Help . Friend has Cancer in Puna no insurance

[NW friend]

First off Mahalo and Thankyou for reading.

I have a friend on the Big Island that is going through a tough future.

She has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Due to a drunk driver hitting her a couple of years ago and self employeed she can not get insurance for pre injury of neck issues. Meaning no insurance for cancer.

I am jumping ahead here trying to set a plan for the future. She has applied to state programs. Going to Texas for further future plan, do the surgery and start chemo on Ohua. She is postive thinking she can go for chemo and come back to BI in between. I am thinking this isn't going to be possible.

Does anyone have a studio type to rent that would be close to hosipital??
Working on getting non profit organization to help with this, with donations to cover. Again just in planning stage..... Looking for any type of help.

Also I am going to try to put together a benifit of donations for gift certifcates to auction off in (some location?) will do one in the Puna area but thinking I need to move it to a Kona location or Honolulu to get bigger bang for the buck? Any ideas anyone has to help this hard working, great heart felt person that is in a bind, please let me know. I will take any ideas!

I will be on the BI next week and start organizing anything??!

[Kelena]

Thank you for helping your friend. But enough of pancake breakfast healthcare. Call your congressman. Now.

[Hazen]

lots of free services, i don't know much about it but it was reccommended.

(http://www.friendsindeed.org/)

good luck

[missydog1]

First, I'm really sorry she's up against this. Very very tough. I wish her the best.
Second, if she qualifies for free health care under the state, and she might, well, find out before organizing a bunch of stuff. Generally the eligibility for free care can be affected by any kind of assets, including donations. It all has to be reported, I'm pretty sure. So find out what the rules are. I don't know about getting services in more than one state.

[ric]

quote:

---

Originally posted by NW friend

Due to a drunk driver hitting her a couple of years ago and self employeed she can not get insurance for pre injury of neck issues. Meaning no insurance for cancer.

---

Just to clarify: what does a previous neck injury have to do with no insurance coverage for cancer? When there is a pre-existing condition, the insurance companies will still cover the person, but exclude (rightfully) the existing condition.

So do you mean instead to say that she just didn't get insurance at all BY CHOICE? What does self-employed have to do with this?

[peteadams]

quote:

---

Just to clarify: what does a previous neck injury have to do with no insurance coverage for cancer? When there is a pre-existing condition, the insurance companies will still cover the person, but exclude (rightfully) the existing condition.

---

This sort of behavior on the part of the private insurance companies has been a focus of the recent healthcare debate. Private insurance companies routinely deny coverage to existing clients, or refuse to issue any healthcare insurance in the first place, for any condition they can discover. For denial of coverage of an existing health insurance policy it is entirely irrelevant for the company whether the existing condition has anything to do with a current condition. The most well-publicized recission was a woman denied treatment for breast cancer because she had "concealed" an acne condition...http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/16/health.care.hearing/index.html Obviously this saves the private insurance companies money (the CNN article cites Waxman saying $300 million). Obviously because legally the companies have a primary fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, not the people they insure, this is clearly business as usual.

Here in Hawai'i access for the low income or unemployed is asset-based, so if you happen to own your own home, but have a very low income, you can't even get the subsidized insurance. Try to financially handle a significant illness or accident on Social Security (under 65). Good luck.

[ric]

Interesting point, but it still doesn't explain what the original poster is talking about. Pete mentioned someone being denied coverage for 'concealing' a condition, but the original post states that she wasn't covered for cancer due to a pre-existing neck injury. Perhaps she just didn't get insurance, whatever. But this story about not being covered is unclear, and it seems the poster is trying to garner sympathy by blaming insurance companies. Just seems a little strange to me.