|
Cash Before Chemo: Hospitals Get Tough
“Lake Jackson, Texas - When Lisa Kelly learned she had leukemia in late 2006, her doctor advised her to seek urgent care at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. But the nonprofit hospital refused to accept Mrs. Kelly's limited insurance. It asked for $105,000 in cash before it would admit her.
“Sitting in the hospital's business office, Mrs. Kelly says she told M.D. Anderson's representatives that she had some money to pay for treatment, but couldn't get all the cash they asked for that day. 'Are they going to send me home?' she recalls thinking. 'Am I going to die?'"
Taken from an article by Barbara Martinez
The Wall Street Journal, Monday 28 April 2008
|
The tragedy of the American Health Care System today is that stories like Lisa Kelly’s aren’t rare. It’s easy to find Americans everywhere who can’t afford to go to a doctor, can’t afford tests and medicines, can’t afford surgery or expensive treatments. Too many are forced into bankruptcy by sickness they thought they’d insured against. Physicians can’t afford to treat Medicaid patients. Medicaid patients can't find specialists willing to treat them. And so on. And so on. And so on.
We have literally reached the point where the average, hard-working, middle-income American can't afford to buy comprehensive health insurance coverage for his family.
Health Care for Everyone – Alabama believes that’s wrong. We believe that everyone should be able to get all the health care they need. We’re working toward that goal in a lot of ways. So come on in. Look around. See who we are, what we believe in. Look at the background information we’ve put together (we’ve concentrated on factual papers, written to be understandable, and not so much on opinion, or efforts to sway readers to one position or another. But our positions are pretty obvious.) Check out what’s newly added to the site, and the Frequently Asked Questions. Then, if you like what you see, take a look at the jobs that need doing, and roll up your sleeves and join us. It’ll be great to have you on board!
This web site is under construction. Refer to "What's New" near the top of the page for recent additions and changes.