I Hate To Get Into Politics, But...

[Aargh]

...Five years ago I got cancer. Nasty cancer. I wasn't supposed to survive, but I did and today I'm 5 years cancer free. Not in remission. Not under control. It's gone.

You'd think I'd be happy to be alive, and I am, but surviving doesn't keep me away from life's obligations.

I've been a Corporate Controller, Corporate Treasurer. I've served on several Boards of Directors. I've been a business owner. My house was paid for about 15 years into my 30-year mortgage. I would like to think that I've been a pretty productive member of society.

My recovery from cancer cost me my job. I had no income for over a year. Then I got on early Social Security and now I'm trying to support my wife and myself on a little over $900 a month of my SS. I figure my cancer has cost me over $200,000.

Insurance for my wife would cost me about 1/2 of my total income. If I were making anywhere between $15.5 and $38 thousand a year, the Federal government would pay for all but $24 a month of that. I'm below the Federal standards, so the State is responsible for any assistance for me and my wife.

Since I own a house, I do not qualify for Medicaid. Since Kansas did not expand Medicaid, I have no government assistance and have no choice but to leave my wife uninsured. She's 60. I have enough in savings to get her through one or two things that can be expected at her age.

Not expanding Medicaid is not hurting the welfare group. They don't own property, so they qualify for Medicaid.

I've been a productive worker for 40+ years and due to a medical problem, I need some help. I've paid taxes that have been used to help others my whole life. Now that I need it, I can't get it because the political scenario in my State says I don't deserve the help I need that I've provided to others for 40+ years.

I would like to keep thinking I'm Republican, but my party is out of control

[shox1989]

I have talked to others that are in a similar situation as yours. It seems that our current Governor and legislature would rather play politics with this issue then provide health care to many Kansans. Our current Republican Commissioner of Insurance strongly supports the Medicaid expansion but the Governor and the legislature are not listening to her. I have also heard that some hospitals in rural areas may have to close if the expansion isn't passed.

[kcshocker11]

...Five years ago I got cancer. Nasty cancer. I wasn't supposed to survive, but I did and today I'm 5 years cancer free. Not in remission. Not under control. It's gone.

You'd think I'd be happy to be alive, and I am, but surviving doesn't keep me away from life's obligations.

I've been a Corporate Controller, Corporate Treasurer. I've served on several Boards of Directors. I've been a business owner. My house was paid for about 15 years into my 30-year mortgage. I would like to think that I've been a pretty productive member of society.

My recovery from cancer cost me my job. I had no income for over a year. Then I got on early Social Security and now I'm trying to support my wife and myself on a little over $900 a month of my SS. I figure my cancer has cost me over $200,000.

Insurance for my wife would cost me about 1/2 of my total income. If I were making anywhere between $15.5 and $38 thousand a year, the Federal government would pay for all but $24 a month of that. I'm below the Federal standards, so the State is responsible for any assistance for me and my wife.

Since I own a house, I do not qualify for Medicaid. Since Kansas did not expand Medicaid, I have no government assistance and have no choice but to leave my wife uninsured. She's 60. I have enough in savings to get her through one or two things that can be expected at her age.

Not expanding Medicaid is not hurting the welfare group. They don't own property, so they qualify for Medicaid.

I've been a productive worker for 40+ years and due to a medical problem, I need some help. I've paid taxes that have been used to help others my whole life. Now that I need it, I can't get it because the political scenario in my State says I don't deserve the help I need that I've provided to others for 40+ years.

I would like to keep thinking I'm Republican, but my party is out of control

Let me assure you were working on it. Hang in there.

[Kung Wu]

Since I own a house, I do not qualify for Medicaid.

Have you spoken with a good attorney about that? Can you share a link to some Kansas Medicaid documentation regarding property ownership being an automatic disqualifier? I thought there was some $500,000 limit before a homestead would be counted as an asset? I'd like to try and get current on how this stuff works now, in case everything has changed in the past 5 years (not that I understood it 5 years ago, but even the basics keep changing).

[wu_shizzle]

We're just a couple of guys who don't know each other (at least I don't think we know each other), and I feel for your story.

Cancer sucks. I've had family members battle it and have family members that help those who fight it.

It's especially bad when cancer steals your money and your livelihood as well. It sounds like you had insurance but that it didn't cover everything.

You tried to plan and prepare, but you still couldn't protect your assets.

It may sound heartless asking you this, but why now do you think that someone else should pay instead?

Or better yet, why do you think the government should force others to pay for your health care?

[Play Angry]

Sorry to hear about your situation Aargh. It sounds very frustrating.

Is your wife unable to work due to disability of some sort?

