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Comment by gst | Hacker News Reader

I just wanted to post _exactly_ the same.

I imagine that John Draper has some sort of health insurance. So why are those things even an issue? Healthcare is one of those few areas where I think that a government backed approach provides more benefits than a private approach.

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According to the Wikipedia, Draper was born in 1944, which mean that he ought to be covered by Medicare, which is the federally-run insurance program for individuals over 65. However, as other commenters have noted, even with insurance, it's not uncommon to find out that a particular procedure isn't covered by one's plan, and even very good insurance policies often don't cover costs 100%. For example, very good private insurance policies often only pay 80% of inpatient costs- the other 20% will be billed to the patient. That said, there's usually some sort of upper limit to the patient's financial responsibility, after which the insurance company pays 100%... but that limit can sometimes be in the tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the plan.

Furthermore, many insurance plans will cover a surgical procedure at one rate, but will cover ancillary costs (such as anesthesia, follow-up care, and medications) at a different (often lower) rate. This is all a long-winded way of saying that it is quite common for major medical procedures that are nominally "covered" by one's health insurance to end up costing the patient quite a bit of money when all is said and done. Look at the stats on medical bankruptcies in the US over the last few years- most of those people had insurance, and still ended up screwed.

Also, I'd like to point out that if Draper had been born a few years later (i.e., if he was younger than 65 years old) it seems quite likely that he might not have had any insurance at all. Many older people- especially people whose careers haven't been a stead string of stable corporate jobs, but have instead been independent contractors or otherwise self-employed- find themselves in the position of being 55 or 60 years old and suddenly unable to afford (or even be allowed to purchase) health insurance. Also, there are also quite a few people (especially these days) who are laid off from what had been formerly stable corporate jobs around that age, and find themselves uninsured for the first time in their lives just as their bodies are starting to break down. I know a number of people who celebrated their 65th birthday by going to the doctor for the first time in a few years.

stevenbedrick - I stand to correct you on my age. I was born in 1943 not 1944. Yes I am covered by Medicare, see my earlier statements. I was not aware that Medicare would cover 100% of my costs because of my current financial situation, which is pretty much nil, because I cannot program anymore because of extreme pain in my hands.

Thanks for the correction. I am shocked- shocked, I say!- to learn that the Wikipedia contained an incorrect datum! ;-)

Best wishes with getting the treatment you need, and for a speedy recovery afterwards (both medically and financially).

Precisely. Even if you have insurance in the US, you may not really have coverage when you need it. And even with insurance, bankruptcy is still a very real possibility in the long run.

All I have is Medicare, they do NOT cover new and innovative treatments recently approved by the FDA. However, such organizations like LSI (Laser Spine Institute) has had a series of complaints about their post-surgery support. See link below... and I'm Still looking for a reputable alternate who would accept me as a client for treatment. So far, I have none, but my last surgery on my back, costed me about $6000 in co-pay, plus the hospital "out of pocket" stuff like my back brace which costed me a whopping $250, other stuff like a walker, which I needed for the next five days after back surgery.

If I choose to have the open surgery, my costs are estimated to be around $4000. Of course medication I have to pay for fully.

However, I am still seeking and looking for another Institute other than laser spine Institute.

Below, you'll find some links I changed my mind about having LSI treat me.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/lsi-treats-their-e...

So you think our health care is a bad, take a look at this link above, and why I'm looking for another replacement Institute to treat me. I'm hoping with the generous support, that I don't have to go through invasive surgery, which means several months recovery time, wearing a neck brace, and having to think a lot of narcotic painkillers which really wipe me out. I know morphine can be thought of a recreational drug, but I need my brain and the mind, and the side effects are not very pleasant.

I wouldn't assume he has health insurance. He's gone through long periods of unemployment.

Agreed. Intelligence does not equal financial success. Here's a story the WSJ ran on Mr. Draper in 2007: http://on.wsj.com/ckUc6D

Agreed, not only have a not too long periods of unemployment, I cannot be employed in my current condition, let alone the fact that I'm a convicted felon in the eyes of the credit companies, and databases. I was quoted at $12,000 to fix my records and get them straight. So head hunters who access this database will see that I am falsely stated as a convicted felon. When in actuality during my initial court hearings on my past crimes, it is stipulated that after successfully completing probation, my felon would be expunged. Unfortunately, the databases like Equifax and others, have me mistakenly put down as a felon.

Why so much money? It's obviously not in Equifax et al.'s best interests to have incorrect information in their databases. One would think they'd be glad to fix the records, at least for a reasonable fee.

I was told that by the time of my inquiry, that I would have to hire a private detective to go in and see information I'm not entitled to along with my personal information that I know to be in there and needs to be corrected. The fees for this at the time is $100 or was. But I don't have any money right now, so it's really a moot point at this point. Excuse the pun!

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