JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Brian Austin Whitney Blog Friday, June 29th, 2007

Bill,

I have diabetes, among other things. That precludes me from getting insurance. I was turned down over and over. During the 10 years I had no insurance, I spent between 1K and 2K a month on medication I needed to stay alive. I went to the hospital one on occassion (I didn't need to be admitted, but the hospitial insisted I was risking my life if I didn't... ) I told them (and even required an administrato come to the emergency room in person) that I had no insurance and would NOT be able to pay them. I wrote it on my admittance papers in the margin and initialed that I would not be able to pay. They admitted me anyway. Great right?

They did a few tests, gave me horrible treatment (it turned out that it was trapped gas.. I asked if that was possible at the start, they said NO!). In 19 hours at the hospital, the managed to cause my blood sugar to go to dangerously high levels (it was perfectly normal when I got there) because they refused to listen to anything I said about the insulin amounts I needed. Finally I left, feeling WORSE than when I went in. I went home, barely able to function.. took 2 anti gas pills and within a hour felt completely normal. That's all it was.

I got the bills, from 9 different companies.. 28K dollars. When I asked for a complete accounting of what was done to add up to that much, the hospital told me that they couldn't and wouldn't supply that. I had to call each company separately and ask them what they did. But that wouldn't allow me to compare all the info together to see if I actually received all this "care."

I investigated further and found that the cost I was charged for each supposed service was 2-20 times HIGHER than what an insurance company would have had to pay. Many services I was never able to verify were ever actually done.

At the time I got these bills, I was making less than 20K a year doing JPF. I was already paying ALL of that money for my monthly medical bills. I told the 9 different companies that were calling me multiple times per day that I had no money and didn't expect to have any money any time soon to pay for the bogus tests or bogus care I received. I told them I left with the same problem I went in with.. trapped gas. And that 2 anti gas capsules relieved all my symptoms within an hour. (I was in the Emergency room for nearly 5 hours in severe pain and then 19 more hours in the room). They didn't care. I told them I put in the margins that I didn't have money or insurance and couldn't pay. They informed me that since they were a different company, I still owed them. For 3 years they hounded me non stop. Finally I started hearing from them less and less. I never paid any of them. But I now can also not ever buy a house or car or anything else in my name. Fortunately Linda bought our house before we got married.

We GOT married so I could get on Linda's insurance. I was faced with a $75,000.00 procedure and when they found out I had no insurance, the hospital said they couldn't do the surgery. I was told I needed to go the emergency room at the "pauper" hospital in town where they take the gunshot gang banger injuries. No offense, but I am not going to have a life or death surgery at the discount trauma hospital (nor should anyone else for that matter). So I was faced with not having the surgery and risking death.. going to a questionable hospital for "free" service which would have still resulted in bankruptcy.. putting Linda into bankruptcy and having her sell the house and try to come up with the money or appealing to the JPF membership to get the money, something that likely wouldn't have worked, but even if it had, would likely have ruined everything as that's the type of thing you can only really do 1 time. So fortunately I was with someone I loved and though we were perfectly happy not being married, marriage was an option to solve all the problems. Once I had insurance, then I found out a I had myriad of OTHER problems that had been neglected as well as one huge long term problem which I had neglected because I couldn't afford the 20K in tests per year needed to monitor it. I am not on 14 medications I wasn't on before I had insurance, and all of them have improved my health significantly. If I had to pay for these medications without insurance.. it would cost me well over 3K a month. I am not a disabled person. I am a person who works harder than anyone else I personally know but who doesn't make a lot of money from the work.

I don't doubt all your stories. There are ways, especially with disability or age related medicare, to get things paid for. So that makes it all the more weird for us not to go ahead and have universal health care of some type. There's a percentage of people, no matter how many programs exist out there right now, who simply fall through the cracks. Those folks are just as deserving of health care as you and I.

But the interesting thing about the Michael Moore movie (which is now off Google, so you'd have to see it in the theater) is that he spends most of the time exposing the problems with the health care system for people WITH insurance. They have sometimes WORSE horror stories than those without insurance. Watch the movie and get back to me if you still feel the same.

I hated the Al Gore movie. I have liked 2 of Moore's previous movies and 2 I could do without. I am the last person people would consider liberal (unless they don't know me). This is a great movie.. it's an issue who's time has come. The movie isn't particularly political (one of the harshest slams is against Hilary). But facts are facts. Our system is broke, for the insured as well as the uninsured. Even Fox News, (which I watch every day) endorses the movie. If that can happen, anything can.

Brian