Greedy little bastards of Cancer Treatment Centers of America!

[DollyM]

Cancer Treatment Centers of America . . . don't let their flowery commercials about how much they care for you and your cancer treatment, fool you. They are greedy little bastards that harass little old ladies for payment when they have already been paid in the 6 figures from Medicaid and Medicare. If we lived in Canada, this wouldn't be a problem! Pretty sad when you can work all your life and then be wiped out by medical bills! My mother is 83 and has colon cancer. We found out today that she applied "too late" to have the bulk of her medical bills covered from her cancer treatment last fall. She was trying to pay out of pocket on the bills until she just finally ran out of money and the Cancer Treatment Center doctor said they would no longer treat her because " of the size of her bill and her age." She owes $16 thousand dollars that Medicaid will not cover because it was incurred more than 180 days before she applied for assistance. CTC is now threatening to send her bill to collections. I told her to file for bankruptcy and then they won't get a friggin thing. But of course she won't do that, she was raised in a generation where you owed no one if you could help it and then you paid your debts if you had them. Problem is, she didn't choose to have cancer and even though the has tried to pay the bills, they are beyond the reach of an average person's ability to pay, especially someone on a limited income that will not get any larger.

[RagAss]

1. One day we may have a President who will fix this crime against humanity.

Maybe when my grandchildren have grandchildren.

[WinkyDink]

2. I fear serfdom will instead be the order of the day.

[RagAss]

5. Amen.

[SomethingFishy]

77. 100% Right. Did you see Steve King's(R-Wackoastan) comment today?

About how things were so much better when only male land owners were allowed to vote?

From Crooks and Liars:

KING: As I roll this thing back and I think of American history, there was a time in American history when you had to be a male property owner in order to vote. The reason for that was, because they wanted the people who voted — that set the public policy, that decided on the taxes and the spending — to have some skin in the game.

Now we have data out there that shows that 47 percent of American households don't pay taxes, 51 percent of American wage-earners don't have an income tax liability. And it's pretty clear that there are a lot of people who are not in the workforce at all. In fact, of our unemployment numbers — that run in the 13 or 14 million category — when you go to the Department of Labor Statistics and you look at that data, you can add up those that are simply not in the workforce of different age groups, but of working age, add that number to the number of those who are on unemployment and you come up with a number that was just a few months ago 80 million Americans. Just over a month ago that number went over 100 million Americans that aren't working.

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/rep-steve-kings-lament-dreams-about-whe

[spanone]

7. or a congress that gives a rat's ass

[RagAss]

13. We have a better chance of getting hit in the ass with a meteorite !

[CoffeeCat]

12. And the notion that we got "reform"....

...with that pathetic, insulting "healthcare bill" is an abomination.

Are the health-insurance companies still the powerbrokers at the center of our
healthcare system? YES.

Is the model of our healthcare system a profit-centric one, run by greedy health-insurance
executives who care more about raking it in for themselves--than they do about patient care" YES

Then there is no healthcare reform.

I am so sick and tired of being sold a few crumbs and a load of CRAP--and then being told that I should be grateful
for the crumbs.

What goes on in our healthcare system is disgusting and inhumane and we're the only industrialized
nation on the planet that doesn't have a national healthcare plan. And it's because our politicians
absolutely REFUSE to stop kow towing to the corporations. That's the only reason!

We are a sick, sick nation.

[RagAss]

16. Word ! CoffeeCat !

[Quantess]

39. Sadly true.

[kath]

47. + a brazillion

It's absolutely immoral that this country is the only developed nation without a national healthcare plan. The only nation where the concept of "medical bankruptcy" exists.
It's unethical, immoral (and for all the Religious Right assholes out there, it's utterly UN-Christian), and wrong, wrong, wrong,
A sick, sick nation indeed.

[Enthusiast]

67. Right on, Kath.

Un-Christian!

[jbnow]

48. Actually there is a lot of reform in it. Not enough

and the core of it has not started yet
but it will make a huge difference for a huge number.

