Chuck Rainey - medical costs

[discreet]

Good on yer, ped.

[BottomE]

If i am obliged to pay for some city twats screwing up the economy then i can find some spondies for helping a fellow bass player.

[Gareth Hughes]

I play music for my living. A big part of my income over the years has been down to the fact that I can read music. I learnt to read music from Chuck Rainey - in The Complete Electric Bass Player Book 1: The Method - So I can safely say that I wouldn't be sitting in my house now, with the basses I treasure, along with some great memories, if it wasn't for Chuck sharing his knowledge in a way a person like me could understand.

Thanks Chuck.

Noelk27 - this isn't begging and it isn't a failure to make provisions for all the 'What If?'s. It's life. Ed Friedland is helping a friend out. I'm helping out someone that's helped me even though he's never met me. We're bass players - the guys that support every one else, right? I truly hope that isn't too alien a concept for you to understand.

[WHUFC BASS]

Does anyone have any idea how high medical bills are in the U.S. ? All the people saying this is B.S. should really check out and see what's wrong with him before spouting off. Medical care in the U.S. is usually covered by insurance, but these premiums can be really high and many simply can't afford the medical care we take for granted over here. It makes me sad to see the uproar at Obama's healthcare plan when really its the right thing to do. This country should be proud of the NHS and resist any attempt that Cameron and his public school cronies have of trying to dismantle it.

[discreet]

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' timestamp='1328178202' post='1522978']
This country should be proud of the NHS and resist any attempt that Cameron and his public school cronies have of trying to dismantle it.
[/quote]

Absolutely right. Far too important an issue for me to worry about posting this link:

[url="http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition"]http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition[/url]

[risingson]

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' timestamp='1328178202' post='1522978']
Does anyone have any idea how high medical bills are in the U.S. ? All the people saying this is B.S. should really check out and see what's wrong with him before spouting off. Medical care in the U.S. is usually covered by insurance, but these premiums can be really high and many simply can't afford the medical care we take for granted over here. It makes me sad to see the uproar at Obama's healthcare plan when really its the right thing to do. This country should be proud of the NHS and resist any attempt that Cameron and his public school cronies have of trying to dismantle it.
[/quote]

There's no political soapbox needed in this thread, only a charitable outlook on things if you are so inclined.

[discreet]

@WHUFC BASS: The quote in your sig about football now seems remarkably prescient, unfortunately.

[TommyK]

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1328113772' post='1522058']
If i am obliged to pay for some city twats screwing up the economy then i can find some spondies for helping a fellow bass player.
[/quote]

This...

[WHUFC BASS]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1328178656' post='1522990']
There's no political soapbox needed in this thread, only a charitable outlook on things if you are so inclined.
[/quote]

No political soapbox from me mate. Just debating with the nay-sayers who think that its all Mr Rainey's fault that he can't afford his medical bills whilst enjoying the safety net of the NHS in this country.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1328178676' post='1522991']
@WHUFC BASS: The quote in your sig about football now seems remarkably prescient, unfortunately.
[/quote]

Thanks. I'm just sick of everything good having a pound sign stuck on it and being marketed to death and the good being taken out of it.

Edited February 2, 2012 by WHUFC BASS

[pete.young]

Does anyone know of a way to donate some money to Mr. Rainey that doesn't involve using Paypal?

[dmccombe7]

Something that should be noted here is the provision for private pension plans can result in investments being made within the main banking fraternity whereby share price will / could have a drastic effect on your income with regards pension pay out.
Under current climate many pensions have failed to produce sufficient funds to accomodate the lifestyle you expected.

That said i would think that if someone you admired for many yrs is asking for help then you may feel obliged to do your little bit. My suggestion is to confirm the authenticity of the site first.
If at that point you feel it is genuine then why not. ?

CR will be in the same position as many others with current interest rates and share investments. He may even have relied on a poor Finincial Advisor who has let him down - who knows ?

Dave

[peteb]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1328178656' post='1522990']
There's no political soapbox needed in this thread, only a charitable outlook on things if you are so inclined.
[/quote]
I am afraid that anything to do with healthcare is very much a political issue in the US and unfortunately, is becoming increasingly so over here

[risingson]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1328192265' post='1523345']
I am afraid that anything to do with healthcare is very much a political issue in the US and unfortunately, is becoming increasingly so over here
[/quote]

My point being that it's very much a side issue here in this thread. The video is simply drawing attention to the unfortunate and tragic situation that Chuck Rainey has found himself in, and the opportunity to extend some kind of financial support for a very influential musician.

[Austin7]

[quote name='Russ' timestamp='1327983595' post='1519881']
It sickens me to my stomach that people in the US have to resort to this sort of thing to pay medical bills. We might bitch about it a lot, but the UK is so lucky to have something like the NHS. What's more, nobody in the UK really understands quite how f**ked the American system is. As a Brit in the US, let me spell it out for you.

