Disability

[Tadao]

Is anyone here collecting disability? I finally won my case and I am now retired at the age of 37. I have a question though for anyone who knows about this kind of stuff.

I want to do volunteer work. If I get caught doing it, will they take disability away from me? I can work, but I can't hold a job. After a few months, the fatigue and pain makes working unbearable and I would be fired.

[DeadKennedys]

If they'd let you starve for doing charity work, there's a biiig problem. I don't think they could do that. Imo, volunteer work would only help your case - would show you're not taking disability just cause you're lazy.

[Sethomas]

As DK expressed, it shouldn't ever be an issue. If it is an issue, as my life can attest that non-issues are often interpreted as being issues, then at the very least you can make your case. None of us here can judge how sound your reasoning is about being able to sporadically volunteer but not hold a job, but since you have your disability checks you can say that the government made that judgment for us.

In the odd chance that it's something they watch, you might want to declare your volunteer intentions before you do it. At the very worst you'd end up volunteering clerical shit contrary to your desire to volunteer hoisting massive boulders over your head and throwing them fantastic distances for the public good.

[Sethomas]

Eh, I guess I should note that the only outstanding contingency in this is whether or not your tax forms would look the exact same with the volunteer service as they would without it.

[Tadao]

The thing about being able to volunteer and not work is this. I'll get fired from a normal job for attendance issues and then I won't be able to financially support myself. If I get fired from volunteering while collecting disability, I can still support myself. I'm new to this whole thing and I don't know if taxes are gonna be an issue anymore. I don't think disability is a taxable income. I'll soon find out I guess.

[Sethomas]

Well, the concern I was addressing was more like if you wanted to declare a whole bunch of deductions based on volunteer work or expenses related to it. From the perspective of the general citizenry, not being able to work for yourself and using that as a motive/opportunity to work for others is the greatest of great things. From the perspective of the Federal Reserve, however, taking money from the government and using the free time it provides to earn the ability to not give any money back to the government is something that might alarm them.

[Tadao]

Oh, I see what you're saying. No, I wouldn't declare volunteer work. I just want to give my help to less fortunates. I helped out at the Special Olympics last year and it was a great feeling. I'd like to help out at the zoo and maybe the vet's office.

The thing that worries me is this. It is hard to get on disability if you don't have the energy to fight for it. They try to keep it away from you in every way possible. Likewise, I think they might try to take it away from you if they can find a way. I don't want to lose my chance for having a mediocre life, but I can't take without giving back. I'm afraid that if I mention it to Social Security, they might consider me able to work.

That's why I'm asking here if anyone is on disability or knows about it. Also it makes for a subject that could become explosive here.

[Tadao]

Here's a different way to ask the same question I have. Does anyone do volunteer work? If so, do the places you help out need to log you SS# or anything like that? If I'm invisible, Social Security will never find out.

[Pandajuice]

From what I've heard and experienced, volunteer work is just as demanding and difficult as normal work is. Not only that, but they can be even more serious about the work and thus less understanding about people taking time off or being flaky.

Also, I think most people and the government feel that if you're going to collect disability, you're pretty much declaring to the nation that, for whatever reason, it's impossible for you to work. I don't know how the government would react knowing you're doing 4 hours of volunteer work a day (which at a zoo is much more labor intensive than a regular office job) while collecting disability, but I for one would scratch my head and ask, "If you can do this work, why can't you do normal work?" There's a million temp agencies that will put you into a temporary job whenever you needed for as long as you wanted that's really no more difficult or strenuous than posting on the i-mockery forums all day.

I think it is pretty cool that you don't want to just sit around collecting bits of other peoples' salaries that they work for and want to volunteer to make up for it; but the way I see it, if you can do volunteer work, you can do normal work; so you might as well do that. There's more pride in earning your own money anyway right?

