A tale of American healthcare as told through one Doctor visit

[tackattack]

No one is allowed to get anything worse than a cold before the deductible is met in my house. Then Sep-Dec it's a mad rush to get everything done.

[Rev. Rye]

Yeah, the American healthcare system is a real motherfucker. And here's a depressing story of how horrible it can be that many of us might not be familiar with. I myself didn't even know about this guy until about a week ago.

Vic Chesnutt was one of the most fascinating singer-songwriters in recent memory. One crucial thing to understand about him is that, when he was eighteen, he was in a car crash. He survived, but he was rendered technically quadraplegic. Well, it's not quite what you'd think, because the injury wasn't quite as complete as it was in the case of, say, Christopher Reeve. He still had feeling in his body, and had enough feeling in his legs that he could move them, but not enough to allow him to walk to any meaningful degree (to quote one of his last interviews, "I can walk with a walker, somewhat, but not really functionally. If I fell down I'd never be able to get up.") But, more crucially to his calling, the movement in his hands was compromised, but he could still play simple chords, and enough of his diaphragm was saved from paralysis that he could still sing. And he recorded seventeen albums in his life, and here's one of his best songs:





And for a better idea of what he was like when he didn't have a backing band glossing over his imperfections:








He died the same year he recorded that song (and a year after that last video). He killed himself with an overdose of muscle relaxants. Why? Well, in that interview I mentioned earlier, he mentioned he was $50,000 in debt for medical expenses because his condition pretty much kept him uninsurable. Near the end, he said: "I mean, I could die only because I cannot afford to go in there again. I don't want to die, especially just because of I don't have enough money to go in the hospital. But that's the reality of it. You know, I have a preexisting condition, my quadriplegia, and I can't get health insurance." And so, 24 days after saying those words, something happened (presumably some medical issue flaring up that he could not afford to treat, I have not been able to find information on what that final catalyst was) and he emptied a bottle of his meds into his gullet. Thanks to this, I am limited to Youtube videos and his 17 albums in my quest to experience this man's art. And all because he couldn't afford to treat his medical problems.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I could die only because I cannot afford to go in there again.

This is an abomination.
Boru

[Rev. Rye]

I could die only because I cannot afford to go in there again.

This is an abomination.
Boru

And yet, for one of America’s two main political parties (one which still controls the Congress [note: the Democratic control of the house will not start until next month] the Supreme Court, and the White House), that’s the system working as it should. And to think that the Religious Right would be holding him up as an examplar of why euthanasia is bad if he didn’t strongly support health care reform. And kill himself because he couldn’t afford to treat his illness.





And so, it becomes clear that Kritzinger’s dicta are how the right approaches issues of the downtrodden:

“Well then, this is the moment to be... practical, until such time as Germany can afford your philosophy, which is what? Hound them, impoverish them, exploit them, imprison them - just do not _kill_ them, and you are God's noblest of men. I find that, uh, truly remarkable.”

The fact that a film about the Wannsee Conference remains so relevant to the way the world works now is nothing short of horrifying.

[Angrboda]

I sympathize, Figbash. I know such things happen and that they are far from rare, but that's not necessarily a typical experience either.

I have medicaid and medicare and I have experienced almost nothing but excellent service and coverage. No copays, comprehensive coverage, and short wait times. The only bad experience I've had is my annual blood work keeps being refused by medicare, but it's only $100, and so I just pay it and get on with my life. I probably could fight it, but it hasn't been a priority so far. The real complaints I would have about American healthcare are doctor abuses, particularly the opioid epidemic, insufficient support for wider insurance coverage or universal healthcare, soaring insurance premiums for some, and the desire of conservative legislatures to roll back the progress we've already made. U.S. health care is far from the best in the world, but it's also far from the worst.

As noted, I have no complaints. That's probably more a consequence of where I live and my specific situation than any necessary overall greatness of American healthcare, but I'll take it.

Socialized medicine for the win!