So, who else has a relative who's choosing to remain uninsured?

[Anonymous]

A close relative has been uninsured for years, has untreated mental health issues, hasn't had a physical in decades with all kinds of illnesses running in the family ready to strike. There are some assets, but not many, that could be used to cover health care. And he's choosing not to sign up for health insurance.

I want to bang my head against a wall. Repeatedly.

I'm not really looking for advice, but commiseration would be welcome. I love this relative dearly, and this is really painful and frustrating.

[Anonymous]

I had a roommate who made over 70k and wouldn't buy insurance. He broke his hand and refused to even go to the doctor or ER. All I could think about was that he'd have bad arthritis later on and would be paying for it later when his hand mended badly.

[Anonymous]

Untreated mental health might well be connected to not making the best, most rational decisions about their health.

Untreated mental health usually means distorted thinking and skewed perspective taking and often along with that decreased motivation and reduced problem solving skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Untreated mental health might well be connected to not making the best, most rational decisions about their health.

Untreated mental health usually means distorted thinking and skewed perspective taking and often along with that decreased motivation and reduced problem solving skills.

Yes, definitely. We've been working on it, and my mother has sat down with him at the computer to figure out how much it would cost and what he would qualify for and offered to help pay for it...no dice. He absolutely refuses.

Untreated mental health issues that aren't bad enough to get you into a psych ward leave all kinds of problems that can't be addressed when the person is "technically" a "functional" adult.