I want to know if Someone Can Help me on Health Care. Please!

[TexasLady]

I was stumped the other day. My little brother is almost 30, lives alone, works hard, etc...But he needs some pretty serious surgeries done. One to remove a dead eye that hurts him daily, and he also has lived the last ten years needing a steel plate in his forehead. He is eating whatever illegal pills he can get his hands on so he can work. I can't take this anymore.

He is one of the low income working class, like me, no insurance.. so I can't help him. He can't go to the first hospital he went to ten years ago, because we lost our other brother the same week he had his skull-part removed;we were grieving and my brother cussed out the doc so he's banned now. He's been going around with a big dent in his head all these years. Meaning, they took out the first layer of his front skull and only the backside of the skull is there, part of where the sinus cavity is. One wrong move and he's done.

I dont mean to go on and on..but he asked me 'so who do I vote for so I can get my eye and my head fixed? I hurt so bad all the time.'
I need to give him a good firm honest answer, no matter who it is from. I just don't know enough about the health care issues to tell him. I can't lose him too.

[Texas Hill Country]

1. wow, that is seriously hardcore... I am sorry to hear all of that

while they both have pluses and minuses, I was very impressed by the detail into which Hillary's plan goes... serious detail about how it would be paid for.

She has done a lot of work on this issue. If this were my primary issue, I would go with her.

[TexasLady]

2. thank you

trust me, he doesnt have party issues, just pain issues.
I just want to point him in the right direction.

[BlackVelvet04]

3. I personally find Hillary Clinton's Health Care Plan

superior in that it opens up the Federal Employees Hospital Benefits Plan to everyone. Pre-existing conditions cannot be used to exclude anyone from the plans and the plans must be affordable to be offered under the FEHBP.

Hillary has tax breaks and public plans for those who cannot afford any of the FEHBP plans. Medicaid is to be expanded as well.

I personally had a plan through the FEHBP when I had 4 surgeries in 2 years....the amount of out of pocket was negligible.

[TexasLady]

4. thanks

:hi:

[BlackVelvet04]

5. You're welcome.....

I'm very sorry he is having such serious health issues. Health care has become one of my most passionate causes.

[democrattotheend]

31. Obama's plan also opens up the Federal Employees' system

Is the Hospital Benefits Plan something different?

[lligrd]

6. Their Plans Are Essentially The Same

except for the mandatory clause. I'd go for Obama because Hillary's has virtually no chance of passing.

[TexasLady]

8. thanks

he's single, so there's no issue of kids or family. I know that Obama's plan mandates parents or something, but don't really know a lot more about either one's proposals.

[anamandujano]

16. Bull. His is inferior and the way he likes to say they're the same is proof

he's riding her coattails on this issue.

His "plan" will allow the crisis to continue to spiral out of control.

BTW, he has a mandate on all parents.

[lligrd]

17. LOL I Think She Is Asking For Facts Not Spin

but thanks for your attempt.

[anamandujano]

19. You're spinning. Obama's "plan" would let the insurance companies continue

to turn away those with pre-existing conditions.

Hillary's would fix that problem.

[lligrd]

23. Lying Doesn't Make It True

“We now face an opportunity — and an obligation — to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates… My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less. If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law. No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, May 29, 2007

I won't hold my breath for your apology.

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. Then don't you give her any spin, either . nt

[lligrd]

24. I Didn't. I Gave Her The Truth

Something your side knows little about.

[TexasLady]

7. Could anyone point me to where I could read about either

candidates plans, and just let him choose? I could send him links or something. I have googled, but can't find anything concise to show him on this.

[casus belli]

10. Here you go..

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

http://hillaryclinton.com/issues/

All the best to you and your brother. :hug:

[TexasLady]

12. beautiful!

and thanks!

[casus belli]

9. Hillary and Obama's plans are both solid plans.

One of the reason's they can't get any traction on the issue is because their plans are so similar when they're broken down. I'm not going to tell your brother who he should and shouldn't vote for. But maybe a good thing to do woul dbe to print out Obama's overview of his stances on the issues, and do the same for Hillary and tell him either of these candidates would fight for him.

[TexasLady]

11. that sounds pretty good

I hope either one gets a chance to have a good plan passed, cause Gramps isn't gonna do a damn THING for my bro, if he's anything like the present whateverthehellitis in office.

[boston bean]

13. Hillary is the only candidate who will fight this issue for America. Obama has already

sold 15M people down the river. He uses RW talking points to bash Hillary's plan, like saying she is going to garnish peoples wages and fine them, to scare people away from her plan. He is not serious about this.

This has been a good chunk of Hillary's life's work and I seriously suggest to you that your brother vote for Hillary Clinton.

[TexasLady]

14. Appreciated.

:hi:

[mrreowwr_kittty]

29. How is she going to enforce her mandate then? Hmm?

Kinda crucial aspect of the plan for her to be leaving out, dontchathink?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. Hillary failed twice when her husband was president, her approach is wrong

There are few practical differences between Obama and Hillary's plan, except that
his has a better chance of passing.

Neither are Universal Health Care, but instead are subsidized insurance plans.

Rep Conyers has drafted legislation for UHC, hopefully we will get there one day.

Its not clear why Hillary had two terms to pass UHC and ended up setting it back for over a decade.

She won't release documents from her secret meetings on health care.

I suspect that IF she were the Dem nominee, we would end up with a republican congress for sure, and possibly a GOP president.

Or we could just lose congress and elect her president. Then she would be hamstrung by a GOP congress who wouldnt pass ANYTHING while Hillary was in office.

Not to mention she would be tied up in investigations and scandals during her tenure.

