Well, I just got out of the hospital after an emergency admission...

[PCIntern]

During a scan, the tech found something which could be immediately life-threatening or at best, life-altering 'forever', and I was admitted and taken care of wonderfully over the last few days. In Philadelphia, there are several fine hospitals with first-class departments and I must tell you that not only was everyone wonderful to me, but the quality of care was exceptional and there were two people, one doc in the ER and one nurse on my floor who were remarkably special, but that is not to denigrate anyone else involved: they were all outstanding.

But of course, if this were the entire extent of the post, then it would be considered a vanity-post and i would be widely excoriated for being an 'attention-getter' (to be polite and PC).

I'll preface the following paragraph by saying that I pay in monthly premium rates that which would put a family well-over the poverty line, I'm most fortunate that I can afford it but it is strangling and would be impossible if I weren't self-employed and a professional who grosses enough money to 'cross the finish-line' each month. It's not a premium bill, it's an 'altitude'.

What disturbed me intensely, was the utter sadness and despair in the Emergency Room waiting room and the hallways of the back wherein the treatment is performed. A number of indigent-looking patients were there as well as those of the working-class - the HARD-working class who struggle to survive. The fear in the eyes and body language as they are interviewed by the administrative personnel with regard to their coverage or lack thereof almost eclipses the fear and trembling when they are talking to the triage nurse about their condition. There was much head-shaking and desperation afoot, for although the ER will stabilize the patient, the hospital may or may not offer their best services to those who cannot pay or cannot pay even a 'small' share ('small' being a quite relative term). One did not have to be a clinician to recognize that many of those sitting in that venue were really really sick with multiple disorders and that they were either untreated or poorly treated. It's so very sad and, IMO, unnecessary.

This is what the Republicans want: they want those who can't make it to die: they're believers in Social Darwinism and 'let the chips fall where they may'. The "let him die" incident at the Tea Party "debate" took place while I was in there, and although I had access to computer, I was too upset with the whole story to post. Also, I was too sick to form a long PCInternish rambling essay such as this one. Of course, they would deny this, but they're just lying through their teeth: as usual. and of course, the Irony is that many of these folks vote for the Republicans out of that fear. Instead of the Four Freedoms, they have the Four Fears. It's despicable and disgraceful. Access to health care should be a right of everyone, and it is doable, believe me.

I'll be going back for another procedure in three or four weeks. Doubtless, the world will be even more fraught with horrors at that time, and consideration for these folks will have moved just that much further away from ideal, and optimism, once heralded after the election of 2008, shall have diminished just that much more.

[aquamarina]

1. Good luck to you PC Intern

and thanks for the insightful post.

Healthcare in this country is a disgrace and our political "leaders" should all be ashamed.

[LiberalArkie]

2. I have been watching the Torchwood series on Starz and it seems

to be very prophetic the way the wealthy want everything to be. I would recommend everyone catch the Miracle Day series.

[dotymed]

58. I have been watching that also

and I totally agree. It worries me, it seems like the freaks get their ideas from works of fiction, ie..,1984, Fahrenheit 451, etc. After they see these "wonderfully inspiring" works of fiction, they turn them in to reality.

[anneboleyn]

92. There is something uncanny about it.

[monmouth]

3. Great post as usual PC, hoping you are on the mend quickly and I

am one of those so fearful when the day comes and I have to visit the ER. Hoping your upcoming procedures go smoothly.

[PCIntern]

7. monmouth (and anyone else who wants to listen)

I have to tell you that I no doubt received preferential treatment because of what I do, and the "Dr' appelation before my name. To give you an idea: I was immediately triaged even though there were at least 20 ahead of me,almost immediately thereafter brought back to a room wherein the chief resident and two staff were waiting, and up in a room two hours later, and I must say that it was two hours because after the initial prep, they had to observe me for two hours continuously to ensure that I would be OK with the further procedure. Although I was most appreciative to everyone at the time, I recognized the grotesque unfairness of it all.

In addition, the head of the ER department came over to my room, sat down with me and we talked medicine/dentistry for 10 minutes or so. I didn't see him do that with anyone else in the holding area...and there were about thirty of us just in THAT place alone.

