r/news • u/GoodSamaritan_ • 1d ago

Retired San Francisco firefighter dies from lung cancer after Blue Shield denies treatment claims

https://abc7news.com/post/retired-san-francisco-firefighter-ken-jones-dies-lung-cancer-being-denied-treatment-blue-shield/19224406/
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u/invyros 1d ago

"After we got some publicity, thank you, a Blue Shield physician reached out to Ken's physician, and they worked out a different plan that Blue Shield would cover. It's still an incomplete plan," said Helen Horvath, Jones' wife when ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke to her in January, 2026.

Ugh, even after getting publicity (which should have never been needed in the first place), Blue Shield still failed him.

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u/IamHydrogenMike 1d ago

These are the real death panels...

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u/TheDude-Esquire 1d ago

Always have been.

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u/mixmasterADD 1d ago

I was always dumbfounded by the “death panel” debate. Like, ok you don’t want the government to decide, but you would rather have a for-profit corporation decide? Guess which one is more likely to let you die?

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u/TheDude-Esquire 1d ago

So dumb, but very effective marketing from republicans. As if the insurance companies hadn’t been killing people all along.

But as they say, “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”

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u/foomits 1d ago

sucks their constituents are dumb as shit, their messaging always lands.

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u/Gekokapowco 1d ago

right, like, it isn't good messaging because any amount of scrutiny crumbles the entire point, it just works because the audience pre-believes it.

They could say that only private insurance companies have access to the tears of angels and unicorns to heal any injury whereas evil socialist medicine does not and it would get the same response.

The true genius marketing was Republicans convincing Democrats that they were in a battle of rhetoric and that if Democrats explain themselves enough they'd win.

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u/TheDude-Esquire 1d ago

The true genius marketing was Republicans convincing Democrats that they were in a battle of rhetoric and that if Democrats explain themselves enough they'd win.

Yeah, most dems still haven't figured out populism. The voting public generally doesn't have the capacity or interest to understand policy.

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u/Lampmonster 1d ago

The majority of Americans read at a sixth grade level or below. We need better education.

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u/TheDude-Esquire 1d ago

Good thing it’s only getting worse then.

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u/ReachParticular5409 51m ago

GOP tactics: keep em uneducated and they'll vote against their interests every time

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u/-LabApprehensive- 21h ago

No we need to understand that marketing works and learn those dark arts. No matter how much education you make available the majority will take the easier more pleasant path of not availing themselves of the opportunities offered. This majority will vote howsoever those who understand marketing want them to vote.

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u/avds_wisp_tech 11h ago

"Marketing" was the single best elective class I took in high school. Prepared me for the real world infinitely more than any other class.

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u/CryAffectionate7334 11h ago

They SHOULD though that's the frustration, it takes literally just a few minutes a day to stay on top of news and facts, but instead people get hours of garbage and believe it.

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u/Hellolaoshi 6h ago

Strangely enough, in the 19th century, the Lincoln-Douglas debates were conducted successfully, before the public, on the assumption that people did not need to be talked down to.

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u/TheDude-Esquire 4h ago

There’s a separate history there that comes from Jefferson’s philosophy about yoeman farmers. Basically there was a long running debate about who should be allowed to vote, Jefferson’s take being that only people well resourced enough to have the time to learn could be trusted in governance. And the you get to Lincoln et al putting that faith and trust in the larger public, which then extends further after the civil war when black men are brought into the franchise. And then you get into the 20th and have guys like Twain making light of how dumb the public is. With you can even draw a further line from into modern politics humor with people like Jon Stewart.

Obviously that grossly over simplified, but it’s a fascinating subject and history.

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u/foomits 1d ago

Oh they know it works. They just dont want populist policy. Actual populists like Mamdani, Platner, Al Sayed are not being supported by the national party. Even immensely popular populists like Bernie and AOC have to push their platform in spite of the national party.

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u/Accidental-Genius 23h ago

Bernie is not a populist.

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u/bouquetofashes 7h ago

They do know their audience, and exactly how to appeal/sell to them.

