Durr durr durr. Oh, Wisconsin. Remember when you were simply a reliable purveyor of fine, plentiful cheeses, copious amounts of beer, and more sausage than Eggplant Fridays? Ah, the (fried curd) salad days. [contextly_sidebar id="z5G64AsuKNtebpinV3PDY8q3JmMfUxUE"]
If you're poor, you're disposable. Poor people don't deserve anything, not even teeth and glasses. It's even worse if you are poor and old, or poor and disabled. Poor and homeless is the absolute bottom of the barrel.
Yes, it is, and it breeds hopelessness and anger and another generation of poor in an endless cycle. When poor people then express their hopelessness and anger, they end up in jail or dead.
Wait wait wait.... So you're saying that the same guy that after being sued because the minimum wage was too low, and not, as the state law says, a "livable wage" (http://thinkprogress.org/ec..., this same guy instead of upping the wages decided to instead change the law so that it reads "minimum wage" rather than "livable wage" (http://www.huffingtonpost.c..., this same guy decides that not only can the poors not make as much as they should, but they shouldn't be able to eat too?
Yep. And lots of his other large donors have gotten some nice kickbacks as well. So, we Wisconsinites may have lost a quarter billion from the UW system (so far), had our unions pretty well demolished, and lost necessary benefit programs, but at least a few of our billionaires got a whole lot of free taxpayer money.
I guess you can hope for a dental problem to crop up that *would* be covered and which would coincidentally fix your problem? I have a friend who is legally blind due to a congenital defect of the eyes. There is a surgery that can partially correct it; at least enough that with really thick glasses, he can get by. His mother was able to get that procedure done on herself years ago, but by the time he came along, it was no longer covered by their insurance. He did qualify for disability payments, but nobody will cover the surgery that would make him not need those disability payments anymore.
Until a couple of years ago, when he started to lose what little vision he had left. He was developing cataracts. It had gotten to the point where unless he was really familiar with a space, he was dependent on a cane or a guide just to get around. He had been able to read if the print was very big and he had his nose right up to it, but even that was going. Fortunately, insurance *did* cover cataract surgery, which as it happens is the same surgery that would've corrected his birth defect. He wears contact lenses now as well as reading glasses, and can see better than he could his whole life.
Which is ridiculous, frankly. None of this makes sense to me.
No, it doesn't make any sense at all. The only dental work covered by health insurance is damage caused by a physical disease, such as cancer of the jaw or mouth, or a car accident (may be covered by auto insurance), or possibly a violent assault that broke the jaw and teeth (that last is iffy). I think I'll pass on those three options, which might not work anyway because the insurance companies would prefer you to have all your teeth pulled and force you to get dentures because they are cheaper than bridges or implants. The insurance companies get away with this, and with situations such as the one your friend faced, because they are allowed to get away with it. Someone would have to sue, and win, or convince state or federal governments to intervene, in order to change the rules. I am very glad to hear your friend can now see well. My best wishes to him.
Many people go to Mexico for dental care. See this articlehttp://www.kpbs.org/news/20...
Here's a tip: a vacation to Mexico, where you will visit a friendly, professional (and likely trained in the U.S.) dentist and get great dental work, will be cheaper than getting new, American bridges. So pack your bags, get some sun, and fund another country's economy. ;)
ETA: I just saw your other comment about medical tourism. Touché!
In Maryland, adults can get one pair of glasses or contacts (or suitable disposable lens) per calendar year. Two dental cleanings are covered every 12 months, and basic procedures: fillings, partial root canal, x-rays, metal crowns.
Kids get everything. But I guess living in a commie state does that, right? Right? :\
It's just so ridiculous that we can't have decent healthcare on a federal level.
Ok, I'll try to console myself thinking that maybe the poorz had a hot meal and warm place to sleep for the night even though that was not likely the intent.
If you're poor, you're disposable. Poor people don't deserve anything, not even teeth and glasses. It's even worse if you are poor and old, or poor and disabled. Poor and homeless is the absolute bottom of the barrel.
