An uninsured man gets cancer. He has no insurance. What are his options?

[TechBear_Seattle]

I'm working with a friend on an idea for a novel.

The protagonist is a man in his late 40s. He used to work as a manager in a manufacturing plant, but it was shut down in the late 90s because of offshoring. He went back to school and studied to become a web designer; a year latter, the dot bust occured and he was out of work again. The stress broke his marriage, and for the last few years he has been making what he can on contract work and the occasional "under the table" freelancing. Then he finds he has prostate cancer. It is moderately advanced (he delayed seeing a doctor until the symptoms became too bad) but still treatable, if he has surgery and begins chemotherapy immediately. But, he has no insurance, no savings and no assets, and his income is just enough that he does not qualify for Medicaid.

What would be his options?

[Hugabear]

1. In real life? He's out of luck, he dies.

Don't have the money up front? Fuck off and die. That's the attitude today.

[question everything]

24. That's not true. There is Medicaid

administered by the states. Of course, each state is different, but he should qualify for treatments, perhaps even for disability payments from Social Security, since he did use to work and did contribute.

[HereSince1628]

2. Wag the market...creates a website based on his victimhood

recieves millions and then has the dilemma of continuing to take money even though he has become rich...

work in sex (should be interesting considering prostrate surgery)
fast cars
and Video

it's already got the potential for lies

[JaneQPublic]

3. According to the GOP, he can go to the ER for treatment.

...which of course is idiocy, since ERs are not set up to provide chemo, radiation, or any other kinds of ongoing cancer care.

Just the same, they make that claim time and time again.

[antigop]

4. He could contact Michael Moore or...

contact local press to try to get media attention. If he is a web designer, he could put up a website to try to draw attention to his plight.

[stray cat]

5. Some hospitals are oblagated to treat

[Warpy]

In real life? If he's got kids, he'll die so he can leave them something

If not, then he can go in for treatment. His lack of continuous employment (under the table doesn't count) means that he can probably spend down to a level that qualifies him for Medicaid, especially if his surgery and chemo prevent him from working---and they will. The hospital will take all his assets until he gets to that point.

He will be alive at the end of it, but everything he worked for will be gone.

I have seen this in real life. This is how it goes down.

[lynnertic]

6. Depending on his state

there's an indigent health care program (iirc not medicaid) in Laguna Beach, where a great friend/starving artist type succumbed to cancer almost a decade ago.

He got OK care, hospice care at his home, meds.

[xchrom]

7. he goes to the county hospital.

they are obligated to treat -- at least where i am.

and the county here -- isn't too bad as far as county hospitals go.

[cabluedem]

21. Treat emergencies?: yes. Treat cancer?: no.

[Glorfindel]

8. Pretend to be a Russian prince and marry a fabulously wealthy woman

Commit a perfectly-planned and executed robbery of a Brinks' armored truck
Travel to Lourdes and pray for a miracle cure
Just give up and die

[snappyturtle]

9. This happened to my brother-in-law. Different reasons for the no

insurance but was diagnosed with advanced malignant melanoma at 50. His dermatologist directed him to some experimental cancer treatment program in his hometown of Houston. Alas, he died but it was a chance......a few in this study 'survived'.

Another scenario: A friend with advanced uterine cancer underwent standard chemo and radiation. She was fine for a while and had a lot of money. In her case when the cancer returned, she continued with more chemo which she didn't respond positively to so she got herself a device from Canada, I have the name on the tip of my tongue and can't spit it out, and she went into remission and her tumor disappeared! She was the second person in a small community of 200 to use this device, the other a skin cancer patient, and he had wonderful results too! (My computer crashed a couple weeks ago and I've lost all the 'favorites' info on this program.) It's a light frequency device. Although it costs $5000 it might be doable with friends, family chipping in!???

[zeemike]

10. Well that story could have been about me

In my case I paid for the treatment myself by credit card and will spend the rest of my life paying it back at 29% interest.

[meegbear]

11. I envision an elaborate plot involving 6 Chinamen and a zeppelin ...

Hmmmmmm.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. Hey, you peeked!

But only at the first draft. The plot has been revised a bit since then. :hi:

[meegbear]

15. Good luck with it ...

hope to see it on the NYT best seller list (without a dagger, of course) :hi:

[htuttle]

12. A rubber Nixon mask and a shotgun?

Then again, while banks used to be 'where the money is', I'm not so sure of that nowadays...

[no_hypocrisy]

13. Take whatever savings he has and immigrate to another country and start over.

A country with national health insurance.

[tomreedtoon]

16. Seen the TV show "Breaking Bad"?

He could make crystal meth and sell it to school children. That's what Republicans call American ingenuity, and that's the main home business in Wasilla, Alaska. (And the rural parts of most of the rest of America.)

[Hugabear]

17. Love that show

Any idea when it's coming back?

It's a sad indictment on the American health care system, when a guy has to choose between dying, bankrupting his family, or committing crimes to raise money to pay for his treatments.

[cabluedem]

20. It isn't coimg back. Cancelled.

[dropkickpa]

23. They *are* doing a season 2

13 episodes that started filming in July, tentatively set to air in 2009.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985233.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562

[jmowreader]

18. Have him commit a felony

Seriously. He can cruise the Internets looking for the state with the best inmate health care system, go there, do something reasonably heinous--holding up a few gas stations wouldn't be bad--then on the last one he stays there until the police get there.

[cabluedem]

22. Thats actually not a bad idea. They even perform transplants on convicts in CA.

[cabluedem]

19. A gun, lots of pills or a jump off a tall building. Thats America for you.

[raccoon]

25. Have him go to a curandero/a, either in the Hispanic part of his own city or in Mexico,

and be miraculously healed. (since this is fiction).

[chicagomd]

26. Move.

Move to Chicago and have him go to Cook County.

[salvorhardin]

27. I'd kill to have Abby Lockhart as a doctor! n/t