Making fun of someone who died of cancer, has cancer, or potentially has cancer is NO JOKE!!!!!!

[druidqueen]

33. Insurance companies are worse than the cancer

My husband, in January, 1995 was diagnosed with lung cancer. On the day he told his boss he would need some time off, he was laid off. However, we were able to use COBRA to keep his coverage. We were told by the doctor that he would most likely be in the hospital for 5 - 7 days. He wound up in the cardio-thoracic intensive care unit for 3 weeks!!! The bill was more than 6 figures. His health insurance first stated that they would only pay for 7 days (even though they were notified he would be in the ICU longer). After much negotiation with the hospital & the insurance company, we were left with a bill for $60,000!! We then became one of the many statistics you hear about.....we were forced to file bankruptcy after dealing with the horrors of cancer.

Then in December , 2002 my husband was once again diagnosed with lung cancer, only now it was in his left lung & a different strain of cancer. However, this time, since he had been on SS disability (after a long battle with the SS dept), he was covered by Medicare & his Medicare supplemental policy.......We owed the very same hospital $0. My husband, now, by some miracle is still alive and doing as well as one can with a total of less than 30% of his lungs.

The last thing anyone needs to worry about when they need healthcare is how much will it cost & how am I going to pay for it.

At the very least we need Medicare for all. One's access to healthcare should & must NOT be dependent on one's employer.

My heart goes out to Mr. Soptic.