Medical Information for the Non-Insured (Musicians!)

Apr 24, 2002
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Chicago, Illinois
www.novembersdoom.com
Everyone, please help me out with this!

www.savemydoc.com

I'm writing this and sending this out to everyone I know, to try and help the this amazing cause. Over the past few years, we've lost some amazing people in the music industry due to illness. Many of which lost the battle due to lack of funds for treatment because as a professional musician, there is no medical insurance plan. For many people in the United States, medical insurance is something that is very expensive to pay for out of your own pocket. Many people are lucky enough to have good benefits through their job, and their medical benefits are paid for, or the majority is covered by their employer. This is not the case for musicians, who choose to write and perform for a living. Everyone gets sick, and everyone needs medical attention from time to time, and you know as well as I do, it can either be so expensive, you choose to self medicate with over the counter drugs, and never see the doctor, or you do see a doctor, and end up paying for medical bills for years. Most doctors offices won't even see new patients unless they are covered by major medical insurance.

Now to the point of all of this...

There is a doctor in my home area who is attempting something new, and trying to make a difference in patient care. His name is Dr. Mark Macumber, and is a family Physician and he has been forced out of some areas of practice due to the insane cost of malpractice Insurance. Here's the short version of his story...

"I am a Family Physician, practicing in the Chicago area since September of '97. In my entire career as a Family Physician, I have never been sued for malpractice. Over the course of three years, my malpractice insurance went from to $2500, to $4000, to $10,000, and this year I was told it would be $40,000. If I had decided to continue delivering babies, it would cost me $150,000. If I quit my practice, and move to a different county, my insurance would only cost me $5000. All over the country, doctors are either limiting their practices, moving...sometimes out of state, or retiring early because of these outrageous costs.

People who have worked their entire lives to help others are having their careers destroyed. Patients are being left without doctors. The problem is only getting worse. I used to run six free clinics a month, but I had to quit, and abandon those patients because of this cost. This isn't what being a doctor is about. I am doing something about it."

The program is called "Patients First," and I'm asking you take a few minutes of your time, to read the information on his website, and if you agree with this, support him! Drop him an email and tell him so, and he may post your comments on his site. This is an amazing idea, and if this catches on, and other doctors follow this example, medical visits can be affordable for everyone, including the struggling musician, or artist! If you live in the Chicago area, and are without insurance, send an email with questions for him.

This is no scam. It's one doctor attempting to make a difference and actually help people before he worries about his bank account. For this, I will do my part to help spread the word in the music community. So again, I ask that you read his information, and drop him a quick email about it, then, pass the info along to others!

The website is:
www.savemydoc.com

Thanks for reading, and helping!

Paul - Novembers Doom