22 Year old Dies Uninsured

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
22 Year old Dies Uninsured
120
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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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2009
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 5:22pm

I had asked earlier, I would LOVE to know how much you and other Britons pay in taxes relative to your incomes.

The middle class in America pays very little (percentage wise) compared to other nations with national healthcare.

If the middle class knew exactly how much it was going to cost them, then they could make a more educated decision.

Then....there is the little factoid of cancer survival in America compared to other nations with national healthcare.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2009
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 5:27pm

(So you mean the middle class want completely free healthcare?))

Well, pretty much. They certainly don't want to pay any more than they do right now.

((Where do you think the cost of running hospitals, paying doctors etc, paying for medicines is going to come from?))

Funny you should ask. They don't really care about how much it costs to run a hospital. They don't care that doctors are facing 40% cuts. They feel they make too much as it is and don't deserve any more. The medicines should be bought in Canada...because they are WAY cheaper there.

(So just because someone earns more money they should have to pay for the middle class medical care? ))

You got it! That's pretty much the mentality. Make the rich pay for it. But don't tax me, the middle class guy any more.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2006
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 6:49pm

How many middle class people on these boards are comfortable having their taxes increased to 50% of their salary to pay for this healthcare reform?



I would love to know where you are getting your information from.


I earn £800 a month and pay £35 a month NI (national insurance tax) which contributes to the NHS (national healthcare system) and also contributes to my state pension. This is all heavily subsidised by the government and in some cases the employer too.





The middle class in America pays very little (percentage wise) compared to other nations with national healthcare.

If the middle class knew exactly how much it was going to cost them, then they could make a more educated decision.



Are you sure about that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Health_care_cost_rise.PNG




Kelly
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2009
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 7:38pm

((This is all heavily subsidised by the government ))

Where do you think the government gets their money?

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2009
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 7:52pm
Again, what is the total tax taken out of your pay in relation to how much you make. Not just the insurance part. The total tax that the government takes.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2006
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 8:20pm
Why do you need to know what else I pay for? Council tax which pays for the upkeep of the roads, garbage being taken away etc as well as a water tax to maintain the pipes and keep my water running. It has nothing to do with the NHS. And it is not as much as you are making out. If you need to look up various percentages, go to the Inland Revenue website, I am sure they will be happy to help you straighten out your facts, something in my opinion you really need to do
The government gets the money where most do, the Federal Bank.




Again, I would really like to know where you get your information, so far most of what you have said is complete nonsense. It would not surprise me if you worked for an insurance company.
Kelly
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2009
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 8:56pm

((The government gets the money where most do, the Federal Bank. ))

That's just too funny. In the United States, the government gets it's money from the tax payers. I realize you don't really want to post what you have to pay in taxes for all your social programs. It's okay. In America, according to the latest IRS statistics, the top 1 percent of American taxpayers in 2006 bore 40 percent of the burden of the income tax (the top 50% paid 97 percent, and the bottom 50 percent bore 3 percent).

I think it's great that the UK has such a wonderful healthcare system and the people there are okay with paying for it.

The problem in America is that they all want that same wonderful system that you have...but they want somebody else to pay for it.

And no...I don't work for an insurance company. I pretty much hate them.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2009
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 11:07pm

The problem in America is that they all want that same wonderful system that you have...but they want somebody else to pay for it.


I think most of us just want insurance we can afford.


zz

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Mon, 12-14-2009 - 11:57pm

Well, not exactly.

Would I like my insurance to cost a bit less? Sure. But I'm a firm believer in that old saying that you don't get something for nothing. Any deal that costs less inevitably means a decline in services.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2009
Tue, 12-15-2009 - 12:25am

Well, not exactly.


And you know this how?


 

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