Subject:
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Re: What happened?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 29 Jun 1999 02:39:41 GMT
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Reply-To:
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CJC@NEWSGUYavoidspam.COM
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Viewed:
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696 times
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Thomas Main <main@appstate.edu> wrote:
> here to serve the people. Government, on the other hand, is here to
> serve the people. The government has a responsibility to provide access
> to health care and insurance when insurance companies and hospitals
> won't. This does not mean that private insurance and medical treatment
> will disappear, or even that it will diminish. Normally, you get what
> you pay for - and that will keep private doctors and hospitals and
> insurance companies swimming in money. But for those that need a
> minimum level of support - they should be able to look to their
> government for subsidizing their health care needs. The government
Have you ever had the pleasure of enjoying government-run healthcare?
I sure hope not.
I have. My disability entitles me to care at VA facilities around the
country and a few years ago, after my college fund ran out and Rachael
and I were still dating, both full-time students and part-time
employees (you know, Ramen noodle days) I was sent to a VA hospital
120 miles away because they would cover my care and I had no other
insurance at the time.
The one night I spent in that hell hole was probably the most
terrifying of my life. The old men forced by much younger orderlies
to lay in their beds with festering wounds covered by filthy bandages
and the old man who screamed himself to sleep down the hallway were
some of the memories I'll carry with me for a long time.
I spent most of that night sitting alone in the social room on that
wing, writing in my journal, waiting for the next day when Rachael's
parents would be able to drive over and pick me up, although I had to
threaten two of the orderlies who tried to order me to my room,
pointing out that while they were two and I was one, I was young and
mostly healthy, unlike the men they were used to dealing with. Part
of me wished they had pressed the issue.
I resolved that night to work as many jobs as it took to make sure
that I and especially Rachael never had to depend on "handout"
healthcare. The sad thing is the care these men were receiving and
while I will never seek again shouldn't even be considered a handout -
these were old battered men who had given everything to their country,
not bums off the street.
Sorry, that just hit a nerve, don't know why. Not railing at you,
probably just wishing I could do a better job of forgetting that.
--
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: What happened?
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| Mike Stanley wrote: <snip> (...) <snipped horror story about Mike's VA hospital experience) You certainly get my sympathy for your terrible experience in the VA hospital. I have heard similar stories about retirement homes and mental health (...) (25 years ago, 29-Jun-99, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: What happened?
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| (...) Unfortunately, many people are not in a position to pay the outrageous premiums insurance companies require. And even if people do want to pay, insurance companies get to pick and choose who they'll insure (often denying insurance to those who (...) (25 years ago, 28-Jun-99, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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