Now this is all very neat WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU, but just in case anyone ever says that we haved a single-caste system for medicine in this country, you can start laughing right at the end of their statement.

[monmouth]

8. Oh yes, the Dr. thingy is very helpful but I wouldn't bring it up..LOL. I'm

glad they treated you well and....why not? The way I look at it they deal all day with what you described earlier in your post, it's nice for them in a bizarre way to have a patient, fully insured and knowledgeable about what goes on.. Good days ahead I'm sure.

[PCIntern]

11. figured I'd get flamed but I know you and I can always talk

and there's the "Concierge Service" in many hospitals with suites and VIP treatment for the rich whch includes a private intercessor who will satisfy ALL demands by the patient, who rarely if ever, has to wait for ANYthing. Pennsylvania Hospital has a whole wing devoted to this...

[monmouth]

15. Well here at Good Samaritan in West Palm I would receive a popsicle..So there..LOL....n/t

[DrunkenBoat]

32. "For the discerning patient, the hospital (Good Sam) offers the Newbern Suites, an all-private,

upscale unit that combines quality medical care with personal comfort."

http://www.goodsamaritanmc.com/en-US/Pages/default.aspx


Hey, *I'm* discerning! Can I get treated there?

[999998th word]

41. Shit, I can't even access the pic's on my 4 yr old Mac

guess they have predetermined I couldn't afford to avail myself of their 'upscale units' ....:wtf:

[ooglymoogly]

78. Bachman and her hubby envy you. nt

[juajen]

72. This happens in small cities in small hospitals. There is always room

and excellent treatment; and, they have a separate floor. I watched when my husband was in the hospital when a huge recliner was brought in and delivered to the "special" floor for a patient.

[frazzled]

18. You must've gotten the royal treatment

Last year my husband was sent by his physician and surgeon to the emergency room (he'd been in a bad bicycle accident 3 months earlier, and although fractured shoulders and collapsed lungs were healing nicely, a large hematoma on his hip that no one had been concerned about suddenly became badly inflamed and massive). We are very well insured through work and actually my husband does have a "doctor" in front of his name, but it's not a medical doctor, just a Ph.D., and he never uses the title. Guess that doesn't work, heh.

This was a large, fine university-affiliated hospital in Chicago, and we witnessed the same sad parade of sick and in many cases poor people you did. Lots of police, too. It was a pretty sobering experience, as you described. But we watched it for SIX HOURS. I guess my husband hadn't been dramatic enough in describing his reasons for being there, because people who came in after us with a cut finger were getting in before him. We weren't being pushy because there were clearly some shooting victims, very frail elderly people, etc. But after a while it was clear that the triage was not working well. He inquired several times, but finally I made him go and kick up a bit of a fuss. When finally admitted to the examining room after the six hours, the doctor took a look and shouted "Holy Crap!" and I watched the nurse as she turned away from the sight and went "ewwwww." It was a bad staph infection that had spread from the now-large-grapefruit-sized hematoma up and down his whole leg, and from there on in the care was stellar: private room with luxury fittings (don't know how we rated that except for the explanation that no other rooms were available), super attentive nurses and doctors.

In the end, I think although our experience in the ER was very democratic, the care from there on in probably was not. I can only imagine that those without insurance were shipped off to the County hospitals after diagnosis, while our insurance rated immediate admission to this first-class facility. And top-notch outpatient surgery a week or so later.

I wish you luck with your upcoming medical treatment. And I wish everyone else luck with trying to get treatment when they need it. I truly hope the Affordable Care Act is going to help when it kicks in fully in a few years. We're the lucky ones. So many are not.

[Warpy]

66. Not from the nurses, you didn't

Nurses are spread really thin these days and don't have time to kiss anybody's butt because administration says he's a VIP. The only thing they didn't do was dumb down their explanations of what was going on to you.

VIP units in big cities are no different. There might be a faux fireplace and a nylon reproduction Oriental on the floor in some of those rooms but the nursing staff has still been cut to the bone.

What you got was the excellent standard of care that most of us try to deliver in spite of stupid cost cutting by management that always seems to fall most heavily on nursing staff.

