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Child Item

HSE stoops to an new low.

Death and Taxes

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/cancer-patients-are-asked-to-pay-up-front-for-chemo-3327217.html

It is hard to believe that people are being asked to pay up front to recieve life saving chemotherapy!
These outpatients are being asked to pay up front for chemotherapy treatment at €75 a go.
"This is happening in Dublin and outside Dublin in other hospitals.

"They are being asked to pay immediately. This appears to be an HSE directive sent out to all hospitals. It's not just one or two hospitals."

How low can the Health Service Executive stoop?

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ShiverinEskimo

You can easily spot the people who don't know the other costs associated with having cancer.

Apparently a medical card solves all, but if you don't qualify, your spouse is obviously a millionaire and can afford to pay for the aforementioned tolls, petrol, parking and prescriptions. Can afford to spend more on heating the house because the chemo drives sufferers to feelings of hypothermia and they are there all day. They have the cash to spend money on extra soaps, disinfectants and wipes because of the infection risk to their spouse. The extra washing of clothes and sheets from all the undignified 'accidents' that happen is also covered.

What's an extra €75 euro on top of all that - sure you don't qualify for a medical card so you must be loaded.

Get a grip.

mfceiling

Confab wrote: »

I wasn't joking. Chemo drugs are very expensive. They could charge people the full whack if they want. Why should people get free treatment if they don't have a medical card or private health insurance?

And what if you've taken that many pay cuts that health insurance is just not affordable any more?

What you've cancer and are financially stretched.....f*ck off outside and die...preferably round the back near the bins so we don't have far to dispose of your body.

Boombastic

mfceiling wrote: »

And what if you've taken that many pay cuts that health insurance is just not affordable any more?

What you've cancer and are financially stretched.....f*ck off outside and die...preferably round the back near the bins so we don't have far to dispose of your body.

Actually can you just get in the bin, save us bothering with you at all

Odysseus

Boombastic wrote: »

Not in a failing company, but then those in the HSE don't know much about the real world

What is the next thread? Outrage at staff being paid their wage?

I see/work with people who are in a world of pain, some won't be here next year. Don't try tell me about the real world.

Now my break is up, I'm off to do something useful, see my next patient for which I get paid for, shocking isn't it.

LivelineDipso

Confab wrote: »

I wasn't joking. Chemo drugs are very expensive. They could charge people the full whack if they want. Why should people get free treatment if they don't have a medical card or private health insurance?

This is terrifying to read.

Welcome to IMF/CPA Fascist Ireland.

spank_inferno

LivelineDipso wrote: »

This is terrifying to read.

Welcome to IMF/CPA Fascist Ireland.

Trow labels if you want.
Or you can try to answer the point.

If one can pay, what is wrong with paying?
Seeing as the amount to pay is tiny compared to the true cost.

vikingdub

Confab wrote: »

I wasn't joking. Chemo drugs are very expensive. They could charge people the full whack if they want. Why should people get free treatment if they don't have a medical card or private health insurance?

Free? I was under the impression that both PRSI and the USC had a health levy included.

Lucas Castroman

If somebody can't afford a nominal fee of €75 per chemotherapy session, it begs the question what kind of life they have been living till then. The main trouble with society nowadays is people have no self-accountability. People are living their lives without a sense of consequences. Then if something goes wrong they look sadly at the state to dig them out. Rather than smoking your brains out\going on foreign holidays/eating out people should live more responsibly with an awareness that things do go wrong.

ShiverinEskimo

spank_inferno wrote: »

Trow labels if you want.
Or you can try to answer the point.

If one can pay, what is wrong with paying?
Seeing as the amount to pay is tiny compared to the true cost.

It's not about how it compares to the cost of the treatment, it's about how it compares to the patient's ability to pay for it, and how it is suddenly a pay now or don't get the treatment you desperately need.

It's HSE-backed mugging: Your money or your life.

steddyeddy

spank_inferno wrote: »

Trow labels if you want.
Or you can try to answer the point.

If one can pay, what is wrong with paying?
Seeing as the amount to pay is tiny compared to the true cost.

Again IF one can pay. IF being the important word there.

Ghandee

Odysseus wrote: »

When I see crap like this it makes me wish I was still able to claim increments, sadly I can't as I'm at the top of the league and unless I change jobs this is my wage until I retire.

Increments are part of the job, tough if you don't like it.

Attitudes like this are the ones that spur me on to say fcuk the hhc, fcuk the property tax, and fcuk the CPA.

Says it all really, in a nation that's essentially bankrupt, the hse secures itself 27 million for next years pays and increments, while the govt has included 700 million due to be paid to the public sector in increments alone for next year in its expenditure list for 2013.

To put it into perspective, the respite allowance cut, saved them 25 million, and the property tax will (good luck with this one though) bring them in 350 million there or abouts.

So, I don't like it. When they sort it out at the top, they can call on me to do my bit.

Don't like that? Tough.

ShiverinEskimo

Lucas Castroman wrote: »

Rather than smoking your brains out\going on foreign holidays/eating out people should live more responsibly with an awareness that things do go wrong.

Absolute bollocks.

Maybe some people are paying a mortgage and raising a family instead?

What kind of fúcking bubble do you live in?

mitosis

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

It's not about how it compares to the cost of the treatment, it's about how it compares to the patient's ability to pay for it, and how it is suddenly a pay now or don't get the treatment you desperately need.

