Ugh just heard from a friend w/o medical insurance

[Tektonik]

He lives in North Miami, has no health insurance, and had a laparoscopic appendectomy. He's 21 and was dreading the hospital bill.

It's been like a month since it happened, and I'd never asked him how much the bill came out to. About 30,000 dollars he said. He's 21 goes to community college and has a part time job, how the fuck is he supposed to pay? He'll have to file for bankruptcy and work for a decade to build up his credit again.

[MrsBrady]

1. ugh is right....so sad....

and this is the best the US can do?

[RainDog]

2. at least he's young

I got a divorce, couldn't find a job where I am that paid a living wage, so I went back to school. have not had insurance for a while. do not go to the doctor, sometimes I've been so depressed I thought I might as well cash it in, for all that anyone in this country would care. Decided that if I got very sick.. cancer, etc., I would just die. What other choice did I have? Maybe help it all along?

some days still feel that way. have a masters degree now, applying for jobs, and if I don't get one... return to paragraph one and ignore the first sentence.

[Chan790]

3. What's the Masters in? n/m

[RainDog]

4. library and info science

there are lots of jobs in my field...there are lots of fields in my fields, as well. I went into student loan debt in order to make it possible for my kids to be able to live with both parents (and I have one son who is high-functioning autistic) until they were older. now they are. so am I.

I'm sending out apps now.

I don't regret what I did, at all. Except I wished I'd done it earlier.

Nevertheless, I was a stay-at-home mom/part-timer in other jobs while my kids were younger, for the most part. You know... the "family values" sort of family. didn't get a divorce for any of the usual "bad" reasons, either... long story. has to do with mental illness and stress like you wouldn't have been able to believe.

but my life, I'd bet, isn't all that different than many others who cannot figure out what the fuck I did that made it okay to pay a non-living wage, with no insurance, and yet work my ass off while Paris Hilton does fuck nothing and lives like a pig in shit.

life's like that.

I read about others who have it much worse than I do, all the time. They didn't "deserve" their situation either. this is how and why the U.S. sucks. Why it is the Beverly Hillbillies of western democracies. Frankly, I fucking hate living here, but don't have many other choices. I hate living here because of the people who create economic policies that put some CEO's viagra-fed golden parachute over the well being of a mother of two who simply wants a living wage and insurance.

any rightwinger who wants to talk to me about economics can kiss my ass because he's talking out of his.

[Chan790]

5. I'm sure you'll get one.

Best of luck with the job hunt. Sounds like a great field. (I'm always gathering ideas for a grad. major. My BA was in Politics, the one thing I know I never want to do again.)

[RainDog]

8. It's a good field

If you want to work as an academic librarian, you need to be able to read at least one other language, and ideally have either a second masters in the subject area or a PhD (even better.) In academic librarianship, you go through a tenure process, have to publish - and salaries are better than in public librarianship.

Now all librarians have to be able to do make text-based web pps, all the bones, no web-based graphics stuff if you happen to work in an area (this is not for academic librarians) that cannot afford lots of tech. The web/information is the big deal now. Digital collections, too.

The information science part has the most jobs, with the best salaries... just like everywhere else. - People get jobs as "information architects." - you manage projects and have to know perl and php and other programming stuff my mind is blanking b/c this is not my love. I love designing web pages, but do not like the programming stuff. CSS/xhtml... have to maintain "best practices" for current web standards... as in W3 declarations.

As far as bang for your buck, lib&info sci is the best value for a masters degree.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

6. Rosemary started a thread wondering why people are long term unemployed.

She showed a remarkable lack of compassion. Then she blamed the inability of the highly educated people to get a job on the colleges. It must be the fault of the colleges for not teaching us how to start a business or find SOME kind of a job. :wtf:

She got thoroughly reamed for that out of touch opinion. She and several others swore that "there's a job out there for anyone who wants one" and were shot down by real world experience.

And the bottom line is that our personal worth is not based on whether or not we have a paying job. And it's not based on what other people think of us.

The most meaningful things I've ever done in my life were not things I was paid to do.

That said, I agree with what you said. Rosemary couldn't believe I had been unemployed (basically for 15 years, with a couple of shitty temp jobs) after 12 years in college and three degrees (Associate's, Bachelor's and Doctorate.