I am not clear what happened in this case, what help wasn't applied for in time and that is bad. People going through the fear and woes of cancer are not always great at handling details. If everyone was just covered that would not happen.

There are way too many people forced into bankruptcy due to medical problems, even insured people. After reform goes into effect there is an annual limit to what an individual would have to pay out during a year in copays and deductibles no matter what comes up during that time, even if one is hospitalized for months. That amount tops out at 5K something but is lower as income goes down and if memory serves goes down in steps to 2,000. Now that can be a hassle to pay if you live on 22K or something but that is payment plan territory, not bankruptcy time. (It is double that amount for a family)

And if we are talking about cancer treatment there is another reform... insurance can't place an annual or a lifetime limit on care a person can receive. Too often now in recurring, complex illness they max out on care and are on their own. That won't happen.

Right now that max can be ridiculous even in chronic illnesses. Someone in my state has diabetes and only one insurance will take her or other pre-existing conditions (because they are forced too... the only one so it makes them more expensive since they get the sickest people). Her insurance covers only 1 doctors visit a year, has a 30% copay and a maximum payout of 5,000 per year.
That won't happen anymore.

Many preventative tests and care will be free (as in no co-pay) like well baby care.
Insurance companies will have to pay out 85% of premiums in patient care and if they don't the difference will have to be refunded. People won't be paying those hiked up individual rates because people buying a plan off exchange will be a group

There are so many differences that will go into effect. Most are health insurance reforms, not health care reform but there is even some of that

It is not the best but it is a start, a real start. We wanted public option but CBO said public option would likely be a slightly more expensive option on exchange. I still wanted it there because it would be likely to slow the rate of increase... just through pressure of it not going up as fast. Non-profit insurance option could do the same thing.

Most European countries do use health insurance companies, just none are for profit.

We can bitch about it, it deserves bitching out but it is not an abomination and it is more than crumbs. You don't have to be grateful for it but I bet if you or a loved one is ever in a situation where it does make a huge difference you will be.

[jtrockville]

53. Thank you CoffeCat. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Yooperman]

59. Agreed....We didn't get "Healthcare Reform" .. We got "Health Insurance Reform"... BIG difference..

We need to get insurance companies OUT OF THE EQUATION! Period.

[slipslidingaway]

42. This President did kill any discussion of a not for profit system ...

from the very beginning.

Everyone will have a seat at the table, nice words.

:puke:

[Puget Progressive]

61. Plus, that political whore from Montana,

Max Baucus, accepted millions from the HMOs and Big Pharma to kill the public option. It is important to remember that when this "reform" was signed into law by Obummer that the stock prices for many HMOs went UP and several CEOs of those corps received bonuses. It looks to me as if they saw this a big victory for their bottom lines, minor reforms notwithstanding.

[slipslidingaway]

82. All that may be true, but IMO the agenda is set from the top and began at the WH Summit ...

when not for profit advocates where excluded.

[truedelphi]

70. + 1. n/t

[slipslidingaway]

83. Thanks :) n/t

[uponit7771]

50. One day we'll have people SMART ENOUGH to know the president can't do it by himself

...and will get said president a congress that is to the left of him, right now we don't have people such as

[TK421]

84. yeah...don't hold your breath on that one n/t

[DollyM]

3. her generation built this country . . .

It seems my generation has royally screwed it up! I feel like I have failed her . . .

[fascisthunter]

4. Just Think about it...

...you are in the desert, but you are prepared, and well hydrated with more in reserve for later. Then a woman/man comes crawling by you, begging for water to survive... now you have a choice. Do you give the man what he needs to survive, or will you deny him what he needs unless he pays you more than he has with him?

The for-profit health insurance industry needs to be shut down!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

6. Blame the government, not the treatment centre.

Private institutions have no moral or legal obligation to provide medical treatment for free, any more than you or I have.

The government of any remotely sane state has a moral duty to pay for medical treatment for its citizens, especially the poorer ones; the reason you're screwed is because the American government chooses not to do so.