[Colonel Flagg]

When I have had questions concerning issues related to income, deductions, tax-related stuff like that, believe it or not the IRS can answer basic questions. They're not ogres, they can be quite helpful and understanding. Plus, I don't think, based on your description of your situation that this would be a conflict of interest for them. Your main worry would be pissing off the insurance carrier.

I'd wait until May, though. I hear they've quite busy at the moment.

[MLE]

Pandajuice said "but the way I see it, if you can do volunteer work, you can do normal work; so you might as well do that. There's more pride in earning your own money anyway right?"

In response: If you knew why he is on Disability to begin with, or even read his posts in this thread, you'd UNDERSTAND, dipshit.

[Chojin]

My mom works at the branch of social security that handles this exact type of situation. I'll let you know later tonight.

[McClain]

My dad is his moms boss. He just told me to tell you to leave well enough alone. Sit on your ass and stay out of trouble. He said.

[MetalMilitia]

My mom is my dads brother. He said you should consult the citizens advice bureau :eek

[Pandajuice]

Pandajuice said "but the way I see it, if you can do volunteer work, you can do normal work; so you might as well do that. There's more pride in earning your own money anyway right?"

In response: If you knew why he is on Disability to begin with, or even read his posts in this thread, you'd UNDERSTAND, dipshit.

I read his posts and I didn't see anything that specified why exactly he couldn't work a normal job, but could work volunteer jobs; Just ambiguous feelings like "fatigue and pain". It's irrelevant anyway because the main irony of the situation still holds water regardless of why a particular person is on disability (it's fairly easy to assume it's a health matter anyway).

If you read my post and weren't such an angry person (who evidently feels that certain people are entitled to free money), you'd have read my point about volunteer work being every bit, if not more, strenuous and serious than paying gigs. Trust me, I've done volunteer work and most of it is not for flaky people, or for legitimately disabled people. Just like any job, volunteer or not, the head honchos don't want people they can't rely on.

My point again was that if he is legitimately disabled, he shouldn't worry about or try to make up for it doing volunteer work, because if he can't do a normal job for more than a couple months, he probably won't be able to hold down a volunteer job either. And if he can do volunteer work, he should be able to do normal work. They're all jobs whether they pay or not.

[liquidstatik]

The thing about being able to volunteer and not work is this. I'll get fired from a normal job for attendance issues and then I won't be able to financially support myself.

IT'S PRETTY EASY TO UNDERSTAND, PANDAJUICE

[liquidstatik]

FOR EXAMPLE,
My mom couldn't hold a job because she spent a lot of time in hospitals, in her later years. She could still work, volunteer, clean house, etc. But because of attendance issues, she wouldn't be able to hold a real/steady job. BUT AS FOR VOLUNTEERING, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU QUIT/GET FIRED, AS YOU DON'T RELY ON THEM FOR MONEY.

[Pandajuice]

FOR EXAMPLE,
My mom couldn't hold a job because she spent a lot of time in hospitals, in her later years. She could still work, volunteer, clean house, etc. But because of attendance issues, she wouldn't be able to hold a real/steady job. BUT AS FOR VOLUNTEERING, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU QUIT/GET FIRED, AS YOU DON'T RELY ON THEM FOR MONEY.

I SEE WOT U DID THAR!

MY POSTS ARE EASY TO UNDERSTAND TOO (well at least by anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together that is).

I'll try to make it as clear as possible without bringing my intellect down to such a level where I might crap myself. Please try to follow along.

I get that he wouldn't be able to work enough hours at a steady job to support himself. I also get that you people think that just because it's volunteer work and there's no pay involved, that they don't care about attendance issues.

My plain point that I've had to illustrate three times now is simply this:
If he is unable to hold down a paying job because of attendance issues, then he will be unable to hold down a volunteer job as well. You can get fired from volunteer jobs.

If he can magically hold down a regular volunteer job, then there isn't any problem doing a normal job as long as the employeer is made aware that health problems might force him to take some days off (believe it or not, some companies are ok with that if there are legitimate medical reasons; ever heard of doctor's notes?).