Is that why Governor Jindal took the $250 million left over from the corrupt Hurricane Katrina recovery program and gave it to the Super Dome?
Yeah, it was a supply side, trickle down investment.
...sounds incredibly soul destroying :/
Yes, it is, and it breeds hopelessness and anger and another generation of poor in an endless cycle. When poor people then express their hopelessness and anger, they end up in jail or dead.
Wait wait wait.... So you're saying that the same guy that after being sued because the minimum wage was too low, and not, as the state law says, a "livable wage" (http://thinkprogress.org/ec..., this same guy instead of upping the wages decided to instead change the law so that it reads "minimum wage" rather than "livable wage" (http://www.huffingtonpost.c..., this same guy decides that not only can the poors not make as much as they should, but they shouldn't be able to eat too?
Huh. Who'da thunk it?
Mmm! Delicious bootstraps! They're what Americans crave!
Yep. And lots of his other large donors have gotten some nice kickbacks as well. So, we Wisconsinites may have lost a quarter billion from the UW system (so far), had our unions pretty well demolished, and lost necessary benefit programs, but at least a few of our billionaires got a whole lot of free taxpayer money.
I guess you can hope for a dental problem to crop up that *would* be covered and which would coincidentally fix your problem? I have a friend who is legally blind due to a congenital defect of the eyes. There is a surgery that can partially correct it; at least enough that with really thick glasses, he can get by. His mother was able to get that procedure done on herself years ago, but by the time he came along, it was no longer covered by their insurance. He did qualify for disability payments, but nobody will cover the surgery that would make him not need those disability payments anymore.
Until a couple of years ago, when he started to lose what little vision he had left. He was developing cataracts. It had gotten to the point where unless he was really familiar with a space, he was dependent on a cane or a guide just to get around. He had been able to read if the print was very big and he had his nose right up to it, but even that was going. Fortunately, insurance *did* cover cataract surgery, which as it happens is the same surgery that would've corrected his birth defect. He wears contact lenses now as well as reading glasses, and can see better than he could his whole life.
Which is ridiculous, frankly. None of this makes sense to me.
No, it doesn't make any sense at all. The only dental work covered by health insurance is damage caused by a physical disease, such as cancer of the jaw or mouth, or a car accident (may be covered by auto insurance), or possibly a violent assault that broke the jaw and teeth (that last is iffy). I think I'll pass on those three options, which might not work anyway because the insurance companies would prefer you to have all your teeth pulled and force you to get dentures because they are cheaper than bridges or implants. The insurance companies get away with this, and with situations such as the one your friend faced, because they are allowed to get away with it. Someone would have to sue, and win, or convince state or federal governments to intervene, in order to change the rules. I am very glad to hear your friend can now see well. My best wishes to him.
Many people go to Mexico for dental care. See this articlehttp://www.kpbs.org/news/20...
Here's a tip: a vacation to Mexico, where you will visit a friendly, professional (and likely trained in the U.S.) dentist and get great dental work, will be cheaper than getting new, American bridges. So pack your bags, get some sun, and fund another country's economy. ;)
ETA: I just saw your other comment about medical tourism. Touché!
In Maryland, adults can get one pair of glasses or contacts (or suitable disposable lens) per calendar year. Two dental cleanings are covered every 12 months, and basic procedures: fillings, partial root canal, x-rays, metal crowns.
Kids get everything. But I guess living in a commie state does that, right? Right? :\
It's just so ridiculous that we can't have decent healthcare on a federal level.
Louisiana had no difficulty electing a Dem governor: what the hell is wrong with Wisconsin that they elect this guy three times?
Ok, I'll try to console myself thinking that maybe the poorz had a hot meal and warm place to sleep for the night even though that was not likely the intent.
Next he will recruit them as "laborers" at no pay to build his pyramid I mean stadium.
Throwback to the hullaballo surrounding he-whose-name-can't-be-mentioned.