[blueamy66]

69. my guy has BCBS....I ran into the ER

and told them that he was throwing up blood....they ran out and put him in a wheelchair ASAP and took him back immediately.....no waiting....and were great..then they asked for his insurance card, which I provided...couldn't tell you anything else, cause I was in a state of shock.....

I guess that there are some good hospitals left in the US....oh, and this was in Chandler, AZ

[grasswire]

4. they also are enamored by the concept of population control...

...and the notion of "thinning the herd" is part of the palette of choices that TPTB have available. I'm thinking particularly of the Skull & Bones type elites who have long embraced eugenics and assorted "remedies."

George H.W. Bush was such a proponent of population control for the "lessers" that his nickname in Congress was "Rubbers" because he was fixated on the topic.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Rubbers, hey?

Too bad he didn't use them on himself.

Good grief.

:eyes:

Thanks for that most interesting bit of history! :hi:

[corkhead]

67. If only Prescott had used one, this world would be a much better place

[Viva_La_Revolution]

74. lol! I was just wearing this t-shirt a few days ago...

I had to explain it to Gram. She tried not to laugh :rofl:

[JuniperLea]

6. Yep... Darwinian politics are ghastly...

Sickos.

[BlueIris]

26. Creepy. nt

[area51]

52. +1

I've been saying this also for awhile. The reason our rightwing govt. isn't going to be concerned about people dying -- at the rate of 273 per day/100,000 per year -- due to lack of health care is that we're overpopulated. We'd have to have an event like the black plague of the 1300s which decimated the population of Europe, that the govt. would see a need to have health care as a basic human right. And the only reason they'd care then, is that companies would have to start paying better wages and treating employees decently, and we can't have that.

[riderinthestorm]

9. My incessant hammering of this exact point has ALMOST worked on my Republican mother

I say almost because even STILL, she won't admit to me that my point has any validity.

My husband has Stage IV, Grade IV lymphoma (remission for 3 years knock on wood). We have spent many, many hours in hospital waiting rooms both for appointments and the ER, and you are 110% right. You can completely see the fear in the eyes of those without health insurance. It's hideous.

I tell my mother that ALL humans deserve to be cared for - ALL of us. That my husband just happens to be on the side of those who have insurance but nothing separates him from the man sitting next to him who does not have health ins, and that as far as we're concerned - everyone needs care for their illness. Just because we are lucky-fortunate doesn't mean we shut our hearts.

Of course, she's a Christian(tm), Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/Bill O Reilly fan, who believes GW Bush walked on water so she won't/can't agree with me on this ever but she does get very quiet when my husband's health issues come up. She knows he wouldn't be alive right now if we didn't have health insurance, and because she likes him very much, and I hammer the point over and over that ALL people are special and they ALL deserve treatment without going bankrupt. She really has no response other than the canned ones fabricated for her by the Rightwing noise machine and she already knows those talking points don't work on me.

Unfortunately though 3+ years of my working on her, PC Intern, hasn't really budged her enough. At least it hasn't budged her enough that she will even agree to contemplate my position without a knee jerk Rethug reaction. Some people are just too stubborn and hard hearted. At least she doesn't argue with me as vociferously as she used to - there's that.

Glad to hear that you are getting good care and hope you feel better soon.

[PCIntern]

12. Great post and good luck to you both and thank you so much. n/t

[Enthusiast]

46. Geez.

I have to give you credit for trying to explain this to her.

[eleny]

10. I'm very glad to hear that you came through feeling well enough to post here

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. You mend on...

PM followed too

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. I observed the same thing in our small town ER with NO triage happening.

The "admitting" worker was a frail elderly looking lady ( I am over 65, SHE looked decades older than me)
whose intake post had a wall which completely blocked the view of any patients in the ER waiting room. They could have all fallen to the floor and bled to death and not have been visible.

The doors to the ER treatment area were even further away from the waiting area, locked, no windows.
Apparently the procedure was you came in, signed up, sat down and waited until called.
You know, like a dr. clinic. Except no staff could see you.

The ONLY reason Mr. Dixie was seen immediately at 8 am on this sat. morning
( he had a collapsed lung, was bent over trying to breath and not black out)
was because after a 10 minute wait, when the ER doors remained locked, no one had been called,
I walked over to the the intake lady and said I had brought in a heart patient (true) who could not breathe.
Naturally they thought heart attack and he was immediately allowed to enter the completely empty ER wing.
With 4 nurses and one dr. in it. No patients.

