Does Elizabeth Edwards have health insurance?

[question everything]

Am not trying to flame anyone, just curious.

Obviously, when she first diagnosed with breast cancer John Edwards was still a Senator so I would think that his insurance covered her.

But do they have any insurance now, or is she self-insured? We know that she would not be able get a new insurance, being with "pre-existing" conditions.

Clearly she would be the best example of these horrible "pre-existing" barriers for anyone who is not in perfect health to seek coverage.

[Saturday]

1. And I wonder about Tony Snow's coverage also. n/t

[jsamuel]

2. This is one reason why John Edwards' pledge to give up his health insurance

and Congress' health insurance until UHC is passed is a big deal.

(PS - starting in June 2009 if not passed by then)

[question everything]

3. I was not aware of this pledge

and, frankly, I think it is a bit irresponsible, not with a spouse with incurable cancer.

[valerief]

5. They've got tons of money. They can afford care. nt

[jsamuel]

8. Well, the whole idea is to get UHC passed.

It may cost him a lot of money to pay for his wife's needs, but everyone deserves to have the health care they have.

[bobbolink]

11. there you have it... one DUer dismisses it as "irresponsible", another as "they have plenty of $$"

So, clearly, it doesn't matter what the Edwards do to show they are on the side of common folk, there will be complaining and dismissal.

:wtf:

[question everything]

16. I am all for candidates and politicians doing what they stand for

but not at the expense of family members.

This is why I applaud their home school their kids, instead of leaving them to fend for themselves while they are out campaigning.

[bobbolink]

19. BWAHAHAHAHA!

I guess you should have JE arrested for abuse and neglect.

Meanwhile, he is dismissed because he has plenty of money for her treatment.

:crazy:

THINK. It will only hurt for a little while.

[question everything]

20. I donated to both his 2004

and current campaigns but, according to you, I am not "pure" enough to express any opinion.

And to think that the freepers are the ones who see the world in black and white, while we accept shades of gray and nuances. Not on DU.


:eyes:

[bobbolink]

27. Since you donated, you have the right now to call him irresponsible.

Talk about "purity".

:crazy:

[fujiyama]

29. WTF?

John Edwards can afford the best medical treatment in the world for his family. He can fly in the top specialists from any corner of the globe to have his wife treated.

For God's sake, they bought a 30,000 square foot house! I think the Edwards' are set for life financially.

John Edwards has made a gesture of solidarity with working people. Does it really impact him financially? Maybe to some very limited extent, but it's a nice gesture, because it is SOME monetary sacrifice.

[fujiyama]

28. Irresponsible?

The guy is loaded. I don't think she'll have to worry about poor quality medical care.

Personally, I think it's a nice gesture though.

[bobbolink]

4. Yes, they are walking the walk!

So much for people who want to claim he is hypocritical!

[AnotherGreenWorld]

26. Even if you could demonstrate Edwards isn't

a hypocrite with respect to this specific case, that doesn't invalidate his obvious hypocrisy elsewhere (28,000 sq. ft. house, $400 hair cuts, telling people to stop get rid of their SUVs while he owns several, investing in a hedge fund that foreclosed on the victims of Hurricane Katrina all while exploiting the people of NO for political gain, etc.)

[wildhorses]

6. exactly --

its called putting your money where your mouth is. does that mean they are paying for all her treatments out of pocket :shrug:

are they really doing it??

[Hard_Work]

7. Please, not bashing here,

but is it really a big deal that rich folks who can afford the best health care anyway give up their insurance? Does anyone really think Elizabeth, or any rich person, is going to miss a possible treatment because they don't have insurance? These are people who can buy the meds they need, or pay for treatments they might need, and still afford to eat, insurance or not.

[jsamuel]

9. she won't go without, but it won't be cheap and everyone deserves the health care they get

[laureloak]

10. Get real. Cancer treatments can wipe out a wealthy family

in no time. Get real.

