Smells like Bootstraps to me. Let FREEDOM Reign! Ain't no evil red commies gonna pay for HIS bills.
He should move in with this guy to save money.
Karma, it's what's for dessert!
Republican Luis Lang, 49, a self-employed handyman from Fort Mill, in South Carolina, is going blind. He has bleeding in his eyes and a partially detached retina caused by his diabetes.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Handyman who would rather go blind than sign up for Obamacare begs for money in crowdfunding appeal after his eyes started bleeding
- Republican Luis Lang refused to get Obamacare and health insurance
- Now blames Obama because he's going blind and cannot pay medical bills
- Can no longer work and is upset the Affordable Care Act won’t bail him out
- Lang has launched online fundraising appeal to raise money for surgery
A Republican who refused to get Obamacare or healthcare insurance while he was healthy now blames President Obama after discovering he is going blind and cannot afford his medical bills.
Luis Lang, 49, a self-employed handyman from Fort Mill, South Carolina, has bleeding in his eyes and a partially detached retina caused by his diabetes.
Mr Lang refused to buy health insurance and instead over the years prided himself on paying his medical bills as they came in.
But when he discovered a headache he suffered for 10 days in February was actually a series of ministrokes, he finally went to the emergency room and racked up $9,000 in bills - and was forced to use all of his life savings to pay the bills.
Now his vision is so poor he has not worked since December.
When he finally turned to the Affordable Health Care exchange – which he had previously chosen not to do, in violation of the law - he thought help would be available in an emergency. But he found out he was a month too late to enroll for ACA 2015, and he does not have enough money to get a federal subsidy to buy a private policy. Now he and his wife blame President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for passing a 'complex and flawed bill'.
Mr Lang, a smoker who admits he has been inconsistent in controlling his diabetes, said he has sought help from charities but found he was either too young or too old for them to help him. Dr Malcolm Edwards, the ophthalmologist who examined Lang, said: 'He will lose his eyesight if he doesn't get care. He will go blind.'
His wife Mary does not work and instead takes care of their $300,000 home in the Legacy Park subdivision. She told the
Charlotte Observer: 'My husband should be at the front of the line, because he doesn't work and because he has medical issues. We call it the Not Fair Health Care Act.'
The ACA was designed to provide Medicaid coverage for those people whose income falls below the poverty line. The federal government pays 100 percent of the ACA expansion to cover low-income, able-bodied adults - but 21 Republican-led states, including South Carolina, chose not to participate.
As a result Mr Lang only qualifies only for a South Carolina Medicaid plan that covers checkups and family planning.
He also says he has not applied for Social Security disability benefits because 'it takes too long'.
In the meantime South Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing whether or not he qualifies for a vocational rehabilitation program. If he is successful – and if he can find a surgeon who takes Medicaid – South Carolina taxpayers will share the cost with the federal government.
'He's in a very bad situation,' Dr Edwards told the
Charlotte Observer. 'The longer he waits, the poorer his results will be.' The doctor said he will provide care at no cost, but Mr Lang requires extensive surgery and follow-up treatment that is beyond his expertise.
Mr Lang has now set up a
GoFundMe.com page where he explains his situation.
His fundraising page, which had no donations in the first 24 days, raised more than $6,795 just a couple of days after his situation was first reported.
www.independent.co.uk
Facebook
Twitter