alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Lazy is as Lazy does.

Bazbo Loc: Lisboa, Portugal

I prefer the Tibetan Sky Burial.

https://www.thelivingurn.com/blogs/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-tibetan-sky-burial

Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado

Or the Native Amerindian burial-structures.

rwoodvira

[quote=Huey Driver] Fortunately, it appears you haven't been exposed to the realities of dealing with severe disease like I have. I am extremely fortunate that I have survived over a 6 year period two instances of esophageal cancer, losing the majority of my esophagus, parts of both intestines and various side effects and I consider myself extremely lucky to still be around. I'm a board member of a charity that provides support for other victims of the disease and have acted as a peer counselor since 2015.

The effects of the disease on finances are often overwhelming. People are often unable to continue working and getting disability insurers to pay is often an arduous process. Although my disease is an automatic under Social Security, other insurers fight many cases. I had to hire an attorney to get my disability - it was 6 months before I got my first check. Then there are the insurance deductibles, co-pays, and out-of pocket expenses for drugs, transportation, experimental treatments that insurers won't pay for - but at the same time your expenses for your home, heat, food, etc. continue. You aren't working, the disability isn't coming in and those bills keep mounting - the whole time the patient is sick, taking medicine or having symptoms that might blur his thoughts. Some commit suicide to avoid destroying the family's finances or just to stop the pain - but then the life insurance doesn't kick in.

Another note on the life insurance, the person might have to sell it so they and the rest of the family can eat.

Treatment might be necessary at a medical center. I had one victim get severely sick at the NJ shore, to survive he needed to get to Philadelphia, but to transport him from the local hospital would require an expense of between $500 and $1,000. I found a loophole and was able to get the city doctors to certify it was an emergency and got him transported.

My cancer was metastatic, the insurer declined to pay for a PET scan BTW the expert denying the PET was a pediatrician in Tennessee - I got it finally when I threatened to sue and contact the insurance commissioner. The original quote if I paid was $14,000.

If you are able to continue working, your employer might cut your hours. In my case, I had my salary cut by one third. Of you can sue, but where is that money coming from? In many cases, you are just getting by. I was an executive, I knew how to "play the game," and mostly prevailed, but many don't.

In the course of my tenure on the board, we've helped people that weren't able to pay for heat; helped people get IV and j-tube food because the insurer stopped paying because the person was dying, seen treatment denied because it was "experimental," although it has worked for others in the past. One guy was denied a $$50,000 treatment 6 times, it would have extended his life 3 to 5 years, he finally got it when we found a hospital willing to do half for nothing, but by then it was too late. BTW the head of that non-profit insurer made $14,000,000 in 2016.

I'm sure that you think these are rare occasions, they aren't.