At least the situation got less complicated and more straightforward.

Thanks for sharing. This is a great post. Sorry to hear about your pain.

What worked for me was changing my lifestyle choices. I quite smoking.

I started to eat three meals a day. And smaller portion size.

Go for a stroll in the outdoors every single day. Keep your body moving daily.

Drink more water. Take a shower. If you feel hungry, snack. Take a siesta.

Meditate daily. Practice yoga. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Buy a juicer.

Eat lots of yogurt. And drink hot tea/coffee and flush the toxins out of your system.

Make sure to get enough fresh air and sunshine. Hope this helps. Cheers.

Still haven’t decided what to do, but will have to in a week or two.

Good luck with whatever your decision is. I may have to pick your brain about autoimmune disease and working for yourself sometime!

There are plenty of people who fit in the gray areas who have smoked for 40 years, are pear shaped and are a few years away from needing a quadzipple bypass where insurance may offer them better care to extend their lives, although many are denied better care anyways. Keep out of overnight hospital stays and even broken arms are not that expensive – relative to your combined annual payments and deductible. When the doctor says, “I think you need to stay for the night” – he means, let’s make some money, just reply with “I’m uninsured and filing Chapter 7.” Nine times out of ten, you’ll be out the door and fast.

What about cancer, what about this or that? If the shit hits the fan, you are not going to be worried about how to pay for it.

Let’s say you do have big medical bills one day. So what? You don’t have to pay. We just believe we have to pay. Nobody puts a gun to your head and says “Pay.” They can’t even take your house, even in bankruptcy as long as you are living in it. They might get a judgment to garnish wages from a 9-5 job you don’t have. Less anything with a title registered in your name and bank accounts with your name stuffed with cash – there is not much to go after. You are just storing that hot tub at your place for your buddy, right? That’s your kids college fund, isn’t it?

Seems you need to restructure your assets legally. There are all sorts of ways. What keeps you from moving your assets into a trust that you control and floating your health expenses out of pocket until either you begin making big bucks and can pick it up again (insurance companies still will want your money if you have not been covered) or pickup national insurance that will be available in less than 10 years?

We are all told we NEED health insurance. We are also told to become doctors and lawyers so we can make big bucks and have the best 9-5 jobs (21st century volunteer slavery). Most people reading your blog know – there is no good 9-5. Furthermore, how many doctors that actually make any real money work only 9-5? So who is giving the advice? Sure back in the 80′s you could get a kick ass HMO that covered everything, your employer picked up the whole tab and all you had to do was initial the paperwork – not any more. Just by the numbers, making the most of a health savings account is a good place to start.

Johnny, your blog rocks. Thanks for posting.

If you come up with an answer, please share.

You should move to Canada. We’ve got you covered up here. Not as warm, sure, but the beer is way better.

I was healthy until I was diagnosed with a heart defect just before my 30th birthday, while pregnant with my daughter.

I had surgery. It went poorly. I had to have another surgery to fix it.

Because I am insured, I had the luxury of seeking the best care. I can’t overemphasize how that gave me a sense of control when I felt very little.

Over three months I had medical bills of almost $250k, the vast majority of which was covered by insurance

People knock insurance, and I get it.. But as I went through that process, I was nothing but grateful.

I won’t represent my situation as likely — I’m the anomaly that puts you in your conundrum. But the thought of not having choice in my doctor and care because I can’t pay and knowing that I was headed for financial ruin… I’ll keep paying my premiums, thanks.

Good luck sorting it out, and let us know if you find a solution that works for you!