no insurance - just go die in the gutter?

[jeanel]

What is the name of your state? New York State (not City)

I want to visit my parents in New York State before going under the knife in Spain (free health care for everyone even Americans and illegal aliens) but am worried about the timebomb I have ticking inside me.The risks while waiting are internal bleeding, kidney and liver failure and cancer. If I bust a gut or need something done in the US how does that work since I dont have insurance?

I don’t think anything will happen, but what if? Do I inflict my family with a huge bill or what? I asked the Dr what to look out for and he said he wouldn’t tell me because it would freak me out but that I would definitely know something was wrong and go running to the hospital. But I don’t think I can do that in the US?

One US friend told me that all I need to do is be "judgement proof" meaning have no money or assets in my name and then they send me a bill, I dont pay it, they sue, I still dont have the money and it all disappears (just get bad credit) ???

I however think they make you fill out paperwork that you can pay before they touch you and if you cant pay they leave you to die in the gutter. Is that how it works? Are you just supposed to lie when you fill out that paperwork or what?

Another friend told me that you can go to the ER or Free Clinic and legally they can’t turn you away. But sometimes they do anyway because if there is nobody to vouch for paying on your behalf, then there is nobody who will sue them either. So, people are dying in the streets to the left and right, but they just clean the streets more so we don’t see them?

Also at ER and Free Clinic you wait for hours and days with nasty drug addicts and stinky homeless people? I’ve heard the ER is only good for standard short-term problems like being shot or stabbed or raped or a heart attack? Also are the Drs lousy or just students because any really good Dr or expert would be earning more somewhere else?

Travel insurance here only covers accidents and lost luggage or maybe health care for a trip to Africa or something. In any case the cap is 10,000 Euros which wouldn’t go far in the US.
Health insurance here only covers treatment here and is actually uncessary. If I try for insurance there in the US I think it won’t cover my pre-existing condition, or be useable right away – which is what I’m looking for.

I’m not afraid of being dead, but the process of dying. Especially if it can be avoided for now!

[msiron]

he said he wouldn’t tell me because it would freak me out but that I would definitely know something was wrong and go running to the hospital.

So you went to a doctor here in the US and he will not tell you what illness you have?

[jeanel]

No, I went to the Dr. here (in Spain) he wanted to operate and do chemotherapy but there was no rush because the tumours are benign for now. But they are many and big so there are three things that could happen while I am waiting (6 months or more) for the operation: 1 they could turn to cancer (rare), 2 they squish nearby organs (already happening) possibly leading liver and kidney failure, 3 internal bleeding.

I asked how I would know if that was happening. He (the Dr here in Spain) said if he told me I would start imagining it and that I would know when something is terribly terribly wrong and go running, not walking to the closest hospital (in Spain).

So now I am worried about being too far from a hospital where I have coverage (here in Spain) while I don't have coverage there (in the US where I am from).

I hate to be a scaredy cat but that's why I want insurance. I went to buy insurance today here (in Spain) and they told me to buy it in the US because here (in Spain) they don't offer anything that would cover me over there (in the US).

I think, but I'm not sure, that in the US there exists no kind of insurance that would cover me in case of an emergency due to a pre-existing condition? Especially something that wasn't a quick fix? I imagine kidney failure for example is not a quick fix that would be covered by the ER or maybe I'm wrong?

I had trouble finding this page again so I could see your reply. I'll try to bookmark it now. Sorry that I'm kind of a technotard.

[justalayman]

fly your parents over to Spain. That seems as if it would eliminate all your problems.


as far as purchasing insurance here that will cover your pre existing condition, not a chance.

I don;t like the idea that anybody here may help you to commit fraud against our already abused medical system so I can;t offer you any help as to what to do if here in the states other than I suggest contacting the New York Department of Health to inquire as to what assistance may be available to you should something happen.

[url]http://www.health.state.ny.us/[/url]

it would be wise to know before you got here so you wouldn't simply be left in a bad situation should something happen.

Your medical condition could also affect your entrance into the US as well.

[lkc15507]

And why is it again that you thought / think that healthcare other that in the US is superior? Are you fniding yourself in an acceptable situation now? I agree that your abiltiy to find insurance coverage in the US at this point is virtually nil. That doesn't mean that you couldn't / wouldn't find someone in the US to at least treat your condition. Contrary to popular belief, many institutions will treat patients without medical insurance coverage. Unfortunately, the rest of us pay for that ultimately. lkc15507

[msiron]

There are programs that can help if you are indigent resident such as the New York State’s Indigent Care Pools, or Medical Assistance otda.state.ny.us/otda/apps/default.htm

or Medicaid.

Medicaid is health insurance that helps many people who can't afford medical care pay for some or all of their medical bills. cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidEligibility/

This will be based on your income and resident status.

At least get on that 6 month list where your are so you can start the ball rolling in Spain. If you put it off you won't shorten that 6 month margin and they may be able to help you in 4 months, or even 3 months.

[jeanel]

Justalayman, I wasn't talking about fraud. I was talking about the possibility of buying (for money, not free) insurance in the US for coverage in the US for me, a US citizen, living and working abroad. Apparently an impossibility. Thanks for your suggestion to get my parents over here, I've tried to do that several times but they are stubborn. I guess there's one reason why I live so far away.

Ick, I don't think that health care is superior outside of the US, it just happens to be where I live and work and am covered right now. I am not well read enough on either system to give an educated opinion or comparison. That's why I ask how it works in the US.

In general maybe the socialized system works about as well/bad as the US public education system? Complex topics, and like I said, I don't know enough about either. Generally, people here (in Spain) say that if you have something serious it is worth the wait to go to the public system and not the private one because the private hospitals are out to make a profit and that means cutting corners somewhere and that would be with equipment and Drs for unusual things. They say famous people with money here go to Texas in the US for cancer cures but at the same time they say Aids and Cancer patients from around the world come here (to Spain) for the free but slow healthcare, so they say (maybe just a myth). Ultimately all of us working in Spain pay for that, as a contribution not a purchase.

I'm not trying to mooch in on the US's public health system, which I also contributed to, but to find out to what extent it would catch me if I can't find insurance there. I guess I should hunt harder for travel insurance here.

msiron, Thanks for those tips! I'll look into that too!

[justalayman]

[quote=jeanel;1653128]Justalayman, I wasn't talking about fraud. I was talking about the possibility of buying (for money, not free) insurance in the US for coverage in the US for me, a US citizen, living and working abroad.


I'm not trying to mooch in on the US's public health system, which I also contributed to, but to find out to what extent it would catch me if I can't find insurance there. I guess I should hunt harder for travel insurance here.
QUOTE]

from a previous post:

One US friend told me that all I need to do is be "judgement proof" meaning have no money or assets in my name and then they send me a bill, I dont pay it, they sue, I still dont have the money and it all disappears (just get bad credit) ???

I however think they make you fill out paperwork that you can pay before they touch you and if you cant pay they leave you to die in the gutter. Is that how it works? Are you just supposed to lie when you fill out that paperwork or what?

you may have been merely relating what a friend told you but it sure sounds like you were interested and what you suggest in those statements is fraud.

You sounded a bit too interested in it to deny it, in my opinion.