[saras]

33. You and I do. It's sometimes called first aid, sometimes just calling 911

[MedicalAdmin]

71. I have to admit that I agree with this.

But it still sucks that an 80 year old lady is being put into collections. ...

I would never do that in my clinic. Of course, we don't rack up bills like that without talking to the patient and making sure the dime is covered (if possible - we do't wait around for authorization either).


I must admit to having mixed feelings on this one, but I feel that you are targeting the right target. CTCA are not bad guys generally speaking. We consult with them occasionally (they are really good at cancers and we are really good at pain management so our docs consult on cases every now and again).

I knew they were a big dog to our small dog, but ....

[musette_sf]

8. I have no words for these greedhogs

Someone near and dear to me was receiving oncology treatments at a well-known and respected university teaching hospital in a major metropolitan area.

This person's lead oncologist had suggested that perhaps palliative care should be considered at the point that the disease, and the patient, were at in the chemo regimen.

A well-meaning friend suggested that this person seek an opinion from a physician at one of the hospitals affiliated with this sick vulture corporation.

Said physician supposedly reviewed the medical history, then contacted my loved one, and blew a lot of smoke up my dear one's rear aperture about how he could offer hope, thought that a fairly radical surgical procedure was within the realm of possibility, and made an appointment for my dear one to travel to a distant city to be evaluated.

(Bear in mind that this person had already been advised that palliative care was likely the best option for quality of life at that point in the disease's progression.)

My dear one and the family rejoiced that perhaps, there WAS hope when it all looked almost hopeless.

Upon traveling to the distant city to meet Doctor God, the Doctor fairly quickly advised my loved one that unfortunately, due to certain various factors, that nothing could be done.

Those various factors WERE PLAINLY IN THE MEDICAL HISTORY that was supposedly reviewed before this appointment was made. There were NO new contributing factors that were NOT in the medical history.

My loved one never really recovered, emotionally or physically, from the false hope, the trip to have the hope quickly knocked down into the dirt, the frustration of being played for a patsy just for some $$$$$, and the ensuing depression. Although my loved one's demise from the disease was never really in question - we knew it was virtually (excepting a miracle) a certainty - my dear one's status quo failed rapidly from that point.

I'm not a physician but there was NOTHING that Doctor God cited as a reason that nothing could be done, that was NOT in the medical records that were supposedly reviewed, and supposedly supported bringing this person to a remote city for physical diagnosis.

I'm still so angry about this chicanery. It was all about billable hours for Doctor God, and I'm betting he knew darn well that the records contraindicated the radical treatment that was portrayed to my loved one as a definite possibility and as a HOPE.

[DollyM]

10. She actually has good health other than the cancer

She was working until the day she went into the hospital for what she thought was severe indigestion. Had never been hospitalized and took only one medication. She was a working member of society, paying in taxes and not using the health care system at all, then boom, one serious illness to devastate her financially. It just doesn't seem fair that our medical system has decided she can no longer get treatment from them because she can't pay 16 thousand dollars of a bill that over 200 thousand has already been paid. I would like to see the house her doctor lives in and the car he drives and compare it to her house and car. Apparently, he thinks she is too old to count anymore because she owes them 16 thousand dollars and is 83 years old.

[SoCalDem]

11. I had a friend who got breast cancer at 78.. They told her she didn't "need"

more than a lumpectomy..no chemo ...no radiation..nothing.. of course she died within 2 yrs of the diagnosis.. She was also turned down for a hearing aid, since she was "old and in failing health"..

This was a woman who worked non-stop and who had more energy & get up and go than I do..and she was written off because she was 78:(

[undeterred]

17. I'm not sure I like seeing the aggressive approach

with older women- breast cancers are slow growing and the chemo and radiation are really hard on them. People should be given all the options, of course, but my mother is in her eighties and she would never want to go through all that.

[SoCalDem]

26. I think Thelma would have liked to have the option.

Her doctor played the whole thing down & said that a younger woman might "need" extra treatments, but she did not. Her husband pushed back a bit, but without the doctor advocating for her, she would have probably had to pay out of pocket, and they had no money (why she was still working at 78)..