I will add that for years I was the Emergency Mental Health therapist on call to that ER and know the
layout, the process, etc. I had no qualms about insisting on him being admitted STAT.
( Much later, Mr. dixie thanked me, as he had by then realized he could have been sitting there for hours until someone noticed how bad he was).

And all the while that Mr, Dixie was getting admitted, I had the same thought as you...how long was it going to take the mostly poor, mostly black, people in the waiting room to be seen and diagnosed with NO TRIAGE.???
I called the hospital administrator the following week with my concerns.
Seems the hospital more or less leases out the ER to a private Dr. group, the group also operates the ambulances. For profit.
tho the hospital is supposed to be a non-profit community hospital.
but the ER, which in IN the hospital, is considered, for insurance purposes, an "outpatient" facility and is billed thru the private Dr. group.
A HUGE bill.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Aaaaggghhhh!!!!!!

:banghead:

[lunasun]

25. leases out the ER to a private Dr. group, the group also operates the ambulances. For profit.

Whoa
never thought it could be set up like that

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. I never knew....all these years. Till I got the bill for the ER.

"make payment to XYZ Doctor Group" . The ER doc is head of the XYZ doctor group.
And his name is on the ambulances. "Jones Ambulance Service"

The drs. in the hospital who saw Mr. Dixie also have a medical group, we paid them, too.
Medicare A does not pay them.

The hospital bill itself, that was covered by Medicare A.
Only the hospital beds were considered inpatient. 3 days, insurance paid except for our dedcutible.

[blueamy66]

70. Shouldn't all doctors that service a hospital that is "in network"

accept your insurance?

We are still fighting over payments to an ER doc that doesn't accept BCBS (which I find hard to believe) although he was practicing in an ER in a hospital that DOES accept BCBS. I won't pay. Fuck him.

[dixiegrrrrl]

87. We have Medicare, A, only.

part B pays for "outpatient" and "doctor" services, apparently even in a hospital.
We do not yet have Part B.

[blueamy66]

89. So, before going to an ER......

one should check the credentials of every doctor in the ER.....what a bunch of bullshit.....I hate our insurance industry....and the collectors that call me and tell me that I, as a girlfriend, am responsible for my fiance's bills.

[madrchsod]

29. i have no problem getting into an emergency room because of my heart condition

well to be fair our hospital has a brand new er that is twice the size as the old one and the patient load varies.

[Enthusiast]

48. What a great way to run an "emergency room".

[Octafish]

17. Thanks for the heads-up, Doctor!

First, You get well.

Then, talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write talk write all you want. We'll listen, we'll look forward to listening and we won't get tired of listening.

And although good DUers feel like you do and work to make this a better world, no one does it like you.

First, You get well, though.

[enough]

19. Reading this story and realizing that a large group of Americans actually want to limit

access to healthcare even more harshly than it is today, I begin to wake up to the fact that I live in an insane society.

And at the same time there are countries where everyone gets healthcare when they need it, with no financial gatekeeper. How can it be that we as a society have CHOSEN this cruel and insane system?

I know, everybody here at DU already knows this. Sometimes it just hits so hard it seems almost incomprehensible.

[hootinholler]

38. It's the same group that raised hell over death panels

Go figure. Those fuckers are just cruel.

[malaise]

20. All the best PC Intern

and yes I know it's easier for some of us to access health care than large numbers of others.

[TBF]

21. Glad everything went well for you PCIntern -

and continued good health.

[villager]

22. Glad you're on the "outside" now as well, and that your usual largehearted

...compassion remained intact while on the "inside!"

[chill_wind]

23. Glad you are able to post and share what you saw

around you. How lucky your own patients are, to know your compassion. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery from your ordeal.

[Capitalocracy]

24. Oh, but haven't you heard what Ron Paul said?

Nobody would EVER deny treatment to someone. The church would take care of it, or the hospital, out of the goodness of their heart! Everyone gets treated!

I hope you are well.

