Recently some long time friends of my family-a husband and wife who are neighbors to my father and late mother for 40 years-have had some tough luck.Both worked all there lives and recently retired.Bob has Medicare and a suplemental insurance provided by the company he worked for.Just weeks before he retired he enrolled his wife Mary -who is not yet old enough for Medicare - into his insurance plan. A few weeks later Mary was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of cancer.The doctors are somewhat optimistic about her prognosis and began agressively treating her horrible disease......when the medical bills began to roll in the insurance company denyed payment-and promptly dropped Mary from the plan citing a pre existing condition clause in the plan-leaving them oweing thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills and with a long way to go in the treatments necessary to save her life.Their life savings were almost instantly gone and with their respectable yet modest retirement income they have too much income to qualify for any kind of State or Federal aid such as Medicaid.They are working with the doctors and hospitals to get a reduced rate - but the bills are still extremely high
Many of their friends and neighbors along with several church groups have had or are planning fund raising events to help these beloved people.Among the events planned is a charity auction next month....
My mother passed away earlier this year after a long illness.Before she became ill she was a lover of antiques and collected antique glassware of different types-some quite valuable.They remain to this day on display in china and curio cabinets in my fathers home-just as she placed them.There are also several boxes she carefully wrapped other pieces in and stored away in the garage.Neither me, my brothers, or my father have even touched them since her death-speaking for myself it was and is just too painful to go thru the things that brought her such pleasure.
Earlier this week my father and brothers and myself got together and dad brought up the subject of moms glassware collection.He offered to give any of us any of it we wanted-we each took a piece for a keepsake and dad suggested - with our approval-that the rest of it along with the cabinets they were stored in be donated to his and mom's long time friends auction.It won't be enough to treat her disease-but it will help them some and I know my mother would approve and be happy to see her collection go toward helping one of her friends in need.It will be donated in her name.
Not to get political and I certainly am not smart enough to have the answers- but it seems to me that the health care industry in this Country - which has the best Doctors,hospitals and medicine in the world-is rapidly becoming a unaffordable luxury for the average middle class working person.The poor have access because of various aid programs - and I do not begrudge them this in any way what so ever-and the rich can afford it.It seems that the guy in the middle is getting squeezed especially with company paid health insurance almost a thing of the past.This just doesn't seem right to me
Many of their friends and neighbors along with several church groups have had or are planning fund raising events to help these beloved people.Among the events planned is a charity auction next month....
My mother passed away earlier this year after a long illness.Before she became ill she was a lover of antiques and collected antique glassware of different types-some quite valuable.They remain to this day on display in china and curio cabinets in my fathers home-just as she placed them.There are also several boxes she carefully wrapped other pieces in and stored away in the garage.Neither me, my brothers, or my father have even touched them since her death-speaking for myself it was and is just too painful to go thru the things that brought her such pleasure.
Earlier this week my father and brothers and myself got together and dad brought up the subject of moms glassware collection.He offered to give any of us any of it we wanted-we each took a piece for a keepsake and dad suggested - with our approval-that the rest of it along with the cabinets they were stored in be donated to his and mom's long time friends auction.It won't be enough to treat her disease-but it will help them some and I know my mother would approve and be happy to see her collection go toward helping one of her friends in need.It will be donated in her name.
Not to get political and I certainly am not smart enough to have the answers- but it seems to me that the health care industry in this Country - which has the best Doctors,hospitals and medicine in the world-is rapidly becoming a unaffordable luxury for the average middle class working person.The poor have access because of various aid programs - and I do not begrudge them this in any way what so ever-and the rich can afford it.It seems that the guy in the middle is getting squeezed especially with company paid health insurance almost a thing of the past.This just doesn't seem right to me
