Saving lives until HC reform passes

[Fedja]

Ok, so I've gone through all the phases of disbelief while watching the HC reform developments, and I have to say I'm running out of patience here. Even as the reform is being discussed, people are being denied care daily, so I've dug into the laws of my country to see if I could find a temporary solution.

Surprisingly enough, I found one, a way to provide full free* care to people in need (I'm afraid the plane ticket isn't covered).

So let's take it from the top

I live in Slovenia, where everyone is covered by free socialized healthcare. 'Everyone' includes you, as defined in the Law on Asylum

"(1) Asylum seekers have the right to:
– Reside in the Republic of Slovenia until the asylum process is legally concluded;
– Basic care;
– Basic health insurance;
– Financial aid or allowance;
– Free legal assistance to claim the rights under this law;
– Humanitarian assistance."


What does the above mean

It means that we'll treat you if you land in my country and request shelter.
- If you claim that your human rights are being violated in your country of origin and request asylum, we will keep you safe, dry, and fed until your claim is processed.
- "Safe" includes full free health care that comes out of my income taxes, and by god, when I pay taxes to save lives, I don't care what passport the sick person has.
- You'll be put up in shitty housing I'm afraid (but honestly, if you're flying abroad to save your life, you don't need air conditioning for a week)



Asylum? How can you request asylum?

You'd be surprised. According to the UN Declaration on Human Rights, healthcare is a human right. If you're being denied care in the US for any reason, your human rights are being violated according to our laws.

Secondly, the healthcare is provided to asylum seekers specifically. This means that you will not be charged for any treatments or medication even if your Asylum claim is rejected. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly here, it's not conceivable that you'd be out on your butt before you were diagnosed with whatever condition you're fighting.



A summary on how to get it done?

1) Book a flight to Ljubljana, Slovenia, EU (airport Brnik, code LJU)
2) Upon landing and passing customs legally as a tourist, find a police officer and request asylum
3) You're likely to be taken into custody temporarily, but don't worry, just about everyone speaks English and you'll be informed of what's going on.
4) Fill out Asylum request paperwork and within 3 days, you'll be issued documentation confirming your Asylum seeker status.
5) Visit the closest hospital and tell them of your illness
6) Enjoy your free treatment.




It can't be this simple, can it?

It very much appears that it can. To be absolutely sure, you could check with:
Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia
2410 California Street, NW, Washington DC 20008
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
URL: http://washington.embassy.si.




I'm sick and tired of reading shit about people being left to suffer and die over there. Really, if you're not going to stand up for yourselves, we'll have to stand up for you, taxes be damned.

[Skittles]

1. you're a sweetie pie, fedja

[onestepforward]

2. This is an amazing post.

It really leaves me speechless. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and care. Hopefully we will catch up with the rest of the civilized world soon.

[strategery blunder]

3. You weren't kidding.

http://www.mnz.gov.si/en/frequently_requested_contents/upravne_notranje_zadeve/applicants_for_asylum/health_care/#c5554">Asylum for health care

So I need 1) a passport, 2) about $800 for plane ticket (which could be slapped on credit card), and 3) some form of chronic condition, the neglect of which would cause serious side effects.

Somehow, I don't think anxiety about insurance company death panels would count for 3. I am still in good health, and insured, but the thought of using my insurance scares me. My health insurance provides me with very little "peace of mind," even though by American standards it would be considered pretty good.

[Fedja]

4. I was in no way sarcastic :)

I have 2 amendments to your post:

1) If you're low on money (as many uninsured or underinsured are), you can cut the flight price down to some $500 by booking some 2 months in advance
2) the diction "preventing sudden deterioration of the health condition that could cause permanent damage to individual organs or life functions" covers just about every illness other than Smallbreastitis.

[strategery blunder]

5. Technically I'm not even underinsured.

Even my deductible is $1500 or thereabouts. It's not a small amount, but nothing like the $5k or $10k "high deductible catastrophic plans" out there, either. My insurance looks perfectly ok on paper.

