Don't do me any favors!

[Bojangles]

Burger King offers medical/dental insurance.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

If I may make a suggestion. Some of the newer tax laws that went into effect on Jan. 1 2004 made Health Savings Accounts available to everyone. These are linked to very high deductible insurance policies -- like $2000 or so. You get to save the money on a tax free basis and if a very serious illness or accident happened, it would not bankrupt you. I would definately suggest you contact an insurance agent and check them out for your family.



http://www.healthsavingsaccount-hsa.com/

 

[bigsis1970]

Robin, just a thought but the manager job Nikki has , do they offer insurance for her to take out on herself ?? I have been without insurance before for the same reasons as you and its very scary when something big happens thankfully now I have a job where i can purchase it for not too much . I know weighing out the cost of having vs not having ..wishing you all good health!

 

[loisg1]

So glad Nikki is on the road to recovery.

God bless!
Lois

 

[sunni]

Originally posted by Briar Rose 7457
I totally disagree -- why send this to the newsaper? nothing bad happened to Nikki, thank goodness, she got the proper diagnosis. no unfortunate consequences, so no human interest story there. though it does illustrate the need for low cost insurance to be made available to people who can't otherwise afford it.

but it begs the question -- why does someone with "lots of money" not have health insurance?

Why should someone have to have insurance if they have a way to pay for the medical treatment? Ridiculous!

 

[Deb in IA]

Originally posted by sunni
Why should someone have to have insurance if they have a way to pay for the medical treatment? Ridiculous!

Because, heaven forbid, you can never tell if you are going to be hit by a car, end up in surgery, and hospitalized for a long time, with an astronomical bill. HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars.

delswife, have you checked this out?

http://www.state.me.us/dhs/bfi/cubcare/CubCare.htm



MaineCare
Health Care for Maine People
Free or Low-Cost
Health Insurance
for Families with Children
and Pregnant Women



If you or your children need health insurance,
MaineCare may be the answer.
Apply now. Don't wait. MaineCare (formerly
Medicaid & Cub Care)
Department of Human Services
What services are covered? Doctors visits: Well checkups and sick care; specialist care, if necessary


Hospital care: inpatient outpatient emergency room

Immunizations

Prescriptions

Surgery

Laboratory & X-ray

Dental care: Full coverage for children and limited coverage for adults

Medical equipment and supplies
School-based health centers

Chiropractic treatment services

Therapies: speech/language physical occupational

Vision screening/eyeglasses

Hearing test/hearing aids

Ambulance

Case management

Mental health and substance abuse treatment

Family planning services

Prenatal care

Transportation for medical appointments




Who is eligible for this insurance?
Children and teens age 18 and under, and pregnant women with gross monthly family income at or below the amount listed in cloumn A on this chart. Assets are not counted.
Parents living with their children and teens age 18 and under with monthly family income at or below the amount in column B on the chart, and with certain assets of $2000 or less.

Family Size
Effective 4/1/02 Column A
18 & under and
pregnant women Column B
Parents of children 18
& under
1 $1477 $1108
2 $1990 $1493
3 $2504 $1878
4 $3017 $2263
5 $3530 $2648
6 $4044 $3033


Note: Even if your family income is above the amount on the chart, you are encouraged to apply. Certain expenses may be taken out of your income.



How much does it cost?
There is no cost for most families. Some families must pay a small monthly premium for their children's coverage. Premiums are between $5 and $40.00 a month. Some parents must pay a small co-payment for services.

How do I apply?
For children, teens or pregnant women, fill in boxes 1-10 only on the application. Sign and date (box 12).
For parents applying for themselves along with their children and teens, fill in box 11, plus boxes 1-10 on the attached application. Sign and date (box 12).
Mail or drop off the application to the Department of Human Services Office nearest you.
Click here to see a list of the local DHS office addresses and telephone numbers.
Click here to go to our 'Get an Application' page.
No interview is necessary.

How can I get more information or help filling out an application?
Call the Department of Human Services toll-free at: 1-877-KIDS NOW (1-877-543-7669)

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

Originally posted by sunni
Why should someone have to have insurance if they have a way to pay for the medical treatment? Ridiculous!

