Greetings all, Bill McTheny aka @watchdaddy1 fell off a ladder last week shattering his wrist, puncturing a lung, breaking ribs, and breaking his hip. He is in the hospital awaiting transfer to a rehab facility, but won’t be able to go back to work for 6-8 months. If the injuries weren’t horrific enough, his employer didn’t offer health insurance. For those members who live in countries that are far more enlightened than ours when it comes to health care, this means that Bill will be loaded with crippling debt, and responsible for all future surgeries and rehabilitation costs- this is a worst case scenario that could result in him and his family losing everything. His brother has started a go-fund-me account to help Bill with his bills, and if anyone on this forum has legal expertise negotiating health related debt- please reach out to Bill and help him avoid getting screwed. https://www.gofundme.com/bill-mctheny These are the times when those of us who are fortunate can help a member of the community who is less so. I intend to donate directly to Bill’s PayPal (as I have purchased from him before) and if we all contribute the cost of a strap (more if your are inclined), it would go far to help a fellow member. Let’s all put out some good Karma for a brother in trouble.
Done. That's very nice of you @JwRosenthal. It's still unbelievable that these kind of health systems exist. Especially in a rich country... Best of luck to @watchdaddy1. Hope you recover soon.
Done. All best wishes to @watchdaddy1 and family for a swift and full recovery! ΩF is a family of sorts, and it's good to be able to help.
Damn unfortunately I have been hurt at work a few times and was taken care of. Terrible to hear when someone is not. I’ll pray for a speedy recovery
Sorry to hear of one of our members injuries and we all hope for a complete and speedy recovery. But let's be clear for non-US readers.....he didn't have health INSURANCE, but he will get excellent health CARE for his injuries. Anyone, citizen or not, can go into any hospital and be treated whether they have insurance or not, that is federal law. He is not being turned away from getting his injuries treated and getting rehabilitation, and most of those costs will be paid by other taxpayers. Most workers in the US get their health insurance from their employers and most are very happy with that arrangement. Young people under 26 can stay on their parents plans, those over 65 get Medicare, those that can't afford anything get Medicaid. Those that don't get it from their employer and don't fit in those other categories have to procure it on their own (often with substantial premium assistance from other taxpayers), just like they do car, home and life insurance. Unfortunately many people let this critical item slip off the radar screen. Discussions on whether health care is some sort of right is a discussion for another day. Best wishes to Bill.
My thoughts to Mr. McTheny; I hope he can negotiate with the various entities with which he’ll have bills—there is ideally some room for that. And ideally everyone would have medical coverage, whether basic catastrophic coverage out of pocket or government subsidized. And if it’s just about him and we’re not making political statements / assumptions I would politely request we refrain from making political statements / assumptions. Cheers.
If members want to preserve this thread for "best wishes" types of responses, that's fine. But let's not pretend that Bill's unfortunate situation is somehow not an illustration of a deeply flawed health care system. The responses below are from a recent Gallup poll, and they underscore that for far too many people, costs are not manageable, nor is the current state of insurance remotely adequate.
Contribution made. Heal up quickly, Bill. I hope to see you and those tattooed arms back soon on the watch forums and IG. And no more ladders for you!
This really isn’t the place for commentary on the healthcare system. Hopefully mods will clean it up (or even better, but unlikely, members can do so themselves) and we can get back to support for our forum friend.
This is turning into an ar15.com GD thread real fast, lots of unnecessary comments from the first post onwards.