I'm not trying to be an asshole (though I probably should be judging by the asinine replies this thread has gotten) and I never intended to be in my first post. My goal was simply to make it clear and frank to Tadao that a volunteer job is the same as a normal job, just with no pay. They appreciate hard work and regular attendance as well; especially anything involving kids.

liquidstatik: It might be more useful by the way if you turned Tadao onto the same companies your mom volunteered for if they really don't mind attendance issues, instead of using it to discredit me. Volunteering is usually a pain in the ass because it's like having a second job (attendance committments and all) that you don't get paid for. That's why the majority of volunteer workers are old people who are living off pensions with nothing else to do, and college students who are trying to make their transcripts look better for med/law school.

[liquidstatik]

YES BUT IF HE GETS FIRED HE'S NOT GOING TO LOSE HIS HOUSE AS HE'S ON DISABILITY YOU COCK SUCK

[liquidstatik]

THEREFOR YOU'RE DUMB AND SHUT UP

[Sethomas]

Well, the problem we have in properly assimilating your posts is that no matter how coherent or, dare I say, articulate the expression of ideas is, it really doesn't matter if the idea being presented is inaccurate and totally fucking stupid.

Activism is a large and thriving movement, although it would be fantastic if it were ever larger and more thriving. As such, there are many methods by which time can be volunteered without the same kind of commitment as a job. Typically, when you call up an organization to ask when would be a good time to come in and give a few hours, they will not tell you that they only accept unpaid work in 40 hour/week increments with normal shift blocks. Often, they'd be happy to take one hour a week at a mutually convenient time frame, possibly on a walk-in basis in some of the more chaotic and eccentric charities.

So, yeah, the whole I-Mockery cultural sea change at hand kind of keeps me from calling you a total fucking moron in the same fashion as by which I-Mockery history was forged over many years. It's just hard NOT to insinuate as much by virtue of your idiotic complaints about charitable work that reflect a gross misunderstanding of every aspect of the conversation.

[Fat_Hippo]

Yeah, what he said!

The point is that he gets tired quickly because of health issues, so he simply can't work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, every week. But maybe he can work 25 hours one week, 15 the next, or whatever works for him. And if he has an accident that keeps him off his feet for let's say, 2 weeks, it won't be a problem, whereas if he had a normal job, he'd either be fired, lose 2 weeks of his vacation or just fired.

[Pandajuice]

Finally some articulate and sensible counter-arguements. I thought I'd be here all night baiting you guys until someone bit. Sometimes I find it invorgorating to argue and debate a point I don't necessarily agree with just to see if I can.

I absolutely agree with what you (Sethomas and Fat_Hippo) said and I applaud Tadao for choosing to volunteer his time instead of just resting on the "disability laurels". The best advice I'd give was what was already given: call the Department of Labor and ask if volunteering somehow interferes with your disability award and choose something that won't be very physically demanding.

[liquidstatik]

hahahhahah

[Tadao]

I would be upfront with the place I volunteer for and let them know that I have attendance issues and they can figure out if they could use my free work or not. It's really quite simple, they say yes or no.

Pandjuice, if you care to look into it, I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is very weird. The pain goes away when I work. Why can't I hold a job? Because I can't sleep, that is when the pain comes in. That is why I have attendence issues.

Like I said, they can decide if they want my help or not.

[Tadao]

Sometimes people think of internships as volunteer work. This can cause confusion.

[Pandajuice]

I feel for you Tadao. Having a baby (now a toddler) who doesn't sleep very well, I know what it's like to miss out on a lot of sleep and how debilitating that can be during the day.

I'll definitely look up your condition as I am curious. Thanks for sharing it with a stranger.

[Pub Lover]

You're not a stranger! Pandajuice, you're our old pal now!

In internet terms.

[Pandajuice]

You're not a stranger! Pandajuice, you're our old pal now!

In internet terms.

Aw I'm touched! :love :love

[liquidstatik]

;)

[Tadao]

I feel for you Tadao. Having a baby (now a toddler) who doesn't sleep very well, I know what it's like to miss out on a lot of sleep and how debilitating that can be during the day.