I think he (dr) thought she would die before the cancer recurred.:(

[undeterred]

36. I know that probably feels ageist.

I worked in a cancer resource center at a teaching hospital so my perspective is not so personal.

People who went there tend to want aggressive treatment and the doctors tend to push it so we did see a lot of older people going through chemo and radiation for their cancers. One of the social workers made a negative comment to me about it- she said the length of life was not that much longer and quality of life was much worse because the treatment is so hard on an older person.

It is so hard to get a perspective on all this when you only know what the doctor tells you. This social worker had seen hundreds of patients with cancer and she really did not think the doctors should push it so hard. I'm sure the finances enter into it as well.

[musette_sf]

25. Another near and dear one

was (finally) diagnosed with colon cancer when in his early 70s.

I say finally, because the initial diagnoses through an HMO were NOT for colon cancer. I suspect this was due to his "advanced" age - why diagnose something with an expensive treatment regimen for someone who is "so old"?

He paid for a second opinion outside of the HMO.

He is now in his early 90s - *20 years* since the initial diagnosis and treatment, I'd sure as hell call that a "survivor" - and only now is a recurrence of the disease beginning to happen.

20 years, that he would not have had, had the initial diagnoses not been questioned and a second opinion not sought.

[Indykatie]

24. Is Your Mother on Medicare? You Referenced Medicaid

I ask because folks get Medicare at age 65 not Medicaid. You noted she worked and paid taxes and as such should have Medicare since age 65. If she does not have Medicare but rather Medicaid for some reason you should look into appealing the effective date for the coverage. Providers can not refuse to bill Medicaid if the coverage was in effect on the date the service was rendered. There is no 6 month limit on filing claims for either Medicare or Medicaid. If she has Medicaid coverage there is no patient liability. If it's Medicare then there will will deductibles and/or co-pays and coinsurance. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America as a rule do not contract with commercial carriers which allows them to charge whatever they want to for their services and the patients often have to pay huge out of pocket amounts since they are "out of network". I work in benefits and the folks that I have come across that have gone to the CTC facilities are those who have been given a terminal diagnosis by another more mainstream medical facility and see CTC as their last hope. Once I worked with a family with a family member who after being treated at a teaching hospital facility headed to CTC after being told they had weeks to live. They passed away a week later but not before being treating at CTC and incurring significant costs. CTC wants you to believe they are doing treatment that is not available or routinely practiced at other medical facilities and that simply is not the case. I would also suggest that you contact them and ask for a large part if not all of the $16K balance be written off given the fact that they have already received $200K in payments. Most medical providers are willing to write some or most of the outstanding balances especially when they have already received significant payments from insurance or the government.

Feel free to reach out to me via e-mail if you want to discuss your mother's situation further.

[CoffeeCat]

34. Jaysus...

Are the hedge-fund managers giving advice to doctors about how to be bloodthirsty, sociopathic
greedmongers?

This profit-centric model of *everything* is spreading like cancer. The world sees sociopaths
getting away with being perverse and making money off of pathological behavior. So, it infects
other professions and areas of expertise.

The greedy corporations, the corrupt politicians and the rest of the wrecking-ball generation of
CEOs who think they can do anything to people and our planet--are a dog whistle to the rest of the
psychopaths out there, "Come on in...the water is fine!"

[MedicalAdmin]

74. Keep in mind that doctors don't run the bigger clinics.

They are employees. I know a few of the docs at CTCA (chicago) and they get a straight salary no matter how many hours they put in. If you have a beef it is with the administration, and really, your beef should be with the government / corruption / insurance companies who have gamed the system and sucked it dry so that shit like this is allowed to happen.

[MedicalAdmin]

73. That shit ain't right.

If you are of a mind, I would challenge any payments, and then file complaints with the human rights commission, the ombudsperson for the organization (if they have one), the medical board and anyone else he takes funds or is regulated by.

He made a mistake so he shouldn't have charged for it.

