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Hi, as you may have guessed from the subject line, I am disabled. I have end stage renal disease from surprise genetic markers first found in me at age 17. For complicated reasons, I'm no longer suitable for receiving transplants, and am stuck on dialysis three times a week, which leaves me usually feeling fatigued, sick, and even in great pain. Sometimes with extremely limited mobility for it. My four limbs all work, but unfortunately I cannot. I live in the US, which if you've been paying attention, kinda sucks lately, and only appears to be on a downward trajectory. So, between that, and always wishing I could travel and see the world, there's a small part of me that wishes I could move abroad. I have several disabled friends around the country that wish the same. I am therefore curious what sort of options there are, as in which-if any-countries have good healthcare programs (preferably universal) and also are willing to let disabled people move in. Web searching has proven frustrating for me, and the most I've accomplished is seeing that there are definitely many countries who do NOT let you in if you have some sort of medical need (even if you are a child of someone who is granted visas or citizenship). This is directly in violation of UN guidelines, but apparently many countries simply don't care. I know very little on this topic however, and was hoping there might be some goons that do for whichever reason. Thanks for any help you might give.
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Sep 30, 2016 23:02
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 11:13 |
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John Smith posted:Lol. So you want free healthcare for life from a country that you are not even a citizen of, and you are mad because you can't find any takers? Guess what? People usually want something in exchange for something else. More that I, and others I know, don't really like the US, but don't want to go anywhere where the medical field would basically be "tough poo poo, here's your coffin." I'm lucky in that here in the US, dialysis is on the straight ticket to disabled status and getting government medical coverage, but there's a lot of conditions that aren't so fortunate. Regardless, this is what's keeping me alive, and I don't have the physical capability to really have a good job to afford it out of pocket. skeptic22 posted:I can't speak to immigration or anything like that, but if you want to take a trip, I hear the Spanish island of Tenerife is very committed to accessible living and is a popular tourist destination. My wife uses a wheelchair and its on our list for sure. This is kinda iffy due to needing regular treatments even. Lots of places expect you to pay out of pocket if you don't have domestic insurance with their country. New Zealand actually is a country that's VERY nice to tourists medically, and from what I've seen, dialysis would be FREE if I were to vacation there. But they suuuure don't want me moving permanently. The answers so far have pretty much been what I expected, in that it's pretty much tough luck without special circumstances to get in anywhere.
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Oct 1, 2016 12:16
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Well with me personally, this isn't a "major" idea, but it's definitely something I'm not discounting. I have several friends that also wish they weren't in this country. And yeah, it seems like it's kind of a non-issue with the way countries treat immigrants that are disabled. Canada for instance is one where people dissatisfied with US politics often threaten to move to, but it's actually not a very easy country to do that with, and it's a dirty secret that they flatout kick out even disabled children of valuable workers trying to move there. Maybe someday I'll get to vacation like is being suggested to places that still put on a nice face for tourists. Here in America, the health system is very odd, with a lot of it structured to look like there's compassionate care available without actually going the extra steps to make sure of it. If you don't have an easy to diagnose disability, like missing a limb, or some disease that will kill you if untreated within the month, you might go years with a constant uphill battle before the government will grant you your handicapped status. Also, the American's with Disabilities Act is expressly written so that it's full of loop holes. Very few businesses or non governmental buildings actually require handicapped access for instance. Or then there's the rule where employers have to make concessions so that their employees that are disabled can still work in those environments. Want to know how to avoid having to shell out money for expensive remodeling or for equipment so your disabled employee can still perform? Just don't hire any disabled employees! Yes, that's actually quasi-legal. Also, there's two different types of welfare programs from the government for those unable to work. One of them has a savings ceiling that is only $2000. That's extremely low if you want to try to sign an apartment lease or have your own transportation. If you save up more than that limit, you lose all benefits and aid. Basically the government spends all their time on their disabled citizens dragging their feet and sighing loudly.
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Oct 1, 2016 19:51
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NihilismNow posted:Is that 220k before or after taxes? Because i know norway is expensive but that is about $2300 a month. Seriously. That'd be well above minimum wage here in the states. I calculated it and if I made the same as my benefit payout at a full time job, I'd get less than five bucks an hour, and that's the average for single disabled households. Thanks to the privilege of well off and kind parents, I have it pretty cushy for Americans with handicaps. My folks were able to help me get a car, and my father owns my place so my rent is a token pittance. Not many of us unable to work in this country have both their own transportation and are able to live alone. As I said earlier (and was kinda seconded) the US's disability policies almost seem like they're designed deliberately to look good and compassionate strictly from the outside. It's those memes of the wheelchair ramps being unusable (like with a step at the bottom or leading to a wall or whatever) in macro.
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Oct 2, 2016 15:24
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Jeza posted:The US is probably one of the worst developed countries in the world to be disabled in terms of support. It is quite literally famous for doing the minimum possible. Exactly what I've been saying. Once you've been on the inside of their policies for a while, it starts looking very clear that most of them are written to look good from the outside, instead of being written to actually be compassionate and helpful.
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Oct 4, 2016 15:19
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Baronash posted:Just out of curiosity, what do you imagine being different in your new utopian home country as opposed to the "downward trajectory" that you claim the US is on? Honestly, it's a pipe dream where I would hope for some sort of improvement of life in general. This thread is mostly so I can find out all the facts on this idea that I'm 99.999% could never happen. Though I'm also okay with the conversation about how rough disabled people have it in various countries.
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Oct 5, 2016 15:26
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 11:13 |
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A lot of people itt who take "I know it won't happen and I'm just musing over a fantasy here" to mean "I've already packed my bags!!"
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Oct 9, 2016 00:43
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