I'll definitely look up your condition as I am curious. Thanks for sharing it with a stranger.

Here you go Panda, this video does a real good job in explaining what A.S. is.

http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=6299874554212253385&q=ankylosing

[Kitsa]

This is completely about you, not me, so please forgive the background story. I'm just trying to make sure you know where I'm coming from to see how well it matches your experience.

I'm disabled, because of being born with spinal cord cancer and because the treatment I had to have for the cancer fuxored me up bigtime for the rest of my life. I worked fulltime from my early teens to around age 27 and was well on my way to being a Productive Member of Society, taking med school classes by special permission as I prepared for the MCAT, when I had to leave school because my parents' insurance dropped me. Working was my only way to have any insurance, since no one would cover me due to my pre-existing (since birth) condition. I was working fulltime when my health REALLY began to crap out on me. I couldn't lift a patient's chart without hideous post-radiation muscle spasms, and since I was the only one who did my particular job. taking a prearranged day off to go to the neurosurgeon's became a ridiculously huge issue. It got to where I would use vacation days to see the doctor, and every time I got back there'd be a damn "attendance review" because my supervisors didn't like doing the dirty work themselves, even for a day.

I'm one of those people who doesn't look disabled at first sight, most of the time. I'm skillful at hiding my scars and the big divots out of my body, and most people only see someone with a weird, stiff, tiny neck who walks funny sometimes. So it was at my last "attendance review", when I had been gobbling anti-inflammatories and quite literally killing myself to get through an 8 hour workday, when my supervisor (who was a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, who should have KNOWN BETTER) accused me of faking my condition. It was the closest I've ever come to hitting someone. I damn near had a breakdown, and because I cried they sent me to the company "counselor", who said the supervisor was the sick one. I realized I just couldn't do it anymore, I couldn't keep up with a job and a field that are demanding enough even for a normal person, and it was what I had been trained for. So I broke down and accepted disability, which I had been fighting all my life.

That being said.

When you're on disability, you get a mixed bag of reactions. Some people are understanding, some are nosy, and some are plain dicks. If they're not falling all over themselves to snoop out why you have a placard or Medicare card, they're acting if you're fishing through their pockets for a wallet. Suspicion comes with the territory, especially if you don't have an external appliance like a prosthesis or aren't wheelchair-bound (which I am, but not all the time, so many people don't see it. )

I'm perpetually worried about my Medicare because I would be 100% fucked without it. Cancer, and all that came with my variety of it, isn't cheap. Therefore, I'm completely up-front and vocal about my capabilities.

When I can manage it, I make packages to donate to cat rescues. In my healthier days, I invented a cat toy that was very successful, but I'd never have been able to make a living with it (the spasms alone would stop me even if I could have managed otherwise). So when I donate (and I consider it "volunteer work" because I make the toys), I make it very clear that it takes me forever to crank out even one of these things and it's not exactly a productive or profitable enterprise. By being up front by detailing exactly what's behind what you are capable of doing, it helps with people who say "if you can volunteer, you can work".

I wouldn't advise trying to hide anything. Just be completely honest about what you can and can't do. If you can get out of the house for a couple of hours on good days, and good days are few and far between, make sure people understand that. Otherwise, they get the idea that you're simultaneously traipsing around, tra-la-la-la-la, and bleeding them dry when that isn't the case.

If you want to volunteer, don't overextend yourself...the previous posters were right about volunteering jobs being just as strenuous as paid ones. Stick to something you can manage, and don't mislead them (pr yourself) about your capabilities. If you have a doctor you see regularly for your disability-relevant issues (and I don't know who you see more...orthopaedic surgeon? neurosurgeon? neurologist?), ask for their input as to what you can and can't handle. That way, if there's an issue, you can show them what your physician's official opinion was.

I hope that helped, and again, this wasn't about me, I was just trying to give background so you could see where I was coming from with my advice.

