I am STEAMED

Heard today that an acquaintance died.

Not a close friend or anything like that - but someone that I got to know on Gather.com - and someone that did not have to experience the crap he did over the last couple of years - nor die so needlessly now.

If he were Canadian ... or English or Austrailian or... well, you get the idea ... had he been so fortunate as to have been born in a country that provides health care to its citizens... he would more than likely NOT have lost his leg, nor would he be gone now.

He was not poor enough to qualify for medical care - not until his diabetes was allowed to go unchecked for so long that he was in crisis. THEN he got treatment - until he was stable.

But hey, the crisis was over, right? Who the hell cares that further problems are pretty much 100% likely unless he gets ongoing care ...when he hits another crisis, THEN we'll help again.

Had he received support and basic care on an ongoing basis, chances are he'd still be here.... but no..... he was American, poor bastard.

I don't get it. Where is the saving?

I highly doubt that the cost of regular monitoring and insulin was less than the cost of the crisis care and rehab he received when he did hit that point - repeatedly.

How much did it save?

Not his leg. Not his life.

I have other friends in the US who are without health care - some with serious issues that won't be dealt with until they hit that crisis point where someone might give a damn. Chances are, by then, it will be too late. Again.

And in the meantime, they go about their daily lives - always with the knowledge of the ticking time bombs they carry in the back of their minds.

I do not understand why you people put up with it.

I REALLY do not understand why there are so many people that not only put up with it, but actually will go out of their way to defend it.

Sad. And infuriating.