22 Year old Dies Uninsured

Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
22 Year old Dies Uninsured
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Tue, 09-29-2009 - 9:05am
Doctors say now that she died, not from swine flu, but from viral pneumonia, but the cause is less relevant than the fact that she died at all.
Like a large number of young people in this country, this young woman was uninsured. Most young people can't afford private insurance because the jobs they hold don't offer it or don't pay enough. These are kids who haven't yet gotten their first "good" job with benefits. Some are still in college. Some are working p/t while going to school. Some may not, for various reasons, be retained on their parents' health insurance. In any case, most of them rarely earn enough to pay for health insurance so they do without.

Shouldn't there be something in place to protect these young people?


Uninsured 22-Year-Old Boehner Constituent Dies From Swine Flu

hjnyoungkimberly09-_568332bA 22-year-old woman from Oxford, Ohio, died from swine flu on Wednesday. Kimberly Young graduated from Miami University in December and continued to live in Oxford, Ohio, within Minority Leader John Boehner’s congressional distrct. Reports now indicate that after initially getting sick, Young put off treatment because she was uninsured:



Young became ill about two weeks ago, but didn’t seek care initially because she didn’t have health insurance and was worried about the cost, according to Brent Mowery, her friend and former roommate.


On Tuesday, Sept. 22, Young’s condition suddenly worsened and her roommate drove her to McCullough Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford, where she was flown in critical condition to University Hospital in Cincinnati.


“That’s the most tragic part about it. If she had insurance, she would have gone to the doctor,” Mowery said.


According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 30 percent of 19-24 year olds are uninsured, more than any other group. Despite the conservative argument that young people are voluntarily refusing health coverage in favor of extra spending money, the reality is that high costs on the individual market put coverage out of reach. As Suzy Khimm notes at Campus Progress, young people “are far more likely to be working part-time or lower-paying jobs for employers who don’t offer coverage”:



In its 2008 study, the Commonwealth Fund found that 66 percent of young adults aged 19 to 29 who experienced a time without coverage in the past year said they had gone without it because of the cost.


Young people might have a better chance of accessing comprehensive coverage if there were a public plan, which could lower the cost of insurance, particularly for those without good employer benefits. Young people may also have a better chance at coverage if there were generous subsidies for lower-income individuals, as many take lower-paying jobs when they first enter the workforce.


Even though Boehner represents a large university, he has been an outspoken opponent of a public option that would make insurance cheaper and more accessible to recent graduates like Young. On Meet the Press last week, the Minority Leader continued to stick to the obstructionist Frank Luntz-endorsed talking points, dismissing the public option as “big government” while defending a watered-down plan.

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Avatar for claddagh49
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-20-2004
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:10pm
I met some Canadians on my vacation at Disney World. Both said they have some problems getting a PCP, but they can always be seen at a clinic or the ER. Both said that the clinics are crowded, but some take their children to themselves to the ER for minor problems that the clinic Drs could take care of BOTH said they wouldn't want the kind WE HAVE. There are so many lies and exaggerations going on, it's patethic in the desperate attempt to keep the status quo here with our expensive ins. So, yes, you would wait for an appoint with your own Dr, but you can take your child to the clinic for the earache. This is what I was told. I asked how long are the waits to see the Dr, they both said depends how busy they are,( just like here)The ER, the worst cases are ALWAYS seen first, just like here!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2007
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:25pm

Just because there is a clinic close by doesn't guarantee that she could have been seen in a timely manner. There is a clinic about 10 miles from where I live. But it's only open 2X's a month. We have had a couple of new mother's who were still in the hospital that have died from this flu.

Also, my 8 year old grandson that lives in Fla. got the H1N1 flu. My daughter was told to get that Tamaflu. The drug stores didn't have any. They already had 300-400 back orders.

Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:29pm

It's all about the money no matter which angle you look at it from.


Medications cost so much because pharmaceutical companies are in the business to make money, not save your life. I've been on a maintenance medication for the last 13 years. When I first started on it, it was new to the market and it cost roughly $150.00 for a month's supply. The number of people taking this drug now has dwindled as newer drugs have come on the market. A couple of years ago the patent on it expired, it was picked up as a generic and now cost $10.00 for a month's supply.


I agree that the insurance companies are simply out of control. They, too, are eager to stuff their pockets as much and as quickly as possible. They are in the business to make money, not save your life. Hospitals have to overcharge in order to make up for the millions of dollars they lose every year to non-payment. Insured people don't realize how much money they (and their insurance company) end up paying in the long run to finance those who can't pay.


Doctors, on the other hand, ARE in the business to save your life. Yes, they want to make money, but most doctors really don't earn as much as you might think. Cardio and neuro surgeons and OBGYN's are at the top of the pay scale, most other physicians earn a decent living but it doesn't come close to what most corporate executives earn. And CEO's don't have even a fracture of the aggravation or life/death responsibility that doctors face every day.


I'll admit that the

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:42pm

In my state a single woman under 30 pays a bit over $400 a month for a basic individual Anthem Blue Cross / Blue Shield policy. A Charter Oak (CT government run plan) runs about $230 per month.


I don't know if you've ever had to work for minimum


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:47pm

Obamacare will undoubtedly rely heavily on clinics. There are going to be many covered, and no new doctors. In fact many doctors may quit after the new Obamacare fee schedules and rules are implemented.

Many socialized care countries push people to clinics. If you don't like to wait, you don't want socialized health care.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:56pm

Kim Young was able to afford 4 years of college, living away from home at Florida State if I recall correctly.

The tuition (without boarding) is reported as $17,171.00 per year at - http://www.princetonreview.com/FloridaStateUniversity.aspx

Somehow she seems able to afford well over $1,500 per month for her education, but you claim she can't afford $230 a month for her health?

It is a matter of priority.

Under Obamacare, she may have had to pay $200-$400 per month as a mandatory premium. Then she'd have no excuse. Will that really be a great improvement?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 12:56pm

Mowery said Young eventually went to an urgent care facility in Hamilton where she was given pain medication and then sent home.


Hmmmm...so she did visit an urgent care facility (ER?


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 1:00pm
As for Kim Young having asthma, read the link posted by me earlier in this thread. - http://www.swineflu.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=26790&PID=198309#198309
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 1:05pm
Clinics generally provide inferior care. However under Obamacare many will have to get used to it. I'm certain deaths from bad treatment under Obamacare will be acceptable to liberals.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Wed, 09-30-2009 - 1:09pm

My daughter was told to get that Tamaflu. The drug stores didn't have any. They already had 300-400 back orders.


That's been an issue around here as well.


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