The problem that I have is that it is entirely possible for a health insurance bureaucrat to come between patient and doctor, by denying reimbursement to the doctor for medically necessary treatment. This is somehow legal in America. I do not know much of anything about Slovenian law, but I know that this would be blatantly illegal in Canada.

That consideration undermines my CONFIDENCE in the insurance I carry, even though I am certainly better off than a very large portion of my fellow citizens when it comes to healthcare.

About the only (known) health problem I have is being overweight. I cannot imagine me having any organ damage or damage to life functions yet, as I'm only 24. I suspect that regulations governing public assistance are MUCH more strictly construed (meaning fewer people are eligible) here in America than in Slovenia; an American could read that same page off the embassy website and think they must have some condition that requires treatment NOW that goes neglected in the home country to qualify for the asylum. At any rate, right now I am tied down to the States by my elderly grandmother, but I really should get a passport so I am prepared to leave this FUBAR country when she passes on.

[Fedja]

8. Amusing in a sad way :)

You've been subjected to the flawed private system for so long that you have problems grasping the concept of public healthcare. I see you hurling in that direction, then you fall back on known terms of limited healthcare.

This is something you'll never see in a system like ours:

- Deductible
(I don't even know what that is, I get instant free treatment for anything I need. Numbers or money never even enter the discussion)

- Plan
(Plan what? I'm covered without limitation, to 'plan' anything would only mean to reduce the coverage I have.)

- Bureaucrat
(The government did whisper something about being a bit more conservative with prescription meds as the 'recession' hit. The doctor union told them to shove that idea where the sun don't shine and that was it.)


As for potential organ damage, I mean things like a flu. Untreated, it can hurt you. Food poisoning can hurt you if untreated. Basically, anything which you could be treated for can be dangerous if you're not. And therein, every condition qualifies. That's why we don't bother with public assistance at all, and simply consider everyone insured. Everyone employed pays a tax for it (I pay $100 a month), and that's pretty much it.

[strategery blunder]

10. I know, it's scary...

Rest assured, however, that if the private "system" (lol) in this country is not fixed to my liking by the time my grandmother passes away (she is really the single tie that binds me to the United States, because I feel a moral duty to be with her, even if that is not legally required, as she is widowed and literally survived ALL of her friends), I have every intention of leaving the country, and emigrating to a country that has a public health care system. I know it's fucked up, I know I don't have it quite as bad as other Americans, but I know that there is something better out there, in damn near every other country that Americans can find on a map, and some countries that Americans can't find on a map.

Yes, it is really sad from BOTH our perspectives, when the only two things preventing me from booking a one-way flight out of the world's "sole superpower" (lol) are lack of a passport (easily remedied) and desire to look after an elderly relative who would NOT adjust well to such a trip (not so easily remedied; the drive 150 km across the Cascade Mountains in July, to get an air conditioning unit in record-breaking, 39-degree-Celsius heat, when everything this side of the mountains was sold out, was a HUGE trip to her).

Whether such emigration, upon the end of my last tie to America, is done through traditional immigrant visa permits, or asylum under the auspices of healthcare-defined-as-a-human-right by the EU and/or UN, is irrelevant to me.

I do have a preference for Canada over Europe, for the sake of geographical proximity to the rest of my family, not all of whom are willing to fly to Europe for visits (not everyone can handle the jet lag).

[madokie]

6. How cool is that

+1

[Delphinus]

7. Holy cow!

Seriously?!

This is amazing information - thank you!

[Fedja]

9. Most EU countries should have that option

I simply don't have the time to look up their laws. The UN declares health care a human right, so it transcends citizenship.

It would be extremely embarassing for any EU country to try to decline you health treatment just because you have no money, even if you just landed.

[whathehell]

11. Thank you so much for posting this, Fedja!...This is terrific information.

..but we DO stand up for ourselves..at least most of us..The Right Wing minority always get the publicity -- understandably, if unfortunately, because they make such a "show" of themselves.

[Fedja]

12. Oh I know...

We get fairly objective reports over here where Fox News doesn't exist.