A Question to the GOP- who should pay this man's medical bills????

Who should save sight of SC man who can’t afford surgery?

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...#storylink=cpy



BY ANN DOSS HELMS
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com


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To start a lively discussion of America’s health care system, let’s consider who’s responsible for saving the sight of Luis Lang.

Lang, a 49-year-old resident of Fort Mill, S.C., has bleeding in his eyes and a partially detached retina caused by diabetes.


Dr. Malcolm Edwards | THE EYE & LASER CENTER
“He will lose his eyesight if he doesn’t get care. He will go blind,” said Dr. Malcolm Edwards, the Lancaster ophthalmologist who examined Lang.

Lang is a self-employed handyman who works with banks and the federal government on maintaining foreclosed properties. He has done well enough that his wife, Mary, hasn’t had to work. They live in a 3,300-square-foot home in the Legacy Park subdivision valued at more than $300,000.

But he has never bought insurance. Instead, he says, he prided himself on paying his own medical bills.

That worked while he and his wife were relatively healthy. But after 10 days of an unrelenting headache, Lang went to the emergency room on Feb. 25. He says he was told he’d suffered several ministrokes. He ran up $9,000 in bills and exhausted his savings. Meanwhile, his vision worsened, and he can’t work, he says.

That’s when he turned to the Affordable Care Act exchange. Lang learned two things: First, 2015 enrollment had closed earlier that month. And second, because his income has dried up, he earns too little to get a federal subsidy to buy a private policy.

Lang, a Republican, says he knew the act required him to get coverage, but he chose not to do so. But he thought help would be available in an emergency. He and his wife blame President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for passing a complex and flawed bill.

“(My husband) should be at the front of the line, because he doesn’t work and because he has medical issues,” Mary Lang said last week. “We call it the Not Fair Health Care Act.”

Anyone who’s remotely familiar with insurance knows there’s no system that lets people skip payments while they’re healthy and cash in when they get sick. Public systems tax everyone. Private ones rely on the premiums of the well to cover the costs of those who are ailing.

And Democrats might point out that the ACA was designed to provide Medicaid coverage for people whose income falls below the poverty line. The federal government pays 100 percent of the ACA expansion to cover low-income, able-bodied adults, but 21 Republican-led states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, declined to participate.

For now, Lang qualifies only for a South Carolina Medicaid plan that covers checkups and family planning. The aged (65 and older), blind and disabled get more extensive coverage. Lang says he hasn’t applied for Social Security disability benefits because it takes too long.

The S.C. Department of Health and Human Services is still reviewing whether he might qualify through a vocational rehabilitation program. If so – and if he can find a surgeon who takes Medicaid – South Carolina taxpayers will share the cost with the federal government.

Last week, Lang went back to Dr. Edwards, who had previously provided injections to control the bleeding in his eyes at a discounted rate. That’s when he learned that his problem had worsened, including the detached retina.

“He’s in a very bad situation,” Edwards said after Lang signed a privacy release. “The longer he waits, the poorer his results will be.”

Edwards said he would provide care at no cost, but Lang now requires surgery and follow-up treatment that is beyond his expertise. His Eye & Laser Center has a network of specialists who work on a sliding scale and organizations that sometimes help with donations. But Lang requires such extensive and ongoing work that there’s no way to guarantee there won’t be significant bills, Edwards said.

Lang says he has called charities that work with diabetes and blindness, but he doesn’t seem to fit anyone’s cause. “I’m either too young or too old,” said Lang, who has launched a GoFundMe.com page in hopes of garnering donations.

There’s a lot of talk about personal responsibility in health care reform, so it’s probably fair to note that Lang is a smoker who has, by his own account, been inconsistent in his efforts to control his diabetes. Edwards says it’s not uncommon to see patients who don’t take the treatment regimen seriously until they’re facing major problems. Bleeding in the blood vessels of the eyes often foretells similar problems with the kidneys and feet, he said.

When I started covering health care last summer, Newsday columnist Lane Filler wrote a column that was striking in its candor. He argued for employers to get out of the health insurance business, shift the money they spend on premiums into employee wages and give everyone the freedom to decide whether they’ll spend it on insurance.

