Hospital Tells Woman To Use 'GoFundMe' For Her Own Heart Transplant -- Yes, Really

[Floyd R. Turbo]

Here’s a distinctly American story that will shatter your heart and make your blood boil at the same time — a woman suffering from congestive heart failure was denied a heart transplant by administrators at her hospital. Why? Because they don’t feel she has the “secure finances” to pay her $10,000 co-pay.

So they suggested she start a GoFundMe instead.

Hedda Martin is a 60-year-old breast cancer survivor who, according to her son, is now in the throes of heart failure as a result of undergoing aggressive chemotherapy back in 2005. Her heart deteriorated earlier this fall, and she met with a transplant team to figure out a long-term solution to save her life.

Last week, the transplant team sent Martin a letter informing her they won’t consider her for a new heart — or even place her on the transplant list — until she raises the 20% needed for her copay. Which is $10,000.

https://www.scarymommy.com/heart-transplant-gofundme/

[ck4829]

1. Richard DeVos? Wasn't that guy a billionaire?

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Yes

The Devos family makes money from Spectrum, they make money from every single one of their "charitable" donations.

Here's how it works, Devos's founding partner, Jay VanAndel funded the main arena here in downtown GR to much fanfare. They even put his name on it, "VanAndel Arena." What a great guy right? Well, here's what really happened, when it was built in the 90s in cost $60 Million, the taxpayers footed the bill for $50 Million of it, Jay Van Andel chipped in the last $10 Million. In exchange for that $10 Million, he got the naming rights, and his company got the contract to manage the facilities indefinitely. Every event ever held at that arena put money into their pockets. They've generated hundreds of millions in revenue for themselves.

The Devos family makes money off from Spectrum Health's Devos Children's Hospital.

[geardaddy]

7. Is that the same family as Betsy DeVos? n/t

[Johnny2X2X]

10. Yes

She's part of the Prince family, (Erik Prince Blackwater). She married into the Devos family.

The Devos and VanAndels started Amway and control a lot in West Michigan. They claim to be huge philanthropists, but not a single one of their charitable donations comes without strings, they try to make money off from all of it.

Their names are on dozens of buildings around town. Other families have given just as much if not more and don't ask that their names be on anything.

[geardaddy]

15. Greedy scum profiting off of the misfortune of others. n/t

[appalachiablue]

39. See #9. Yep, her FIL, Amway Richard DeVos had a heart transplant

years ago and the clinic is named for him. Aka 'heartless' whoosh!

[geardaddy]

40. Thanks!

Jesus Murphy, typical Republican "I've got mine" attitude.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. I live in Grand Rapids

This is a big story here. Spectrum Health is trash, they issued a statement about it that was basically, "Yeah, money factors into our decisions to help people, this person is going to require very expensive drugs, so we asked for more money down."

Spectrum is the worst.

[appalachiablue]

3. Horrible news for the woman & family. Health 'care' in the USA

[Volaris]

34. Most hospital systems have dropped the -care part...because they know they don't.

[appalachiablue]

36. Good to know, about time. The letter return address still has:

"Heart and Lung Specialized Care Clinics" Woosh!

[Volaris]

37. It's an oversight , I promise.

As soon as it's pointed out that they can save money on that ink on that paper, it will be corrected I assure you.

[appalachiablue]

38. +1!

[tanyev]

5. Ah, Spectrum Health. The 3rd party in the computer server threesome with Alfa Bank and the Trump Org

[Ms. Toad]

6. They didn't tell her to use gofundme,

10,000 is actually a relatively modest amount, and it was not for her copay, but for the meds she will need to keep both her, and her new heart alive post-transplant.

All potential transplant recipients undergo extensive screening, at every transplant center. Part of that screening is financial. Anri-rejection medications (which must be taken for life), cost around $100,000 per year. You can't skimp on the medications, because your body will destroy the new heart without them. There is competition fir every single heart -and giving a heart to one person often means someone else also waiting for a heart will die. Demonstrating the ability to pay/raise money for a year's worth of anti-rejection meds (directly or via insurance) is relatively common - that guarantees the heart has a fighting chance of surviving.

I'm not saying this is how things should work - but as mom of someone who will need a liver transplant, there is nothing extraordinary about either this letter - or the fact that the media reporting it got it all wrong - or the misplaced outrage at the specific transplant center for industry standard practices.

[geardaddy]

8. Yet, all renal transplant patients (and living donors)...

..receive Medicare for a period of their care, regardless of age. I'm a 25-year kidney transplant recipient and both my mom (as donor) and I received Medicare coverage for a period of 18 months, if I remember correctly. Medicare also covers dialysis regardless of age. To my knowledge, the coverage is only for renal transplants.

https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11360-Medicare-Dialysis-Kidney-Transplant.pdf

[Ms. Toad]

11. Pretty sure you're correct that the provision

Is limited to rename patients.

There is this odd conflict that many, if not most, people heading for a transplant qualify as disabled, and thus eligible for government assistance - BUT - one you have your transplant it removes the disability, even though you then have exhorbitant medical bills for the rest of your life. So to be eligible for a transplant, you must demonstrate the financial ability to maintain the organ once you no longer have government assistance to pay for it.

[geardaddy]

23. Yep, it is limited to end stage renal disease patients.

Healing vibes and the best of luck to you and your child.

[Ms. Toad]

32. Thanks!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. I like the way John Oliver put it. We have Medicare for all - for ONE organ.

[geardaddy]

14. He's spot on, almost.

Actually, Medicare also covers treatment for black lung disease, regardless of age. Two organs, but yes, VERY limited.

