EVERYONE NEEDS HEALTH INSURANCE

It's 2:39am and I could be homeless, sleeping on the street somewhere, with the same original problems - severe abdominal pain, abnormal bowel function, no fever- and it's very likely no one would bat an eye.  Maybe I do work, 12 hrs/wk at McDonald's.  Maybe I don't smell so good as I've been wearing the the same clothes for a while, can't do laundry so easily.  But let's say someone does notice the situation (at work, say) and calls an ambulance.  Maybe I get to an ER and they do the same tests and find the same cancer, they even offer the emergency surgery.

I'm homeless.  I have a job that pays very little with no to little hospital insurance.  So let's assume I can't afford the operation at all.  What do I do?  Writhe in agony until something ruptures and kills me?  Black market opiates in huge quantities?  Get the surgery but selling everything I have?  Begging family and friends knowing I can never ever pay them back?

In the future I'll post costs to date of all this insanity.  It's fascinating and quite educational. My anesthesia cost almost as much as the surgery did.

And I could have a great job that still has lousy insurance.  Same situation.  Maybe I end up declaring bankruptcy just to  recover, just to attempt to start over.

And if I have no insurance?  I'm not familiar but I believe there may be places that will treat anyone regardless of ability to pay.  But still I still have to pay the BILL.  Do you know the size of such bills??  My anesthesia cost near as much as the surgery. In the near future I'll have a running tally of all our costs, to amuse and delight.

This is just what I'm thinking about trying to get to sleep my first night after the "cancer" surgery.  I work for an awesome company, NEPC, LLC - http://www.nepc.com - and won't end up paying a dime out-of-pocket except for copays. THAT is amazing and should commended.  And they are great people besides.  Thank you, NEPC. 

Now I will try to sleep again.  More on today, tomorrow.  I'll be here.

Edit: not to mention, in this situation, how would you afford the necessary prescriptions once you were no longer an emergency?  So many plans don't have decent prescription coverage, if they have any at all.  Very little of this is cheap.  It just blows my mind.