Let me know if there's any more I can do to help, and I apologize for my shitty typing...I'm on bedrest and trying to type flat on my back (damn m's and n's).

[Tadao]

I was hoping you you post Kitsa. I know you weren't trying to make it about you, but our situation is very in line and I thank you for you story.

I see a Rhuematologist for my issue every month. I too was a high paid employee 40 hours a week up until last year. I've been hiding my condition and avoiding disability up until I finally got fired over my performance. I became really really ill last year. I now realize that any job I take, I can't perform at the level they pay for and I would only harm companies and other people who need to be in the work force

I'm looking to work maybe 2 days a week. Cover someones weekends. I know that when I was a manager I would have loved to have help on the weekends for free.

I know all about the reactions. I look perfectly healthy, it's all on the inside for me. Nothing shows. I have huge bouts of energy that the public sees, and huge bouts of lazziness that only my family sees. I've also been on the forums for people with my condition, so I know what to expect. I won't be using any placard unless I go to Disneyland. People are huge assholes when they think they know it all and my family doesn't need to be punished for it.

Thanks Kitsa, you make me feel normal :)

[MetalMilitia]

I liked the part about inventing cat toys!

[AChimp]

Imaginary medical condition! Your real disability is laziness. >:(

Get a job, you bum. :(

[Tadao]

Shhhh!!! I'm leading up to asking for money from you guys.

[T-Rex]

Remember the Seinfeld episode where George tries to look destinguished by using a walking cane and then his employer thinks he's disabled? Needless to say, hilarity ensues.

[DeadKennedys]

Sometimes I find it invorgorating to argue and debate a point I don't necessarily agree with just to see if I can.


I hate when people do that. It's unAmerican

http://i-mockery.com/forum/image.php?u=7023&dateline=120747831

Also, this?! I try very hard to avoid this fucking show. I don't want it on my I-mockery

And T-Rex, you're kind of an annoying hipster

[Fat_Hippo]

I hate when people do that. It's unAmerican


Can I do it then?

[T-Rex]

I'm not very good at the internet. =(

[Pandajuice]

I hate when people do that. It's unAmerican

http://i-mockery.com/forum/image.php?u=7023&dateline=120747831

Also, this?! I try very hard to avoid this fucking show. I don't want it on my I-mockery


Well I guess it's a good thing I'm not IN America at the moment.

And how dare you. No avatar is greater than one that says "I'm cute. I'm angry. Here's a worm." all in one image.

[Kitsa]

I'm confused :(

[Tadao]

Hey Chojin, you promised me a report!

[J. Tithonus Pednaud]

I have Paget's Disease, formerly known as osteitis deformas. It pretty painful, but I've learned to deal with it and in the last few years my treatment has really stepped up and is less intrusive. I have never gone on disability or on assistance of any sort for the problem and continue to live a physical lifestyle. I just deal with the pain, my tolerance is high thanks to my years of sideshow stunts.

I know that I sometimes require surgery, or just time off, so I generally work seasonal or contract work in the arts, film and not-for-profit industries. Generally I work eight month to one year contracts, projects and shoots with a few weeks or months off in between so attendance has never been an issue. Now I work for myself, so it's never an issue.

Probably the creepiest thing about my condition is that a few months back I purchased a load of late 1800's cabinet cards. There were two in there, sideshow folk, with osteitis deformas. To see what the condition does untreated what shocking.

If you are going to volunteer, with kids, why not be a Big Brother? I doubt that would raise any sort of red flag.

Does the US government not offer self employment funding and opportunities to those with disabilities? I know those programs exist here in Canada.

[Tadao]

Paget's Disease sounds sucky. What sucks about America is that if I was self supportive, I wouldn't have any health care. I know many places to volunteer, one of my problems is I don't drive, it's too dangerous. I have to turn my whole body to look in the blind spots.

