this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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[–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago (4 children)

As an American, if I got cancer like this dude has, having a job there is a very high chance I'd be destitute IF I lived. World class medical treatment off the backs of his subjects.. yeahno my dude, worlds smallest violen playing.jpeg

He can wipe his cancer tears up with whatever the largest denomination of pounds you guys use is xD

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But he's British and we have a good NHS so that's kinda a weird argument

I hate the royal family but for reasons that many sense

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

And when a president gets COVID he gets drugged up and gets the best treatment on the taxpayers dime. While the people are left with life shattering medical debt.

While these subjects can get medical treatment, for just a fraction, and no debts... Like the king...

So what is your point?

We have been playing the whole sad orchestra for you guys, seeing you push out this attitude like it is a win over something.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Prime Minister : President :: Royalty : Kardashians

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The president has an actual job tho??? Like wat lmao 🤣 and if you think the king is getting the same medical treatment as Mr jo British bong water, I have some EU membership to sell you.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

A new tiny violin joins the choir.

And it is not the dig you wish it is. As it portrays even more that anyone in the UK, even those without an actual job, can get medical treatment without fearing massive medical debt.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

That's not addressing my point of... Why is the king receiving preferential treatment? His role is ceremonial. You could make the argument he's paying for private treatment (I don't know if he is or not), if he's not why does he get to skip the NHS cancer treatment wait list? If he is paying for private..... What exactly has he personally done to allow him to have the ABILITY to pay for said treatment:| Not saying all the royals wealth should be seized for the peoplez, more why is his families life style still to my understanding being subsidized by British tax payers? The tourism they bring in would still be coming, it's not like they're going to sell Buckingham palace if the gov stopped paying for their shit.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Sure, I also wish monarchies are cut of the tax payers spigot.

But why are you making this such a big point of having a rich old white dick getting preferential treatment? I thought you loved that shit in the USA. I thought the AMERICAN dream is to become a rich old white dick to get that sweet preferential (tax) treatment. To get your rich old white children get the same benefits through generational wealth.

Be mad that in the EU people can pay for both a rich old white dude play a monarch and socialized healthcare. While ever time you try and do something similar all the old white dicks crawl out of the woodwork to tell "HoW cAn We EvEr PaY fOr ThAt?!"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The UK... Isn't... In the EU tho? For some (Russian) oligarch tax haven purposes to my understanding?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I didn't claim it was. There are other countries with old white rich dicking monarchs and also have socialized healthcare, you buffoon.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

But we're talking about the UK monarchy specifically right? I wonder what the scandanavian monarchs for example are up to. & don't get me wrong, the American political elite, at least a lot of them cough Republicans cough absolutely have the mentality of neonobility.

That kind of psychology and predisposition is something I hope is stamped out or at least vindicated by most of society. Be the change you want to see in the world:)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (4 children)

I'm not sure I follow. I know health insurance in the US is often tied to a salaried job, so if you have one, then why would you be destitute ?

Now I'm not British, but I agree with the sentiment

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If you have seen breaking bad, the premise of that show is an apt description. Insurance companies here will often deny you necessary life saving medical treatment for.. reasons

Other example: a woman with a family history of breast cancer was denied a doctor recommended mammogram to check on some potentially cancerous lumps because she has... Already had too many mammograms.

Profit incentive in the healthcare industry is no bueno:|

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Yea I guess I didn't quite grasp how bad it was

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Health insurance doesn’t pay enough for shit, you end up destitute even with it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Lost/reduced wages from time off work, and health insurance doesn't cover everything.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Because insurance pays for a portion of your treatment, rarely 100% of it, and the moment you start racking up bigger bills, insurance starts looking for ways to not pay your claims. They'll put a hold on payment until you call them and broker a deal or they go back and forth with your doctor demanding that you receive some treatment other than what that doctor recommends.

I have Crohn's Disease, an autoimmune disorder that is often treated with immunosuppressants. First, they did not want to pay for my initial "loading dose" because it has to be done by infusion. That's a ~$25,000 procedure (3-4 hours on an IV). I talked them into it by telling them that only the first dose would be by infusion and the rest by self injection.

But when my company decided to pay for a less expensive insurance plan that started at the beginning of the year, they suddenly didn't want to pay for the injections either. Now I owe 30% of the cost of my injections. That's almost $4,000 a dose that I take every 8 weeks, about $25,000/year.

So now I use a coupon program through a separate company, and they bill the remainder of the balance to the company who produces the medicine who give me a $21,000 annual credit toward paying the remainder. So now to get my medicine I must coordinate between my doctor, a specialty pharmacy, my insurance provider, a company that runs the coupon program, and the company that produces the medicine... Just to get a syringe delivered to me on a schedule. And the credit probably won't last until the end of the year; I'll probably end up shelling out a few thousand for my meds around Christmas time this year.

If any of the complicated web of companies that collectively get me these meds doesn't have everything lined up in their system, I don't get my meds. My last dose was almost three weeks late to me because of all the calling around I had to do. Because we don't have a central health care authority, that means each company maintains their own system of record. Each phone call involves working through a phone tree to get to a human agent, working through the same set of identity verification steps with them, explaining the situation over again to a different person every time...

It's a real pain in the ass, and they do it on purpose to get you to give up. Having insurance doesn't mean your health care is paid for, and you pay a premium (hundreds of dollars) on every paycheck to keep the insurance that still doesn't pay for your medical costs. Having health insurance does not mean you don't still pay through the teeth for your health care. Having health insurance does not mean that health care is accessible to you. Having insurance that makes health care accessible today does not mean they won't change the rules behind your back, and that you will still have access to health care tomorrow.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

what the actual fuck..... thanks for sharing your story and I wish you courage. Have you considered moving ? given the severity of your condition ?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

All things considered, their situation is not as bad as it could be. I had a job where one of my duties was to get prior authorizations for every procedure we did in an oncology-focused plastic surgery clinic. The vast majority of the procedures were breast reconstruction following mastectomy and skin cancer excisions. I had an insurance company demand documentation and evidence of medical need to close the incision site after excising the melanoma. They were gracious enough to allow the excision without requiring a prior authorization, but in order for the surgeon to close that incision (or in this particular case, fill in the area with a skin graft because the amount of skin to be removed precluded a simple closure), we had to file a mountain of paperwork on a tight deadline because the procedure couldn't wait more than a week or so.

I've also worked in hospitals, and every hospital I've worked in has social workers on staff to help patients line up emergency insurance coverage or financial assistance for emergency medical care. I never actually saw the bills for it, but we treated a kiddo that was a bystander in a drive-by shooting that was transferred to our hospital from another ER so that they could have the pediatric trauma surgeons try to fix his femur. So that's two top-level ER visits, an ambulance ride, an ICU stay, and probably a bunch of surgeries and associated hospitalizations...because this 2 year old got hit in the leg with a stray bullet. The total almost certainly topped 7 digits. Shit's fucked, yo.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's always a consideration, but the question is where would we move to (and how much am I willing to uproot my family)? Canada is a nice place with a better healthcare system, so maybe there? But that's expensive all on its own, and I have to consider that I have two autistic kiddos who are currently receiving their education at the best school in the state for special ed kiddos. Is it worth it? Maybe not. For now, I think we should stay where we are. I love it here, except for the high cost of my own care. Think I'd rather stick it out and fight for a better system here. Maybe we can improve things for everyone instead of jumping ship.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Yea, I can certainly understand the choice of staying and fighting for change

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

i mean we have the nhs in the uk, so it's not really the same as the us since everyone here has access to the nhs