Giffords has government sponsored health care.

[riderinthestorm]

It's pretty unreal that Giffords voted to try to extend more access to health care to more Americans, Sarah Palin revs up her followers against Giffords (and the others on her "target" map) because of that vote.

And now the despicable Palin offers prayers and condolences, and best wishes for a speedy recovery - which will come as a result of the government sponsored health care Giffords enjoys, and voted to expand that access to more Americans.

I'm trying to wrap my brain around this irony.

I wonder if any of the victims don't have insurance? Wouldn't that be ... well, too horribly surreal? That Sarah Palin whips up some whackjob with her target map about "Obamacare", the Congresswoman actually DOES have "Obamacare", and perhaps there's a victim whose family will be financially ruined by... the lack of health insurance?

[Horse with no Name]

1. Trauma is an entirely different ballgame

Which is why the hospitals that do it are given federal funds.
ALL victims receive the same care regardless of ability to pay. The significant portion of trauma victims are young males--generally uninsured.
The difference in insurance coverage comes after the stabilization and when the person needs rehab services.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Thanks for the info.

The mandate in HCR means that most of those uninsured will have to get health insurance.

While the stabilization costs are prohibitive I'm sure, the hospitalization and rehab costs are also astronomical.

Sarah Palin set her sights on Congresspeople who were trying to actually help people get access to health care, even as she was promoting action that most certainly was designed to create death and destruction to people lives and health.

It's so batshit crazy, it's making my head spin. And then she has the unmitigated gall to offer a two sentence statement on her "prayers", as though that's going to pay anyone's medical bill.

[Horse with no Name]

7. I really don't know how to say this delicately

and what I say is not intended to be anything other than what I have observed personally, but it is what it is.

While all trauma victims (that are taken to trauma centers) are treated in the exact same manner (Trauma surgeons generally have their own routine of how and what they do and in what order). When the trauma team is dispatched, Trauma Protocol ensues.
Everyone has their own function and they do it. This is always done in an Emergency Room setting.
Once the patient reaches a stabilization point--then a secondary trauma assessment occurs. Treatment in this phase can include things like stitches, etc. and then transferring the patient to the appropriate level of care which can include ICU, inpatient, observation or home.
The level of care generally stays at a constant level until the patient reaches the inpatient setting during discharge planning.
It is really at this time where whether a patient has insurance or not that it becomes a factor.

The Discharge Planners will attempt to find funding and free beds in rehabs for uninsured patients--but many times, they cannot and the patient can be sent home with devastating injuries and pretty much left on their own--many young people will end up in Nursing Homes and in substandard conditions in their own homes because their bodily function has been disrupted.
These are the cases that upset me. We basically throw away the ones that don't have insurance to do the best they can without any resources to do it. There is a high incidence of mental illness, drug abuse and suicide in these patients. Many times, their families break up because the spouse/SO cannot cope with taking care of them when they are in need of a higher level of care than they can adequately provide. These are people that are silently swept under the rug--and the statistics don't count.
I have wondered more than once why we take extraordinary measures at extraordinary cost if we aren't going to finish the job. I have also thought more than once when you see the devastation--did we really serve this patient well by saving their life?

[riderinthestorm]

9. Oh. My. Gawd. This should be it's own OP. And this is exactly what I mean

Sarah Palin's map was/is about trying to STOP any attempts by Congress to help the kinds of patients that could not and have not been able to afford to get proper health care.

[Horse with no Name]

11. I agree.

Everyone should have healthcare--cradle to grave. People like Palin don't "get it".

[elleng]

4. Ditto

[elleng]

3. This is ER/Trauma care, and they all and we all would receive it.

[lonestarnot]

5. McMoose Killer should be held responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses civilly.

[riderinthestorm]

8. Her target map aimed at Congresspeople who were trying to get health ins for more Americans

Ergo, she obviously stands with people who believe that private individuals, charities, bake sales etc. can help those who can't afford health care, or who can't afford insurance which means that yes, she should step up and pay up.

Big time.

Her despicable gun sight map was created to "target" those who voted for health insurance reform. I still can't get over the fact that she chose a weapon that is notorious for it's health damaging effects, as her symbol for the "fight" on this issue.

[itsrobert]

6. She should have Military Tri-Care due to her husband on active duty

in addition to her congress health care plan. Just saying.

[Kali]

10. in general if they are uninsured the state's medicaid program should kick in

or I guess I should say, would have until Brewer and co started wrecking it. I'm not sure what the changes are for a situation like this but my guess (and hope) is they would qualify or get on a payment plan. From what I heard this morning most of the other survivors were onto regular wards already - nobody in ICU, at least at UMC.

Until the repukes started messing with it, Arizona's AHCCCS was a model system, looked at other states as a way to handle insuring the poor.