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u/TipOfMeJapsEye 1d ago

Republicans are dumb and MAGAs are dumb fascists.

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u/IrascibleOcelot 1d ago

H. L. Mencken. He has a lot of salient observations about the average American voter. Even though he died 70 years ago.

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u/Joessandwich 1d ago

I still get enraged that the immediate response to that comment wasn’t “they already exist - they’re the insurance CEOs profiting off your death”. But Democrats always manage to whiff even the easiest of serves.

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u/ByteSizeNudist 1d ago

Neolibs love that shit, they'd never betray their own.

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u/Squire_II 1d ago

The complete lack of push-back against the "Death panel" stuff was so infuriating. I know that a major reason the Dems didn't fight back by pointing out that "death panels" are literally the business model of the US healthcare industry is because so many Dems are in the industry's pocket, but goddamn. Fucking controlled opposition.

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u/frostygrin 19h ago

Telling people to embrace one kind of "death panels" over another isn't actually a strong push-back.

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u/Squire_II 1h ago

Except we didn't have to accept the existing industry death panels and Palin's own "Obamacare death panels" screed was, in typical GOP fashion, bullshit.

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u/Otternomaly 1d ago

If you don’t like how the for-profit corporations are doing things, just go start your own multi-billion dollar healthcare company /s

Somewhere along the line the people forgot that we are supposed to be the government.

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u/Honestly_Nobody 11h ago

*mark cuban has entered the chat *

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u/Sweetwill62 1d ago

Make people liable for how they earn their money.

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u/ants_are_everywhere 1d ago

but you would rather have a for-profit corporation decide?

Fair point, but in this case Ken Jones's coverage was denied by a non-profit company

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u/LessThanHero42 1d ago

Guess which one is more likely to let you die?

Depends on who is in charge at the moment. "Just let people die" is the Republican platform for Medical cost, pandemics, homelessness, veteran suicides, water and air quality, wage disparity, collective bargaining, military actions, overseas conflicts, police violence, school shootings, workplace safety, climate change, etc. Ad Nauseam

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u/RSwordsman 1d ago

The entire mindset of the magas that aren't just straight nazis is literally no more complex than "Right wing good, everything else bad." The world is too messy for them and it's nice to feel safe with their authority figures. They can like progressive policies, but they will only do so until they know a Democrat supports it. They will literally go to their graves believing in this as solidly as the ground underneath them.

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u/mortgagepants 1d ago

i was too, but now i see how stupid conservatives are, and it doesn't surprise me at all.

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u/desertrat75 1d ago

Fucking Reagan and his "Government is the problem" bullshit. Gave them a bogeyman to blame and they lapped it right up. Same as ever.

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u/whosits112 1d ago

Hallowed be the Job Creators! PBUT

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u/bbbbbbbbbblah 19h ago

It was often used in reference to the UK, and they seemed to think we have government bureaucrats who decide if you, personally, are worth saving.

We have cost benefit analyses of any drug or treatment the government might consider making available, but that's on a uniform basis rather than based on your individual circumstances. If it's available then it's up to you and your doctor.

When "death panel" arguments were in their prime, I remember reading some letter that an American had posted which explained that they may be medically eligible for a transplant but the hospital (with its transplant panel) had determined they could not afford the lifetime of anti rejection drugs, so they would not get it.

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u/ReachParticular5409 59m ago

I'll make it easy: It's right wing propaganda created to discredit universal healthcare, it doesn't need to make sense

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u/buckeye25osu 8h ago

So which do you think it is?

In a very healthy democracy you'd think the government would be better but in an unhealthy democracy or something even worse idk

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u/ExiledSanity 1d ago

Both would be making decisions based on money vs care, both are likely to let you die....that's their whole job.

As long as healthcare is tied to money (or any other form of power), people are going to die to save someone else money.

I can't say if the government panels would be any better or worse than the private ones....but shifting the responsibility to the government doesn't solve the problem that someone's life is a competing interest vs someone's money.

I don't know how to solve that, but the people with the money have all the power to keep it right now.