[TexasLady]

18. OK Question

subsidized? meaning that you pay in accordance with your income, and the rest of the cost is taken care of?
I swear I don't mean to sound ignorant, I just want to know if Im on the right track here.

[Stephanie]

21. Try calling these folks >

Even if your brother doesn't qualify for this program, they might be able to steer you to the right place. I would try to get help for your brother now rather than waiting for a health care program to wend its way through Congress. That said, tell him to vote Obama! :)

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https://www.projectaccess.info/html/about.html

Project Access

Project Access is a physician-led community effort to provide health care for low-income, working but uninsured Dallas County residents


Our Office
140 E. 12th Street
P.O. Box 4680
Dallas, TX 75208
Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]

For more information, contact us at:
[e-mail]


Mission

Project Access Dallas is about the life-stories of people who have received healthcare services through the generosity of our volunteer physicians and the donated services and funding received from our partners.

In September 2001, the Dallas County Medical Society in collaboration with several community partners created a community service program called Project Access Dallas. The heartbeat of the program is compassionate care for our community’s uninsured patients who struggle daily with the challenges of poverty and who have no access to health care. The program is a network of volunteer physicians, partnering hospitals, community charity health clinics, and ancillary partners who volunteer to care for working poor patients.

Physicians, hospitals, or ancillary partners who sign up to volunteer in the program determine their level of participation by agreeing to donate their services to see a set number of patients per year. Patients are referred for enrollment in the program from volunteer physicians, partnering charity health clinics, and partnering hospitals. Because of the generous donated services of our partners, when a patient is enrolled in Project Access Dallas, he is assigned a primary care physician; receives $750 a year in pharmacy benefits; and has access to free specialty care, labs, ancillary procedures, care coordination, and inpatient hospital care.

Since Project Access Dallas began seeing patients (April 1, 2002), the program has steadily grown to more than 700 physicians, 15 hospitals, nine charity health clinics, ten ancillary service support organizations, one national laboratory service organization, and more than 40,000 nationwide pharmacies. For more information, contact Connie Webster, director of community services, at 214-413-1426 or email [e-mail].

2007 Project Access Dallas Partners

From April 2002 through December 2006, more than $6.2 million worth of reported free health care and medications have been provided to the working poor of our community. Our volunteers and donors deserve the most praise. Without our partners, the lives of many patients would be very different.

Founding Partners
Dallas County Medical Society
Health Texas Provider Network
Central Dallas Ministries
Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council

[TexasLady]

25. WOW!

your post is a wonderful post!!!!

[casus belli]

32. I have to agree. Nice job Stephanie! :) n/t

[Justyce]

22. My brother had some health issues

and didn't have insurance. Here's what he did and some ideas for your brother: First he found a clinic that charged according to income. Then, he went in and talked to the hospital about working out a payment plan ahead of time, and they let him pay I believe $50/mth, so that he could have his first surgery. His doctor helped him get on temporary disability so he could be off work for the surgeries, and through that, he got on Medicare or Medicaid, can't remember, and that paid for the rest of his surgeries. Since your brother has a life-threatening condition, he could also try to contact the welfare dept or Social Services and ask what options are available to him. I would get on the phone right awsay and start making some calls, and be sure to stress that it's life-threatening.

(Oh, and as far as who to vote for, HRC has been fighting for universal health care for years, so my money's on her.)

[TexasLady]

26. Awesome!

He was literally spending his entire week's paycheck, and getting little to no results.
You bring out another great point. WE see it as life threatening, and I honestly don't think he does. I need to really stress that when I talk to him again. I always thought, at least here in Texas, that Medicaid was for kids and pregnant women, and Medicare was for seniors. Maybe not?
Anyways..

Thanks sooo much!

[Stephanie]

27. You could call here to find out if he's eligible for Medicaid

Just remember to vote Obama! :hi:

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http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Medicaid/med_info.html

How to Get Help

2-1-1 is a free, easy-to-remember phone number connecting callers with health and human services in their area. Knowledgeable staff will speak with you and answer your questions. You can call for assistance seven days a week, 24 hours a day.


Note: If you are calling from outside of Texas, or have technical difficulties when dialing from your cell phone, voice-over-IP, or office location, then please dial the alternate access number at 1-877-541-7905. You can also visit the 2-1-1 Texas website to find the phone number to your local 2-1-1 Area Information Center.

Fill out an application

The first page of the application includes instructions about mailing or faxing your completed application.


English and Español (PDF)

Visit a HHSC Benefits Office

Call 2-1-1 or visit the www.yourtexasbenefits.com site to find the HHSC benefits office closest to you.


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Helpful Online Resources:

The www.yourtexasbenefits.com website allows you to fill out an online screening form to find which state benefit programs you might be able to receive.

Finding Help in Texas allows you to search for information on health and human services in your community or throughout Texas.

The HHSC Reference Guide allows you to search over 200 programs provided by all Texas health and human services agencies.

The Medicaid/CHIP Consumer Guide includes information about: services provided by each program; prescription drug benefits; how to renew benefits; managed care programs (STAR, STAR+PLUS, Primary Care Case Management and NorthSTAR), Texas Health Steps, long-term services and supports, and more.

English (PDF) | Español (PDF)


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[TexasLady]

28. Lol, my vote stands!

how very kind of you to give me so much info!!

[Justyce]

30. That was what I thought too, but apparently not.

I originally thought he got Medicaid, which I associated more with the poverty issue, but my mom said she's pretty sure it's Medicare... maybe due it being considered a disability? And we're in Texas too.

As I mentioned before, Social Services might be a good starting point to find out info on what's available to him & to get the ball rolling.