Sweeny79 said:

Nah. I live by a well known hospital, Loma Linda University Medical Center. It's world-renowned and full of county patients. I needed to see a specialist right away last year and they told me I had to wait two months. I called another hospital in Newport Beach (50 miles aways and affluent) and got an appointment the next week. Not any county patients there

Whoa, check out all of the times I tried to post and the server was f-ing up!

BlackBuddy said:

I meant that there must be a way to find a balance where everyone gets what they need...sorry if that wasn't clear.

I've seen stuff like that, too, Sweeny, with the free clinics, etc., and quite honestly, it's very much like the socialized medical system I've seen firsthand in other countries. ((Long waits, impersonal treatment, etc.))

There definitely need to be improvements in "the system". I'm primarily just saying that mrdespues' expenses were much higher because he wasn't a citizen or permanent resident.

In WA state, there's a government subsidized insurance plan that starts at $25 per month for the lowest income and includes undocumented folks from other countries. Each state is different, but quite often there are different levels of assistance, from free to a small monthly payment/copay. You have to jump hoops often, especially re: paperwork, but it's worth it in the end.

AnotherLoverToo said:

I know... it won't let us delete the blank posts either.

It's just frozen there.

AnotherLoverToo said:

that is not true. the meds, if my partner had bought them, and she had had my condition, would have cost the same.

Sweeny79 said:

Well, I don't think there should be a balance. I think anyone who works and doesn't have insurance, doesn't have it by choice. Anyone undocumented shouldn't have it either

AnotherLoverToo said:

Oh I know him not being a citizen had something to do with it....but people get stuck where they can't get help when they are citizens too.

When i was a kid my mom's mother came over to visit us from England...and she got sick ( and eventualy died) when she was here. When she was taken to the hospital the doctor here said the medicine she was on for her heart was outdated around the time of ww II and it was doing her more harm then good... same thing happened when i was in highschool with an aunt of my mothers ( but she didn't die here)...my family over there says that it's kind of like how the free clinics are over here.... I know what you are saying... seems that we have the means to treat folks, all other the world, but so many go without...I don't have a clue about how to fix that...just makes me sad is all.

BlackBuddy said:

if by undocumented you mean me, it is still irrelevant. the medication i need still costs a ridulous amount in the US, permanent resident, citizen, or not.

mrdespues said:

Did your partner have medical insurance?

mrdespues said:

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/mentalhealth/

mrdespues said:

The person close to me who needs meds has to pay a lot too...with or without insurance... both ways is killer.

Sweeny79 said:

yes. the means is definitely there in the US. the system is advanced, quite definitely, but only for those who can afford it. i have researched this extensively and it is the same for people i have known over there... but luckily for them, they were upper-class and had money. i am middle-class and do not.

mrdespues said:

A permenent resident IS documented. I'm talking about people here illegally

Sweeny79 said:

exactly. the system is, like many things in the US, geared towards making people rich, not making people well.



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[Edited 8/10/06 21:44pm]

mrdespues said:

Well, I consider myself poor and have great medical

BlackBuddy said:

no. but from what i can recall, even if she did, it would have made no difference to me in terms of a need for independence. face it. the system over there is geared toward making the rich and healthy more so, and the less fortunate more so.

mrdespues said:

I believe medical insurance makes a huge difference here. You won't get decent healthcare without it

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

sorry supa, as horrible as that must have been for you, it provides a very amusing image in my head too.






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[Edited 8/10/06 21:46pm]

BlackBuddy said:

of course, but again, you need a "good job" to get it. and people who have mental issues, generally don't just find themselves in "good jobs" that easily. the US system is geared towards ignoring the chief issue and not dealing with the problem at its root. as i see and other i know have seen it, it comes back to a certain mentality of "you need to COMPETE, no matter WHAT the circumstances, if you want to get anywhere in this country". competition is of course natural and everywhere and can be healthy, but it IS different here in that sense and a little more compassionate. there is a trade-off in other areas though, for example if you are a child in the US you are SAFE in every sense no matter what... australia doesn't have that law, but it certainly should. i guess all i'm saying is that democracy is flawed everywhere and the bigger the democracy, the chances are, the bigger the flaws.

mrdespues said:

You don't have to have a "good job" My sister is a waitress and chooses not to have medical. I'm sure people with your condition can hold a waiter or waitress job, no?

Going back to being treated unfairly. I think I should leave the situation because it seems like a voice cannot be heard

BlackBuddy said:

the link you provided doesn't cover my condition, btw.

i have waitered before. it's not for me. i am a musician.

i have looked into this extensively and i am convinced (so is my family, my therapist here and friends in the US) that the US health care system is not adequate, in light of my case. were it so, things might have worked out differently (not to mention if i hadn't have had to wait the crazy amount of time of up to 2 years to get a fiance visa). but that's all in the past now and it is very unlikely i will ever live in America again.

and sorry, if you are going to ask: as much as i'd like to, i can't disclose what i've got because you might be one of the ones who's after me!!





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[Edited 8/10/06 22:04pm]

mrdespues said:

I didn't provide a link to anything


However, whatever you have I feel that even though you're a musician, your health is more important. Sometimes you can have it all your way. I am trying to get into the muisc business, but I got a job soem years ago in customer service to pay the bill and get some good benefits. I am in a different dept now, but I did what I had to do.

I don't need to know what you have. Not my business, but can you hold a customer service job? My cousin is bi-polar and she can handle a customer service job...on her meds

BlackBuddy said:

i teach, like i said earlier, so i'm not looking for anything like that right now. and i'm studying the rest of the time, plus i get benefits for my condition. however, when i have completed my degree, i hope to make the teaching full-time, and lose the benefits quite delieberatley (not the 'gravy train' that some think it is) and maybe get another part-time job as well (maybe even in customer service if the role is right).