[Shagbark Hickory]

28. You've got an individual plan and you're costing them a lot of money.

Enjoy the coverage while it lasts.

[TorchTheWitch]

30. But what about you?

Are you going to be ok? I'm not liking the sound of this "life-threatening" or "life-altering" bit.

You don't have to say if you don't want to. I'm just concerned for you.

[PCIntern]

34. thank you...

yeah, I'll almost certainly be OK now...I'm going to post another thread on this subject in a little while. thanks for the concern and the thoughts....

[TorchTheWitch]

42. keeping you in my thoughts

and very relieved to know you're ok. :hug:

[louslobbs]

31. Two things, stay healthy and thank you for taking the time to post this valuable, first hand

observation and commentary.
Lou

[DesertFlower]

33. glad you're doing well and got good treatment.

thank you for posting your story. i always enjoy your posts.

[MrMickeysMom]

35. For many of those poor people in the ER, it's their only physician visit-

THAT, and other things are driving us all over the edge in health related costs.

Awesome, isn't it?

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. Glad to hear you're on the mend.

Good post.

[donheld]

37. I hope all goes well for you

We'll be thinking of you.

[hootinholler]

39. Hopefully whatever procedures were done...

Were done well and you will have a great outcome.

-Hoot

[napoleon_in_rags]

40. Monetary Social Darwinism

This exists. The idea is that those who are successful at accumulating notes of value as represented by currency are the superior life forms, and natural selection should be allowed to work its course to those who are not. When you encounter successful individuals who obviously possess well-above-average intelligence but deny the existence of impending resource crises, this worldview may be affecting their outwardly expressed message. The successful suppression of messages advocating sustainability would appear to hint that this thinking is fairly ubiquitous.

But it won't fly. The monetary systems of social organization are hanging by a thread, our society is becoming increasingly corrupt and criminal. Large scale deregulation will only further worsen it. Currency functions due to a widespread perception of it representing products or services, hard work, but as the idea spreads that it represents criminal prowess, the social contract is broken and the monetary system becomes increasingly irrelevant. The major fact that comes into play is that while there is some intersection between the attributes that lead to success in business and those that lead to success in crime and war, this intersection it turns out on thoughtful analysis is fairly marginal. So as the current system crumbles because it fails to provide for society, a whole new group of bosses start taking the reigns. Its a dice roll nobody should want to take as far as who these people will be.

[Enthusiast]

51. PLUS ONE!

"The monetary systems of social organization are hanging by a thread"

This is a fact.

[Solly Mack]

43. K&R

My husband came home from the ER today, speaking along those exact same lines. Completely outraged that people die because of a lack of healthcare when it didn't have to be that way. It's not a new topic in our house but today it just got to him more so than usual.

Best of luck to you, PCIntern.

[sce56]

44. Kick and the 101st R

I also went to the Dr today and had a nerve conduction test for my tendonitis. Turns out I have carpal tunnel syndrome. I'm not sure what my copay for that will probably be $25.00 but that is that Socialized medicine I have called TRICARE available to all who have served in the service for 20 or more years. I bet those Congressional critters don't have copay's! Best of luck with your situation as for mine well I think I'm getting to old to do that hard work at my age. Time to retire.

[midnight]

45. I hope your feeling better P.C. Thank you for sharing the

reality of our health care crisis.... I hope the next step in your recovery goes well...

[Enthusiast]

47. Kicked and recommended! nt

[Enthusiast]

49. PCIntern, I hope your health issue

has now been resolved. :hi:

[JVS]

50. Best of health to you, PCIntern.

There will be a special circle in hell for those who arrange the structure of the medical industry.

[harmonicon]

53. access to healthcare is a right, but some people are denied that right. nt.

[etherealtruth]

54. My experience a sa Hospice nurse in the 1990s was ...

Everyone dies eventually; however, poor folk often die from preventable and or treatable (at least in ear;earlier stages of disease processes) diseases.

This was during the 1990s when poverty and unemployment were much lower .... I can only imagine what it is like now.

wishing you well during your struggle.

[Edith Ann]

55. Hospital

I was recently admitted to Oklahoma Health Science Center for a hysterectomy. I did very well, although I was discharged the next day after 6 and a half hours of surgery. This is my first experience with "drive by surgery". It sucks. You go home sick and needing someone to take care of you for awhile. I mean professional care, not your husband.