Can you imagime what would happen if the bill would have been $20,000 and then the relative got the bill in the mail? I can.


Also this

I don’t have insurance that is true. What SMMC didn’t realize was that I have a wealthy family. Before I got off the Maine State turnpike I had 3 MasterCard numbers and 2 Visa card numbers, no limits on any of them.

No where does she say she had the actual cards, she had the numbers. Can you imagine the liability issues the hospital would have if they took JUST the credit card numbers? I am in no way saying that Delswife would do anything bad, but credit card numbers get stolen in this country EVERY DAY. Should hospitals start taking ONLY the numbers? Should they trust that everybody that comes in there is as honest as Delswife? What if it's a gang member, should they be willing to take JUST a credit card number from the gang member to pay the costs? Are you willing to say yes to that? I know I'm not, just remember that could be YOUR credit card number that they gang member is using.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

Originally posted by sunni
Why should someone have to have insurance if they have a way to pay for the medical treatment? Ridiculous!

nope, not ridiculous at all.


first of all, when you go to a hospital -- as opposed to your own private doctor -- they need to be able to ascertain that you can pay for the treatment. an ER isn't necessarily able to verify your ability to pay. if you come in with a card from Blue Cross or Oxford or whatever, they know they're going to be paid.

second, do you really want to be paying $$$$$$ for medical treatment? sure, if you rarely get sick, you can afford the cost of a doctor visit and a few tests. but what if you're seriously ill?

there are actually people who exhaust the limits of their medical coverage, did you realize that? people with long-term, serious illnesses.

 

[#1 Disney Fan]

Oh my.... I had Mono last fall (right around the time of your trip reports, because I remember reading them on days when I was feeling up to it)... so my sympathies go out to Nikki! I KNOW how bad it is and how awful she must feel!

I actually started reading this post and was thinking Mono right off the bat too, because that's very similar to how mine started.

I highly recommend popsicles, chicken noodle soup and milkshakes. That's all I could get down for days, because my tonsils were so swollen they were touching in the middle, everything burned and it hurt to swallow.

Just like a cold, or any other illness... Mono will strike some people worse than others. I had a pretty bad case, but just be aware of how LONG it could potentially last, and how it feels like you're never going to be back to yourself again. If that happens, tell Nikki that it's normal, and she will one day feel like herself again! I was off completely for about 3 weeks, and then did 1/2 days, and it took a long time to build back up the energy again. You just feel like crying some days. Best of luck to Nikki trying to have the energy and feel well enough to finish up her senior year. Bad timing! Poor Nikki.

Good thoughts and pixie dust coming Nikki's way... that's not fun! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

I hope Nikki is starting to feel better. I have to run and figure out dinner for my two kids before they relize it's dinner time so I havent' read this whole thread yet, but I hope you are writting a nasty letter to that hospitals administrator.

{{{{hugs}}}} to you.

 

[Serena]

My store won't accept a just a credit card number for a $2 wallet. I'm not surprised the hospital wouldn't accept it.

We have to have the card, and the owner of the card standing there signing the receipt.

 

[Beth76]

To be very blunt, I don't feel the hospital was negligent. I feel a parent who has a child without health insurance is negligent. I'm sorry that sounds harsh, but that's how I feel. I'm glad Nikki finally got proper care and is doing better.

My DH had to go to the ER just after we started dating. He ended up getting an emergency appendectomy. He didn't have health insurance because he had a trust fund that would pay all medical expenses. He didn't have trouble receiving care, but I know my MIL had a heck of time getting the bill paid. She bought health insurance for him immediately afterward. If he had been really sick, or in bad accident, the trust fund could have easily been wiped out in a matter of weeks.

Please get your daughter health insurance. Grocery stores offer health insurance to their employees.