I think the only way I will get good medical care when I get older is to move to another country. Right now I have several chronic conditions I must take medication for.

I'm convinced that communes and growing your own food will get popular again, as people come together in communities to survive.

[RainDog]

7. She sounds like an asshole to me

whoever Rosemary is, she isn't very bright.

I wasn't unemployed. I ran a business for my boss when she was out of town. I know how to run a biz, I know how to do lots of things... did before, do now. I've done jobs that would make lots of money if I were doing them in one situation versus another. After I got a divorce, I went through some big depression stuff. That's illness, not whatever the fuck she'd like to call it. People who are ignorant are too ready to condemn others. Hope she never has to go through any of the shit so many others have. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even a stupid compassionless fuck.

when I was an undergrad, my ugrad thesis advisor told me to apply to grad school at Yale, but my then husband (I had worked while he was in grad school then returned to finish my degree) had a job that he didn't want to leave. Someone nominated me to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship... you can't do one of those if you're married, fwiw. I had a grant from the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts (for the stuff that I used to do.) But when I got depressed, I lost my confidence and didn't know where to find it again. It's not like I am or was an unemployable person.

One of the things I learned early on, tho, is who you know is as important as what you know. I don't care what anyone says to argue otherwise.. that's simply a fact. (and is also why I am very pro affirmative action... for poor people of any sort who do not start out with the same basic advantages as others - I'm not talking about myself in this situation.)

I live in a place with a waaaay overeducated population for the number of jobs available. My ex has major financial security, even with some big mental health issues. Good insurance - that's important when you have children, and esp. children with health issues themselves. We wanted our kids to be with both of us... of course, he helped to make it possible for this to happen too, but he's not wealthy either.

What would Rosemary have had me do... move my kids away from one parent, when it was to their advantage to be with two? I've never had any sort of public assistance, even with the crappy conditions. Like many others, I would go without before I'd do that, simply b/c of the stigma. I'm also fortunate because I have some wealthy relatives. But who wants to ask for help in any form? Not me. But if I were in the worst of the worst situations, I could call on family members. But those things have strings attached too, believe me.

The grad school where I've been is one of the top in the nation... #1 in scholarly research in the field. Yes, I will find a job. In fact, today I saw a job in a place that sounds like heaven... send vibes, cross fingers, kiss a voodoo doll.

People who have no compassion for the difficulties of others are really worthless, to me. The emotional equivalent of a gutter drunk passed out in three days' worth of piss. For all the Rosemarys on this site - That's you. Hope you gag on it.

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. Wow

You sound a lot like me. Ten years of college. BA, MA, MBA, JD. Long term unemployed. I'll skip the gory details and the contributing factors.

I've entertained and pursued lots of employment options. I've even been turned down for a part time job in a charity thrift store. The only work I have refused was from a company that has since been convicted of investment fraud and that was because I thought what they were doing was both deceptive and high risk.

I'm single, 40 something, living a frugal and minimalistic lifestyle. I have aging parents for whom I help care. After they pass I aspire to immigrate to Canada as a self employed artisian/craftsman. Access to health care is one of the main reasons I want to immigrate. Presently I am honing my skills. In the not too distant future I hope to start working the craft circuit and eventually add a website so that I can document income for my immigration attempt.

As a result of my employment challenges, my perspective has been forever altered. I cannot imagine that these views will ever change. I've become more independent. I question everything. I no longer have expectations of other people. I'm content with my frugal lifestyle. I am offended by conspicous consumption. I've learned to articulate and protect my interests. I have no expectations that anyoe else even recongizes those interests.

Employment is nothing more than a way to finance life. Folks who are truly fortunate ae paid and rewarded for the things they enjoy in life. That's my ultimate goal.

[zingaro]

9. oh that's awful but

I think a much better option is if he works out an arrangement with the hospital to pay them at least something every month. It won't be able to be turned over to a collector and shouldn't reflect badly on his credit if he is paying them. Even $50/month, if that's what he can afford.

That's a much better option than bankruptcy at 21. Especially with the changes in the laws. Someone else would be qualified to answer technically but if I understand them properly, he'd still have to repay at least part of that money anyway.

I wish him luck. It's just so wrong that there's no system in place for proper health care.