well it's about time I ranted about something
I think it's a sad state in this country when a person who works in the medical field cannot afford health insurance. At Mohawk Ambulance full-time status is no reflection on the hours you work, it's simply a title based on senority. Since I left and came back after my grandfather died, I have lost all my senority due to union regulations. I work 44 hours a week, but am only considered part-time. Due to this I must pay 100% of the group rate Mohawk has obtained for us. Up until this point that had been $246 per month. Due to rising healthcare costs in this country, the rates are increasing to $300 per month. At $246 I was barely scraping by and had to triage which other bills were paid when, at $300 I have to drop it because I simply cannot afford that much per month. My mother said I'm lower than a homeless person without insurance, that was a nice Christmas morning statement. Healthcare in this country is pathetic. I don't blame Mohawk, they didn't raise my healthcare nationwide, Medicare/Medicaid did.
I have no problem with the basic idea of helping elderly people with their healthcare costs, god knows it's all so expensive. But I see abuses everyday. Hospitals sending home patients who have no medical need for an ambulance. First-response agencies convincing a person to go to the hospital who have nothing immediately wrong with them. Example: I did a Scotia fire call where the Scotia "medic" made the person go with us because the person could not get a ride that minute from a family member. The patient had a wound from a fall the week before that may have had a slight infection. The person just wanted a quick opinion, no transport. The "medic" told her to go in immediately because we could give her a ride and she'd be seen quicker. Bullshit calls like that abuse the system.
Medicaid is another story. I think it's fucking pathetic that people can choose not to work and the government will pay their way. I know some people genuinely need help, but not as many as I've seen. Everyday I see lazy people sitting in their shit homes with better TVs, more DVDs and videogames (thanks to your money) than I could ever afford who want to go to the hospital for a fucking cold. Why? They've said it them selves, because it's free. "The government pays for all of it, I'm gonna use it whenever I want." Abuses in the system, fucking everywhere. And it's not a race thing, I see equal numbers abusing the Medicaid system. I was sick earlier this week with the stomach flu going around, I took some fucking aspirin, immodium, and Ny-Quil and I was just fine. I make sure every abuser I take in sits in the waiting room. They want the ambulance because they think they'll get in faster. Nope, the hospital can smell bullshit too. We pay for these abuses. We pay for their ambulance rides, and their hospital visits, and their TVs. And then we pay again with un-affordable healthcare costs. The health insurance industry bases its rates off of Medicare/Medicaid. You think they use the money right? Nope, they're all fat asses and their kids starve. Sorry Johnny no dinner tonight, daddy and mommy just got a 52" widescreen, but here's some new $150 Nikes for you to wear to school.
The ones the government should give free healthcare to are the ones providing it. But no, they give it to the ones who refuse to work. They get a free ride, and I have to go without insurance and earn my living and theirs. God Bless America.
I was doing some holiday shopping at Wal-Mart last week. Now in their electronics section certain DVDs are behind a glass case (mostly TV seasons and hot releases). When I bought Marcie's portable DVD player I was actually escorted to the front of the store (it was later at night and the e-department register was closed) and the player was giving to the register girl. OK, weird but ok. When Marcie bought her mom Soprano's Season 1, it was brought to the e-department register immediately. Again OK, still strange. I went to buy the Sin City special edition, again in the case, and I noticed a woman (soccer mom-type) asking the clerk for various movies out of the case, the clerk handed the woman the movies and was allowed to put them in her shopping cart. I asked the same clerk for Sin City and it was brought by the clerk to the register like I was a criminal. I was not allowed to touch it until I bought it. The clerk said it was policy. And THEN she went back to the woman to hand her more movies out of the case. Blatant age-discrimination right in front of my face as if I wouldn't notice soccer mom handpicking whatever she wanted while Marcie and I in our separate incidences were treated like criminals. I'm sorry, I'm a productive member of society who works two jobs. Don't treat me like a criminal because I'm in my 20s.