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27-Hour Hospital Stay Leaves Parents Of A Killed One-Year-Old Not Only In Grief But Also In $175k Of Medical Debt
The American healthcare system has been refusing to leave the top of the headlines recently. But not for good reasons. Just think about it—the woman who was mauled by a bear said that the worst part of the horrific ordeal was dealing with health insurance providers. What about the time when someone shared an invoice of $39.35 for holding her own baby right after he was born? There have been one too many failed American healthcare stories that make our blood boil, but unfortunately, we seem to be far from the last one.
This time we are covering the horrifying story of Michelle DuBarry, a Portland-based writer, that shows how supposedly the greatest country on Earth failed its citizens at the darkest point of their lives. After DuBarry’s 1-year-old son died after being struck by a careless driver, she “sat at his bedside, his tiny, stitched-together body hooked to a million incessantly beeping machines, straining to recall what our deductibles were.”
Read DuBarry’s heartbreaking Twitter post below that will make you question everything you took for granted in life.
More info: Twitter
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The woman shared her personal story on Twitter
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Image credits: DuBarryPie
Michelle DuBarry tells her story in detail on her personal website. “In 2010, my husband Eric and our son Seamus were struck by a careless driver in a crosswalk near our home. Eric sustained minor injuries, and Seamus died the next day after enduring two surgeries and a night in intensive care. Our hospital bills totaled $180,000, and though most of it was covered by health insurance, we still had thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical expenses.”
The family “soon learned that our health insurer was entitled to reimbursement out of these funds, effectively reducing our settlement to $0.” As a result, DuBarry initiated a bill that would match the laws in many other states where the injured party is “made whole” for all damages from the at-fault party’s insurance before the injured party’s medical insurer gets paid. The bill was signed into law last year on the 20th of June and now stands as Seamus’s legacy.
People around the world were left speechless
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This is what people had to say
What do you think ?
ADHORTATOR 5 years ago
My mother is in intensive care for a month, and it will last at least two months...we have to pay 0 (in letters: zero). The advantage on a good european health system.
Seff Ka 5 years ago (edited)
I went to a hospital here in Strasbourg for a simple operation. The doctor did not finished it in a first run, telling me that he knows better what to do, so I had to come again, a week later, for more serious operation. During the waiting for the anesthesy drug to kick in I spend around 15 minutes in a bed. I was bored so I've tried to occupy my mind by reading everything around me. Well, almost all of the tubing on all apparatus in my vicinity had a sign that it should be replaced two years ago. I've tried to point it out to the medical stuff and I believe it started a big commotion there. Anyhow, I was presented with the excuses of the doctor who did the first operation (you can imagine how good are those) and the bill for 3000 and something that I had to send to my insurance company, which covered about 90% of the bill. Not exactly 0 as some of us describing it here. I am not saying it is bad though.
Load More Replies...
Emily Softley 5 years ago
As wonderful as our healthcare in Europe and other counties can be, can I point out how it must feel to be an American reading about our £0 bills while going through this. My deepest sympathies to anyone fighting with insurance over healthcare - you deserve better!
NeverGoWoke 5 years ago
Exactly, our health care in Europe and Canada may not be perfect but everyone in America deserves so much better.
Load More Replies...
Kurisurin Sutaringu 5 years ago
Dear those who ask why we Americans don't fight this: we dont know how. Many aren't even aware of things. We're still taught in schools that things are better here then other countries, that we just have to work hard, and that stuff like Universal health care somehow violates rights. Some of us are starting to wake up, but we don't know how to fight it. Personally my friends and I plan to move countries as soon as possible. This country is complete c**p, and getting worse.
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
Vote for people who want universal healthcare, like Bernie Sanders, instead of for idiots like Trump.
Load More Replies...
Kjorn 5 years ago
many american Don't want public healtcare. why? because they Don't want to pay for others. many are really greedy and selfish. many country have public healtcare where everyone who pay taxes give a part of that for others. in canada we have really high taxes, but at least i know i wont lose my house if i got injured in a car crash.
Frankenfrog 5 years ago
Which is pathetic, since Americans are ALREADY paying for others in so many ways. Everything public. Police, fire departments, military, public schools, roads and so on.
Load More Replies...
Bobert Robertson 5 years ago
The American dream only applies to big corporations like these insurance companies.
Load More Replies...
NeverGoWoke 5 years ago
The USA is such a strange country, I don't know what to say anymore...
Not what you think. 5 years ago (edited)
Everyone against universal healthcare keeps saying "you pay in taxes", what are your tax percentages at $60K household income? Let's compare it with what we are paying for tax + insurance coverage in USA. Look no one is saying it's FREE FREE per se, I am paying for it now, I'll pay that into the new system what's the difference? I'd rather put in a system where most money goes for INSURANCE COVERAGE, not profit. If doing so helps someone in need who I will never know the existence of, I am fine with that, it's what a society is all about.