It's HSE-backed mugging: Your money or your life.

Where does it say someone who can't pay won't get treated? I can't find that in the piece. Or is it just something you made up to fuel your ire?

steddyeddy

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

Absolute bollocks.

Maybe some people are paying a mortgage and raising a family instead?

What kind of fúcking bubble do you live in?

This bubble is unfortunatly all to common on boards :-(

ShiverinEskimo

mitosis wrote: »

Where does it say someone who can't pay won't get treated? I can't find that in the piece. Or is it just something you made up to fuel your ire?

They are 'insisting' on up-front payments.

Not sure how you've ever insisted on something but generally it involves the threat of not receiving what it is you've been asked to pay for.

Otherwise why the change? If it's going to be status quo and no one will be denied treatment and everyone who can't pay it then will be able to pay later then what's this all about?

Either it's an empty threat and the HSE are clowns, or it's a scheme designed to heap even more pressure on cancer patients and the HSE are clowns. I'll let you decide.

Lucas Castroman

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

Absolute bollocks.

Maybe some people are paying a mortgage and raising a family instead?

What kind of fúcking bubble do you live in?

What are you having children you can't afford? We are the architects of our own destiny. It's this attitude that irritates me. I've had a ****load of children but now i'd appreciate if the state would raise them. It's on a similar theme... No accountability

Boombastic

Lucas Castroman wrote: »

What are you having children you can't afford? We are the architects of our own destiny. It's this attitude that irritates me. I've had a ****load of children but now i'd appreciate if the state would raise them. It's on a similar theme... No accountability

Yeah people shouldn't choose to get cancer, no personal responsibility at all:rolleyes:

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

ShiverinEskimo

Lucas Castroman wrote: »

What are you having children you can't afford? We are the architects of our own destiny. It's this attitude that irritates me. I've had a ****load of children but now i'd appreciate if the state would raise them. It's on a similar theme... No accountability

Because maybe people could afford to have kids until they had to stop working because they got cancer.

It's not fúcking rocket science.

ebbsy

I had to fight to get my brother in law who had terminal liver cancer a hospital medical card.

This story therefore does not shock me at all.

Zulu

Sergeant wrote: »

What is the huge difference between paying for it in advance, as opposed to be being billed for it afterwards? You still have to pay it.

To be fair Sergeant, it would appear from that post that you don't have a clue of the realities of being a caner patient. As a self employed person who is i can tell you that there's a huge difference.

As a self employed person, I don't get sick leave.
I don't getting support from the state for not being in work (other than the drugs refund scheme which, in fairness, was a massive help). When I don't show up for work, I get zero income.
Every penny was precious. When I recovered, and was able to go back to work (a lot sooner than I should have had to return) & start earning again.

Clearly, it is far easier for me to pay when I'm earning money, than when I was sick (potentially fatally) with no income.

Zulu

Valetta wrote: »

The €75 charge per visit is capped at a maximum of €750 per year- less than the average annual charge for insurance.

Don't forget the cost of ongoing CT scans that are NOT fully covered. And the cost of the blood work, that isn't fully covered.
For me these come in at about €1500 every 3 months - but yeah, whats €750 a year?

HondaSami

Lucas Castroman wrote: »

What are you having children you can't afford?

I don't understand why people say this, things change, its not like you can give the children back when times get hard.
Maybe people could afford them when they had them but lost their jobs or got sick etc,

woodoo

Odysseus wrote: »

When I see crap like this it makes me wish I was still able to claim increments, sadly I can't as I'm at the top of the league and unless I change jobs this is my wage until I retire.

Increments are part of the job, tough if you don't like it.

Yeah but its such an easy gripe to throw out there. Most people who complain about increments just don't understand the pay structures in the public service.

Lucas Castroman

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

Because maybe people could afford to have kids until they had to stop working because they got cancer.

It's not fúcking rocket science.

The point which you've sadly missed is that if somebody is diagnosed with cancer and they can't afford a paltry €75 per chemo session (which is a drop in the ocean compared to actual cost) then they should seriously question how they've managed they're lives till then. I always hear this mantra "Everybody is entitled to free health care" which is rubbish. Nothing is free in this world. If you can't contibute this small sum you should not be treated.

Boombastic

woodoo wrote: »

Yeah but its such an easy gripe to throw out there. Most people who complain about increments just don't understand the pay structures in the public service.

:pac::pac:

Many people complaining about increments have seen their taxes rise and their services fall

crusher000

Leaving this thread as the brain dead have taken over.

Zulu

I take it you mean "thread". It seems to be catching

donalg1

Surely its reasonable to ask people to pay up front for a service, bearing in mind the service being provided most likely costs a lot more than the €75. Now if they are giving this service to people and never being paid for it then its those that will pay that will end up paying more, yes it could be €75 now but if only 50% of those billed afterwards paid it then it would most likely be €150 next year, so those that pay would be asked to pay more for those that refuse to pay, which to me is more unfair.

Zulu

donalg1 wrote: »

Surely its reasonable to ask people to pay up front for a service, bearing in mind the service being provided most likely costs a lot more than the €75.

What if they have no income due to the treatment?

... but if only 50% of those billed afterwards paid it

Where did you get this stat from (out of interest)?