[truedelphi]

87. Such a sad and horrible tale.

As awful as it is for a person to hear that no more treatments can help them, it is even worse to be led down the path of false hope. Especially given that time needs to be spent traveling, and then expenses incurred to receive the care.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. I just knew CTC was a racket.

Profiting off of cancer patients is about as low as you can go. They could just write it off, but the greedy fucking rat bastards won't.
MAKE your mom file for bankruptcy. Take her to an attorney and just do it! Threatening an 83 year old? They should be ashamed. :grr:

[MedicalAdmin]

75. The treatments are legit.

They are not a racket.


But I disagree with this decision on their part.

[Purveyor]

14. If your mom has assets you want to protect from the creditors, look into

placing those assets in a irrovocable trust.

You will avoid probate court and associated costs and the creditors can't touch the trust assets.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

15. you know, I hear those sweet commercials, and I always

think, but what if you have no insurance? Now I know. :(

Deepest sympathies for your mother.

[DollyM]

19. the irony is though, she has insurance, just not enough

I imagine they would just flat turn down people without insurance. At least she had medicare, she just didn't realize how expensive cancer treatment would be. I am unemployed and un-insured as well. If have decided that if I get a serious illness like this, I will just ask for a good supply of vicadin and take the whole bottle all at once. I know I can't afford medical care without insurance and I have seen what the stress of these medical bills is doing to her. I won't go through that.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

28. it is a crime that people that pay all their life into

'the system" go bankrupt when they finally need the system. Mother fucking crime. God will get these people that perpetuate this corrupt system.

[Kurovski]

20. "The caring begins once your credit clears"

That was the tagline for a parody I wrote and produced twenty years ago about one of those exclusive disease-profiteers' organizations twenty years ago.

[Kurovski]

18. Best of luck, & I'm sorry for your troubles.

Keep at the bankruptcy. It takes years of convincing sometimes.

Tell her it's par for the course for businesses, and always was, even "back in the day". They just didn't want her in on the secret.

Tell her she's already paid a trillion for bailouts to corrupt banks with her taxes, tell her whatever it takes, because her life will be unbearable when they sic the dogs on her. Cancer is huge business. Which is immoral in itself. Jesus would be ever so pissed.

I've been through this...you will eventually get through to her. There is no shame in it, she went broke because of disease? There is no shame at all, bless her for taking it to the wall and paying all she could. She has done her part and unfortunately her Govt. and the greed of the cancer industry betrayed her.

It is easy beyond belief to go through bankruptcy. Tell her to do it. Tell her I'll come to her house if she doesn't! :spank:

Come on ma...seriously. God just told me he wants you to do it.

[DollyM]

21. you don't know my little momma! LOL!

she is all of five feet and 90 pounds soaking wet but has the strength of 10 men I think! When she sets her mind to something, watch out! I was so upset today at the DHS when the caseworker told us there was nothing else he could do, I started to cry and she started patting me and telling me it was going to be okay. A mother to the end!

[Kurovski]

23. Denny's is always looking for employees with real motivation...

She'd make handfuls of cash in tips from your description! :D

Well, she just might do it. Somehow.

[DollyM]

27. she was a greeter at wal mart for 13 years . . .

She was working full time until the day of her cancer surgery and had every intention of returning but the the treatments make her so sick, she finally had to give up on the idea of returning to work.

[Kurovski]

30. Best of luck.

(Keep the bankrupcy option open, even if it irks her.)

If one can't work, has no assets or any chance at inheritance there isn't anything to keep the creditors at bay. And they will take all her assets if she has any. She should be told that.

It's good she's a tough little cookie. :)

[TK421]

85. We need to herd people in for the big Grand Slam Breakfast promo!

maybe throw two extra Jimmy Dean sausage links on the plate to keep em reeled in!!

[riverbendviewgal]

22. sorry that she does not live in Canada

I just had surgery for a detached retina surgery....I had it the same day I was diagnosed. I had to travel 400 km (one way 200 km) and will get reimbursed for the gasoline by the health care system as I live in rural Northern Ontario where some specialists are not available close by Cost to me for treatment and specialist - zero.


