4 ms·

thats how I read it to - the family didn't want the burden of doing the care, and also don't think anyone should have to pay for it - who are these magical fair

by ejb999 4y ago

thats how I read it to - the family didn't want the burden of doing the care, and also don't think anyone should have to pay for it - who are these magical fairies that are going to show up in your final days and take care of you for free? If the deceased person owed the medical bills - well guess what? she is dead and won't have to pay them unless the creditors go after her estate - if the family's complaint that now their inheritance is going to be less than they thought - too bad.

ryandrake 4y ago
This is a pretty uncharitable read of it. Assume good intentions and think about it from the grandparent's point of view: "I saved my whole life, and wanted to make sure I could give a little back to my loving family, but instead the healthcare industry soaked it all up during my final months." In civilized countries, somebody else would pay for it. Not through magical fairies, but through taxpayer-funded public healthcare. Instead, in the USA, we're Rugged Individuals™ so we prefer to have a gigantic profitable End Of Life Industry precisely designed to sponge up whatever remains of an elderly person's savings. If you have $500K in assets left, your end of life care will cost $500K. If you have $100K left, your care will cost $100K. If you have $10K left, it will cost $10K. The solution, in our flawed system, is to do smart estate planning so you die with zero assets. I don't need my parents' money when they go, and I've already told them if they want to help out my sibling or give it to charity, either do it before they die or get it in a structure that can't be confiscated by death profiteers. Either way, have $0 to your name when you finally pass away. Don't give these vultures another gold-lined toilet for their executive suite.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  "In civilized countries, somebody else would pay for it." Somebody else paying doesn't make the cost go away. Would it be better to make their children or grandchildren pay? Would they be better off if they payed 150k in taxes and had no inheritance because of that?
- ejb999 4y ago
  I don't think it is uncharitable at all. "I saved my whole life, and wanted to make sure I could give a little back to my loving family, but instead the healthcare industry soaked it all up during my final months." An awful lot of people in this country will never get an inheritance; why is it fair to ask them to pay higher taxes so that the most privileged people can leave bigger inheritances to their kids? I have no problem with people leaving money to their kids - after they pay their own bills. Don't ask me to pay them so your kids can get a bigger windfall.
- AllegedAlec 4y ago
  > In civilized countries, somebody else would pay for it. Why is this civilized?

by ejb999 4y ago

ryandrake 4y ago

This is a pretty uncharitable read of it. Assume good intentions and think about it from the grandparent's point of view: "I saved my whole life, and wanted to make sure I could give a little back to my loving family, but instead the healthcare industry soaked it all up during my final months." In civilized countries, somebody else would pay for it. Not through magical fairies, but through taxpayer-funded public healthcare. Instead, in the USA, we're Rugged Individuals™ so we prefer to have a gigantic profitable End Of Life Industry precisely designed to sponge up whatever remains of an elderly person's savings. If you have $500K in assets left, your end of life care will cost $500K. If you have $100K left, your care will cost $100K. If you have $10K left, it will cost $10K. The solution, in our flawed system, is to do smart estate planning so you die with zero assets. I don't need my parents' money when they go, and I've already told them if they want to help out my sibling or give it to charity, either do it before they die or get it in a structure that can't be confiscated by death profiteers. Either way, have $0 to your name when you finally pass away. Don't give these vultures another gold-lined toilet for their executive suite.

s1artibartfast 4y ago
"In civilized countries, somebody else would pay for it." Somebody else paying doesn't make the cost go away. Would it be better to make their children or grandchildren pay? Would they be better off if they payed 150k in taxes and had no inheritance because of that?
ejb999 4y ago
I don't think it is uncharitable at all. "I saved my whole life, and wanted to make sure I could give a little back to my loving family, but instead the healthcare industry soaked it all up during my final months." An awful lot of people in this country will never get an inheritance; why is it fair to ask them to pay higher taxes so that the most privileged people can leave bigger inheritances to their kids? I have no problem with people leaving money to their kids - after they pay their own bills. Don't ask me to pay them so your kids can get a bigger windfall.
AllegedAlec 4y ago
> In civilized countries, somebody else would pay for it. Why is this civilized?