[J. Tithonus Pednaud]

Right, but you could get health care whist self employed, no? I really don't know how any of that works there. We don't have that problem here, but our self employed hours are non insurable, meaning no unemployment if things go belly-up.

[MLE]

Health care here, if self-employed, they will not cover "pre-existing conditions" usually. I think a disease like his constitutes that.

[Kitsa]

Most insurances will quickly deny you for a pre-existing condition, anything major (read: potentially expensive) that was present before you applied. I've heard that Massachusetts is the only state that has laws forbidding insurance companies to deny for childhood cancers as pre-existing conditions, but I've been unable to verify that.

The very few insurance companies that don't deny for a pre-existing condition will approve you for insurance in general, but refuse to pay for anything related to the condition. My problems all stem from the fact that I was born with spinal cord cancer, so pretty much anything that came up with me would not be covered.

And then there are some insurance companies that lead you on a little wild-goose chase...you can be approved with a pre-existing condition if you had no treatment for that condition for a year. I fell into this category once, when I was about 9 and my dad changed companies. It was terrifying. Any medical treatment or checkups I had, it had to be self-pay and off the record. If my cancer had returned or if I had some sort of major accident that had worsened my radiation-broken spinal fusions, we would have been probably hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

The insurance system in the US is really, really, really screwed up, in my opinion. In the mad grab for money, they've completely lost sight of what they're there for in the first place.

I can understand how people from places that have universal healthcare would be very puzzled by what looks like our unwillingness or inability to get what seems like a very simple thing, if we only put forth the effort. But believe me, around here it's not that simple at all.

[Pandajuice]

Health insurance in the US is pretty screwed up at the moment, you're right. The government really needs to get in there and reform it so these companies can't take advantage of what is basically a required service in the US.

It's still the best health system in the world though as far as I'm concerned, and that's thanks to privatisation and medical professionals who are compensated appropriately for the hard work they do and level of education required. Not to mention that it's a better quality of health care all the way around.

I live in a country that has universal, free healthcare and having seen and experienced both alternatives (private and universal), it's pretty awful. It's abused pretty badly by a lot of people (mostly immigrants who only came to the country to abuse the free healthcare), and to have even the most routine visit to a GP takes weeks of waiting and lot of red-tape/phone calls; let alone seeing a specialist.
Even as screwed up as the HMOs are in America, it's still a better option in my opinion than universal health care.

[MLE]

I'd say it's better unless you're one of the people that can only be covered under universal healthcare, such as kitsa and tadao, because pre-existing conditions keep you from getting your own health insurance.

[Pub Lover]

even the most routine visit to a GP takes weeks of waiting and lot of red-tape/phone calls;

What is routine? While I was in the UK last year I would turn up without an appointment at the GP's office & the longest I had to wait was an hour & that was because I kept letting people go before me.

[Pandajuice]

Well I think I misspoke, because you're right. The most routine stuff (like physicals or if you're generally "not feeling well"), you can see a doctor that same day. In fact, it's a tad annoying because you have to call on the same day you want the appointment; you can't schedule appointments in advance unless it's a follow-up. I've never turned up to the clinic without calling first to make an appointment, so I don't know how that would go down.

But anything more advanced than that (like seeing a specialist or even a gynocologist), involves a lot of waiting.
From my experience, the system is bothersome because you need to see a GP before you're allowed to see a specialist (you have to be referred by the GP). Once you get the referral, you literally have to just wait around (usually a week or two) until you receive a letter in the mail informing you on how to make an appointment with the specialist. Then you call the specialist's office and can make an appointment a few weeks in advance (unless they have you go through a scheduling company which has to further refer you onto the appropriate office). So by the time you're actually seen by the appropriate doctor, a month or more has passed.

