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this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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It was shocking to me to find out that not only are most bankruptcy cases related to medical expenses, but that of those cases, most in fact did have insurance (in the USA).
My boss told me something that will always stay with me. I've never known him to lie, so I have no reason not to believe him - but nevertheless this is still a personal anecdote.
Anyway, he told me that when he was a teenager, his family had gotten to a point where they moved out of a bad neighborhood and into a rather affluent one thanks to some luck from his parents. He said he went to the store one day and a homeless person was outside the store, asking for help getting back on his feet. My boss, being the asshole teenager he was, told the person to, "just get a job."
He said the person humbled him immediately, and told him in a very respectful, but firm manner, that he lost his wife and son due a car wreck the year before - that he went bankrupt and eventually homeless paying for their medical bills while they lived, and for their funerals when they died.
My boss tells this story to our new-hires when he can. He typically says that all this person needed was for someone to believe in them and give them another chance, because no one truly helped them when they needed it most.
I'm assuming your boss offers you decent health insurance, right?
Actually, yes. This is one of the best health plans I have used. It could be better, it could be cheaper, but I am more than pleased with it and had a few different options to choose from.
90% of sob stories you get from gas station bums are absolute bullshit. Some of them are incredibly good liars because their cash supply depends on it. I'm sure some of them are "just trying to get back on their feet" so I'll give out food to people who need it, but I will never give out cash.
Maybe, maybe not. I can't control what others do, but I can control what I do. I don't want to enable someone, but I also know for some that money is exactly what is needed. So, I do my best to judge the situation and act accordingly.
I heard a lot of them when I lived in Toledo. It’s especially disappointing when the same guy forgets your face and feeds you a completely different elaborate bullshit story
I view it as performance art. Someone could play music or perform Shakespeare on the street to make me feel something, and I would throw money in their hat. In this case, the feeling is altruism, and they've earned their money with the performance.
I read the beginning of your post and was expecting some life changing story. Had my full attention just to be disappointed. Nothing special or profound about your bosses story. Thats routine USA. Perhaps i have become desensitized. I wouldn't repeat that story again, it means nothing. I certainly didn't have an epiphany.
Who are you to say it means nothing - I find value in it, so I will share it. The point is to not judge someone at face-value because of the circumstances you are seeing them in. Everyone is going through something, so we should all try to help others when we can - just as we will need help with something eventually.
You clearly haven't met any one of the enormous amount of people in the US that need to hear this story and don't find it as obvious as you do
As a Canadian this is what I fear for my American friends. While I have heard lots of people whine about how people "die on wait lists" in the Canadian system that really hasn't been my experience. While yes things like joint surgeries and electives can take a while I have had relatives of friends flown via helicopter ambulance from small towns for month long stays for serious stuff at the drop of the hat at no cost to the family.
Anything seriously life threatening has gone into treatment immediately. Hospice stays are mostly covered so compassionate end of life facilities cost half of what a dirt cheap hotel does. The cost to the taxpayer for healthcare is, determined by tax bracket is tiny. If I make $80,000 it costs me about $350 for the year.
Because it's a drain on the government's bottom line there's a lot of harmful food additives that are banned in Canada because the ethos is that it is unlawful for businesses get to make profit at the expense of consumer health if people can not be easily informed of the health risks. The Covid Vaccine was also given a lot more push society wide because the beggaring and allotment of resources away from the healthcare system for preventable incidents directly effects everyone.
Deciding that healthcare is a right has society wide advantages. People will do anything to stay alive a little longer including beggar themselves so it makes sense that adding business interests into that market to jack up the prices for profit is just unethical imo.