“If I were just free, I could buy no health insurance, instead banking the money to pay medical bills as they came due,” Filler wrote. “But ‘just free’ societies must have onerous consequences for the imprudent and the unlucky. If we want to be allowed to buy health insurance or not, we must be willing to let folks who choose wrong be bankrupted by medical bills. Worse, we must be willing to let them die for lack of care, and listen to them wail from the gutters.”

That kind of argument can be easy to defend in an intellectual debate and hard to hold on to when you’re face to face with someone who’s going to die – or go blind – when they could be saved.

On the other side, you have single-payer advocates who say it’s time to stop arguing over who deserves to be denied coverage or care. Instead, they say, it’s time to treat health care like fire and police protection: Tax everyone and provide the aid when it’s needed.

Lang’s story drew national attention after it was posted on charlotteobserver.com Tuesday morning. Liberal bloggers across the country blasted him for blaming Obama for problems created by his own actions and South Carolina legislators. His fundraising page, which had gotten no donations in the first 24 days, raised more than $2,000 in the first 11 hours after the post went online. Most of it was small amounts from self-identified liberals and ACA supporters, who urged him to change his views.

“You’re a poster child for what you claim to be against, and like most of the donors here, I don’t believe ANYone deserves to suffer without proper medical care,” wrote Andrew Knight, who gave $5. “I wish you all the best. I hope you’ll come to see ACA and healthcare for all as a basic right.”

A staffer with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services emailed the Observer to say Lang’s case had been “discussed here in DC at a fairly high level” in hopes of finding a solution. If the family income were to rise above the poverty level ($15,730 for a couple), he could qualify for special enrollment, the staffer said.

For Lang’s doctor, the overwhelming feeling is frustration at knowing that one of his patients could lose his sight for lack of a way to pay for care that’s readily available in modern American society.

“That’s probably the worst thing that can happen to someone outside of death,” Edwards said. And he added that if Lang doesn’t get help now, he’s likely to end up dependent on the government: “It’s extremely costly to let a person go blind.”

Helms: 704-358-5033;

Twitter: @anndosshelms. This blog post is done in collaboration with Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

WANT TO HELP?
Luis Lang is collecting money for his surgery: GoFundMe.com/s78e9w.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...#storylink=cpy


SO IB IIF, Budman. Dirty Dog DSK, Whirlaway, Gnadfly, and COG how much are you repugs going to contribute to gofundme for your fellow republican?

I'm surprised "Go Fund ME" hasn't yanked his account yet, because he doesn't believe in gay marriage...

I feel very sorry for him.

I don't know the right answer.

But I know some of the WRONG answers:

--You want to "not buy insurance" because you are proud to pay your own way, but then you complain when you can't?

--$300,000 home but $9K wipes out his savings?

--"Lang, a Republican, says he knew the act required him to get coverage, but he chose not to do so. But he thought help would be available in an emergency. He and his wife blame President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for passing a complex and flawed bill." So he believes ignorance is a fine defense--the dates for the exchange were all over the place. Yes, the ACA is hideously flawed and complex, but not that part of it.

I will tell you what it seems:

1. He was happy being ignorant of what was going on around him.

2. His "plan" seemed to be to avoid spending $$ for insurance until he would need it, and then expect a gov't bailout.

Again, I am very sorry this happened to him. I hope he gets the care he needs. But politically he is a goofball, and the exact opposite of all the conservatives who do believe in personal responsibility.

And of course, IIFFy has to be a real asshole (as usual) with his gay marriage comment. But then wandering off topic is what he does. Like Manny being Manny.

I feel very sorry for him.

I don't know the right answer.

But I know some of the WRONG answers:

--You want to "not buy insurance" because you are proud to pay your own way, but then you complain when you can't?

--$300,000 home but $9K wipes out his savings?

--"Lang, a Republican, says he knew the act required him to get coverage, but he chose not to do so. But he thought help would be available in an emergency. He and his wife blame President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for passing a complex and flawed bill." So he believes ignorance is a fine defense--the dates for the exchange were all over the place. Yes, the ACA is hideously flawed and complex, but not that part of it.

