Oh yeah, as someone that did the same thing it’s insane that you can actually just negotiate your own price and it doesn’t actually take much effort.
But if you already have insurance and it’s bad you will pay more. Anything to get more money for a middle position not doing anything other than scrape money from everyone for only themselves.
That’s not how insurance works in my country. You have the shittiest system imaginable or what? Like did you consult Satan on how to set it up?
It was set up by the insurance companies. They lobby hard to be able to maximize profits.
Plus when the ADA was founded, the only way they could get it to actually pass was to effectively let pharmaceutical companies set their own prices. Which as we can see, did not end well.
Like did you consult Satan on how to set it up?
Worse, capitalists.
- if it’s* covered
- and it’s* considered settled
I was going to be mildly irate about this but I respect a bit.
Carry on. ❤️
To insure profits of shareholders
to drain you of your money so you need a gofundme
Sparing loved ones of financial hardship is one of the noblest reasons to die. What a fucked up sentence.
The horror is in the fact that the system forces these kinds of choices on people. Any system that forces people to consider suicide to avoid bankrupting their loved ones due to medical cost is barbaric.
Americans surely must understand by now that they’re only seen as consumers, statistics, a unit from which money can be extracted. They’re not seen and treated as humans.
Americans who lived abroad, what do you think about this?
I haven’t lived abroad but I’m a disabled vet and thus get social healthcare…
And it’s fucking horrifying what my countrymen/women don’t get. I get the European experience (less than, let’s be real… I was gunna say more or less but it’s less…) and my comrades in arms (and just my comrades?) don’t because of technicalities? My brethren who choose not to support business get screwed? Fuck that we should all benefit.
To be clear, health should be a human right, housing should be a human right, food should be under health as a human right but let’s be serious it should be a separate human right so everyone has to acknowledge it. (thanks America for needing that to be spelled out…)
To be clear, health should be a human right, housing should be a human right, food should be under health as a human right but let’s be serious it should be a separate human right so everyone has to acknowledge
Around the world 9million is so die every year from starvation (some 25,000 a day, many of them children) another 9 milion or so from air pollution, driving cars and.m burning fossil fuels. 50 kids a week are backed over in cars in the US alone, that’s just backed over. Guns are the #1 killer of children , cars #2 in the US
https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/air/air-pollution-deaths-per-year
50 US kids killed by Muslim terrorists, spend a trillion and invade, but good 'ol boys in trucks? make the trucks bigger and have at it… but can’t spend a trillion to build good public transport and cycle ways so people.don’t need to kill kids in cars.?
I think it’s not unreasonable to suggest we don’t really give a shit about “human rights”… anywhere in the world.
Professor David Boyd expressed it well when he was tasked by the UN to try and raise awareness about some of this with Governments around the world and as he said, he couldn’t get a single eyebrow raised anywhere in the world
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/07/un-expert-human-rights-climate-crisis-economy
Outgoing special rapporteur David Boyd says ‘there’s something wrong with our brains that we can’t understand how grave this is’
Somewhere between just 18-25% of veterans get the benefits they’re entitled to, and the VA wants to keep it that way.
It’s fucking disgusting
Technically I’m not even getting what I’m entitled to, I just recognize I get more than most of my comrades and until they get it I’m not pushing for myself.
Because you are right. It’s horrifying to go to a Va hospital, because the majority of people there are bitching up a storm because they aren’t getting care they should be entitled to. Wildly uncomfortable experience. And I don’t blame them and they deserve it way more than I do… but technicalities…
Just wanted to echo what Maggoty said: please don’t hesitate to push for the care and resources that you’re entitled to. I spent years doing that after I got out—thinking that others deserved it more, and I shouldn’t be taking a slot that ought to go to them. I think lots of vets get into that mindset. Everyone has buddies that had worse luck than them. But the people you served with would want you to get the care and benefits that are your due. You deserve it.
Please go after what you’re entitled to. I spent nearly a decade getting shortchanged by the system and never once did I begrudge someone else getting their ratings. It’s just like back in the service, the only people who want you to not use your benefits are the bean counters.
I am not a veteran but I learned this yesterday when I tried to get a new sling for my broken (but mostly healed) right humerus and found out insurance only pays for a new one every two years and out of pocket a new one at the hospital is $70 whereas a new one from a medical supply store is $20-$25 and what a surprise! The medical supply store doesn’t bill insurance. Fuck this country
Know of any good medical supply stores i can go to?
You can buy a sling from Amazon pretty cheaply. Walmart also carries basic slings for around $20
One brick and mortar chain I found near me is Binson’s but like the other poster mentioned you might get a better deal on Amazon or online elsewhere too
To be clear, health should be a human right, housing should be a human right, food should be under health as a human right but let’s be serious it should be a separate human right so everyone has to acknowledge it.
You’ve just summed up article 25 of the universal declaration of human rights. The US is a signatory to it - but it’s not legally binding.
That’s why they signed it. It’s not binding so what does it matter?
