I call B.S. on the “insurance company repossessed her leg.”
Perhaps the insurance company refused to pay for her leg. Perhaps the prosthesis supplier demanded it back when they didn’t get payment. But the insurance company had nothing to do with it.
Somebody (a doctor, the hospital, a prosthetic company) sold her a leg. The bill was presented to the insurance company. The insurance company said “screw you, we’re not paying.” Finding a way to pay for it then becomes the patient’s problem. Under what conceivable legal principal does the insurance company then get to “repossess” the leg? They never owned it, they never paid for it. And I have yet to see an insurance policy that gives the insurance company a security interest in a prosthetic, let alone allows them to “repossess” something they never paid for.
But if anyone can come up with an actual example of an insurance company repossessing a prosthesis, I’m anxious to be corrected.
I do, too. Here’s a more likely scenario. Patient gets prosthetic leg. Insurance doesn’t cover it. Leg manufacturer sues patient for payment. Either
a) Patient and manufacturer agree on some sort of payment plan, and patient spends years paying off debt
b) Patient and manufacturer can’t agree on a payment plan, patient declares bankruptcy and is financially ruined – but not homeless or legless.
c) Manufacturer doesn’t want bad publicity from suing an amputee, so writes off the expense as an uncollectable debt. If this happens enough, then the manufacturer goes bankrupt.
Pssst, please don’t go painting with a broad brush. A large proportion of us, maybe even a majority, would very much like some kind of national health care.
We’re not stupid. We’re victims of a system where a minority can block change, and where wealthy people spend huge amounts of money to confuse and misinform as large a minority as they can.