Like you, I was lucky, I had good insurance. It's a good thing because the bill for this "drive by surgery" was $72,000.00 +. They charged $31,000 for the operating room. I still paid around $6,000 out of pocket. Again, lucky I can afford it. This time. I have been where you are paying almost $20.000 a year for health insurance. I too was lucky to afford it. Now I have company insurance and my husband has Medicare. BTW, 16 days after my surgery my husband had a heart valve replacement. Medicare paid for it. The Oklahoma Heart Hospital was great. OU health Science Center wasn't as nice as the Ok. Heart hospital, but what do you expect, HCA owns this facility and you can see from my bill that they were only interested in profit. They didn't save money by pushing me out in 36 hours. They used me as a cash cow and discharged me to maximize profit. The room I was in was small and ugly. My husband had a light and airy room. He spent 5 days recuperating before discharge. I don't know what his bill was because we didn't get a copy, at least not yet, but the Heart Hospital appears to be doing well. They had plenty of staff and their facility was kept up nicely. That is not the case at the OU Medical Center facility. They appear to only make money.

I had great doctors, no doubt. They don't have any control over what the hospital owners do. Their offices were very nice. So they con you with nice doctor offices and then put you in a dump for a room and discharge you too soon. All in the name of profit. There was a world of difference between these two facilities.

Just to add. As I looked at the bill, I noticed a Physical Therapy charge that didn't look right. I challenged it and you know I lost. Most of the evaluation could have been gotten out of the chart, but the note that the PT'ist walked me 225' never happened unless it is 225' form the bed to the bathroom. That may be why HCA is always getting audited. $500.00 here and there of services you don't provide adds up. What do I know I'm just the patient. A patient who has worked in hospitals and rehab facilities for years. I should turn them in to CMS and the Ok. Health Care Authority and get them audited. I think I prefer to tell my story. When I can figure out how to put this bill on the internet I may. I know I'm going to challenge every politician I come in contact with it. Of course the greedy, evil repubs won't listen. They won't even let you talk in my state.

[PCIntern]

59. Thank you...glad you're both OK...sorry for the pun...

All the best,

PC

[barbtries]

64. $31,000 for the operating room?!

i'm trying to get myself off the floor. i know people who don't make that in a year. no wonder people are so scared. and after six hours in that room they send you home the next day?!
travesties.

[JNelson6563]

56. Wow! Lucky you!

I went recently, had no insurance or money so waited for hours in horrible pain and then was treated as fast as possible that basically was no treatment. Here's 3 days worth of pain meds, it will stop hurting in about 2 weeks. That will be $1200, now get out.

But it's good to hear that those of you who have all you need are getting great treatment. Congreatulations!

[PCIntern]

57. Nice post, Thanks!

I know exactly how you feel: I grew up poor in a single-parent household. My heart goes out to you.

[Edith Ann]

86. Lucky to get care.

Didn't I just post how HCA raped me for money and threw me out in 36 hours. The only charge on that bill that had to do will my welfare, other than the obvious, was my room rate. They over charged because they could. My insurance company paid $43,000 of the hospital bill. My friend who had almost the same surgery for same length of time, her insurance company paid $9,000. This was less than a year and same hospital, same Dr. Another friend had same surgery and hers was billed at $14,000. The room was $1,000. Got very little care but they sure came in an out of the room scanning my bar code at a rapid rate.

[Historic NY]

60. The real Ponzi Scheme is perpetrated by the Insurance companies....

its a racket.

[barbtries]

61. i'm glad you are well,

or at least will be well. i would be with the others. covered but - fearful of a catastrophe. and if my job goes away, well, it all goes too.
more and more i feel like i don't want to be in this country. the one that only used to be mine. how are things supposed to change when the people are so despicably manipulated by the PTB with their media machines. i don't know where it all ends up. :(

[dotymed]

62. Please "hang in there" PC. I am proof that even though

medical catastrophes can greatly alter your life, in ALL ways, life is still preferable. Any help that I can give, I will, happily.

