Not the Right Story!
I hate this publication’s story. It's such Bullshit that they make it seem as if it’s the Hospital’s administration that has no heart when , in actuallityy, it was their suggestion that ultimately helped this lady fund her transplant. This article is evident of bias and agenda pushing using dramatization and Alarm-ism and challenging the decency and morality of people who do not agree with them.
A Facebook post from a Grand Rapids-area woman that went viral over the weekend is highlighting the dysfunction and cruelty in America's healthcare system.
Hedda Martin, 60, needs a heart transplant or she will die. Spectrum Health Heart & Lung Specialized Care Clinics denied her request for a transplant because she doesn't have $10,000 in her savings account. Martin needs that to cover the deductible and the $700 per month cost of medication that will allow her body to accept the new heart.
The writer then goes on to mention how advocates for Universal Healthcare aren’t to happy about this suggestion…..naturally.
In its denial letter, the hospital stated that it's "recommending a fundraising effort of $10,000." Unsurprisingly, that suggestion isn't sitting well with decent and moral people. Proponents of Medicare For All are pointing out the cruel absurdity in the world's richest country telling a sick, old woman to beg for money to cover medication that she needs to live.
The writer then goes on to post a tweet from the, less than brilliant, Ocasio Cortez claiming that an Insurer was denying Hedda her transplant. This is important actually because she is half right. The photo of the letter posted with her tweet is actually from the hospital, not the insurer. This is the half part that is wrong.
The hospital has a responsibility to be paid for their services. Medicines, Machines, Supply, Staffers and so on need to be paid for to continue services for everyone else. This costs money and if hospitals were to allow procedures and treatment to be given by charity, they will surely be flooded by other, just as unfortunate cases.
So where is the Half True part? Ms. Cortez is right in saying that Hedda was denied by the Insurer, even though the photo that she provided wasn’t the Insurer. Who is the Insurer then, you may ask? The Government.
in a Facebook Post, Hedda wrote:
I will not be put on the transplant list until I fulfill a requirement of $10,000 set aside. Only when I have raised that required amount, will I then be “reconsidered” for heart transplant. Not automatically added to list but reconsidered. This is new. In my September hospital stay, I did not get listed because I did not have Medicare part D prescription coverage. So, I went home and had coverage started November 1st. So now, with my 20% copay for the pharmaceuticals under Part B (that’s right part B- medical not part D pharmaceutical) it will cost me about $700 a month for my part B copay for anti rejection drugs . Once I reach my $4500 annual my cost is $0. So they want me two show I can cover my $4500 deductible by saving $10,000...which I will do.
Hedda is on Medicare and it is through Medicare that she was denied the funds to provide care for her treatment. The writer actually made no attempt in pointing this part out because their point was to push Medicare for all…..even though Hedda had Medicare and was still unable to fund her treatments. If Hedda is already on Government Funded Healthcare ( The Government doesn’t make money, BTW) then why does the writer think Universal Healthcare would be any different? Universal Healthcare will have to subsidize taxpayer monies to pay for the Insurance of every other person in the country, which means they would still have to make the tough decisions of who gets to have certain expensive treatments, which ironically, is what Medicare did to Hedda in this particular case. The point? This would have probably still happened if there was Universal Healthcare. Probably wouldn't have happened if this woman had individual health insurance though. Isn't that ironic, don't you think?
Still, people on the internet will be Trolls and soon enough, the Hospital replied to their complaints:
"While it is always upsetting when we cannot provide a transplant, we have an obligation to ensure that transplants are successful and that donor organs will remain viable. We thoughtfully review candidates for heart and lung transplant procedures with care and compassion, and these are often highly complex, difficult decisions. While our primary focus is the medical needs of the patient, the fact is that transplants require lifelong care and immuno-suppression drugs, and therefore costs are sometimes a regrettable and unavoidable factor in the decision making process."
The government does not fix problems, they just create more problems by subsidizing them, mandating them or just taking away certain freedoms to create an illusion of comfort or security, and though it is true that under Universal Healthcare, the government can negotiate RX prices making them more affordable, my question is why they don’t just do that now? Why does there need to UH for this to happen? I would sooner be in favor of a regulation on how much one can charge for Rxs before I would be on board with paying up to a 50% Federal Tax to provide Universal Healthcare! 50%! That is absurd! Currently, after your refund, most people only pay around 15% in Taxes. I can never understand the rationale for people asking to be taxed at a 50% rate for healthcare. Factor that into your current yearly income, excluding the money you pay for healthcare and see where that puts you. Your standard of living would be greatly affected, which may still be manageable for those making 100k a year or more but what about those who make more or less half that?
If one was to make 70k a year and pay the current rate of 15% Taxes, that brings them down to 59,500. Let's break that down to monthly; 4958.33 a month. The average medical Insurance for a family is roughly about $850 a month bringing us to 4,108.33 left per month for other expenses. That’s a pretty comfortable living.
Now, let’s factor in the 50% tax rate minus the Healthcare costs.
70k at 50% brings us down to 35k from 59.5k; per month that is 2,917 from 4958. That is a 2,041 difference, per month. That’s a pretty huge hit, even for this family, after we factor in our monthly living expenses, and let’s not forget state taxes, that begins to put a tight squeeze on our wallets, not to mention that in lots of areas, especially the one I live in, the average household income falls more around the lines of 41k. With the 50% tax plan, that leaves families at 1,708 per month.
Seems to me that even though you may all now have free healthcare, your standards of living has now been dramatically altered.This, is my point when I say that the Government only creates more problems. I understand that people may be in a worse situation than I am and that they require more health care than me or my family, but we have safety nets for them already. The impoverished, the old , the sick, the disabled. We have Government plans for them and those who still can not meet the financial obligations can always rely on each other. These issues can usually be solved by The charity of our fellow citizens, as this story should have proven. Hedda raised , not only the 10,000$ she needed , but also more than $5k more. THAT is what I got from this story! The government rejected the finances to save her life, the citizens, once again, came together in the name of charity and compassion. We should depend on each other first. We, the People! There are many, many ways to ask your fellow man for help without it being mandated by the government. Crowdfunding is such a fantastic idea! This resource provides many with a assistance, at the convenience of the giver. People want to help; people LOVE to help each other. They don’t want to be forced to help. I don’t understand why the government can’t understand this. You can not force people to be nice, honorable, respectful, or charitable without creating resentment.
I am glad that Hedda learned that asking for help when it is truly needed is not begging. I am happy that people showed their true compassion by rising to help each other. I hope that more people find that there other ways to care for themselves without relying on the government. Remember, when the Government provides, the Government Controls.
Don't be afraid.... That ringing you hear in your ears
is just a bit of ...
BRAYN NOISE