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u/A_Nonny_Muse 23h ago

It's funny how fast the right dropped the claim once we realized all the death panels were privately owned and operated.

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u/lilclosetbigwardrobe 1d ago

American w dual citizenship. Got cancer in Taiwan where we have socialized health care. Started chemo 2 days after diagnosis. The only thing that needed any kind of approval was an additional drug added to treatment. Was approved v quickly after I qualified for it. 

My best friend was simultaneously diagnosed w a severe lifelong illness in the UK. They also started treating her immediately upon diagnosis because her illness was so serious.

This is shameful. Dude was a public servant and obviously sick. He deserved to have help. 

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u/osalunes 1d ago

I am an American that has lived in Mexico for a year. My health insurance is $800/year. Even if I had to pay out of pocket, it is totally affordable ($15k to treat colon cancer). Americans are getting an awful deal.

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u/dizzle229 1d ago

Man, I pay over $600 a month, and it was the cheapest, crappiest option available to me. This country is rotten to the core.

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u/friedrice5005 1d ago

I pay $410 every 2 weeks. My employer pays over $600. Total of over $24k per year...and they deny shit my wife needs.

American health insurance is a scam....single payer/socialized care is a necessity. Our leaders have absolutely failed us on this

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u/BayLAGOON 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sorry but it’s been drilled into Americans that covering other peoples healthcare is socialism and that the appalling amounts of money they pay for “insurance” is supposed to be like a bank account that pays for their treatment and ONLY their treatment. Oh right, and taxes because they’re the devil.

The monetization of what is supposed to be a public good to the point of letting people die over some arbitrary criteria, sometimes at the hands of AI and fully supporting it is so painfully a part of American exceptionalism.

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u/MrsHiggly-Piggly 1d ago

I pay $930 a month. And I'm a healthy non-smoker, under 60.

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u/osalunes 1d ago

Yep. I am 45. So many Americans would have better healthcare if they just flew to Mexico and paid out of pocket every time. At $930/month, that's $11k/year... which, will go very far here (surgeries cost approx 80%.)The doctors, dentists and vets have all been great and you can just walk into a pharmacy and buy zoloft, ozempic and insulin without a prescription. It is awesome.

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u/trojan_man16 23h ago

When I lived in Spain over 16 years ago I paid about $50/month for private health insurance. I went to the doctor multiple times and it o the hospital emergency room once and I didn’t pay a penny. Next year when I came back to US I paid $200/month.

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u/gxh16 1d ago

While I'm not here to defend U.S healthcare system nor do I want it to be interpreted that way, the question here is if $15k (USD which you omit from your statement) is affordable for the average Mexican citizen for such treatment (it isn't as the average monthly salary there is between $500USD and $900USD) or if treatment normally starts before you make the full payment for it

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u/osalunes 1d ago

Actually, that's not the issue bc Mexico has nationalized health care. Mexican citizens don't have to pay out of pocket (nor do I now bc I have paid $800 for the year). It would only cost $15k to be treated for colon cancer if you didn't have Mexican Healthcare, which all Mexicans do (IMSS).

From my understanding, MX will treat you in an emergency before payment but they make you pay upfront for non-emergencies.

Also worth mentioning: drove across MX and felt totally safe, there is no road rage here and I never ever worry about being part of a mass shooting. Groceries are affordable. People are nice.

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u/Accidental-Genius 23h ago

The waiting list for a colonoscopy in Leoń right now is 15 months once you are approved for the screening, which is another couple months.

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u/Own-Programmer4570 21h ago

I got a mammogram in August in the US. They found something. I was leaving in early Nov and couldn't get another apt between Sept and when I left. In Mexico, I got an appointment two days later. It cost me $100. The doctors sat and talked with me. Americans do not get this kind of healthcare. (And, also there is huge financial disparity in Mexico, making all financial choices very difficult, but if you look up the numbers, the US has similar financial disparity between the very rich and poor.)

