By Christopher Harper
I just joined a growing group of millions in the United States who owe more than $200 billion in medical debt.
Last month, I underwent emergency surgery, which cost nearly $200,000. My cut is somewhere between $6,000 and $11,000. That’s likely to grow as the bills roll in.
Obama care didn’t help me a lick. Neither do the Democrats’ plans to “reduce” costs for drugs. In fact, the medications used during and after the surgery ran about $2,500. The new series of drugs cost another $2,000.
But at what cost? The hospital room alone ran more than $20,000!
Although I live mainly on Social Security, I do not qualify for any of the state and federal “plans” to pay for some of the costs of the surgery. I am also not eligible for health services, such as home support, which my wife and daughter provide.
Also, I don’t qualify for subsidized aftercare, such as a long-term facility, if that becomes necessary. Fortunately, I took out a specific insurance policy for such possibilities.
One in seven people with outstanding medical debt has faced lawsuits to recover the money, according to the Kaiser Foundation, which has no affiliation with Kaiser Permanente.
My case is typical. The Democrats propose a plan to give money from the federal budget to those with debt—a giveaway for mostly seniors like forgiving college debt.
The plan is mostly smoke and mirrors, but, of course, the Democrats blame the GOP rather than the abomination that Obamacare created.
Any of the Democrats’ plans shouldn’t fool older Americans. You might get lower costs for some medications, but the big-ticket items will likely cost more.
The Kaiser Foundation provides more information at https://www.kff.org/health-costs/report/kff-health-care-debt-survey/
Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog 
[…] CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday Chicago Boyz: Janice Fiamengo on Kamala Harris Da Tech Guy: The Democrats and medical smoke and mirrors, Nothing Shocks a Room Full of UN Folks Like Unvarnished Truth, Tovarishch Gospozha Kamala Harris, […]
I hope you are recovering from your medical problem. It seems the Class of ’69 has entered that age when such things happen at a more rapid clip.
I know what you mean by medical debt being a concern, but if your debt is $11K maximum out of a $200K charge, you are coming out pretty well, money wise.
You really don’t know if Obama Care helped you any, because at our age, Obama Care has been supplanted by Medicare, a completely different program. My guess is your beef is mostly with Medicare, you Medigap provider or your Part C Plan. A former neighbor had emergency surgery and aftercare that ended up over a million dollars. Between Medicare and his Medigap insurance, he paid less than $1,000 out of pocket.
Part D coverage or your Part C Plan would be the drug plan you have. When Part D was instituted under George W. Bush, the law prevented the federal government from negotiating prices with the drug companies. Getting rid of that ban against negotiating drug prices has been a goal of Democrats for a long time. Biden finally got a small pilot program passed, and it is supposed to be broadened this year. Still, it isn’t sufficient. If you want a better plan, you need to convince more Republicans to support it.
I’m happy to hear that you have an extra 11K to spend on health care.