Please read- a friend in need.
As many of you know, one of the reasons khaybee and I chose to leave the US was to do with the health care fiasco there. We have a friend who is truly suffering for it right now. We know you are generous folk, so if any of you are willing to donate some dollars- anything, really- to help her out, we will forward it directly to this friend in need.
I have reposted a bit of a post from her journal. She is and-has-been seeking employment, but has arrived at the end of her Unemployment Insurance benefits. Her husband is ill. Please read for yourselves:
Alrighty.
Pride's gone out of the window. A needs his chemo and my massive attempts at denial can't, um, deny that. I'm not going to let my husband run the risk of death because this bloody country doesn't believe in health care for all.
My father's helping as much as he can, but I'm still $450 short on this month's health insurance payment.
(For the record, the COBRA (Post employment health "insurance"*) payment is $950/month. Given that our household income is a shade under three grand and over half of that goes on rent alone, you can see the
predicament, especially when you add in three mouths to feed, the car payment, the PG&E (electricity and gas) payment, etc, etc...)
I've already taken a loan from one friend for a thousand dollars - that was May/June - and I really, really can't bear the notion of getting further into the hole with friends. Loans between friends always fuck up the friendship, sooner or later.
So, I won't take loans, but I'm not above begging.
Don't ask me how that works, but there it is. Mooching apparently doesn't ding my pride as much as being beholden to pay back a loan. This implies a couple of unpleasant truths about my psyche, but I'd rather not
go into that, just now.
Gah, just say it already, - um, help? Please?
If you're willing and able to donate anything, it'll be appreciated. It'll all go to the COBRA (Health insurance) payment. God forbid, if I end up with more than what's needed, it can roll over to next month. I
have until the end of this month to get the $450 to COBRA. Then we get to start all over again for August.
Blech.
Should any of you fine folks be wiling to help her out, please send whatever you can to our Paypal account and we will forward it on to her.
Thanks mightily for you kind consideration.
Please go over here to khaybee's LJ to donate.
*For those of you who aren't in the US, let me confirm a few details:
If you live in the US and are lucky enough to have some health insurance through your employer (usually they will pay half of the cost) and you are unfortunate enough to lose your job, you can still keep the insurance for up to eight months under the provisions of a law called COBRA- if you pay 100% of the cost of the health insurance. In our friend's case above, the monthly cost to cover two people is $950US. This is perfectly ordinary, if not a bit cheap. And that is just for access- they will still have to pay $20-$50 per medical appointment and $20-50 per medication received.
I have reposted a bit of a post from her journal. She is and-has-been seeking employment, but has arrived at the end of her Unemployment Insurance benefits. Her husband is ill. Please read for yourselves:
Alrighty.
Pride's gone out of the window. A needs his chemo and my massive attempts at denial can't, um, deny that. I'm not going to let my husband run the risk of death because this bloody country doesn't believe in health care for all.
My father's helping as much as he can, but I'm still $450 short on this month's health insurance payment.
(For the record, the COBRA (Post employment health "insurance"*) payment is $950/month. Given that our household income is a shade under three grand and over half of that goes on rent alone, you can see the
predicament, especially when you add in three mouths to feed, the car payment, the PG&E (electricity and gas) payment, etc, etc...)
I've already taken a loan from one friend for a thousand dollars - that was May/June - and I really, really can't bear the notion of getting further into the hole with friends. Loans between friends always fuck up the friendship, sooner or later.
So, I won't take loans, but I'm not above begging.
Don't ask me how that works, but there it is. Mooching apparently doesn't ding my pride as much as being beholden to pay back a loan. This implies a couple of unpleasant truths about my psyche, but I'd rather not
go into that, just now.
Gah, just say it already, - um, help? Please?
If you're willing and able to donate anything, it'll be appreciated. It'll all go to the COBRA (Health insurance) payment. God forbid, if I end up with more than what's needed, it can roll over to next month. I
have until the end of this month to get the $450 to COBRA. Then we get to start all over again for August.
Blech.
Should any of you fine folks be wiling to help her out, please send whatever you can to our Paypal account and we will forward it on to her.
Thanks mightily for you kind consideration.
Please go over here to khaybee's LJ to donate.
*For those of you who aren't in the US, let me confirm a few details:
If you live in the US and are lucky enough to have some health insurance through your employer (usually they will pay half of the cost) and you are unfortunate enough to lose your job, you can still keep the insurance for up to eight months under the provisions of a law called COBRA- if you pay 100% of the cost of the health insurance. In our friend's case above, the monthly cost to cover two people is $950US. This is perfectly ordinary, if not a bit cheap. And that is just for access- they will still have to pay $20-$50 per medical appointment and $20-50 per medication received.