My brother didn't call 911 with chest pains because an ambulance would've cost $1500. He didn't have his wife drive him to the ER because the copay there is obscenely high too. Instead, he died. He leaves behind two children, a widow and a family. Hurting forever. Health care is a human right.
Many disabled & chronically ill people wonโt go to the ER unless theyโre literally dying. The risk of setbacks, trauma, gaslighting & more is too high. Add in the threat of being infected with Covid & itโs no wonder weโre scared to access care. 5 articles to make it easier! tinyurl.com/8e8t9a9s ๐งต
When you're disabled or chronically ill - learning when to seek medical care (and what that care will look like) is a painful and traumatic journey. It often ends in "I will never go to the ER again."
May I quote post this to highlight the dangers NZ is facing with the govt gutting public healthcare here?
Iโm so very sorry. US health care is a horrible mess, and I hope we can fix it.
Emma, Iโm so terribly sorry you are carrying such immense loss. Your dear brother didnโt have to suffer this way. No one does. A country that claims equality and freedom but lets its people die because only the rich deserve care.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Wow, I am so sorry.
I'm so sorry for your loss x
I'm so sorry for your loss. I really hate that our society has us making these choices. I got hit by a car and was on the stretcher wondering if I should tell them to not take me to the ER in an ambulance. The only reason I didn't was b/c I didn't know how bad my head injury was.
Iโm so sorry. Americans need to be serious about the health care debacle.
As hard as it is explaining the disaster of American healthcare to people in the civilized world--or even the UK--the hardest part to get across is the tragedy of all of the things like this which follow on from that dollar figure. Best of luck to the entire family in coming to terms with this. ๐
I am so sorry. And at the same time I understand completely how he made that decision because I've wrestled with it as well (and am paying off an ambulance ride from last year when I was too ill to say no)