Names of the Dead

In 1993, our father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because of this, he was unable to work, therefore lost his health insurance. He was only 59, so too young for Medicare. He applied for medical assistance in Illinois, but was told flat out by a social worker at the hospital that he was not old enough, the wrong sex, and the wrong color; he was not a minority. Health insurance was, of course, denied. He applied for S.S. disability, but they kept losing his medical records, thus prolonging his inability to receive the treatment he needed. The hospital he was in quickly discharged him, as they did not want to pick up the cost of any kind of treatment. - - Our father served honorably in the Marines, worked his entire life, and paid into Social Security, still, he could not get help. The only VA hospital in Illinois was a known warehouse for Veterans to die in, so he refused to be transferred there. My older sister lived in Arizona so she brought him there so that he could get help, but by this time, it was too late. Although he had been an Illinois resident his entire life, he died in an Arizona hospital. - - Two weeks after his death, he was finally approved for S.S. Disability. - - Why should any person have to go through this. Our father was fighting for his life, why did he have to fight with social workers and state agencies to try and get the help he so desperately needed? - - Our father left behind 4 children, 6 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren that he never got to see. - - Why don???t the insurance companies and state agencies adopt this motto: - LIFE: APPROVED. DEATH: DENIED. - - - Thankyou, - - Wendy, Penny, Jeff and Michael Gabriel