What you're about to read is all true.
It just happened right in the new messaging system of DK4. It poignantly describes the very best and the very worst about our country.
I'm still trying to figure out how to respond to people who want to join groups, there's just no easy way to do this. So bear with me a bit longer if you've sent a message that I haven't yet responded to.
But a day ago, when I opened my messages, there was one that really stood out, the subject line had one word, Help.
So I opened it (and yes, I've been given permission by everyone involved to write about this), and here's what I found. It was like a swift punch to my gut.
Hi Eve,
I am one of the uninsured cancer survivors here on the Kos and was wondering if you knew of a doc or hospital here in Los Angeles that could see me pro bono?
I was dx with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2004 and was dropped from my insurance in 2006. I don't qualify for any assistance programs like Medi-Cal (I've been denied twice).
A growith on my parotid gland has increased substantially in the last month or so and that is never a good sign. I am terrifed and anxious.
I applied for the new Preexisting Condition health plan and am waiting to hear if they will accept me or not, and apparently they take their sweet time.
I am essentially looking for either a doc or hospital to help until I find out I got into the PEC plan or someone to advocate on my behalf. When I call around I usually end up in tears, it'd be great to have someone strong to deal with the harshness and lack of compassion out there.
Thanks,
Jeannine
ArtemisBSG
So I responded, thinking how can I live in a country and pay taxes to a government where this barbarism occurs? This person was treated for cancer a couple of years ago, and it may have recurred! Oh my God!
Oh my God, Artemis, Oh my God!
You should try and get into the ACA pre existing condition pool on an expedited basis. You should go to a public hospital or even a place like UCLA and ask them for care until you get into the high risk pool with a negotiated payment plan. Something like paying the Medicare rate for treatment. Remember as what is called a "self-pay" you get hit with the highest fees.
This is so ghastly, Artemis.
Could you write to me at nyceve1@gmail, would you mind if I wrote about this, I can do so anonymously or not. Or not at all, though I think what you're enduring is very important.
God bless you and please get back to me.
xoxoEve
And Artimis wrote back.
Thanks for the response Eve, I am in the valley so I am going to go to the ER after work today and see if they can help. Providence St. Joseph in Burbank is where I had my radiation in 2004 and from their website they have a "charity" program and they are only 10 minutes from where I live. I'm going to see what they can do.
I'll keep you posted.
And yes, you can use my story in whatever you need to. When I tell people I meet what I'm going through they are actually shocked, so the message is not hitting home for many folks still.
Thanks,
Jeannine
ArtemisBSG
Before I continue, I'd like you to know about a new DK4 group, Uninsured in America. Please join whether you're insured or uninsured, we can try and help one another until the ACA is implemented.
Since I'm now on the board of California OneCare , I thought to circulate Jeannine'e email among the board members to see if any of them had an idea about how to help.
One board member, Michael Rodriguez, is a doctor in the department of Family Medicine at UCLA. He wrote back to me suggesting that Jeannine go to the Harbor Emergency Room. You see this is why we have the worst and most expensive system in the world, if you're uninsured and not afraid of financial ruin, you go to the emergency room. Then you get some treatment and a huge bill.
This is Dr. Rodriguez's email:
If she is in LA I suggest she go to Harbor County Hospital Emergency Room. Despite the long wait, it is probably quickest way to access the system for cancer care when there is no insurance. Another option is the City of Hope which is a National Cancer Institute linked cancer hospital in Duarte, CA.
But Dr. Rodriguez, this California OneCare angel was quietly doing much more. Late last night, as I was about to go to bed the phone rang. It was Dr. Michelle Bholat, the vice chairman of the department of Family Medicine at UCLA.
