Serenity,
Lack of insurance has been my pet peeve for years. I've been on both sides of the fence, and have almost died, and my daughter almost died, from lack of insurance coverage - either outright neglect (refusal to help) or subtle neglect that ultimately led to near-death on my part. It's a LONG story and sometime I might PM you the story.
What's the solution? I don't know...socialized medicine has it's own problems, yet e need something in this country. More and more companies are laying off. I live in the Detroit metro area, where the 'big three' are losing and laying off, and people are losing benefits left and right. I am on disability and have Medicare, but 20% of anything is till a lot for me to cover, especially when I have only a few hundred bucks after I pay the bills, left over for food and car gas, etc. One more little problem. Collection agencies have free reign here to garnishee bank accounts. True, it's illegal to garnishee disability payments, so what happens is this. They take the money out. You request the refund - and either they or the court will grant a refund. In the meantime, the bills you paid at the 3rd of the month start coming back to get paid, and each and every transaction that hits the bank when the balance is zero, is charged a $40 NSF charge....with a dozen or so bills, that can add up! It can even add up m ore than the garnishment in the first place! Still...losing that kind of money probably will put you out food, medicine and gas for your car. This has happened to me several times, and without a good friend (who's now getting tapped out) I might not be writing this - I'd be dead - no meds, no food, no way to get anywhere in the car, etc. For some, it can be fatal, if utilities are turned off, or evictions are done - real possibilities, given the fact that most of us are literally living hand to mouth on promises to our creditors that once broken can mean disaster. I am on O2. There aren't too many outlets on the street to plug into...what would happen to me if I was evicted?
We need laws to prevent this. We need insurance for everyone - premiums based upon income (and REALLY based upon income! My 'deductible' for medicaid is half my income - ridiculous!).
