Michigan woman shoots herself to get medical attention

[Bozita]

Source: AP

POSTED: 8:14 P.M. JUNE 11, 2010
Michigan woman shoots herself to get medical attention
ASSOCIATED PRESS


NILES — An out-of-work Michigan woman shot herself in the hope she’d receive medical treatment for a shoulder injury.

Kathy Myers says she injured the shoulder a month ago while playing with her dogs.

The 41-year-old Niles resident says she’s been unable to see a specialist because she can’t afford health insurance.

So Myers shot herself on Thursday.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20100611/NEWS06/100611086/1320/Woman-shoots-herself-to-get-medical-attention

[ck4829]

1. Irony alert. Prosecutor wants to see if she can be prosecuted for firing a weapon in city limits

Because if she goes to prison, she'll be treated for that shoulder on the taxpayer dime.

Weird, huh?

[Rhiannon12866]

2. How sad is this?!

;(

[babylonsister]

3. How about a vaunted emergency room, the rethug cure-all?

They wouldn't see her? This is sad.

[Withywindle]

8. You know what happens in an ER?

You go there and you wait. You wait and wait and wait. And you wait some more. ERs have triage--as they SHOULD, of course the car accidents and gunshot wounds and heart attacks should go first, nobody argues that--and you still wait some more. 12 hours or more in some places. Remember the case in New York a year or two back of the lady who died while waiting in the ER? She'd been there a WHILE.

ERs are way, way overloaded. Most of the people working there are exhausted and underpaid, and they tend to be badly understaffed.

If you finally do get treated for your painful but not immediately life-threatening condition--and that's an if, not a when--the care will be pretty substandard. You can't blame the doctors and nurses for this; see above. And you will still get a bill. And it will be much higher than it would be if you were of the economic class that could afford to schedule an appointment with your regular GP. And if you can't pay it, all hell will break loose.

It's just another pathetic example of how expensive it is to be poor.

For a great summary of this idea that everyone can understand, this, based on the works of English satirist Terry Pratchett; Sam Vimes' Boot Theory of Economic Justice: http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Sam_Vimes_Theory_of_Economic_Injustice

[Blue_Tires]

20. +1

[knitter4democracy]

4. I'll get this in before anyone else posts it: she really couldn't afford insurance.

This is in Michigan, and frankly, our state is dying. Jobs are dang difficult to find, and most of them don't provide benefits anymore (or provide hardly anything and call it insurance while charging employees a fortune for it).

I can't afford insurance. It would be $400/month, which would be over one week's worth of pay (if I combine both jobs' paychecks)--and now my job's done for the summer, as I'm a teacher. I was a long-term sub in the Catholic school in the morning (half-time, no benefits) and a parapro at the alternative high school in the afternoon (crap pay with no benefits but a great, great job). Between paying for childcare and my lawyer and everything breaking and going wrong this year, I just plain don't have the money for insurance. I have no idea when I'll be able to afford it, either.

[christx30]

5. Yeah..

You're choosing to spend your money on irresponsible things like rent, food, ect. Just wait until 2014 when you won't have a choice in the matter. Hope you like ramen!

edited to add:
This wasn't me actually coming down on you personally. This was me complaining about the individual mandate. I don't have insurance either. I work two jobs to take care of my wife and two kids. We don't have gas right now (no hot water). Will get my first meal in 4 days on Tuesday. Super excited about that. So yay! Can't wait till I'll be paying fines for not being able to afford insurance.

[cstanleytech]

6. Ya know, lets leave the tactics of FUD to the republicans k?

If ya think ya see a problem with the upcoming healthcare change thats coming how about working to fix it.
/end post

[christx30]

7. We could start

by removing the individual mandate. That would help a whole bunch.

[cstanleytech]

14. Well that or an option I prefer is

working to get it so people who cant afford it can buy the health coverage cheaply from the government based upon their income, that might work.

[Donnachaidh]

25. yeah, that's single payer -- we got hosed on that option by our own.

:eyes:

[christx30]

26. Unless someone's income

is just barely above the bills that they have that any additional cost would hurt them a bunch like in my situation. Sometimes I have to work odd jobs around town for a couple hundred bucks to make rent. So if I had to add anything to that, I would have to move to the shit side of Austin where people have bars on the window, or work even harder, taking me away from my kids for 7 days a week to make ends meet. And,really,F that. We're barely making it and I didn't vote for Obama and his people to make things harder on me.

[Fumesucker]

10. Yep, electing Democrats would be a good start..

Oh, wait..

Democrats were the ones who put the individual mandate into the law..

Never mind..