Really, all we have to do is look around, as you did, and we know that things can be much worse. I do miss being able to do a lot of things that I always took for granted though..

[LeftishBrit]

63. Wishing you all the best with your health

For the rest, I agree with you entirely about the horrors of lack of affordable health care.

Even with the erosion of the NHS under the Tories, I don't think my country would accept such a situation as you describe; neither would most countries in Europe or many other parts of the world. I hope that you can finally defeat the right wing on this. You are a good person, to be thinking of the situation for others when you have a health worry yourself - I just hope that people like you with consciences will prevail over the Tea Party barbarism and the selfishness of the insurance companies.

[Pooka Fey]

65. Thank you for posting, PCIntern, and a speedy recovery!

:grouphug:

[Odin2005]

68. K&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:hug:

:grr:

[democrank]

71. My best to you, PCIntern.

I appreciated you insight.

[awoke_in_2003]

73. if you want a true picture...

of what is happening to people in this country, the ER in any moderate or big city is the place to be. It is very sad indeed.

[WillyT]

75. K & R !!!

:kick:

[Vinca]

76. I'm very happy to hear you'll be fine and wish everyone could

go outside themselves and look at the faces of the people literally begging for medical care. I had a bout of an incredibly painful condition early in the year - a complication of shingles - and was able to afford treatment even though I was uninsured at the time. The neurologist I saw after an ER visit told me that post-herpetic neuralgia can be the most severe pain a human can experience. I'm grateful to have figured out a way to pay for the doctor and prescriptions, but I'm haunted by the thought of people who have this particular condition and have to go it alone. It's inhumane for anyone to suffer so badly in any country, but in the "greatest country on earth" it's obscene. In any case, PC, I appreciate your rant.

[Curmudgeoness]

77. Let them die, as long as it isn't ME. Social Darwinism, as long as

there is nothing to do with EVOLUTION. People make a choice whether they buy health insurance, as long as I can afford it for myself.

The level of thinking that these people who seem to have all the media's attention is astonishingly low.

Hope all is well PCI.

[spooky3]

79. I know you do a lot to help others in need--may your goodness be returned to you many times over.

[alarimer]

80. Republicans are cruel, evil, heartless people.

Our President and the Democrats in Congress (most of them at least) do not seem to be willing to acknowledge this fact. They are still playing from a different playbook when the Republicans were not so evil.

It is long past time for the gloves to come off.

I just don't get what is so wrong with "Medicare for all".

[Vattel]

81. I went to the ER 2 weeks ago

and they didn't ask for my insurance until after the care was completed. That seems like it should be standard procedure everywhere.

[spanone]

82. k&r....

[bertman]

83. Thank you for an exceptional post. I'm glad they caught your problem and were able to help you.

In another thread on DU the other day, one of the worshippers at the Shrine of President Obama posted about his passing HEALTHCARE REFORM as one of his MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

My wife and I are fortunate to be able to pay over $12,000 a year--TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS a YEAR--for our insurance coverage that includes a $5000 deductible.

How many American families can afford to pay that amount of money a year to feel relatively secure about their medical well-being?

And in this economic DEPRESSION we are experiencing how many Americans have lost the coverage they once had when they were employed?

What kind of "MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT" is it to ensure that working Americans must pay such a rate for basic medical care?

We need a PUBLIC OPTION and we needed it two years ago.

REC.

[Name removed]

84. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Liberal_in_LA]

85. wonderful post. Good look with your medical journey.

[akvo]

88. Really? Do you really believe that half the nation is heartless?

About half the nation is rep. Even in your community there are reps. Do you really believe they are driven by fear and hatred? Thats the same as Hannity saying dems are driven by stupidity and ignorance.

From any perspective, the idea that reps want people to just die is assinine. Actually think for a minute, if republicans and the corporations just let people die, who will they sell their products to? Who will work in the mines? Who will bake their cake and serve their wine? I jest, but the "social darwinism" idea does not make any sense. Its cute sounding propaganda.

This idea that "we" are compassionate and "they" are heartless bastards has led to the vitriolic political situation we have now. When you see the opposition as sub-human, you give yourself permission to be the heartless bastard you claim "they" are.