Not what you think. 5 years ago (edited)
@Goli... When I make an Optholmologist appt with a specialist for my son waitlist is no less than 6 months. 2 months at least for a physical checkup. Getting an appointment for something like a high fewer is always about a day or two because it must be with a PCP. Universal Healthcare or not I am still waiting. I'll take my chances with healthcare for all.
Load More Replies...
Sunzilla 5 years ago
What is the flipping point of insurance if they can "claim it back". Why would that even be legal?? America is so messed up.
Pamela24 5 years ago
I've read hundreds of these types of stories and still can't understand how so many people in America (enough apparently, otherwise it would have been changed by now, right?) think that there's no better way to go about this.
CP 5 years ago
Speaking as an American, I find that we don't have empathy for others. Unless we have experienced or know someone close to us that have experienced something negative like this, most of us do not care or, to put it more mildly, are able to ignore the plight of others believing that it could never happen to us.
Load More Replies...
ADHORTATOR 5 years ago
My mother is in intensive care for a month, and it will last at least two months...we have to pay 0 (in letters: zero). The advantage on a good european health system.
Seff Ka 5 years ago (edited)
I went to a hospital here in Strasbourg for a simple operation. The doctor did not finished it in a first run, telling me that he knows better what to do, so I had to come again, a week later, for more serious operation. During the waiting for the anesthesy drug to kick in I spend around 15 minutes in a bed. I was bored so I've tried to occupy my mind by reading everything around me. Well, almost all of the tubing on all apparatus in my vicinity had a sign that it should be replaced two years ago. I've tried to point it out to the medical stuff and I believe it started a big commotion there. Anyhow, I was presented with the excuses of the doctor who did the first operation (you can imagine how good are those) and the bill for 3000 and something that I had to send to my insurance company, which covered about 90% of the bill. Not exactly 0 as some of us describing it here. I am not saying it is bad though.
Load More Replies... Emily Softley 5 years ago
As wonderful as our healthcare in Europe and other counties can be, can I point out how it must feel to be an American reading about our £0 bills while going through this. My deepest sympathies to anyone fighting with insurance over healthcare - you deserve better!
NeverGoWoke 5 years ago
Exactly, our health care in Europe and Canada may not be perfect but everyone in America deserves so much better.
Load More Replies... Kurisurin Sutaringu 5 years ago
Dear those who ask why we Americans don't fight this: we dont know how. Many aren't even aware of things. We're still taught in schools that things are better here then other countries, that we just have to work hard, and that stuff like Universal health care somehow violates rights. Some of us are starting to wake up, but we don't know how to fight it. Personally my friends and I plan to move countries as soon as possible. This country is complete c**p, and getting worse.
Demi Zwaan 5 years ago
Vote for people who want universal healthcare, like Bernie Sanders, instead of for idiots like Trump.
Load More Replies... Kjorn 5 years ago
many american Don't want public healtcare. why? because they Don't want to pay for others. many are really greedy and selfish. many country have public healtcare where everyone who pay taxes give a part of that for others. in canada we have really high taxes, but at least i know i wont lose my house if i got injured in a car crash.
Frankenfrog 5 years ago
Which is pathetic, since Americans are ALREADY paying for others in so many ways. Everything public. Police, fire departments, military, public schools, roads and so on.
Load More Replies... Bobert Robertson 5 years ago
The American dream only applies to big corporations like these insurance companies.
Load More Replies... NeverGoWoke 5 years ago
The USA is such a strange country, I don't know what to say anymore...
Not what you think. 5 years ago (edited)
Everyone against universal healthcare keeps saying "you pay in taxes", what are your tax percentages at $60K household income? Let's compare it with what we are paying for tax + insurance coverage in USA. Look no one is saying it's FREE FREE per se, I am paying for it now, I'll pay that into the new system what's the difference? I'd rather put in a system where most money goes for INSURANCE COVERAGE, not profit. If doing so helps someone in need who I will never know the existence of, I am fine with that, it's what a society is all about.
Not what you think. 5 years ago (edited)
@Goli... When I make an Optholmologist appt with a specialist for my son waitlist is no less than 6 months. 2 months at least for a physical checkup. Getting an appointment for something like a high fewer is always about a day or two because it must be with a PCP. Universal Healthcare or not I am still waiting. I'll take my chances with healthcare for all.
Load More Replies... Sunzilla 5 years ago
What is the flipping point of insurance if they can "claim it back". Why would that even be legal?? America is so messed up.
Pamela24 5 years ago
I've read hundreds of these types of stories and still can't understand how so many people in America (enough apparently, otherwise it would have been changed by now, right?) think that there's no better way to go about this.
CP 5 years ago
Speaking as an American, I find that we don't have empathy for others. Unless we have experienced or know someone close to us that have experienced something negative like this, most of us do not care or, to put it more mildly, are able to ignore the plight of others believing that it could never happen to us.
Load More Replies...
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