I will tell you what it seems:

1. He was happy being ignorant of what was going on around him.

2. His "plan" seemed to be to avoid spending $$ for insurance until he would need it, and then expect a gov't bailout.

Again, I am very sorry this happened to him. I hope he gets the care he needs. But politically he is a goofball, and the exact opposite of all the conservatives who do believe in personal responsibility.

And of course, IIFFy has to be a real asshole (as usual) with his gay marriage comment. But then wandering off topic is what he does. Like Manny being Manny. Originally Posted by Old-T

+10000000 on what you said- except I don't feel sorry for him- guys like him to posture and pretend how much they want smaller govt and how bad Obama is, but when they get in trouble it's the govt they go crying to for help..
Whirlaway, COG, DSKm JD, IB, and IIF are no different than want to pretend how much they are against Obama's policies, but secretly they benefit from the government, but don't have the balls to admit the truth- freaking hypocrites!!!

Well this is one of those situations where you have to take drastic measures. If I was in his shoes, I suppose I would sell my 300,000 house and live a little less elaborate.

Jim

Well this is one of those situations where you have to take drastic measures. If I was in his shoes, I suppose I would sell my 300,000 house and live a little less elaborate.

Jim Originally Posted by Mr MojoRisin

It would have been a lot easier if he swallowed his pride and just signed up for the Affordable Care Act.

Then he could come up with his $9,000.00 deductible for 1 year... Ozombies

It would have been a lot easier if he swallowed his pride and just signed up for the Affordable Care Act. Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

Maybe so, but some people just don't look ahead. His home has value. Depending what his out standing balance is on his mortgage he can avoid going into debt which is second to having health issues.

Jim

Then he could come up with his $9,000.00 deductible for 1 year... Ozombies


Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDB

You obviously are in denial IIFFY- s how much are you going to contribute to your republican brother in South Carolina? You like the rest your pals on this site are all talk- I wouldn't be surprised if you have Obamacare.

Maybe so, but some people just don't look ahead. His home has value. Depending what his out standing balance is on his mortgage he can avoid going into debt which is second to having health issues.

Jim Originally Posted by Mr MojoRisin

However, if you go back to Obama's campaign speeches back in 2008- he stated he wanted to create universal health care so people WOULDN'T go bankrupt are how to take equity or sell their home just to pay medical bills- Obamacare was created to avoid the situation that Mr.Lang currently has established.

It would have been a lot easier if he swallowed his pride and just signed up for the Affordable Care Act. Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

Why don't you with your phony baloney concern step up to the plate and help him?

Why don't you with your phony baloney concern step up to the plate and help him? Originally Posted by TheDaliLama

Look DaliLama I know you have an agenda with me- I will promise to contribute to his fund if Mr.Lang denounces his party's stance and he publicly admits that it was a mistake not to sign up for Obamacare and that Obamacare has some benefits- now what are you going to do to help? I am a Christian and it's my duty, but the bible says we have to help those who are trying to help themselves and it looks like Mr.Lang is playing Republican tactics by blaming Obama for his sins and his problems. he was a smoker which is a sin to fill your body with toxins.

Why don't you with your phony baloney concern step up to the plate and help him? Originally Posted by TheDaliLama

So you can only be concerned if you're willing or able to help this man financially?

I don't know. He should have signed up for the ACA. He could sell his house, providing he's not upside down, and at least make a dent in things.

Look DaliLama I know you have an agenda with me- I will promise to contribute to his fund if Mr.Lang denounces his party's stance and he publicly admits that it was a mistake not to sign up for Obamacare and that Obamacare has some benefits- now what are you going to do to help? Originally Posted by wellendowed1911

Again with the "agenda", weak wewee weak... LMAO!

So you can only be concerned if you're willing or able to help this man financially?

I don't know. He should have signed up for the ACA. He could sell his house, providing he's not upside down, and at least make a dent in things. Originally Posted by WombRaider

+1000000 I guess the Affordable Act don't look to bad now does it Dali?????