This was the same case for my son who had a brain tumor which was the same type tumor as Ted Kennedy's...He had 3 brain operations, chemo, radiation, counseling, intensive care for 6 weeks after the last operation and palliative care in the hospital for a week....cost - zero

My husband and father of our son was diagnosed two months after our son had Non Hopkins's Lymphoma..He had surgery, several chemos , radiation, stem cell transplant, counseling and 3 months in palliative care in the hospital. cost was zero.

My eye specialist surgeon is from Mexico.. I overheard him telling his nurse just after my operation that Mexico has a two tier system...The rich get the care first because they have the money and the poor have to wait. I told him I wondered why Americans did not want one payer health care like we have in Canada. He said it is because they are nuts.

[DollyM]

29. I think it is because we are afraid . . .

America is so afraid of doing something like another country. We don't even spell our words the same as England for fear of looking like them! (color vs colour, etc.) I think that is the whole tea party thing is fear, fear of being like another country because "our country is better than anyone else's country!" So we can't learn from any other country and develop practices that work for us as well. Medical care is just plain out of reach for the average citizen in America.

[Kurovski]

31. It's greed, plain and simple. And there are people paid in full time jobs

who keep people afraid that they will die waiting in line for health care if we do what every other industrialised nation on earth does and give every citizen affordable healthcare.

Oh, the irony.

Oh how I wish there was a hell.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

32. These guys gave me the creeps

I once visited a friend of the family at one of these facilities and these weirdo employees were lingering around wishing to give tours and more or less demanding the disclosure of medical history on the spot. I thought I was touring a time share. The tour included repeated emphasis on the role of "faith and spirituality" just in case I wasn't already alienated enough.

[Kurovski]

35. "I have faith that Satan will provide, as ever...thank you all the same."

[DollyM]

37. I don't think ours is like that . . .

It is really small, just a couple of offices and a large "treatment" room for chemo. Yes, they did tell her that stress was detrimental to her healing and that she should try to not be stressed! I think the nurses that care for her are good, they take money out of their own pockets to buy food and treats for the patients that are there all day for chemo. There is also a special spray that they use to numb the patient before they stick in the needle so that the center refuses to buy so the nurses buy it for the patients. Pretty sad . . .

[MedicalAdmin]

76. Holy crap. I didn't know that.

I just knew the company in terms of some the of their employees who are good sources of information when we need it. I guess I never saw the other end of that.


It's a pity we don't have single payer.





Hugs to you and your mom. She sounds like a firecracker.

[FLAprogressive]

38. Remember, this company is FOR-PROFIT.

[DollyM]

40. well, it's not like she has a choice between profit and non profit

I don't see much difference anymore though. The hospital is "non profit" yet they will harass you just as well for money. We live in a small, rural area so there is not much if any, choices in health care providers. Lots of choices in funeral homes though!

[midnight]

41. There was a time that hospital use to help... Now they are all run for profit,

regardless of how they sell themselves...

[Tess49]

43. Go over those bills with a fine tooth comb. When my brother

who was treated there died, they filed around twenty thousand dollars in claims against the estate. I (his executor) started checking each claim out -- and at least half were double billings. Several had already been paid by the insurance company and not credited to his account. Their inability to do even basic bookkeeping i.e match account numbers to payments received, dragged the process of finalizing his estate out by several months. Final tally? $1600.00 was what he actually owed. I loathe this company. Good luck. Call them every day if you have to. They came to know me well. I was relentless and refused to settle with them until I was satisfied with the final total.

[Hoyt]

63. Good advice. Ask them for accounting of what is considered mom's responsibility.

Normally on something like this, Medicare, Medicaid and any supplemental policy the mom has would cover most of cost, if not all.

If she is now on Medicaid, future costs should be covered. Tell em to screw themselves if they are going to let her suffer, when future costs would be covered. Find another cancer specialist. Call the local news media.

[Raine]

44. I've wondered if they were any good, THANKS

for the info.