She had heard about Jeannine (from Michael) and was reaching out to help. We had a lengthy conversation. How do I describe Dr. Bholat? Angel? Heroine? Great American? Unsung hero? Mother Theresa? They don't create enough doctors like this amazing woman. She could not do enough, bending over backwards, (even verifying who I was, being ever mindful of the HIPAA privacy protections, even uninsured Americans are entitled to) to help a stranger--a god damn stranger, a name on a faceless email. She told me she had just finished giving medical care to a homeless family with two young children. People like Dr. Bholat are the great and quiet American heroes. And I'll bet she would say, I'm only doing my job.
If you are self employed in California, you have little hope of being insured if you're not in perfect health. One in four Californians is uninsured.
I live in New York, one of the few guaranteed issue/community rating states, here, the bastards must sell all of us insurance and cannot adjust the premium based on health status. This means a twenty-six year old, in perfect health pays the same rate for the same junk insurance that I have. But it also means, if you can afford the egregious price gouging, you can get insurance.
It boggles the mind--no much,much worse--we watch the people of Egypt demand their basic human rights, but in the largest state in this great democracy, healthcare is available only to the privileged. And this state of affairs is tolerated--but not much longer. As the situation deteriorates despite passage of the ACA, the fight for single payer will accelerate.
So when I hung up with Dr. Bholat, I wrote Jeannine another email as follows. I've removed Dr. Bholat's contact information.
Dear Jeannine:
I have help for you, dear friend. I reached out to California OneCare, one of the board members is a doctor at UCLA who referred my email to another doctor. I just got off the phone with this wonderful doctor, Dr. Michelle Bholat, the vice chairman of the department of Family Medicine. They can help you even without insurance.
Here is the information you need, this doctor was so wonderful, I cannot describe it, I'm almost in tears.
Dr. Michelle Bholat (she said you can even call her cell!)
310-xxx-xxxx (cell)
310-xxx-xxxx (off.)
They can see you at the Mid valley Comprehensive Health Center this is in Van Nuys. This is run by the Dept. of Family Medicine form UCLA--all UCLA doctors. The cost is either nothing or $40.00
She wants you to fax her your information so she can get you into the system, the secure fax is:
310-xxx-xxxx. She needs, name, dob, address, drivers license,etc.
Her email is: xxxxxxxx
Please keep me posted, dear Jeannine, let me know how things work out. I think this is a miracle from heaven.
And here are the last two emails from Artemis.
Thank you Eve,
And it being in Van Nuys is a bonus, I was dreading having to go over the hill to Santa Monica in my ratty old car and pay $15 to park. Van Nuys is one town over from where I live in North Hollywood.
I will fax her the information ASAP.
Thanks,
I will keep you posted.
Jeannine
And this what I got back from Jeannine.
Makes you want to weep, "I don't feel so alone any more".
Jeannine, you're not alone, not by a long shot, you have lots of friends who care that you need healthcare.
Eve,
Wow things move fast. I faxed the doctor the information and she just called a few minutes ago. She is sending me a consent form and since I am already in the UCLA system she had all my information right in front of her. Their clinic is closed Mondays but sometime next week I should be able to be seen in the Van Nuys clinic.
Thank you so much for getting right on this, I don't feel so alone anymore.
When you have insurance they can't do enough for you, you feel like a celebrity or royalty, but when you don't it's like being kicked to the curb. It's nice to know there are medical professionals that believe in patients and not profits.
I'll keep you posted, I am desperately hoping the cancer hasn't come back, relapse is never a good thing, especially with lymphoma.
Thank you.
Jeannine
When single payer becomes the law in California and Vermont, we won't have situations like this. Please help us if you can.
1. You can join or follow (just click the heart) the Daily Kos single payer group.
2. You can sign this petition supporting California OneCare and the fight for single payer in California.
3. You can make a contribution to California OneCare. The fight for healthcare justice in California belongs to all of us.
Does everyone know that in Canada, single payer began at the provincial level in Saskatchewan and then eventually, as more provinces embraced universal health care, the federal government got on board. This is how it will happen in the United States, but it will take all of us.
Please note, I am on the Board of California OneCare