[shockmonster]

You are correct that in my opinion, you do sound a little heartless (I have good friends who agree with you). I do think that safety nets are important and I think parameters/reasonable limitations should be established, state governments not federal governments should take care of this, buying health insurance should cross state lines to limit costs, choices should exist, drug cost containment for important drugs (this should not include abortion drugs/controversial drugs) costs containment should be a priority, everyone should pay as much as possible and have some skin in the game, etc. to really solve this problem. In my opinion, we need for the government to be involved in insurance because health insurance companies are only in it for profit and health insurance is so important to the stability of any family. In consider myself to be conservative but I do believe that the problem of purchasing health insurance in America should be able to be solved. I'm really not interested in a give and take debate over this and others may disagree with me but this is my opinion.

[pogo]

We're just a couple of guys who don't know each other (at least I don't think we know each other), and I feel for your story.

Cancer sucks. I've had family members battle it and have family members that help those who fight it.

It's especially bad when cancer steals your money and your livelihood as well. It sounds like you had insurance but that it didn't cover everything.

You tried to plan and prepare, but you still couldn't protect your assets.

It may sound heartless asking you this, but why now do you think that someone else should pay instead?

Or better yet, why do you think the government should force others to pay for your health care?

Yes that does sound not only heartless but it makes you sound like kind of a jerk. I don't see where he was thinking that others should be forced to pay for his health insurance unless you read into it that because medicaid wasn't expanded to help cover the costs that the state kept its costs down and wasn't forced to raise our and his taxes. The thing I got out of it was there are some serious inequities within the coverage system and he gets left out not because he makes too much money but because he falls below the federal guide lines and the state doesn't cover him. I guess you could lump me in with him because when my wife passes on I will determine whether to continue MY health insurance through a COBRA policy or let the US Government take care of me through the VA which seems in your eyes will make me a sponge to suck up resources that are paid by your taxes, oh and mine as well. "Are there no prisons, are there no workhouses"?

[wu_shizzle]

Yes that does sound not only heartless but it makes you sound like kind of a jerk. I don't see where he was thinking that others should be forced to pay for his health insurance unless you read into it that because medicaid wasn't expanded to help cover the costs that the state kept its costs down and wasn't forced to raise our and his taxes. The thing I got out of it was there are some serious inequities within the coverage system and he gets left out not because he makes too much money but because he falls below the federal guide lines and the state doesn't cover him. I guess you could lump me in with him because when my wife passes on I will determine whether to continue MY health insurance through a COBRA policy or let the US Government take care of me through the VA which seems in your eyes will make me a sponge to suck up resources that are paid by your taxes, oh and mine as well. "Are there no prisons, are there no workhouses"?

It wasn't my intention to be a jerk. I know a little about your journey and trust me, if I had the ability to direct state funds to cancer patients and their families I would.

I have family in the VA system and by no means do I think they're a sponge. They served their country and they actually deserve better than the quality of care the VA delivers many times.

In a perfect world, every cancer would be curable. In a perfect world, cancer treatment would be affordable for everyone. In a perfect world Christians would join together again to provide Healthcare and Education at little to no cost as has been done well all over the world for generations.

I think the best we can do right now, is relax some of the regulations on cancer treatment and work to make insurance coverage more affordable.

The ACA is doing neither of those things.

[pogo]

It wasn't my intention to be a jerk. I know a little about your journey and trust me, if I had the ability to direct state funds to cancer patients and their families I would.

I have family in the VA system and by no means do I think they're a sponge. They served their country and they actually deserve better than the quality of care the VA delivers many times.

In a perfect world, every cancer would be curable. In a perfect world, cancer treatment would be affordable for everyone. In a perfect world Christians would join together again to provide Healthcare and Education at little to no cost as has been done well all over the world for generations.

I think the best we can do right now, is relax some of the regulations on cancer treatment and work to make insurance coverage more affordable.

The ACA is doing neither of those things.

You are right on target with everything in this post. The system is broken and in my opinion to a great extent its due to generations of politicians trying to put band aids on things and more band aids on top of those. I don't know how to go about fixing it if it can even be fixed. What would a new system look like? Trying to craft something would be akin of the blind men describing an elephant.
And so these men of Hindustan
Disputed loud and long
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong
Though each was partly right
And all were in the wrong

[pogo]

PS sorry to call you a jerk.

[WuDrWu]

The only real fix is going to come when government gets out of the health care business, regulation is eased (a lot), borders are opened so monopolies are eliminated and supply and demand dictate where monies get spent.

As long as we continue to fund unending slush funds with public money, this is going to continue to get worse.

[RoyalShock]

Some enterprising doctors are going to have to go "off the grid" and embrace a new business model (with real competition). People will have to think differently about their personal healthcare. We may have to accept that we can't always expect top-notch care - tests, high-tech machines, specialists and prescriptions for all our ailments are expensive and always will be.

The current system is not fixable, IMO. It will need to be phased out by a wholly different model.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Is Dr. Watson up in Park City still doing $50 for 5 mins with the Dr.?

Took my wife to get a spider bite looked at. $184. A P.A. spent 3 mins with her. When paying at exit, I asked how much more was it to see the DR. No answer.

[wu_shizzle]

PS sorry to call you a jerk.

It's no problem, I didn't take it personal.

But, Thank You.