So some idiots at the rep debate shouted "yeah" over the question of letting the uninsured sick man die. Did you here Ron Pauls actual answer to the question (thats been discussed in another topic, but look it up)? Some here on DU proclaim the same callous sentiment about teapers and reps as the "yeah" man at the rep debate. Different topics, same attitude, no excuse for either.

Posts such as this topic which leverage a personal heart tugging experience into a diatribe against people is what is despicable and disgraceful.

[anneboleyn]

90. The OP is correct, and Ron Paul's reply that "charity" would magically kick in is absurd

Anyone who has any real-world experience with insurance and hospitals and healthcare knows that the OP's points are entirely valid. The idea that you seem to support (from the Tea Party debate) that some magical charity would step in to pay for patients such as these (or the six-month patient in the debate example) is just preposterous. That was Ron Paul's reply. It is not a realistic approach to healthcare, in crisis situations or otherwise. Spend some time in an ER and learn about the reality, not the ideology.

Your post, in which you admonish a member of this community who is describing a genuine experience, is a disgrace.

[akvo]

97. You mistakenly assume I do not have first hand experience

I work with a national charity that provides free health care (Shriners Hospitals, although I am not a Shriner). I also work with a private organization that links people who need medical care but cannot pay for it with wealthy anonymous donors willing to pay for it. I also work with a religous based foster care organization which includes free health care up to age 19, completely funded through the religous supporters (zero govt funding).

These "magical" charities already exist despite your lack of knowledge about them.

And unless you are a nurse or physician in an ER, I have spent much more time than you in the ER and ICU, and in particular the neo-nat ICU.

And I admonish anyone that will use their own personal heart tugging story as a vitriolic attack for political gain.

[anneboleyn]

91. Thank you for the excellent post, PCIntern. You speak the truth about problems with healthcare.

I hope you are feeling better and that your follow-up procedure goes well.

[BeHereNow]

93. My brother is alive today because of what you say.

He didn't have significant symptoms, but was required as
a helicopter pilot to be screened for certain conditions.
Thank goodness.

I have a friend who is ignoring some pretty clear signals
from his body. I have begged him to deal with it.
I am so happy to know you are going to be okay
and want to kick this thread because your message
is about life and death.
BHN:hug: :thumbsup:

[The Midway Rebel]

94. Bless you doc. Stay well.

I may not always agree with you but you are a good egg and we need you. Stay well.

[msanthrope]

95. Get better, PC!!!! nt

[PCIntern]

96. A collective "THANK YOU" to those who've sent good wishes...

Twenty years ago, if someone told me that an anonymous thread on a website (what's that)? would make a difference in how I feel and how I'm convalescing so far, I would have rolled my eyes in disbelief. But you guys are great and I'm actually all teary and stuff this morning reading this 'cause I'm actually a pretty sensitive guy: crying at sappy commercials and all that.

Thank you all from the 'bottom of my heart'. (Sometimes you NEED a cliche)

PC

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[WCGreen]

98. PCIntern, I have been in and out of the hospital for more than

25 years now...

I am compromised, so much so that I am lucky to have medicare. I also have a wife who has me on her competent insurance.

Even with that pretty good coverage, I still shell out over 400 bucks a month on scripts and doctor bills. One of my scripts costs 1,800 per round of treatment. I pay 50 bucks.

I too have seen the anxiety in the ER. Here the desperation of the people who have waited too long for the simple reason that they have no insurance.

What gets to me is that the right claims we are a Christian Nation and yet this cruel situation continues unabated and unresolved.

It is shocking.

[pokerfan]

99. That's life on the Serengeti

as Dennis Miller is fond of saying. And I thought republicans didn't believe in Darwin. Miller to Billo earlier this year:

I do believe in Darwin in that I believe in the survival of the fittest to some degree. I do think people want to give. I think they’re getting sick of propping up losers and I think we’ve reached a point in history where we have to separate those who break our hearts and deserve it and those who are just screw ups. This is the Serengeti plain – if somebody’s going to perpetually exhibit a limp, they’re gonna get fed on… That’s the way life works.

http://www.newshounds.us/2011/04/14/dennis_miller_on_the_disadvantaged_let_them_get_eaten_up_on_the_serengeti_plain_of_life.php