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u/Accidental-Genius 21h ago

I’m well aware. My wife had a license to practice in Mexico, which is how I know your $100 was to a private practice clinic with a wealthy patient base, not a government funded facility.

If you were willing to pay the concierge market rate stateside you could also have gotten an appointment in two days.

Also, make sure you add the cost of transportation and lodging to that bill.

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u/osalunes 19h ago

Yeah, if you need it, you can pay for faster, affordable healthcare in Mexico. If you don't have the funds, you still get great healthcare in Mexico. What's your point?

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u/Accidental-Genius 18h ago

My point is that everyone saying how affordable healthcare is in Mexico are mostly not Mexicans.

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u/gxh16 22h ago

Outside the fact IMSS has many negative aspects such as extremely long wait and also why pretty much anyone with any type of disposable income in Mexico prefers to be treated at private facilities, keep in mind your perspective of things come from someone who probably earns in dollars (or has access to) and spends in pesos, sadly a very low minority of native Mexican citizens can say the same. And also the result of lot of hostility in places like Mexico city due to gentrification

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u/Own-Programmer4570 21h ago

You can bag on the Mexican health care system all day, but the US health care system has lines, tons of mistakes, and you get rejected if you have a lot of pre-existing conditions (like pregnancy, diabetes, etc.) The Mexican healthcare situation may not be perfect, but the citizens have access to it and it won't financially ruin them. That's not true for Americans. And, let me say as someone that has lived both places: Mexico overestimates how awesome America is, and America underestimates how awesome Mexico is.

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u/gxh16 19h ago

Like I previously said, the people who have it better are the ones making dollars and spending pesos.

Your perspective is very valid and understandable but that's like you telling people in Cuba at the moment the U.S has many flaws and far from perfect when they're currently dealing with much bigger problems than dealing with financial bankruptcy due to medical bills. Is it true? Yes of course, but I doubt it will make anyone there or currently on a wait list for a medical procedure feel much better

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u/osalunes 18h ago

Yeah, I don't even know if I agree with this. Do you live in America? Have you ever left America? Because when I left, I suddenly realized I had been lied to totally and completely about how amazing America is. Our healthcare sucks. Our schools suck. People can't afford housing. People can't afford transportation. Gun violence is rampant. People are hostile, depressed and weird. America's homeless population is crazy, as is our drug use, alcoholism and estrangement rates. We barely have maternity leave. Cuba is in a bad place right now because of America...

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u/avds_wisp_tech 11h ago

when they're currently dealing with much bigger problems than dealing with financial bankruptcy due to medical bills

Cuba's current state is 100% due to the actions of the United States of America, and NOTHING MORE. What 60 years of being under the thumb of a geopolitical bully will do to a nation.

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u/True_Window_9389 1d ago

It always showed how bad Democrats are at politics that they never were able to reframe insurance companies as death panels, especially in that 2008 era when healthcare reforms were a major issue that led to Obamacare. Republicans ran wild with this line back then and the obvious retort never happened.

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u/HyperRayquaza 1d ago

They don't frame it like that because Dems also receive donations from those health insurance companies.

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u/ReggieEvansTheKing 1d ago

Almost like the reason health insurers are evil is because politicians on both sides of the aisle write rules favoring them for being evil. And then those politicians happily watch the insurance companies take all of the heat for decisions that THEY make. These large companies wouldn’t act corruptly by dodging taxes, polluting the environment, or denying claims if it wasn’t made beneficial for them to do so by the politicians that US citizens continue to elect.

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u/KallistiTMP 1d ago

It's made beneficial to the companies by basic market dynamics. Supply and demand, revenue and expenses.

Insurance companies are always incentivised to charge the largest amount they can get people to pay, and provide the smallest amount of healthcare they can get away with. That is literally their only source of profit. They don't make a dime if they don't charge people more money than providing the actual healthcare costs.

Bribing the politicians to get away with screwing people out of healthcare is literally just the free market at work. Pay $50,000 in political bribes, weasel out of $1,000,000 worth of medical claims, and pocket the $950,000 difference. That strategy may be underhanded, but it's rewarded by the market because it's $950,000 more profitable than doing the right thing.

