I'm amazed that anyone even bothers to go to the doctor any longer. As for doing a GoFundMe, that's obscene. Receiving health care one needs when it's needed should not be reduced to a popularity contest. That applies whether it's an organ transplant, surgery, treatment for cancer, or rehabilitation. If we didn't elect politicians who lied to us about the benefits of tax cuts and we understood that public health is good for the public and that, in today's world access to medical care ought to be a right maybe we'd have a real medical care system instead of the clunky wealth care system we're stuck with.
I've said it before but I'll say it again; I really hope that I drop dead before I ever need to interact with our wealth care system. The aggravation and the constant fight to get things right isn't worth it.
9
My son and I both had liver transplants in 2013 and 2014.
We owe our lives to the ACA expansion of President Barack Obama.
Our transplants were just 4 months apart- a horrifying time for our family.
The life-saving care we received from Oregon Health Sciences University hospital and the support from Oregon Health Plan, the ACA expansion and President Barack Obama, was all that anyone could wish for- your vote matters.
10
GoFund Me works when it’s one or two people you know. But in recent weeks I’ve seen a spate of these, from friends facing appalling medical bills, a home lost in fire, and more. There’s only so much you can give, and what you can give doesn’t scratch the surface. I believe that GoFundMe is really a convenient way for our mega-wealthy to shirk their responsibilities towards us ordinary folk trying to survive.
10
It used to be that, whoever you were, rich or poor, your medical options were much the same. In 1900, if you had Type 1 diabetes, you died. And men tended to have their heart attacks at 60, however wealthy they were. But now we’re in an era where money buys health and life, and beauty. That’s a serious challenge to an egalitarian society that simply isn’t discussed.
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While politicians and society have been playing pass-the-buck by focusing on insurance and who will pay, the cost of medical care is has been increasing well above inflation for decades, with the result that it's staggeringly expensive.
4
This is America. We have the best health care system money can buy. And it is cheaper than our justice system where you need much more money to buy it.
8
@Tumiwisi I have to voice doubts about the quality of your healthcare system, and particularly of Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids - I was not surprised to read they had done this, very much in character. When my husband arrived for a real, life-threatening emergency, the first thing they did was not to save his life but ask for his credit card. We always feel what matters most is that we should not be able to sue, not that they find out what is wrong or make us feel better.
All in all, it is way too expensive for the service provided. And the bureaucracy is insane, kafkaesque, which must cost a lot of money.
I thought that when you had good insurance, the quality of care was better in the USA than in Europe. Not only is it often mediocre, but it is very costly, no matter how well-insured you are. All my expat friends have had a similar experience.
14
@Marie tell me about it! In Michigan, I thought that with Medicare and decent supplemental, much would be covered, with my wife having heart failure, kidney failure, and insulin dependent diabetes. What a joke! The costs are outrageous. Just the insulin-$400.00! The pharmacist said he was tired of everybody complaining all the time. So, yes, our experience is similar. Actually, it's sort of like a nightmare!
8
I was sick from autoimmune liver disease and eventually had to go on Social Security Disability, which then meant that my health insurance was covered by Medicare. I then chose to purchase a medicall (Part B) supplement policy, and a Part D (prescription) policy, all out of pocket.
When I got my liver, the entire - everything including individual doctor bills, all services, EVERYTHING was covered by my insurance. I recieved a bill from the hospital outlining all the charges and my responsibility was $92.
Immunosuppressive drugs are covered on Medicare Part B for liver tranplant patients and I have never paid a dime for any of my immunosuppresive drugs - which I must take for my lifetime. My other drug costs are covered by my Part D prescription supplement plan.
While I did go through a financial interview pre-transplant, there was never any indication that I would be denied a transplant due to the fact that my actual savings at the time were non-existent, though it is true that my extended family did have the means and willingness to chip in if I ever could not pay for my own immunosupressives and medical care - though no one in my family is rich.
Medicare for all is the way to go. Then individuals can choose to purchase supplemental policies as they see fit.
I'm three years out and my liver is in perfect health!
Oh, and sign your organ donor card and tell your family that you want to donate your organs!! Thanks!!
22
We need to address billing fraud. Bills are strictly determined by how much the bill collectors think they can get out of you. In this article they are in pre-gouge mode AND no, they really don’t care if the woman will die without treatment. There will aleays be a new patient who will figure out how to get the money. If each state AG went after several prominent hospital and doctor groups in their state-Medical biils should be tackled under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), this might end.