[SWBTATTReg]

21. Thanks for the FYI/link! nt

[geardaddy]

22. You're welcome!

[maryellen99]

24. My husband will be in End stage in a few years as well

There are clinical trials going on for a bio mechanical kidney.
https://pharm.ucsf.edu/kidney

[geardaddy]

25. Thanks for the link!

[maryellen99]

27. Your welcome :)

[luvtheGWN]

13. "industry standard practices"

Well, that says it all, really. Here in universal healthcare-land, standard practice means the patient who needs it most gets moved to the top of the list.

I hope this letter gets widely read, regardless of the fact that, as Ms Toad suggests, Spectrum is no worse than any other or that the media reporting it got it all wrong. It really shines a very bright light on the sad state of affairs that is the US healthcare (non) system.

[Ms. Toad]

19. Correct - with universal health care the financial screening all but vanishes

Because the issue really is not wasting a limited quantity life-saving resource if it will be destroyed because of lack of financial ability to care for it.

The standard pertains to the listing criteria, but the lacl of access to insurance or pots of money will prevent being listed.

Once you are listed, money mostly vanishes from the equation. Whoever meets the most urgent criteria, with some calculations for geography factored in, gets the organ. Money is a gategeeper for eligibility - not for determining which of the eligible recipients gets the organ. (The limited role money plays post listing is that if you have the financial ability to go anywhere in the US for a period of months post-transplant, and the ability to get there on a moment's notice, you can be listed in more than one geographic area. That requires financial and other resources most of us don't have.)

[Hekate]

17. Thanks for being informative, and very best of luck with your kid's health

Sometimes the outrage here is on autopilot. The world is an outrageous place right now, but facts matter too. Awhile back there was thread about a teenage girl due for a transplant who could not stick to the essential health regimen, such as not smoking, so basically she was taken off the list. I am sure you can imagine the rest.

[Ms. Toad]

20. I've been in many such conversations

Same issue. Post-transplant life is demanding and complex. Being unable to quit smoking plays two roles - one, the ability to stick to a very rigorous health care regime when you no longer feel sick and, more immediately, smoking impairs the body's ability to heal.

But the outrage would have been huge from people who are fortunate enough to not be intimately involved in the nitty gritty of transplants

[Volaris]

35. Everything you said is true.

Also true is the fact that the devos family makes that 10000$ in about an hour.

I'm starting to get really really pissed off at the puttin on the ritz crowd in the country.

[Ms. Toad]

41. Yes, but the presentation confuses

Policies generated by the organ procurement/distribution system

With the messenger (the DeVos entity)

No argument that they make an obscene amount of money, or that money ought not be a deciding factor in deciding who is eligible for a new organ. But the latter ought to drive a demand for universal health care rather than heaping blame on a single health care institution.

When the focus is on the evil institution that did this (the messenger), we lose sight of the bigger issue that health care ought to be a basic human right (the message).

[dlk]

9. Betsy DeVos Father-in-Law...

Richard DeVos, who the clinic is named after, was one of the founders of Amway. He had a heart transplant a number of years ago and passed away recently. Betsy is married to his son, Dick. Heartless is apropos on a number of levels.

[Eyeball_Kid]

16. And what happens WHEN the GoFundMe page peaks out at 2k?

.. or even less? Not everyone gets a big media splash that's needed to get big bucks from voluntary sources.

I've got a friend with advanced brain cancer. His family set up a GoFundMe page to finance alternative treatments at a large medical facility. They need at least 120k. The page, which has been open for about 7 weeks, has netted 1.7k. In the final analysis, he's just another schmoe with brain cancer. The world doesn't give a crap.

[James48]

18. HERE IS THE LINK TO HER GOFUNDME

She is a very PROGRESSIVE left leaning person, and our local INDIVISIBLE group helped kick off the GOFUNDME.

Here is the link to her page now:

https://www.gofundme.com/hedda-needs-a-heart-transplant?fbclid=IwAR2_QsEzHRAmY2cfx0akAmvP9DImXdxrw-q-aVWIi7RRb7NhUDJigqpPkC8

Hedda says she was supposed to get a LVAD (left Ventricle Assist Device) today, but the surgery has been postponed, and she has asked the Transplant Team to reconsider, since she now has gotten over $15K donated in the last 48 hours.

Please share the GOFUNDME link. thank you.

[dchill]

30. +1,000,000!

[MiniMe]

31. Thanks, made a small donation. Looks like they will get enough to be put on the list

They are up to $17k now.

[area51]

26. We need

Medicare for All; your life or death shouldn't depend on your bank account to afford treatment.

[MiniMe]

28. It isn't exactly a co-pay, it is for pharmaceutical needs

She doesn't have the funds to pay for the anti-rejection medication. And maybe I'm missing it, but where does it suggest to do GoFundMe? I see where they are recommending a fundraising effort, but it doesn't say how.

[Ms. Toad]

33. You are correct on all points.

One of the things that drives me nuts about articles about trransplants (specifically) and our adoption of stretching the truth to make a point.

Any organ transplant creates a life-long crhonic condition that costs $100,000+/year to preserve your life, and the life of the organ.

Given that there are fewer hearts than there are people who need them - and giving a heart to one person may well mean condemning another to die - organs have to be allocated in ways that maximize life.

It is pretty typical for the financial review (one of several pre-transplant reviews determined to make sure the rare resource will be cared for well) to require demonstrated ability to cover at least 1 year of these medications (via insurance, medicare, access to pots of money). $10,000 is actually pretty small, so I suspect that is her max out of pocket for a year (with the rest being covered by insurance).

But no - they did not tell her to set up a gofundme account, and no the money is not for a copay for the transplant.

[dchill]

29. The flexing of Republican muscles.

"I got your healthcare plan right here!"