I'm extremely well aware of medical costs in the US. I'm a citizen and I've had 18 surgeries. The last one being May 8th of this year. I worked as a paramedic for 15 years, still work in the medical field and have a pretty sound medical knowledge. Did I think the treatment was going to suddenly turn him into a "normal" child? Of course not. I'm very well aware of his prognosis. I don't know exactly how much had been donated but I believe it was around 2 million dollars. That's more than enough to have brought him to the US and a fair amount of time in the hospital. I'd be willing to bet the hospital would have donated most if not all of his care. Many hospitals, especially childrens facilities will accept what insurance will pay and write the rest off. I had a few points in my paragraph. Yes, the government wastes billions instead of actually doing something meaningful with it. Second, the hospital and government were putting up unnecessary road blocks in allowing the parents to bring him to the US for further care. The hospital and doctors were willing to accept him as a patient. They didn't say we need three million dollars upfront before we'll accept him. The US taxpayer would not have been on the hook for his medical costs. He wasn't a US citizen and unlike the billions that a shelled out for illegals that get food stamps, welfare and medical assistance he wasn't eligible for those services. Finally, as a parent I will do ANYTHING for my kids, ANYTHING. Just like these parents were trying to do for their child. They simply wanted to give him a chance. Just because he would have needed long term care, like many already do, doesn't mean he shouldn't have been given a chance. What he was given was a guaranteed death sentence. It's a mute point as the government has gotten it's wish and the child has died. btw there had to be much more involved in your foot because the pinning of a broken foot is usually done on an outpatient basis much less require 2 weeks in the hospital and cost 200k. If you had insurance, you and they got ripped off or there was a lot more involved in your case. I'm not getting into a back and forth either. The child is dead and I don't think you understood exactly what I was trying to say.
Steven.
You can't be much of a paramedic if you think you're a foot doctor instead - they're very different jobs. Generally speaking, you either know a lot about
one job or very little about either. If you've had 18 surgeries you know no one volunteers that they'll pay the bill for you, let alone when you're an infant with that kind of medical history.
I almost feel bad pointing this out, but there's more than one kind of bone break, to further limit what seems to be an extensive gulf in your knowledge - and that some types of break are a fucking pain in the ass due to location and the previous disabilities preemies are are wont to have. To be even
plainer, I got a rare break that's usually seen as 'athletically motivated' by standing up and then collapsing with every ounce of weight on a foot that rolled because I didn't realize the entire leg had gone numb again when I tried to walk. That's what you consider an expensive break, particularly when the break still looks like it's trying to push through the skin
after your foot has been swollen for two weeks.
And before your smart ass says "you should've gone to the hospital earlier" I'll point out a few minutes ago you were under the impression that 'healing all broken bones in the foot is simple' is a belief that directly causes one to stay the fuck home in the hope that that belief is
true when it turns out that in reality it's yet another Everyman Solution you don't have the good fortune to partake of.
As for your idea of how medical costs work, I've had it from the other end, being born considerably too early while medical insurers washed their collective hands. So no, I don't believe it would've magically 'worked itself out'- not been my experience, certainly.
