Why our health system is completely fucked up.

[rinnia]

So say there's this guy, J. J lives in the United States of America. At age 23, J was diagnosed with cancer. At the time that J was being treated, he was between undergrad and graduate school and unemployed, and thus had limited health insurance and no personal income. Thankfully, his insurance did cover his chemo and medications given while hospitalized, though the medications to supplement his treatment at home and to replace his practically non-existent immune system were not. The two cancer centers at which he received 90% of his care were very understanding - they gave him assistance due to his financial constraints as much as possible, and for all the rest, allowed him to pay in bits and not make a big fuss about it. He also required services from other facilities - blood transfusions from two different hospitals, depending on which had blood available when it was necessary, imaging centers, lab work, emergency care at one point when chemo side effects led to stroke symptoms and eventually a seizure. Most of these services were not touched by J's insurance. Fortunately, all but one of the facilities have lent some sort of understanding and been willing to work on cutting bills and setting up payment plans. Unfortunately, the one that would not has put J $15,000 in debt and has already sent him to collection. J is 24 years old, unemployed, and about to become a graduate student, and his credit report is scarred. He's planning to file for bankruptcy.

J tried other methods. He's applied for assistance from every facility, and the one that has sent him to collection three times claimed they didn't receive his form and finally rejected him due to the fact that he is insured, despite his insurance not offering any coverage for those specific services. He also applied for disability, as his chemo regimen left him available for safe contact with the outside world only one week of every four, and even then, he was tired and weak. The government rejected him, as the duration of his illness was apparently too short for him to qualify. He could attempt to pay his debt once he has an income, but his graduate fellowship, after taxes, leaves him with $17,000 per year. His debt is only $2,000 less than his annual net income. Mind, this is only the debt that's been sent to collection - his mother is struggling to pay the bills that have not yet gone to collection to prevent further damage to his credit, and these are not piddling. For example, one lab (not the only one to provide services during his treatment) sent an initial bill of $9,000. They've since cut it down to $3,000 and are willing to work out a payment plan, but this is still far from an ideal situation. This is still massive amounts of money that, were it not for his mother, J would have absolutely no hope of paying.

Allow me to reiterate the circumstances that led to this financial dilemma - J had cancer. Specifically, J had a type of lymphoma so aggressive that it has been known to double in size over 24 hours. J was stage IV at diagnosis. There was no waiting for treatment. There was no chance to figure out how he'd be able to afford it. There was only the immediate decision to fight for his life, because his life was in imminent danger, and all the rest be damned. And now that he's in remission, now that he's attempting to get back in school and start a life like every person his age should have the opportunity to do, he's faced with filing bankruptcy before he moves into his very first apartment.

This is how the United States health system works. This is how this country's people are treated when they are in need.

This is not how things should be.

Comments

[albijuli]

Shit like this makes me so angry...

[rinnia.livejournal.com]

That just proves you're human. I'd be angry too if I wasn't so tired of worrying over it at this point. It's the people who aren't moved, who don't care at all that are the problem.

Thanks for commenting. It's good to know we're not alone in our frustration here.

[albijuli]

In most cases the people that don't care never had to face that situation- or have a means to never do.

[eidolon-nine.livejournal.com]

It is definitely not how things should be. J shouldn't have to make his start in the world under a crushing burden of debt or with a marred credit report simply because he wasn't born rich. (And despite the fact that he HAD the health insurance that everyone seems to think will be the country's panacea. Why is health insurance the desired outcome rather than health care?)

Let's keep pulling for a better country, and put that anger to as productive a use as we can (with lobbying or activism or even just talking to and persuading other people who think our current system is functional or preferable).

[eidolon-nine.livejournal.com]

Also, that bottom paragraph is not supposed to be italicized. I must have forgotten the /i after "care." :)

[rinnia.livejournal.com]

J wrote up a letter (longer than this post, and more detailed) explaining his situation that he's mailing to senators, representatives, and the president, and e-mailing to Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. He figures that if he has to be part of the statistic, he at least wants his story to be out there, attached to it. It's not like he's the only person who has been or ever will be in this situation. We need to prevent this from happening to anyone else ASAP.

[eidolon-nine.livejournal.com]

Awesome, I'm glad he's taking action! Here are a couple more recipients to consider:

1. The Florida state insurance commission. They might be able to investigate or sue J's insurance company for refusing coverage for necessary treatment.

2. The Florida district attorney. Same as above.

Personally, when I was denied health insurance for absurd reasons, I wrote a letter to the DA and the insurance commission and forwarded them to the insurance company, which promptly re-instated me. You might be able to convince the company to pay up if you threaten them (subtly) with legal action. It's worth a shot, anyways!