I know this from personal experience:

My son, who is 2 now, wasn't sleeping very well and we suspected it had to do with his tonsils or adenoids blocking his pharynx (the opening that leads to the larynx and trachea, then to the lungs) because he was having difficulty breathing while he was asleep. So we took him to the GP who confirmed that his tonsils were larger than normal, so he referred us to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. So we waited around for the referral letter to come in the mail, and after about 3 weeks, it finally came. I called the number to make an appointment, and the number I was given was to some kind of placement office that lets you choose which hospital you want to go to. So I chose and was given the number of the hospital. So then I had to call the hospital myself that I had chosen to make an appointment with. I was told I'd receive the appointment details in a week or so in the mail, which never came. After a few weeks of not receiving them, I called the hospital again who this time told me I'd have to call this other scheduling company to actually make the appointment, which I did. A couple more weeks later, we finally got the appointment details, and after 8 weeks and going through 3 different companies, my son was finally seen by an ENT who said his tonsils looked normal. By that time, he'd pretty much grown out of the problem I guess (2 months is a long time in child development terms), but the ENT still wanted to check his sleeping habits to identify a problem. So she said in a few weeks, we'd have a little monitoring machine sent to us. It's been another 2 months since that appointment and we never received a machine in the mail. And at this point, I don't really care to bug them about it, as my son is sleeping better, and I just can't be bothered anymore.

I'll just wait until we move back to California next year and use a real health system.

I do agree though that for people like Kitsa and Tadao, that kind of system might be good because mediocre care is at least better than no care at all.

[T-Rex]

Ah man, that's really horrible to have wait so long about your son. I heard the waiting lists here in England are really long for specialist treatment but I couldn't give you a personal experience. Aren't most of us English peeps going to like France and Germany for treatment like that? I don't know for sure but isn't medicare in the U.S. private? I don't agree with people paying for health care. I believe it's the best reason to pay taxes. I've heard of a lot of people losing their homes in the states after falling ill, simply to pay for their medical treatment. I don't know, it's what I've heard so I can't say for sure how true it is. Still...

[Pandajuice]

Yea T-Rex, it can get pretty bad in the states as everything is private (except for some free clinics peppered here and there, but those are really for homeless people and drug addicts). If you get seriously ill and need surgery or need to stay in the hospital for awhile, the bill can get pretty steep (we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars). But if you have a job, you usually can get health insurance that covers stuff like that; but like Kitsa and Tadao have said, it's corrupt and as with all insurance companies, they work to find ways to NOT pay up.

Even so, it's still the best system in the world and where everyone should go to get the best quality healthcare, if they can afford it. The trouble with universal or government run health care is that it doesn't have any competition or incentive to improve, so the quality fails and it's constantly being abused.

[Kitsa]

And hospitals here are NOT shy about making sure they get any money that's coming to them, up-front.

I've had 3 medical emergencies in the past month. One was life-threatening to me and two were life-threatening to my kids, the last one very very serious.

You'd think that with a Medicare card, they'd just take that as your insurance, when you show up, and let you have your lifesaving treatment. But in the 2 ER trips, even as I was being hooked up to monitors, registration people were knocking timidly but persistently on the doorway and coming in to demand my date of declared disability, my supplemental coverage (at the time, I didn't have any), and otherwise wanting to know how I was going to pay what was left of my bill when Medicare had paid their part.

This last visit, my water broke early and it was literally a scramble to save the twins' lives. When I was taken from my room for the ultrasound that would tell us whether my children would live or die, which was practically a nervous-breakdown-inducing experience, guess what was on my hospital bed when I returned? A card from financial services, saying that I had to call right away. As soon as I was calmed down enough from my hysterics, I called, and...of course...she wanted to know how I was going to pay my Medicare copay. My head was so messed-up at the time (my children were dying) that I couldn't even remember my phone number during registration. I mean, to them, this stuff cannot wait.

Fortunately, by that point, I had been approved for a State program that served as a Medicare supplement during pregnancy, and I told her that I had that. Even then, it wasn't over...she was suspicious until she had called the State herself to verify this and make a note on my account.

