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dragonlady7I've ranted before about just being so sick of the problems with health insurance in this country.
I spent 45 minutes on hold for Univera two weeks ago and they finally said yes, the check they'd cashed did mean that I'd paid my bill, so I had coverage.
But they never sent me an insurance card.
I still do not have the coverage I started paying for in July.
Better still the large mole I've always had on my forearm just changed shape and is sore. Score!
If I take an insurance company to small-claims court to get back the money I've paid them to retroactively have had health insurance during months I did not seek medical care for conditions that caused me pain, would I get that money back? Because that was the worst use of $350 of my entire life.
But my woes? They are as nothing compared to this chick's woes.
Apparently she has this, which sounds pretty shitty ("quick onset severe headaches and neck pain. Fatigue, dizziness, vertigo, neuropathic pain, pain at the point of tethering, visual disturbances, difficulty swallowing, ringing in the ears, sleep apnea, impaired fine motor skills, muscle weakness, and palpitations and excessive clearing of the throat with no obstructions"), plus another condition I didn't even understand.
And she qualifies for assistance in paying her medical bills, which is great, but they first require her to give them a deposit of $4500, which any person too disabled to work is just going to have lying around.
So she found this weird shady company I've never heard of-- MegaUpload-- which gives you a $10,000 bonus if you manage to get 5 million downloads of the file you upload. She figures she'll give it a shot, as it's probably her only chance to be able to scrape up five grand by December.
So...![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
projectdownload was born.
I saw it because Neil Gaiman was sufficiently convinced to link to her. I empathize strongly enough that I'll link to her here too.
But I have a horrid feeling that the $10,000 payout will never happen, that there will be some condition she doesn't meet, or something, and this will all be for nothing. But then, at least thousands of people will have heard of her plight, and any other idea she has may prove easier to implement. It's just that she's kind of on a deadline, and if her brain lesions start bleeding again, the deadline could get pretty dire.
And there, my friends, but for the grace of God, go I. Do I have health insurance? If I go to a doctor and she diagnoses me with skin cancer and then I find out I don't have health insurance after all, does that make this a "pre-existing condition"? Where does my money go when I dump it down Univera's black hole?
Will our heroine ever receive dental care as an adult, or a new pair of glasses? Will Erin of ProjectDownload get the brain surgery she needs to survive?
Stay tuned for more exciting episodes in "Ordinary People Getting Access To The Best And Most Inaccessible Healthcare System In The World".
It reminds me of the strip on Achewood where Ray and Roast Beef are pretending to be country singers and sing about their country pride for "managing to avoid starvation in the richest nation in the history of the world!"
I spent 45 minutes on hold for Univera two weeks ago and they finally said yes, the check they'd cashed did mean that I'd paid my bill, so I had coverage.
But they never sent me an insurance card.
I still do not have the coverage I started paying for in July.
Better still the large mole I've always had on my forearm just changed shape and is sore. Score!
If I take an insurance company to small-claims court to get back the money I've paid them to retroactively have had health insurance during months I did not seek medical care for conditions that caused me pain, would I get that money back? Because that was the worst use of $350 of my entire life.
But my woes? They are as nothing compared to this chick's woes.
Apparently she has this, which sounds pretty shitty ("quick onset severe headaches and neck pain. Fatigue, dizziness, vertigo, neuropathic pain, pain at the point of tethering, visual disturbances, difficulty swallowing, ringing in the ears, sleep apnea, impaired fine motor skills, muscle weakness, and palpitations and excessive clearing of the throat with no obstructions"), plus another condition I didn't even understand.
And she qualifies for assistance in paying her medical bills, which is great, but they first require her to give them a deposit of $4500, which any person too disabled to work is just going to have lying around.
So she found this weird shady company I've never heard of-- MegaUpload-- which gives you a $10,000 bonus if you manage to get 5 million downloads of the file you upload. She figures she'll give it a shot, as it's probably her only chance to be able to scrape up five grand by December.
So...
projectdownload was born. I saw it because Neil Gaiman was sufficiently convinced to link to her. I empathize strongly enough that I'll link to her here too.
But I have a horrid feeling that the $10,000 payout will never happen, that there will be some condition she doesn't meet, or something, and this will all be for nothing. But then, at least thousands of people will have heard of her plight, and any other idea she has may prove easier to implement. It's just that she's kind of on a deadline, and if her brain lesions start bleeding again, the deadline could get pretty dire.
And there, my friends, but for the grace of God, go I. Do I have health insurance? If I go to a doctor and she diagnoses me with skin cancer and then I find out I don't have health insurance after all, does that make this a "pre-existing condition"? Where does my money go when I dump it down Univera's black hole?
Will our heroine ever receive dental care as an adult, or a new pair of glasses? Will Erin of ProjectDownload get the brain surgery she needs to survive?
Stay tuned for more exciting episodes in "Ordinary People Getting Access To The Best And Most Inaccessible Healthcare System In The World".
It reminds me of the strip on Achewood where Ray and Roast Beef are pretending to be country singers and sing about their country pride for "managing to avoid starvation in the richest nation in the history of the world!"
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 06:27 pm (UTC)I wonder why she doesn't call her local newspaper, though? That is totally the sort of thing we'd be all over. Forget this two months' shit. I write about stuff and people get the money they need in the next week.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 06:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 07:28 pm (UTC)I don't remember where she said she lived. Probably not Schenectady. She may not have said-- she's does that normal Internet-blog dance of telling people everything and nothing, which makes sense. You want to share your feelings and stuff, but you don't want wackos showing up at your house.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 07:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-02 08:05 pm (UTC)You don't not have insurance just because you don't have a card, though. As long as you know who your insurer is, the doctor's office secretary people can call them and figure things out. If you're really worried, make the appointment, show up early, tell the secretary person you have Univera but you just got it so no card, so could she talk to them and get your account numbers and stuff. Therefore if it magically turns out that you don't have coverage you have the option of running away before your appointment so you won't be billed.
strum ticka strum ticka strum
Date: 2007-11-03 02:40 am (UTC)- Z