5
I would like the NYT to follow up with an article on how other countries handle the expense of organ transplants. As a country we need to know if we are an outlier in this area.
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@Patricia
In Australia, the hospital stay, surgery, anaesthetics is all covered by our socialised medical system (also called Medicare). Medications are capped at $36 per script, unless they are private scripts, but that is only if they are not proven to be better than what is already available and subsidised by the government.
I would never consider living in the USA mainly because of your health system. I can’t imagine trying to get better all the while worrying about the bill at the end of it.
8
Yes. And I hope the NYT also looks at foreign patients that come to the best and most expensive US health centers and do NOT use donated organs from the US system. Rather through their money, power and exploitation of third nationals obtain their own donated organs. For example the Cleveland Clinic and the Emir of Oman
Our family Insurance has more than doubled over the last 7 years and the quality of coverage, in terms of choice, has gone down by 50%. In a way, we have handed over our souls to get everything covered by insurance, and now we are paying the price. It’s not unusual to pay a percentage of the total transplant bill, but with inflated Monopoly money, it’s impossible to know what the actual cost is in real dollars. After our daughter’s kidney transplant in 2017, we have faced large invoices. You’re not given an estimate of costs up front, but you’re told your insurance isn’t sufficient. After the surgery, it’s nearly impossible to get clearly itemized bills, and match them with the explanation of benefits, to reconcile the costs. And, if you’ve got complications, the costs can really spiral out of sight. Thankfully we received help through fundraising to cover the $40,000 of out-of-pocket costs, mostly from family and friends, for which we are so incredibly grateful.
11
The American health care system is a disgrace. I wonder how a creep like Cheney managed to get a replacement heart so quickly. If there was ever a person that didn't deserve it, it is Cheney. I also wonder who the person was that died when Cheney bumped them in line.
28
I have always strongly suspected my friend was the one who got bumped by Cheney. I can’t prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the facts are compelling:
1. He got a call telling him a heart was available and he should start the 90 minute drive to the hospital
2. However, when he arrived at the hospital, he was told the heart had gone to someone else and that he’d have to wait for the next one
3. The next morning, the news reported that Dick Cheney had undergone an emergency heart transplant the night before
4. According to UNOS public records, only one heart transplant took place on the east coast in the associated reporting period (I now forget whether the reporting period was a day or week)
Like I said, I can’t prove it. I tried several avenues of inquiry at the time but didn’t have any luck.
In any case, happy to report that my friend did eventually get a heart and is now in good health. (That’s also part of the reason why I let the whole thing go.)
Could I be wrong? Absolutely. However, my friend was very sick, at the top of the list, so I don’t think he lost he heart to someone sicker. He had already proven he had the financial and social means to make a meaningful and sustained recovery. At the time, he had two young daughters and was relatively young himself. He was, quite literally, two hours away from a new heart and he ticked all the boxes. It’s just really very difficult to find an explanation for why happened that doesn’t involve Cheney.
21
@Max wow! that is really interesting. I'll bet you are right. Thanks so much for this fascinating story. I am glad that your friend did not die.
It really bothers me that organs come from the young and poor quite a bit and go to the old and rich and powerful. It's really pretty creepy.
Meantime the poor lack even basic stuff that should be available like asthma inhalers. :-(
6
This is nothing new.
Note that Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in NYC asks some patients for a credit card advance before they will enroll them in clinical trials to cover expenses not covered by their insurance.
We need single payer now!
29
@RebeccaTouger Single payer is NOT the answer. Walk into a DMV office & try to get service. Now imagine that is your doctor. Government run health care is the last thing we need. How many Veterans died waiting for an appointment to see a doctor? That is gov't run healthcare. Have any of the doctors, nurses, administrators been fired? Not 1, they just change political appointees & you hear the refrain....We'll fix the system. Until they can at least run the Veterans healthcare system efficiently & effectively. Don't look to gov't run single payer to fix anything. It will only make things worse.
3
@Troy So you're saying that America is incapable of doing what the rest of the developed world can do ? I guess that's a form of American exceptionalism.
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Clinical trials should be funded by the companies that will profit from the research and sources other than the patients, who are often going through difficult procedures that may only benefit others.
My wife was involved in two studies. For one of these, we returned to the hospital the day after my cancer surgery so she could undergo one of two healthy tissue biopsies required for a study that might benefit future patients.
10