A man was injured while riding his motorcycle in Plumas County, California. When paramedics arrived on the scene he clearly communicated to the paramedics that he didn’t want to be treated and didn’t want transportation to a hospital. He had recently dropped his pricey medical insurance because he couldn’t afford it anymore. Despite his protestations paramedics took him to a nearby hospital and then was transported by helicopter to the nearest trauma center. Doctors then told him that he had a concussion and a broken bone around his eye. He was then discharged and later received a bill for $40,000; for services he never authorized.
There are a few things wrong with this story:
One, the man had to make the choice between health insurance or no insurance because there are no affordable plans for him to purchase.
Two, since he can’t afford insurance he had to make the decision on whether to seek medical care when he was injured.
Third, the paramedics took him against his will to the hospital where they gave him treatment he didn’t want for a price he can’t pay.
That third option can leads to the worst part. These crushing medical bills he will incur will likely force him to file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for ten years. Recent changes to hiring laws allow companies to make hiring decisions based on your credit report. Put this all together: this man can face serious problems with finding a job for ten years because he couldn’t afford health insurance.
Once all of PPACA (what Republicans call Obamacare) kicks in to effect this man will be no more likely to afford health insurance than he was before. There are many different ways to point out the absurdity of the reform of the health insurance industry. With any luck it won’t take us another 15 years to reexamine the issue and we can pass actual, meaningful, healthcare reform. Until then more and more people are going to end up like this guy.
-Kirs
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