Anti health Care Reform Activist Needs Taking Donations to Pay his Medical Bills

[Baill Inneraora]

Just too much. :1orglaugh

GLADNEY THE UNINSURED ACTIVIST.... Over the last few days, a conservative activist in St. Louis named Kenneth Gladney seems to have become something of a cause celebre in far-right circles. Depending on which version of events you choose to believe, Gladney either initiated or was involved in a scuffle at a town-hall event late last week.

At least one prominent conservative blogger said Gladney was "brutally attacked" by SEIU members outside the event. After watching the video, there's ample reason for skepticism. Gladney was, in fact, pulled to the ground during the fracas, but he seemed to bounce back up quickly, and is seen walking around soon after without any obvious injuries. His attorney has argued that Gladney was beaten during the fight, but there's nothing in the clip to support that.

Gladney later went to the hospital, claiming to have sustained injuries to his "knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face."

Yesterday, about 200 conservative activists held a protest outside the SEIU office in St. Louis. Gladney was there -- bandaged and in a wheelchair -- as a featured guest. Some of the activists held signs that read, "Don't Tread on Kenny." Reader R.D. alerted me to this tidbit in the local news account of the protest:

Gladney did not address Saturday's crowd of about 200 people. His attorney, David Brown, however, read a prepared statement Gladney wrote. "A few nights ago there was an assault on my liberty, and on yours, too." Brown read. "This should never happen in this country."

Supporters cheered. Brown finished by telling the crowd that Gladney is accepting donations toward his medical expenses. Gladney told reporters he was recently laid off and has no health insurance.


Wait, the conservative opponent of health care reform, fighting (literally) to defeat a plan that would bring coverage to those who lose their jobs, lost his coverage because he got laid off?

I'm not in a position to say whether Gladney sustained genuine injuries or whether he's exaggerating for 15 minutes of Fox News fame and a lucrative out-of-court settlement.

Either way, the new right-wing cause celebre needs to take up a collection to pay for his medical bills because he doesn't have health insurance. It's a fascinating sign of the times.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_08/019423.php

 

[RogueAlan]

Re: Anti ealth Care Reform Activist Needs Taking Donations to Pay his Medical Bills

What a moron... if you have a job, you can get basic insurance; most uninsured choose not to do so.

Before you jump on that, YES, there are reforms/ changes necessary, but be careful about letting Uncle Sam (in she shape of that rictus smiled Nancy Pelosi) decide what needs to be changed.

Fact: there are not enough docs or nurses or beds in the country to provide TOTAL care for every person. When Uncle Sugar puts his 'fix' in everone who needs a liver won't get one (harken to Monty Python).

Fact 2: there IS already universal health care. try it out... leave your wallet at home, then go into any ER & describe a tearing chest pain... you will be seen. You will be imaged. Irregardless of who you are or whether you can pay. You may have to wait, if the 'urgency' of your case is in question, but you will get care. You do not even have to be a citizen or speak the language.

So what should change?
- the outrageous mark up for medical equipment: plastic slider board to move patients from gurney to OR table: $1000. Similar up charge for your Black & Decker drill to be a medical drill.

- the cost of advertising for meds would pay for med development, & med advertising is unethical & should be halted.

- Doc & hospital fees should be cut to about 40% of their current value.
WAIT, though...
the fees are at their climbing levels because each year insurers come back & say they will pay a smaller % of the billed amount. Docs & Hospitals, not being astute business men, have for decades responded to that by raising the charge. They get paid about the same, but because they by law cannot offer a lower rate to John Q Public, the uninsured get hosed. Therefore
- Insurers get a 1 or 2% break from the new charge, and that is it. They clear their profits by having the premiums paid up front, & collecting interest. (& insurance should NOT be a big moneymaker for anyone... it's a capitalized form of socialism).
- Insurance should NOT be used for routine care... if we used our auto insurance as we doe medical insurance, we would expect Progressive/ All State/ et al to pay for our gas each week. Plan for the annual check up/ mammogram/ prostate exam. Insurance is for the unexpected costs of health care.
- There SHOULD be a bigger press for preventative medicine.
-Malpractice has to be controlled: yes, there are bad docs. but too often things beyond the doc's control are attributed to his (her) actions. Docs over order tests to cover their ass because of this, & there is no 'jury of peers' in malpractice cases. BUT when a doc is a bad doc, it cannot be swept under the rug for more patients to be hurt

SOLUTION:
honestly, if the goverment were to provide subsidization for the training centers, people would get 1st rate care without cost, assuming a willingness to be treated by docs in training. & assuming waiving litigious claims. It would benefit training institutions, AND by decreasing the non-paying and under-paying population (Medicare/ Medicaid in 1992 paid $3 to 'cover the cost' of $18 immunizations) weighing down private practices, EVERYONE would benefit. Imagine actually getting to see your doc when you wanted?!