Things are looking a tad better for the twins now, I just need to keep them in me for 6 more weeks until it's safe for them to be born, but I thought it was a little harsh of the hospital to hold a hand out for money as we were going through that.*


* I'm not blaming the registration or financial people. When I was an undergrad, I worked a couple of years in ER registration and I know what's required of them...if they don't do it, they answer to the higher-up that makes those decisions. I just wish the hospitals would come up with a more sensitive way to handle this stuff.

[Pub Lover]

Both systems are great at keeping the underclasses too sick to rebel. :gegguy

[Tadao]

Yeah, there is no real good answer for health care. I am a very lucky person. This is why I feel I should help others. I've been given the gift of being in a spot to contribute, I would be what I hate if I didn't try to help out in a hopeless world.

[Fathom Zero]

Hearing all this talk reminds me of the inevitable arthritis I am to have in my future, if my genetic helltrain goes its way. Blech. I got ya beat, though, 'cause I've got a phenomenon.

Raynaud's Phenomenon: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nRtNY6x1LAY
Bonus: http://youtube.com/watch?v=eiiKaib867U

I got it through heredity, not this bad dentistry stuff I hear. It's cool and my hands and feet turn a color I can only describe as peanut butter & jelly.

Anywho, does one count volunteer work on their taxes? If so, is it actually volunteer work? If you hurt yourself when volunteering, well, it's gonna be on you. Dunno what I can say besides life insurance or something.

[Tadao]

That 2nd video was horrible. You can count volunteering on taxes but I wouldn't as I don't want to be noticed. I'll have medicare so I should be pretty well covered if I get hurt.

[Fathom Zero]

That video is hilarious because of how serious Raynaud's Syndrome sounds, even though it's not really. I guess you're golden as far as coverage goes and as a volunteer, you aren't under obligation to be there so it's not like someone can fire you. Just appreciate.

[Sethomas]

Barring fantastic coincidence, I have a 50/50 chance of having a genetic predisposition called Lynch's Syndrome. I think. What that means is that I'll probably get colon cancer before age 50, which certainly wouldn't be anything but an inconvenience if the availability of detection and treatment improves, or even just stay the same. When I first found this all out I knew myself to be the kind of person who would rather let my ass slowly and painfully kill me than get it checked out, but since I've changed a bit I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it when it becomes something to worry about. Apparently my cousin, who is more directly tied to the disease than I am, already had frequent polyps forming by age 28 or so. Eh.

Oh, and I mentioned before that my dad always clues me into the disgusting aspects of American healthcare. With insurance, most policies dictate a maximum pay-out for certain groupings of treatment, and as a result hospitals always charge this maximum with no regard for how commensurable it is with actual services rendered. This is done usually out of greed, but my dad's "non-profit" employer does it just to avoid the chance of getting called out for inconsistency or something. This becomes a huge problem when they argue that they can't possibly charge less for the uninsured because that would undermine the basis by which they base their prices for the insured.

In the end, the non-profit hospital ends up with a shit ton more money than they can justify on 15 April, and as a result they frantically find repulsively idiotic ways to spend money that won't compromise their non-profit status. Back when 20" CRT monitors were extremely expensive, they'd start putting dozens of them in warehouses rented just for that purpose so that the offices would have room for 24" ones, and my dad would bring home several and ask if I knew anyone who needed them when the warehouses were full. I think back in 1998 he told me that they spent $2 million every two years replacing the carpet in all their facilities, buying the best quality carpet designed to last at least half a decade under those conditions.

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

That sounds terribly criminal and wasteful.

[glowbelly]

it sounds exactly like the place i work

[Tadao]

George isn't here. Go away.

[Sethomas]

Seth, however, is here. Consider your argument VOID.

[glowbelly]

naughty person. you shouldn't be so testy with me. i'm going to be a nurse and i could spread a big nurse rumor right this second about a person who goes by tadao on the internet who doesn't deserve his pain medication. >:

[Tadao]

:( sorry. I like nurses. They do all the work. Dr's suck.

[glowbelly]

and by work you mean sponge baths, right? ;)

[Tadao]

That and enemas.