[No Elephants]

18. Working? Like writing your Sens and Rep and the WH every week?

Like demonstrating? Like donating? Like signing every email and online petition you could get your hands on?

Yeah, those things worked.

:eyes:

[Donnachaidh]

24. wow, this guy hasn't eaten in 4 days and you jump on his shit?

How fucking Democratic is THAT?

oh wait -- you've got yours, right? :sarcasm:

:puke:

[riderinthestorm]

27. You have never been poor. How do I know?

You cavalierly state the poster "work to fix it".

That implies the poster has 1. time to "work to fix it" around his 2 - 3 - 4 other jobs, and 2. that the poster has the energy to "work to fix it". Do you know how weak you are when you don't eat regularly, or eat well?

Clearly you don't. It's almost impossible to summon the mental and physical strength to get through the demands of your day, let alone do extra volunteer work. You try doing your normal stuff without eating for 4 days and tell me how much energy you have to get walking the pavement to drum up support for single payer (that is, assuming you have several hours of "free time" (snort!))

If you've been poor, really poor you would never tell someone whose in those kinds of straits to just stfu and "work" more.

[notadmblnd]

9. There are no fines And if you were to actually read the bill

you would see that there will be subsidies for the working poor.

[Fumesucker]

11. It may not be *called* a fine..

But a dog turd by any other name smells just as foul.

And the federal poverty level in this country is a pathetic joke.

[notadmblnd]

12. You been watching too much Faux Snewz

[Fumesucker]

13. Don't own a TV..

Haven't seen any n00z at all in years..

[christx30]

15. The government punishing you

by charging you money for not doing something. You get charged money for not stopping at a red light. You get charged money for not finding a trash can to toss that candy wrapper in. Those are fines. Then you get charged money for not buying health insurance. What would you call it? The law calls it an "excise tax", and you can spend all day finding cutsy names to make things seem better (The man isn't a rapist. He's a sexual crusader that is aggressively inclined) But it's all the same concept. Insurance is a good idea and I am in favor of it. but when I only make $1400 a month, and it'd cost me $400 or more a month to insure myself and my wife, so I choose to spend my money on stuff that I use every day (car payment, rent, food, ect) so the insurance will have to wait a while. I'm in good heath, so I CHOOSE to take that risk. Some people might disagree with me, but it is MY body, and MY heath, MY money, so it's MY choice to make. But obama and congress apparently don't agree. They think they can make the decision for me. Which is why I have withdrawn my support from them, and I support the court challenges against the law. If they can strike down the individual mandate, I think it would make the rest of the law better.

[notadmblnd]

16. The mandate does not carry any fines.

That means you will not be charged money if you don't comply. If you only make 1400.00 a month and you are supporting a family, I'm sure you would qualify for a subsidy. That means the government will pay for your health insurance. How does a mandate that doesn't hurt you financially, hurt you financially? I support my family on about 2300.00 a month. I can tell you, there is no car payment. There is house, utilities, telephone, cable and food. I suppose at this point I qualify for food stamps. However, me being the proud bitch that I am; I feel that we are getting by and others need it more than I do. Our health insurance needs are currently covered by my husband's (who is dead) employer. My biggest worry about this bill is that it appears to me to be an incentive for companies that currently do pay their employees insurance, to drop those plans. I guess if that happens then I'll be in the same boat you are- and I imagine we will qualify for government subsidized insurance:shrug:

Now quit listening to the nut jobs that have been telling you this stuff (since in your previous post you claim to have no access to any media outlets) and read the bill. I notice, you do have internet access. A simple Google of the bill should go a long way to alleviating your fears of having to spend any money for health insurance.

[christx30]

23. So the mandate doesn't carry a fine if you don't comply

So if I *could* afford insurance, but chose not to because I was young and healty, but chose to spend my money on other things, what would happen to me? Would I pay the fine/excise tax? It's a MANDATE. You must do this or there are consequences. What are the penalties for refusing to comply?

Edited to add:
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that they are hiring 10,000 or more IRS agents for some reason, and it's not to give out refunds like they said they said.

[notadmblnd]

32. Who told you that?

I've found no valid links stating the Gvt is hiring 10,000 IRS agents. I understand Bill Oliely said it. You really need to turn off fox news. Get a copy of the bill and read it.

If you have a valid link, (not from a right wing rag) please provide it. Other than that, you don't know what you're talking about.

[No Elephants]

17. No fines, just extra taxes. Potato. Potahto.

[notadmblnd]

22. Show me the bill and where it says that?

[eridani]

28. Wrong. The subsidies are to the insurance companies.

Also, here are platinum, gold, silver and bronze people. Only the latter two categories get subsidies, and those plans are so shitty that you can't afford to use them. And they forgot the Dirt category for people 50-64, who will have to pay three times as much for shitty insurance they can't afford to use.