[Desertrose]

45. Cancer is a business. Profit is all that counts.

I am so sorry about your Mom. This whole system is ridiculous and very cruel. Bad enough to have the disease, but to have the financial pressure on top of that....it makes me furious...because it doesn't have to be this way and shouldn't be this way.

There is NO REASON for anyone TO PROFIT FROM ILLNESS. NONE AT ALL.


eta :hug: to you & your Mom.

[area51]

46. +1

"There is NO REASON for anyone TO PROFIT FROM ILLNESS. NONE AT ALL."

Why do people put up with this in the U.S.? We wouldn't stand for a for-profit police force, or fire department. Why do we accept, as a people, the premise that you somehow have to "deserve" health care?

Each day, 273 people die due to lack of health care in the U.S.; that's 100,000 preventable deaths per year. This is not only a moral issue, but a national security issue that we're so vulnerable given that our health care delivery system is so fragmented and dysfunctional.

We need single-payer health care, not a welfare bailout for the serial-killer insurance agencies.

We don't need the GingrichCare of mandated, unregulated, for-profit insurance that is still too expensive, only pays parts of medical bills, denies claims, bankrupts and kills people.

The Affordable Care Act is the rehashed republican '93 plan:

"Subtitle F: Universal Coverage - Requires each citizen or lawful permanent resident to be covered under a qualified health plan or equivalent health care program by January 1, 2005."

"We will never have real reform until people's health stops being treated as a financial opportunity for corporations."

"Employer-based health insurance has always been a bad idea. Your life should not depend on who you work for." -- T. McKeon

"Any proposal that sticks with our current dependence on for-profit private insurers ... will not be sustainable. And the new law will not get us to universal coverage ...." -- T.R. Reid, The Healing of America

"Despite the present hyperbole by its supporters, this latest effort will end up as just another failed reform effort littering the landscape of the last century." --John Geyman, M.D., Hijacked! The Road to Single Payer in the Aftermath of Stolen Health Care Reform

[Delphinus]

49. No profit on my illness.

Used that in rallies - still makes me cry to think about it.

[MountainLaurel]

64. Absolutely

I work for a medical institution that's strategic plan involves the areas where it's hoping to make the most money in coming years. Of course they don't call it that. But that's essentially what it amounts to. One of the areas is cancer, another is operating a tissue bank (whereby they take whatever is removed during surgery and then sell it for research). Naturally, none of the ideas have to do with the chronic health conditions in our community: diabetes, cardiac issues, etc.

[Desertrose]

80. They sound like predators!!

Tissue from surgeries? Do patients get anything from their own body's tissues? Ha! Right!


Cancer...well, we already know they prey on that.

[MountainLaurel]

88. Aren't they all predators?

At least the 95% who want to make money off of people's illness.

[Desertrose]

91. Yes, they are. No doubt in my mind.

I'm sure there are some human beings among em, but few & far between.

[Odin2005]

51. I hate scumbags that prey on the most desperate of people!

:grr:

[liberation]

52. Cancer Treatment Centers of America also has a very checkered history

Besides the fact that they are a for-profit organization whose business model revolves around cancer, let that sink in for a minute, their commercials give false and very inflated success rates. They spend little to nothing in legitimate cancer research.

If we had a proper health care system, people would have access to real oncologists, instead they are reduced to give their life savings to charlatans and snake oil salesmen out of sheer desperation.


It is SICKENING.

[Critters2]

62. When my mother was diagnosed with glioblastoma, I called the CTC in Chicago,

asking for information as to how they would treat it. The woman I talked to said they had no neurosurgeon on staff. :wtf:


So, my mom got good care at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Center at St. Luke Medical Center in Milwaukee. And I figured CTC was, at best, advertising falsely.

[Romulox]

54. Force her to buy private insurance. Problem solved.

:shrug:

[in_cog_ni_to]

55. Do you have any idea how expensive Private Insurance is? I do!

The average American cannot afford it. How can an 83 year old be expected to buy it?

[Romulox]

56. I was mocking the President's healthcare plan.

It was perhaps a bit crass, but my point and yours are the same.