I mean the US has taught me that being an ancom is the right path. I wish they had any support for what they actually preach being a good thing but I’m not into it. And I once signed my life away thinking it was right… mistakes were made man.
(In fairness, I come from a conservative area, so I’m not against people, I just want what’s best for everyone, even if they don’t recognize it as a good thing yet.)
As an American who lived abroad I agree completely
But enough of us are okay with that as long as those damn immigrants, black, and poor people are treated that way it’s fine.
So horrible.
America went from chattel slavery to chattel citizenry, we are nothing but a resource to be exploited.
I’ll never return if America doesn’t get healthcare. I don’t even like visiting because that’s so obvious. I usually don’t go out when I go back and just hang out at my parents. Everything is depressing and I can pretend to not see it in their bubble.
It’s sad. What’s the solution?
Basically pass something through government channels to wrest the service from the hands of individualized businesses wearing the skins of hospitals and the business complex of health insurance… Like every other nation who has a social system did at some point in the past.
It’s kind of easy to forget but like sanitation, fire service, post, police services, hospitals, secular school systems … Those were all exclusively the domain of for profit businesses once. Just because something currently lines someone’s private pockets doesn’t mean that makes it untouchable. It has all been done before. Just wiping out the third party insurance companies alone and socializing the insurance would probably do wonders.
That won’t work for the federal government. The people have no mechanism to put forth legislation (or to recall elected officials, which I see being a huge problem pretty soon).
That there is no tried and true fix for. The US is an old Democracy with a massive cultural complex around not changing anything a founding father sneezed on. There’s some weird exploits in the 9th and 10th Amendments that could potentially cause a massive melt down if a sitting government decided to ever try and use them but it is just theoretical and anti-originalist so it’s unlikely.
I look at the US government being in a death spiral as a separate but related problem. If your air conditioning isn’t working and your engine is busted, the air conditioner isn’t really your first priority.
Continue to support policies (thus Politicians (i.e. Democrats)) that want to give everyone access to healthcare, regardless of economic status. This would mean never voting for Republicans as they are opposed to this.
How has it been 60 years of the same shit and you guys don’t pick up on it? What’s going on over there?
The last time Democrats controlled the House and Senate for more than a single term was with Jimmy Carter, 1977-1981 [0]. It’s hard to make progress when Republicans are willing to shut the government down to prove how bad the government is. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
[0] https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jun/25/control-house-and-senate-1900/
You change. Stop asking and start doing?
Isn’t your whole thing “by the people, for the people”? The people are an overweight zombie staring into a TV slurping an empty soda. Seeing this from the outside is absolutely crazy. You guys are so, so, SO passive.
You’re becoming poorer and poorer, your world is quite literally burning and drying up, quality of life has bottomed in a way no one even a generation ago would even imagine.
And what do you do? I mean…
You’ve offered no real actual actions though. Change… What? To what? Your world is also quite literally burning and drying up. You could share your clearly superior wisdom instead of just dunking on Americans, which is frankly low hanging fruit anyway.
So what do you do?
Stop asking what to do. What’s wrong with you?
Ah so your call to action is… Inaction? Very enlightening, thanks.
Nothing is gonna change if you keep behaving like this.
I… damn.
Why would anyone live there? Let alone believe it’s the best country in the world
Why would anyone live there?
Because they have little to no choice.
Because the available alternatives are worse then the US.
Some friends of mine recently moved to Europe from the US. They are happy with the decision, but it was a huge strain on their family to make the move.
They had to secure jobs, a place to live, and figure out what to do with their pets. On top of that they have to learn a new language, get their kids enrolled in school, and continue to live their lives. It’s possible but daunting, and most people can’t do it because of family.
Why would anyone live there?
The international perception of America is far, far stranger than how the USA really is. Like everything. If we were to go by perceptions of other countries alone by media and memes and news reporting, I can point to a LOT of places that would beg the question, “why live there?” but for the majority of people here, it’s a peaceful, expansive and free place to live. You just have to fit into the select population that gets those benefits, which can look like different things in different parts of the USA.
This is why the US is still seen as the “shining beacon on the hill” and why US currency is accepted anywhere in the world. The US has massive problems and we have that little issue with being you know… the actual evil empire and all that. But it’s still vastly ahead of many places in the world so asking why anyone would live here is as ignorant as if I were to ask why anyone would live in the UK because I read stories about some of the terrible practices and laws there.
It’s very hip and cool to say “USA BAD” online, but most people don’t really feel that way. That’s a deeply internet attitude and a lot of the time you see people living here complaining about it the same way they complain about their job. They hate it, but wouldn’t trade it for the alternative.
I used to live there, so I’m speaking from experience.
Why would anyone live there?
I only speak English & I don’t like cold weather, rain, or spiders.
Can’t afford New Zealand?
New Zealand doesn’t just take anyone. You usually have to have a job offer or a sizeable account at a New Zealand bank to apply for citizenship. They also take applications for citizenship for certain types of skilled workers (types vary based on need) but that’s essentially a lottery if you can even qualify for it.
