U.S. Politics

My other US healthcare anecdote also came out of Racine, Wisconsin.

Friend of mine got into a fight at the local movie theater over people talking loudly, they broke his arm.

Statements, but no footage, and the guys left, so cops couldn't do anything. At the time he had just been laid off (this was during the 08 slump), so no insurance.

Police made him take an ambulance to get the arm taken care of since he couldn't drive and was alone. In the moment it seemed sensible, so he didn't think he would be hit with a four figure bill for the trip/treatment on the way,

Then another large bill for the ER and cast that put him in the hole for a while.

When he was due to take it off, he had me Dremel it off in his garage because he didn't want to pay anymore money.

It's ludicrous just recounting it.

And yeah, a good chunk my nursing was ER with similar "gun to head" cases, and then I worked a lot of hospice so... Disillusioned is a word.
 
I had a friend who had seizures who got one of those medi-lert bracelets that said:
"pls do not call ambulance
I can't afford another bill
this will pass"
after her fourth ambulance bill.

People would still call the ambulance. She'd get hit with another $800 bill for the five minute drive. Ambulance rides are a whole special evil in our system.
 
I was hit by a car a few years ago. I refused an ambulance ride to the hospital because I knew it'd cost me $10K.
docsilence said:
Speaking of: yes, it has been confirmed that the Social Security Administration sent out an email tonight lying to citizens about a tax break for SS. We're in Nazi Germany propaganda machine territory now. All the worst people are in charge of everything.
Click to expand...
Yet no major newspaper thought this warranted coverage. Makes you think.
docsilence said:
But on a (minutely) brighter note, I went to the least patriotic cookout ever, just an excuse to have a few beers with folks we don't see much, and the last few Trump holdouts I know said stuff like "can I admit I was wrong? I know I was wrong and this motherfucker fucked everyone." One guy even said his entire work team, who were all deeply MAGA, are ragingly pissed and feeling like they got lied to. It's too little too late, of course, but at least they have the self-awareness to say they regret it. It won't fix anything, but I just wanted to know if they were still rabidly MAGA and it was surreal to hear them change their toon. And several relatives who are not usually politically active were asking me to help them understand how much damage this bill will cause.
Click to expand...
This does matter. Even if one or two percent of Trumpers stop participating in the political process, that's more than enough to swing national elections. I'm losing hope, but this shit can change fast.

I wanted to share this from AOC. She's so good at this. This is exactly what I needed to hear yesterday.

https://bsky.app/profile/aoc.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lt3jdlx45c2o
 
TheSameIdiot said:
I wanted to share this from AOC. She's so good at this. This is exactly what I needed to hear yesterday.
Click to expand...
I wish both that we had more of her in office right now, and that people wouldn't just look at her as a firebrand because she is VERY good at this. The problem is she's so often alone or part of a very small cadre, and, of course, that we've learned that there's still a good chunk of the left who won't vote for a someone who doesn't look like them.
 

Hassett on healthcare coverage cuts: ‘Best way to get insurance is to get a job’​


Healthcare tied to employment, definitely top one or two grievances of mine for a long time. I'm talking step on their throats and crush level dislike.


images.jpg
 
AceofKnaves said:
For those familiar with Lord of the Flies, a book that shaped my young life and perception of the world, Trump is like Jack, and he is building a legion of Rogers.

The Rogers are gonna have to be dealt with at some point.
Click to expand...
Yep. It's like a slow-moving Purge - we get to find out who everyone really is, and it turns out a lot of people are even more terrible than we suspected.
 
mrboshek said:
Hassett on healthcare coverage cuts: ‘Best way to get insurance is to get a job’
Click to expand...
They literally want you to be a slave. That's all it is. That's all it's ever been. And a huge chunk of what the Republican party is doing and has been doing for decades is specifically toward that end. They hate your freedom. They hate you. Anyone that doesn't see the 'let's put kids back in mines and force 11 year old girls to get married' party as being pro-slavery is living in a fantasy world.
 
Damien said:
They literally want you to be a slave. That's all it is. That's all it's ever been. And a huge chunk of what the Republican party is doing and has been doing for decades is specifically toward that end. They hate your freedom. They hate you. Anyone that doesn't see the 'let's put kids back in mines and force 11 year old girls to get married' party as being pro-slavery is living in a fantasy world.
Click to expand...
Not to mention many people can't work. My Mom is on disability because her spine has deteriorated to the point where even standing up causes her excruciating pain. I have a couple friends with various disabilities- chronic fatigue, long Covid, Charcot Marie Tooth, etc., some of them confined to wheelchairs or walkers. It's always been a point of contention with me how poorly folks with disabilities are treated in this country; accessibility and care is regional at best, and many of my friends getting SSDI barely make enough to live, let alone enough to have any extra to treat themselves to things. Not only that, but having to contend with all the folks saying they're either making it up or mooching off the government. They've all come to the realization at one point or another that, despite the base level pandering, the government would probably prefer a lot of disabled folks dead rather than provide them with enough care and service to live a meaningful life. Normally I'd at least be content knowing that they had Medicare/Medicaid to fall back on, but that won't really be a thing anymore before too long. So by keeping insurance tied to a job, they're literally dooming a large part of the population to, at best, a severely hindered quality of life.
 
Yeah, there's a whole lot of people in charge of a lot of things that would prefer we die quickly as soon as we can't earn them more money. I work with a guy who is probably at the point in his disability where he shouldn't work as much as he does (fatigue exacerbates it) but going on full disability isn't viable. My partner is chronically ill and recently took some paid medical leave and they absolutely retaliated against her for coming back. She's losing her mind about it because her particular illness is also worsened by long hours and a lot of time at a computer but it's like: work in pain or suffer in poverty. (I've done everything I can to make sure I could support us both when she can't work anymore, but she's also about to get ROYALLY FUCKED on her federal student loans because of the big bad bill so now she's like "I guess I'm working til I'm dead" because she made the tragic mistake of becoming a librarian which requires a masters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top