[knitter4democracy]

35. Oh, I know. The choices can get dicey.

Last summer, I was lucky enough to have parents who could afford to help with the groceries and a couple of the bills when I couldn't find a job and the ex just stopped paying support with no notice. I learned more last summer on how to stretch food, put off bills, and the stress of trying to keep the kids okay and a roof over our heads than I ever had before. People who've never been through that have no idea how awful it is.

I hope you get a full meal before Tuesday. If you were near me, I'd invite you over for the spaghetti we're having. :)

[midnight]

19. I know that I thought health care reform would have addressed this, but instead

it was ignored.

[boppers]

29. She could afford multiple pets, a gun, and at least one bullet?

Sell the gun, take the money and go to a doctor for your shoulder.

Jeebus, people are dumb.

[knitter4democracy]

34. In some areas, it would be stupid to be without a dog and a gun.

I'm just sayin'. It's about protection and safety. She lives in the country, and where I grew up in the country in Michigan, we had a dog and a gun because it would take over 15 minutes for the county sheriff's deputies to get there (at the fastest--they're more like an hour now because of cutbacks). When we had people try to break in, the dog saved us more than once, as did the shotgun. When people know you have a big hunting dog out in the country in Michigan, they know you have a gun, too, and leave.

Crime is high out in the country. You might want to think about where she lives and what she's going through before passing judgment.

[boppers]

40. She lives out in the country?

FTA: "The prosecutor’s office is going to decide whether Myers will face charges for firing a weapon within city limits."

[knitter4democracy]

43. She lives in Niles.

It's not exactly a big city. http://www.ci.niles.mi.us/ To get to the 12,000 or so, they counted everyone in the city and the township, from the looks of it.

[mbperrin]

21. NOW can anyone tell me why we can't have single payer and immediately

rather than the corporate welfare bill that was passed?

[lynne]

30. Sorry, this dog don't hunt -

- if she couldn't afford to have her shoulder looked at in the ER, how would an additional injury make any difference? She now has bills for treatment of two injuries - her shoulder and the gunshot. Does a bullet make treatment free?

This is a cock-and-bull story. She's either protecting someone, had a weapon-related accident or botched a suicide attempt. There is no logical reason to shoot yourself in one spot to get medical attention for the other as it doesn't change the fact that she couldn't afford the medical services.

[Chicago dyke]

31. i agree.

poor and uninsured people know the quickest way to get into a heap of trouble with really aggressive bill collectors is to go to the ER. shooting yourself is not just stupid, it's counterintuitive to what she's saying. for the reasons outlined above; she cost herself more, not less. there's something fishy here. too bad today's "reporters" are so lazy and can't be bothered to do any research on the people they cover.

[Dreamer Tatum]

33. I saw the story on TV. She's full of shit.

She was seen and told that the injury would simply require time to heal.

She was probably given a prescription for painkillers, but she can't afford them.

But in the interview, you can clearly see her...smoking a cigarette.

Ergo, full of shit. If you have money for smokes, you have money for painkillers.

[knitter4democracy]

36. Painkillers are more problematic than that.

First of all, with no insurance, they're really expensive. Secondly, not all of us can take them. Thirdly, they probably actually told her to get physical therapy, but that's super expensive if you have no insurance. Lastly, she's in pain, poor, and up against a wall: not the time to judge her or wonder at her decisions.

[Dreamer Tatum]

37. Um, no. If you got money to smoke, you got money for painkillers.

When I got vike for my root canals, I had no insurance and paid $30 for 25.

She could still smoke and afford that.

[knitter4democracy]

38. I wouldn't know. I can't take narcotics.

They don't work on me at all, so I can't take anything other than ibuprofen. Made waking up from surgery rather nightmarish, but I digress.

There are some of us they don't work on, so they'd be a waste of money. Me, I tend not to judge people for their addictions, given that some are considered better than others when most are dangerous to health and family.

[Dreamer Tatum]

39. That's why I said she could still smoke and buy painkillers.

And if she can't take painkillers, she wouldn't have shot herself.

Not every story is a poignant reminder that we need free healthcare for all.

[knitter4democracy]

42. There are many variables that would have changed her decision tree, though.

Free healthcare would have changed things, as would Michigan's economy being good and sound.

[Dreamer Tatum]

45. But in the real world, she could help herself, and she won't. nt

[Richard Steele]

44. My gut instinct is that you are correct. nm

[burnsei sensei]

41. How's that medicine for profit

workin' out for ya?
Feeling any better?