 

[RachelEllen]

Other people have brought up good points about insurance. I just wanted to mention that aside from that, if all is as described, the care she received was poor. I don't often make that statement, but, honestly, the symptoms she's describing just scream 'mono'. Amoxicillin would be used to treat strep throat. Even if the doc was just trying to be nice, save her the expense of the throat culture, and treat for strep just in case, you shouldn't use amoxicillin if you suspect mono. It causes a nasty looking rash in over 90% of people which can be hard to distinguish from an allergic rash. SO you end up with another ER visit. And someone who may have to deal with being labelled penicillin allergic (not a small problem when you really need that drug for something real).

 

[Duchie]

Originally posted by Loubon
I wouldn't sue or report it to the paper....I'd send her back in there with her whistle when she is better!

Seriously, though, it's a sad statement about our healthcare system when hospitals are more concerned about the bottom line than they are about treating people.

I'm just glad she's on the road to recovery.

 

[phorsenuf]

Well, I certainly don't think this calls for debate about health insurance and personally I think its pretty darn rude to insinuate she's being negligant because she doesn't have any. Poor thing is going through a hard enough time dealing with what happened and all some of you can do is give her a hard time! Shame on you!!!!! $600 a month is an awful lot to some people, maybe not to you, but I can certainly understand where she is coming from.

Don't let them get to you Robin, people just always seem to have to find the bad in everything.......
I know you provide for your family to the best of your abilities.

I hope Niki feels better soon and tell her to take it slow!!!!

P.S. didn't your mother say "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all".
I don't recall seeing debate posted in the title!

 

[kimber79]

Originally posted by phorsenuf
Well, I certainly don't think this calls for debate about health insurance and personally I think its pretty darn rude to insinuate she's being negligant because she doesn't have any. Poor thing is going through a hard enough time dealing with what happened and all some of you can do is give her a hard time! Shame on you!!!!! $600 a month is an awful lot to some people, maybe not to you, but I can certainly understand where she is coming from.

Don't let them get to you Robin, people just always seem to have to find the bad in everything.......
I know you provide for your family to the best of your abilities.

I hope Niki feels better soon and tell her to take it slow!!!!

P.S. didn't your mother say "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all".
I don't recall seeing debate posted in the title!

Thank you!! Very well put!!

Robin, I sure hope Nikki is on the road to feeling better. My daughter just graduated on May 28, and I know what this special night meant to her..........so I hope Nikki is feeling well enough to take it all in and enjoy her day!!!

Take care!

 

[m&m's mom]

Well, this is very unfortunate but I am afraid your anger is misplaced IMO. The anger should be at your frustration that you cannot provide all that is needed for your children.
My DH is self employed so I work for us to have benefits. There is no way I would do w/out insurance. I have a professional job but I would be a greeter at Wal Mart if it meant making sure my family would not be devastated financially if a need came up. Of course I am also the one who keeps $100,000 in stock readily available in case any of us ever need a transplant. I may be going too far.
Hope your DD is getting better.

 

[m&m's mom]

Just thought of something else.
I thought I read a post of yours where you were having chest pains and went to the ER yourself recently. You were unhappy with the service you received there as well.
Time to get insurance.

 

[Crankyshank]

If you can afford to take trips to WDW, then you can afford health insurance. Yes health insurance is a lot of money. Believe me, I know. I've not been on any sort of vacation in several years because I can't afford it. I do have health insurance, though.

what if something happened to the rich relatives and the credit cards weren't available? What if you got into a horrible accident or got a disease that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat?

I don't think anyone is wishing Delswife or Nikki ill. I don't think anyone is saying she deserved to get so sick because she doesn't have insurance. I think people are just really concerned because not getting health insurance is akin to borrowing trouble and don't want them to have to go through this horrible experience again.

 

[bellacam]

"Well, I certainly don't think this calls for debate about health insurance and personally I think its pretty darn rude to insinuate she's being negligant because she doesn't have any."

Thank you, I agree. If you want to debate this start a new thread.
It's very easy to be critical of someone till you've been in their shoes. Who are any of us to be critical of another persons situation. I think the basics of this is that as a Doctor you take an oath to treat all patients to the best of your ability, not judge how someone can pay for their medical care!