[JDPriestly]

14. Absolutely. So can serious mental illness.

[sandnsea]

22. They're worth 30+ million

No. Cancer treatment cannot wipe them out. Not remotely.

[Hard_Work]

23. No, it wouldn't

Cancer treatments can wipe out a middle class family, or even an upper middle class family. If, however, you have access to millions of dollars, you won't be in any danger of being destitute. And if you have access to tens of millions? Come on.

[fujiyama]

30. Not when you're worth 8 figures

I'm not dissing Edwards' gesture, but in all reality this won't (and shouldn't) affect him or his family in any real way financially.

[bobbolink]

12. You're absolutely right--they're just hard-hearted bastids.

:wtf:

[Hard_Work]

21. Wow,

What exactly were YOU reading? My point was that insured or not, a rich person could afford to get needed treatment and not have to eat dog food. It was only tangentially aimed at the Edwards', and only because the thread happened to be about them. Quit looking for a fight.

[bobbolink]

25. .

:rofl:

Do you always order people around?

[ellacott]

13. I thought he said that once he is President that he will forgo govt. insurance

I thought he said that he would cancel all insurance for legislators until they passed Universal Health Insurance.

Also, pre-existing conditions doesn't preclude everyone from getting insurance.

[question everything]

15. I stand corrected, they can get insurance

but their pre-existing illness would not be covered.

Meaning, if you have a history of heart ailment you will not be covered if you have a heart attack, but if you got cancer, you will.

:puke:

[zazen]

17. we're lucky--NC State Health Plan will cover pre-existing conditions

Don't know if the Edwards were ever NC employees--I don't think so. However, for the past 20 years (since I've worked on and off for universities in NC), I've been pleasantly surprised that the NC State Health Plan will take on an employee and that employee's family members and cover everything so long as they join within the first 30 days of the person's employ. You could have any condition--pregnancy, terminal illness, whatever-- and it'd be covered.

Are other state plans like this?

But, the plan has gone up about 40% in the past four years, while salaries have gone up 2-10% (except for those of the top university administrators, who keep getting much larger raises.) I'm afraid this traditionally very good deal may not be around for much longer.

[question everything]

18. Yes, I think that group insurance do cover pre-existing

conditions, which is where most insured people belong and which is why most would like to keep theirs.

It is the individual ones where one gets into trouble.

[napi21]

24. Most likely she does. John is a professional in business for himself.

I realize you and I can't buy HC if we have any "pre-existing conditions" but business people can. I have a relative who is a psycologist with his own practice. He got insurance through the Chamber of Commerce that at least CLAIMS to get group rates for their members. He had a pancreas transplant about 6 years ago and was still able to change insurance companies. His premiums are certainly not CHEAP! He pays $1,700 a month for full coverage, but it pays for EVERYTHING! It's the kind of policy that we USED to have. If he or his wife go to the hosppital for some reason, all they have to do when they are released is sign the exit form, and owe NOTHING!

[question everything]

31. The advantages of group insurance

offered by employer:

The first one, of course, is that the one by employer is with pre-tax money, while for the rest of us is with after tax, and we have to have expenses exceeding 7.5% of our AGI to claim some deductions.

But the second advantage is that pre-existing conditions often are not a barrier when one joins an employer-provided insurance.

On the one hand I can see why Edwards and Obama and Clinton stick with employer provided insurance; most people who do have it like it and want to keep it.

But for any of them to call this universal health..

[napi21]

32. The one thing I fear with eliminating employer provided HC is that

if it is eliminated and people are expected to buy their own HC, those same employers who everyone says will be able to afford to pay higher wages WONT! They'll just view this as another corp benifit to further line the executive pockets!

Ev en Universal HC isn't FREE folks! You need to understand that. Look up Canadian HC costs, or any other country who offers it. There is an individual cost, allbeit much lower than we are paying now.

Nothing that I've seen or heard will prevent the greedy Corps. from screwing the little guy!