In Memory of Melissa Mia Hall

[truepenny]

[I've posted about this before, but am posting again to boost the signal.]

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Melissa Mia Hall, 1956-2011

suricattus writes:

There is a move afoot in the nation -driven by the GOP - to repeal the new health care laws, to protect corporate interests, to defend against fear-mongering (and stupid) cries of "socialism!", and to ensure that people are forced to choose between keeping a roof over their heads or getting necessary health care.

This movement is killing people.

Think I'm overstating the fact?

Ask the friends and family of writer/reviewer Melissa Mia Hall, who died of a heart attack last week because she was so terrified of medical bills, she didn't go see a doctor who could have saved her life.

One person. Not the only one. That could have been me. Yeah, I have access to insurance -- I live in New York City, which is freelancer-friendly, and have access to freelancer advocacy groups. Through them, I can pay over $400/month ($5,760/year) as a single, healthy woman, so that if I go to the hospital I'm not driven to bankruptcy. But a doctor's appointment - a routine physical - can still cost me several hundred dollars each visit. So unless something's terribly wrong? I won't go.

Someone who lives in a state where there is no Freelancer's Guild or MediaBistro to put together an insurance plan for freelancers? Someone who has been laid off or downsized, and can barely make ends meet? SoL.

That could be you. That could be your best friend. That could be someone you've never met. That could be any of us - because there are people out there who think that taking care their neighbor is someone else's problem.

No. It's our responsibility. All of us, together. As a nation.

EtA: Nobody is trying to put insurance companies out of business. They will always be able to offer a better plan for a premium. We simply want to ensure that every citizen - from infant to senior citizen - doesn't have to choose between medical care, and keeping a roof over their heads, or having enough to eat.

We're trying to get this to go viral. Pass it along:

I won't watch another friend die because they can't afford healthcare. Save the Affordable Care Act! http://ow.ly/3QAD7 #ForMMHall #HCR

I linked to the the original post about Melissa Mia Hall's death. suricattus links to The Daily Kos' post, which itself provides links to many other posts.

I am lucky: mirrorthaw has excellent health insurance benefits. Otherwise, frankly, the Ben Jonson Memorial Fundraiser might very well have been a fundraiser to try to cover my medical bills. Consider that broken ankle. We've got (1) ambulance, (2) ER, (3) overnight hospital stay, (4) orthopedic surgery, (5) follow-up visits to the orthopedic clinic, (6) physical therapy, (7) prescription painkillers. I haven't done the math, but ouch, baby, as Austin Powers would say. Very ouch.

And then there are the medications that I am on, and probably will be on for the rest of my life, for (1) chronic stomach problems, (2) chronic brain chemistry problems, (3) chronic high cholesterol. And then there's the RLS, which has had me on four different medications to date (two relatively ineffective ones to treat the RLS itself, and two relatively ineffective ones to treat the side effects of the less ineffective of the two), with two doctor's appointments, and that appointment with the sleep clinic coming up on Thursday. And no guarantee that the problem will be resolved then, either, if it ever is.

But I'm lucky. I'm married to a man who does have health insurance. I don't have to worry about how much my health care costs. And my point here is it shouldn't be a matter of luck. No one should have to worry about whether they can afford to go to the doctor.

No one should die the way Melissa Mia Hall did.

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ETA: mevennen talks about her experiences with health care in the UK and how different is from the way the right-wing American propaganda paints it.

Comments

[lokifan]

Jesus. :( I'd so afraid of this stuff if I was American. I do feel it's the duty of a community to take care of its sick.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

No one should die the way Melissa Mia Hall did.

And yet they do, every single damn day in this country.

I've worked for the Social security Disability program for 27 years now, and everwhere there are people in this country who are made sicker than they have to be, people who end up being disabled because a problem wasn't treated in time, people who end up dead. Every single damn day this happens.

[mmarques.livejournal.com]

I feel sad for those of you in the U.S. I know so many people who have had to give up or postpone care due to lack of coverage. I know people with coverage who end up with serious debt after a hospital stay, because 80% coverage means having to pay 20% of an enormous bill.

What you say about insurance is true. In Canada, where basic health insurance is provided by the provinces, we still have insurance to cover extras (and some basics not covered by the province), such as medications, dental, glasses / contacts, alternative health care, hearing aids (beyond the very basic covered by the province), semi-private or private hospital rooms, travel out of the country, and so on.

And the bill in the U.S. doesn't even get rid of having private insurance for basic care - just gives a less expensive alternative for those who cannot afford it.

Very sad about people protesting it. The law doesn't have to change anything for them, as they can still keep their same coverage.

[theladymoon.livejournal.com]

We've always complained here in Greece about how our Health Care system sucks, but every time I've read your posts (and other people's) about this issue, boy am I glad that we have what we have. It's a real crime to make health a matter for the privileged only, and it certainly is a horror when it's actual people you hear it from (and not some movie or tv where everything can be written off as, well, "not real")

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

The best way I've seen that put is "Your health care shouldn't have to depend on who you're sleeping with."

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Or on if your job is convenient for insurance companies.

[girlpunksamurai.livejournal.com]

How about, it takes a village?

Which is to say we shouldn't be standing around all glaring at each other while sending 'f*** you' simultaneously. The reason we got out of the caves and built a civilization is that we came together and worked together Something we seem to have forgotten about entirely.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this. One of my co-workers died of cancer this summer because he didn't have health insurance.

I ... really don't know what to think of the people on the other side of this. Do they really not know?

-Nameseeker