Don't guess that will happen, though. We're hearing 'price freezes' & 'subsidized insurance' & 'we won't address malpractice' so it'll become merely a huge bureaucratic SNAFU... too bad, considering we're right now still where other country's important people come for care. & don't fool yourself that it will be 'equal.' The politicians forcing this on us will still have their separate health care, and those with the coin will still be able to pay for premium private care.

ahhh... time to climb off of the soapbox.

(BTW great thumbnail!)

 

[Facial_King]

Re: Anti ealth Care Reform Activist Needs Taking Donations to Pay his Medical Bills

Reminds me of the loser who went to the town hall mtg. in SC and yelled out "Keep the government's hands off of my Medicare!"

There's just too much idiocy out there...

 

[D-rock]

Re: Anti ealth Care Reform Activist Needs Taking Donations to Pay his Medical Bills

What a moron... if you have a job, you can get basic insurance; most uninsured choose not to do so.

I know this might be a hard concept for intellectually challenged people to grasp out there, but not everybody that wants a job can get one. This might be a new concept to some people but most people that are poor don't choose to be that way. This might be an equally hard concept to grap for those people, but, even for people that work, not all jobs will give you insurance, especially a lot of the jobs the poor work.

I know, it's a pretty shocking thought.

Before you jump on that, YES, there are reforms/ changes necessary, but be careful about letting Uncle Sam (in she shape of that rictus smiled Nancy Pelosi) decide what needs to be changed.

Yes, because we should trust executives working at corporations who's main objective is looking out for their bottom and maximizing profit while looking at a spreadsheet even more.

Fact: there are not enough docs or nurses or beds in the country to provide TOTAL care for every person. When Uncle Sugar puts his 'fix' in everone who needs a liver won't get one (harken to Monty Python).

Not everybody that needs an organ can get one now as it is. So what's your point? That's even taking into account that where you are on a waiting list has nothing to do with how much money you have. It's already illegal to sell or buy them. In fact your statement doesn't make sense in any way.

As for medicine in general your thoughts about it are like saying there is a shortage of police in the neighborhood so we should give that service to some private corporation and they are only going the protect the richest first instead of covering everybody to the best of our ability with what they got.

Fact 2: there IS already universal health care. try it out... leave your wallet at home, then go into any ER & describe a tearing chest pain... you will be seen. You will be imaged. Irregardless of who you are or whether you can pay. You may have to wait, if the 'urgency' of your case is in question, but you will get care. You do not even have to be a citizen or speak the language.

Ummm...no, that is wrong and different in universal health care in so many ways, but let me try to nail down just a few of them.

1. Private hospitals with no government subsidies or support don't have to take any patient under law they don't want. So if you get into an accident by one and don't have insurance you can actually be forced to go somewhere else farter away so you can suffer a much greater chance of dying when you wouldn't otherwise have to.

2. They only have to treat you and get you into a stable condition and keep you there. That doesn't necessarily mean a lot of long term care you need they have to give you. Depending on the circumstances a lot of short term care you need You Might not get.

3. A lot of places, even if it's unethical, will treat you as badly as they can get away with if you don't have insurance or push you out the door as soon as they feel they can get away with it. An amazing number of people out there, even ones that have taken oaths to help people, don't get to thrilled when they probably have to do something that's expensive and time consuming with the added fact that they know they aren't getting paid for it.

4. Just because some places might have to give you treatment, doesn't mean you don't own them for it. If somebody doesn’t have health insurance, it most likely means they are poor already. In the best case scenario what they have to pay back severely hurts them in the short term when they need to use that money on things like food and a place to live. In the worst case scenario they might have to go into bankruptcy their entire lives or at least have the rest of their lives ruined by having to go into bankruptcy in their condition. Plus now they have a serious medical problem which will make it even harder to live or earn money in the future.

5. Most people without health insurance tend to extremely hesitant and wary about going to a hospital or seeking out medical help in almost any situation. So in a circumstance where getting preventative treatment, having early detection, or early treatment might save tens of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars for them and the government, they wait and only go when it gets so bad they have no other choice. That gives them a greater chance of not recovering and cost everybody more. Plus it gives that much of a better chance for serious diseases to spread throughout a community and on to a greater area if they pop up.

 

[titsrock]

Re: Anti ealth Care Reform Activist Needs Taking Donations to Pay his Medical Bills

I remember a clip in Michael Moore's "Sicko" of a townhall meeting with President Bush sitting on the stage next to an old woman, say 68, and she says, "I'm currently working 3 jobs" and Bush jumps in excitedly, "That's great!"

This guy, Kenny, is just another "Joe the Plumber" dumbass that is too stupid to realize how his life will be demonstrably better under a Univ Healthcare System, and he's too stupid to realize the GOP Powers are totally manipulating him.

If the GOP has its way and "nothing changes" with Healthcare, then Kenny will need 3 jobs just to be able to afford insurance on his own.

If that day every comes, will "Kenny" have a gleam in his eye and a big smile?

 

[max0rz]

FYI, the trial for this alleged beating has now begun.
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/07/trial_kenneth_gladney_tea_party_seiu_union.php