In the US, even if you're pension age, like Chuck Rainey, you still have to have medical insurance. There is a government-administered scheme for OAPs called Medicare, but it doesn't cover much in the way of treatment, has very limited coverage for prescriptions (only the basic generic stuff that comes under what's called "Medicare Part D") and practically no coverage for what the Americans call "major medical" - ie, hospital visits and treatment for chronic conditions. What's more, if you've been ill before, there's a very good chance the insurance company will rack up your premiums to eyewatering levels, and, even then, there's the possibility that they'll deny your insurance claim, at which point you're responsible for the entire cost. Many, many people go bankrupt in the US from not being able to pay medical bills.

The cost of insurance is also outrageous - in the UK, for those of us who are lucky enough to get private health insurance like BUPA as a job perk, it might cost you maybe £200 a month to cover your family. In the US, if you want to cover your family (say, two adults and two kids), you could be talking up to $2000 a month (or even more if you or any member of your family has a pre-existing condition). And then you still have to pay a "co-pay" to go to the doctor (anything from $25 to $100). If you get your insurance through your employer, it's not quite as expensive as the employer pays towards it, and the employer gets a discount for having multiple people on their policy. However, if you're self-employed (as most professional musicians are), you don't get to take advantage of these group discounts and you have to pay the full whack.

Most people in the UK can't even begin to comprehend these sorts of numbers when it comes to healthcare - we're all used to just going to the doctor. I'd never seen a medical bill in my life until I moved to the US. I broke my ankle about a year ago, and, despite having health insurance, I couldn't get it fixed thanks to a loophole that meant that the insurance company didn't have to pay for the operation. So now I have a misaligned ankle joint that causes me a fair amount of discomfort.

Andrew Lansley and David Cameron want a system like this for the UK. Be very, very afraid.
[/quote]

Your posts such as this one and the one that follows it are excellent. Anyone who wants to know what is really going on in the U.S. would do well to read carefully and consider what you've stated.

Edited February 2, 2012 by Austin7

[discreet]

Looks like Chuck's on the mend... this from that TalkBass forum:

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f28/chuck-rainey-hospital-tonight-823278/index4.html#post12172471"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f28/chuck-rainey-hospital-tonight-823278/index4.html#post12172471[/url]

Does that mean we can have our donations back now?

[lowdown]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1328880642' post='1534251']
Does that mean we can have our donations back now?
[/quote]

He needs strings my friend.


Good news indeed.

Garry

Edited February 10, 2012 by lowdown

[discreet]

Update: Apparently he is back in Texas now, so it's all good.
Get well soon!

[Russ]

[quote name='Austin7' timestamp='1328202542' post='1523628']
Your posts such as this one and the one that follows it are excellent. Anyone who wants to know what is really going on in the U.S. would do well to read carefully and consider what you've stated.
[/quote]

Thank you.

It works both ways - many people in Britain have no idea how the healthcare system in the US really works. If they did, there'd be a hell of a lot less moaning about the NHS and there would be full-on riots happening over Lansley's reforms (although, with the amount of people who are against it now, seriously, this could end up being Cambot's poll tax).

Also, hardly anybody I've ever spoken to here in the US has any idea about how medical systems work elsewhere. The range of reactions I've seen from Americans when I tell them about how the NHS works (no bills, no insurance payments, no co-pays, all prescriptions cost the same, subsidised dentistry and optometry, etc) range from disbelief and suspicion to outright hostility. So many people have been brainwashed about the so-called evils of "socialised medicine" through the likes of Fox News, even many of the more left-leaning of the people I know.

[Austin7]

[quote name='Russ' timestamp='1328893435' post='1534542']
Thank you.

It works both ways - many people in Britain have no idea how the healthcare system in the US really works. If they did, there'd be a hell of a lot less moaning about the NHS and there would be full-on riots happening over Lansley's reforms (although, with the amount of people who are against it now, seriously, this could end up being Cambot's poll tax).

Also, hardly anybody I've ever spoken to here in the US has any idea about how medical systems work elsewhere. The range of reactions I've seen from Americans when I tell them about how the NHS works (no bills, no insurance payments, no co-pays, all prescriptions cost the same, subsidised dentistry and optometry, etc) range from disbelief and suspicion to outright hostility. So many people have been brainwashed about the so-called evils of "socialised medicine" through the likes of Fox News, even many of the more left-leaning of the people I know.
[/quote]

Those who are interested in maintaining the status quo have tried very hard to keep Americans from understanding how the European health care system really works. "Brainwashed" is not too strong of a word. It's hard for me to understand how people can say this is the greatest health care system on earth when 50 million people have no health insurance at all. I think it's an abomination. Oh, wait, Fox News was just on. Those 50 million are lazy and unmotivated. They don't deserve a health care system. Never mind. This is the way it should be. I love Big Brother.