[DollyM]

57. she is on medicaid now but that doesn't cover the past bill

Medicaid only oovered her back to January. The bulk of her bills were incurred from September to December. The Cancer Center "threw her out" in late December because, and I quote "the size of her bill and her age." When I got her on Medicaid in April, the Cancer treatment center welcomed her back with open arms because any future bills were now covered. But we didn't realize they would not cover the 16 thousand. It might as well be a million dollars because she doesn't have it. I know the state has to have some standards but shouldn't medicaid cover your bills because you can't pay them not because you fit into their neat little time frame?

[DollyM]

86. had a chemo today and guess what?

My mom went in for her chemo treatment today and her blood pressure and white cell count were both out of wack so the nurse asked her if she was stressed about something!!!! So she laid out the whole story for the nurse. The nurse was furious as she said that they can't do treatment if her blood pressure and white cell count are not good so she got on the phone and called the billing office and apparently told them to lay off of her. The nurse was going to get her some paperwork to fill out that was apparently from the chemo drug company that would help pay for some of the cost. My next step though, is to contact my local legislative representative and see if he can get this straightened out. We pay taxes to fund programs to pay medical care for the indigent and needy, I think my mom certainly qualifies. Medicaid just needs to go back a couple of months and pick up the portion of the chemo she missed. She didn't know and neither did we, that Medicaid would only go back 4 months for bills. She was trying to pay the bills herself and did pretty well with keeping up until her savings was all gone. Then they wanted her to pay 200.00 a month out of her 800.00 social security check--she did that for several months as well until she hit a month when she had to pay house insurance. Then there was just not enough money to go around. It is like you get punished for trying to be responsible and pay your medical bills yourself. Stupid system!

[in_cog_ni_to]

79. So sorry.

:hi:

[Honeycombe8]

90. The mandatory requirement doesn't apply to those who otherwise have ins.

Like those who qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, or who have it through employer. I think.

Which is a good thing. Not many ins. cos. are interested in insuring elderly people. They like the young, healthy ones. It's a for-profit business, after all. Sad to say.

[Honeycombe8]

58. Bankruptcy doesn't incl. med. bills, sorry to say. Your mom is stuck

with the $16,000 debt, whether she files for BR or not. But maybe she could pay the $16k if BR got rid of other bills?

But you know, at her age, what's teh worse that could happen? They can't take her home. I doubt they can take her SS checks (not sure about that). It'll ruin her credit, but so what?

I wouldn't judge CTC harshly, though. They provided services, which they rightly expect to be paid for. They had to pay the doctors, radiologists, and other workers who worked on your mother's case, even though the bill didn't get paid. If they don't ask to be paid, when they are not paid, they won't be in business long. (It's a business for profit.)

Here's a thought, though: It's possible to try to talk with a CTC representative and work out a settlement, I'd guess. Unless your mother has no intention, or is not capable, of paying any of it.

Wish we had universal coverage. But wishes are for fools. I hope what happened to your mom doesn't happen to me. How awful.

[Lars39]

60. Since when aare medical bills not included in Bankruptcy?

[COLGATE4]

66. Since the last reform of Bankruptcy (2 years ago, I believe)

[valerief]

65. Their warm and fuzzy ads are a MAJOR tipoff they're just greedy Republic jerks. nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

68. Return healthcare to not-for-profit otherwise

the greedy cancer treatment bastards will continue spreading their cancer bio-weapons onto the masses. They have nothing to lose only billions of dollars to gain.

[Honeycombe8]

89. There's no "return to." It never was not-for-profit in this country, was it? nt

[kimmerspixelated]

69. Take a stand against the cancer industry.

Consult with Naturopaths, take charge of your own health. Put them out of business. Don't flame please.

[MedicalAdmin]

78. I'm gonna sit back and watch the woo squad get nuts. Good luck.

:popcorn:

[Kerrytravelers]

72. Only in America.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. :hug:

[Aaria]

81. Google Kelley Eidem The doctor who cures cancer Get your mother healthy.