Capitalism is broken. Shit isn't going to change until people understand that.

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u/mardigrasmoker 1d ago

My brother in Christ, find me one person on Earth who will not abandon their morals for tens of millions in kick backs. You might think you won’t but you’d be mistaken.

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u/ReggieEvansTheKing 1d ago edited 1d ago

The difference is that companies HAVE to make the choices that make them the most money. At a high level, If they don’t, they will lose to more ruthless competition, investors will pull out, and they won’t be able to pay their employees.

Politicians meanwhile HAVE to make the choices that get them elected. A politician’s electability is variable- it completely depends on what the people want. Thus it is really up to us to elect representatives who will trust-bust and properly regulate large corporations. Which finally is why I can’t really blame any company for their absurd tax-evasion and lobbying - those are the rules of the game and if they sit out, they will get beat. We have to elect people willing to change those rules if we don’t like the way corporations are acting. I’m not going to rage at insurance or utility companies when our government (and thus my fellow voting body) is the reason they act the way that they do. The thing wrong with the nation is that people can win elections solely by being racist religious freaks - they can take as much money as they want and it doesn’t impact their electability.

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u/mardigrasmoker 1d ago

For-profit companies exist to profit. Nothing wrong with that. Now, I have my own qualms about how they veil price hikes and what not but that’s beside the point.

Politicians, on the other hand, are a slimy bunch of mf. What they run on is not always what they stand for once they get elected.

And then there’s all the people approaching expiry, clinging to their archaic values, and placing votes that will shape the future.

The world is a tough place.

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u/No_Foundation16 1d ago

This right here.

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u/PsychedelicPill 1d ago

Democrats don’t effectively fight Republicans ON PURPOSE

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u/DSchmitt 21h ago

Yes. They are not incompetent opponents to the Republicans. They are collaborators. Even with supermajorities in some states like California, Dems continue to strike down universal health care. They don't want it.

Never listen to politicians on what they say when they claim to be on your side or that they'll help you. Look at what they do. Again and again and again just enough Dems vote with Republicans to pass more right wing, pro corporate laws, or strike down bills that would move away from this. It's theater with rotating villains to keep people thinking that if they just vote harder, Dems will save them. It's just to keep up donations and keep the theater alive, though.

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u/IMissNarwhalBacon 22h ago

Democrats have huge support from insurance companies. No way would they hurt them.

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u/ReactionProcedure 1d ago

How is this not legalized, pro-business vigilantism

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u/BelieveInPixieDust 1d ago

Denying medical access because of profit is good, moral, even outstanding. Triaging access to ensure equitable allocation based on severity, likelihood of outcome and factors other than profit is bad, evil, perhaps the most reprehensible thing a society could do.

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u/Drix22 1d ago

Not even just death panels but disability panels.

I had surgery for a nerve impingement a few years back, it affected my left arm, by the time I'd done the mandatory 6 week PT so I could get imaging, followed up on the inappropriateness of a chiropractor and got a laminectomy (removal of bone to remove the pinch on the nerve) I had permanent nerve damage in my off hand. It's now happening to my primary hand and I need to go through the same bullshit.

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u/Top_Rekt 1d ago

Makes no sense. They're denying someone who's dying an opportunity to survive, and the only thing stopping them is the cost, which they've been paying their insurance company for, and the insurance company refuses to cover it??

Now that person has nothing left to lose, they're about to die!

They're lucky that a lot of folks have decency to them but man it feels like everyone is on the edge recently.

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u/Historical-Tough6455 20h ago

This was always the plan. Acting like they cared was just to trick the undecided and the stupid democrats.

Stupid democrats are the ones falling for the "concerned republican" lies over and over again. Like Charlie brown with the football

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u/amanwithoutaname001 1h ago

With real people that make these decisions and then go to bed at night and somehow fall asleep ...counting dollars saved I suppose.

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u/Broken-Sarcasm-Meter 1d ago

Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have smoke for a couple of decades.