As others have said, I just want to +1 that too, immigration laws suck globally.
America may be the capitol of greed, but just about every other country worth moving to has monetary and educational requirements that most of us don’t meet. We’re locked into this shit hole.
Why would anyone live there?
Migrating to a better place is actually not that easy, unless you have a great education.
I’ve very seriously considered moving in the past few years, but my family and closest friends are here and I don’t want to be that far from them.
What I don’t understand is why my neighbors here in the US stress over medical debt when you can simply not pay it. It won’t even impact your credit score anymore. Just ignore the debt and move on with your life. I’ve been doing this for decades.
Most people don’t know this is an option. Most people who do know and exercise this as an option will be targeted for harassment by bill collectors for the rest of their life.
You can avoid the debt collectors simply by shredding their letters and ignoring their calls. They can’t harass you if you don’t pick up the phone for any number you don’t recognize. They give up pretty quickly (usually within a couple of months) once they realize that you can’t be reached.
It’s honestly so simple to avoid paying debt, that I’m honestly surprised that people don’t think to just ignore it. You’re not going to go to jail for it, so why even worry? Even if it’s a non-medical debt, your credit score will bounce back in only 7 years.
The more worrying part is when they start harassing family members.
You tell your family members to do the same, both when asked about you and for themselves.
That doesn’t sound right. The US is constructed to maximize profits for its oligarchy, there’s no 7th yacht in allowing the serfs not to pay off their medical debts?
You’d be surprised how much of this system relies on people being actual suckers.
Accounts receivable can be expensive, at a certain point it becomes more profitable to write off the debt for tax credits.
My wife is afraid of leaving, it’s expensive, and immigration laws can make it challenging to move somewhere desirable.
Propaganda and indoctrination on levels only comparable to the soviet union.
No one else will have us. Immigration laws are very difficult to navigate for almost every country. We’ve looked.
US healthcare is extortion.
You are worth keeping alive as long as you generate enough value for the machine.
Not even that though. Like if my chronic medical condition is adequately treated, I’m able to work, be productive, pay taxes, contribute to the economy, hopefully contribute to my community.
But that would eat into an insurance company’s profits, therefore they’d rather opt to let me die and replace me with a new unit that can pay premiums longer without needing any actual medical care.
The only entity that has a positive financial incentive to pay for the medical care that keeps me healthy is the government.
Medicare for All, now.
In totally unrelated news most of the people reading this aren’t going to get Social Security retirement until after half their age cohort is dead. The carrot was never meant to be eaten.
I had a stupid manager once that tried to argue with me about this. I don’t even remember her stupid name and I’m still mad at her lol! This was like 5-8 years ago
Well fuck
I’ve already had this talk with my daughter. I’m not presently ill or anything, but I see this as the new American version of estate planning.
Somehow, I’ve managed to build up a few meager assets to leave to my daughter and I’ll be damned if I let American healthcare take it all.
(And please refrain from bringing up misinformed statements on estate tax. I’m a tax accountant. I’m more astute on that stuff than most of the population, and my little pile of shiny trinkets is well below any threshold for any of that to kick in)
My father told me he would retire himself if he ever had to go to a nursing home
I’m pretty sure everyone’s dad says that. As a dad, I’ve said it too. I’d almost rather be in prison than a nursing home, it’s the same atmosphere but way cheaper.
It’s not unlikely you’d end up in a home ran by the same folks that own and run private prisons and supply schools with food.
It’s designed that way and I hate it.
Welcome to America, land of the free to fuck off and die.
Democrats : “This is horrible, we really should do something about it!”
Also Democrats : “Biden best president !”
For people wondering, im not republican. Both Democrats and Republicans are horrible parties starving the people for their own profits.
Republicans : “Good. I’m glad he’s dead.”
Democrats : “He was poor, he probably didn’t worked hard enough.”
That sounds more like an R talking point. “Just get a better job, you’re not owed anything.” While they’re on welfare.
I mean self-motivation can help you achieve amazing things but it’s important to be realistic and accept that we are not all going to be millionaires.
And people who work menial jobs don’t deserve to live since they can’t afford healthcare. Those people are obviously lesser and should die.
After all, if you wanted to live a long healthy life, they should’ve gone into a prosperous and productive career…like stock trading. Those guys have tons of money and thus deserve to live.
Right?
You realize that by the time today’s mortgages are paid off, a millionaire will be nearly anyone who owns a home, right? Being a millionaire isn’t the benchmark it used to be. It’s nothing. “Millionaire” is very, very close to what “middle class” used to be, and yet it’s still somehow completely unachievable to most.
Yet somehow we have people walking around today that could literally give $1m to every person in Flint, MI (population 100k) today and still have more wealth than all of them combined. And they’d still be the 15th richest person out of some 8,000,000,000 other people.
And people like you see them as an ally and inspiration.
World is fucked.
“moderate” Democrat politicians are the Republicans from the 1980’s.