From: cookc@aix.rpi.edu (rocker)
Subject: Re: FOCA: And I quote.....
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 00:01:44 GMT

HADCRJAM@admin.uh.edu (MILLER, JIMMY A.) writes:

>  Ray, are you in favor then of triage for all?  "It'll cost too much to save
>this guy.  Ditch him."  

Jimmy, are you under the mistaken impression that this does NOT happen
in this country, many times a day?

>This can happen when there are too many casualties to
>treat (say after a battle, or a major urban disaster).  Then the deciding factor
>is usually time and medical resources.  Time spent on saving 1 person could
>cost several others their lives.

Surprise, surprise Jimmy, it happens a LOT more often than that.
Call up a hospital, tell them you need cancer treatment and have no
way of paying.  If you call a private hospital, I'd bet money that
they'll refer you to a public hospital.  If you call a public hospital,
they'll most likely tell you that if your condition is not imminently
life-threatening, you'll need to jump through a number of bureaucratic
hoops before they can treat you, to get Medicaid or some other form
of health coverage.  If you tell them you don't want to apply for
Meidcaid, be careful that the door doesn't hit you in the ass on
your way out.

In Miami, a Medicaid recipient waited over a year for breast
cancer surgery.  Last I heard, the surgery hadn't yet been
performed.

In Broward County, a woman WITH medical insurance who had been
in a car accident lay in an ambulance for several hours before
the ambulance company could find a hospital to take her.  Why?
Because she had a type of spinal injury that was "very prone
to be litigated".  None of the hospitals wanted a malpractice
suit, so they simply refused to admit her.

Have you ever seen a big fundraiser for someone who needs an
organ transplant?  Lots of these people _have_ medical insurance.
Have you ever wondered why they're having fundraisers?  Because
many insurance companies consider most organ transplants to be
"experimental" treatments, and therefore not covered.  The
transplant centers, in most cases, don't say "Oh, hey, we'll DO
the transplant, you just pay us whenever you can."  Nope, these
operations are done on a cash-in-advance basis.  When that matching
organ becomes available, you'd better hope you have the cash.

Now sure, there may be a few organizations that provide limited
funds for cases like this.  But I'm just absolutely disgusted
by the cultural tunnel-vision that lets people say things like
"No one dies in America because they can't afford medical
treatement."

>  Somehow, I think this mind-set will meet with some resistance when you include
>money in the criteria.  

It hasn't met a great deal of resistance among hospital administrators,
where money is likely to be the ONLY criteria.  Please find out a
little more about the world before you make these ridiculous statements.

>Shall we then dismantle MD Anderson hospital?  Cancer
>costs a LOT of money to treat, and its not even contagious.  Somehow I think
>Susan Garvin would not appreciate the idea.

How long do patients stay there if they can't pay their bills?
Who makes up the difference?

>  I know for a *fact* my Dad wouldn't.  Or my aunt.  Or my best friend.

Did any of them have NO medical insurance when they needed treatment?

>semper fi,

>Jammer Jim Miller 

                         -rocker
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