All things Mary Lou Retton

[once_upon]

I dont know where to put this topic. I just know many of us want it out of the current gymnastics discussions.

 

[Sylvia]

Here's one recap of Retton's situation for those who weren't in the Gymnastics thread: https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/20...ises-questions-as-crowdfunding-passes-250000/
(Feel free to post links to Brennan's articles.)

 

[skipaway]

Recovering

 

[allezfred]

Mary Lou Retton - the legendary Olympic gymnast who tumbled out of favour

She was criticised for opposing legislation to protect vulnerable young athletes, and her current illness in hospital has led to a rash of conspiracy theories

www.irishtimes.com

 

[skipaway]

Update on Mary Lou Retton

 

[MacMadame]

Update on Mary Lou Retton

This one talks a bit about the fundraiser and why she didn't thave insurance.

Mary Lou Retton received $459,324 in donations. She and her family won't say how it's being spent.

Mary Lou Retton's daughters raised thousands for their Olympic-champion mother when she was hospitalized in October, saying she was not insured.

www.usatoday.com

What I don't understand is why anyone thinks there would be anything left after medical bills are paid. She was in the hospital for a week. I bet she'll be billed at least a million dollars.

 

[Simone411]

This one talks a bit about the fundraiser and why she didn't thave insurance.

Mary Lou Retton received $459,324 in donations. She and her family won't say how it's being spent.

Mary Lou Retton's daughters raised thousands for their Olympic-champion mother when she was hospitalized in October, saying she was not insured.

www.usatoday.com

What I don't understand is why anyone thinks there would be anything left after medical bills are paid. She was in the hospital for a week. I bet she'll be billed at least a million dollars.

With what's happened to her and being uninsured, there should have been a social worker at the hospital that would go over her case and help her to get Medicaid.

She's unable to have any kind of income, and since she doesn't have insurance, she would more than likely qualify for Medicaid given her condition.

I was in ICU for over 2 months, no longer had my job or insurance. My social worker did help me to apply for Medicaid. I qualified and started receiving Medicaid approximately 2 months after I had been transferred to a nursing facility.

Medicaid paid all my medical bills while at the hospital. Medicaid also paid for whatever medications I needed, paid for me staying at the nursing facility, etc.

When I started receiving SSDI which was about nearly a year later, I no longer qualified for Medicaid because I made too much social security disability income.

But the fact is that Medicaid paid all of my hospital bills which included me being on a ventilator while in an induced coma for over 2 weeks, my lab work and whatever meds I needed.

She would have more than likely qualified for Medicaid. I'm not sure about that since her daughters did the Go Fund Me thing raising the $459,324.00. And her bill may very well be at least a million dollars. I believe her daughters made a mistake by doing that.

It was pretty expensive for me back in 2011/12. My bill total including everything at the hospital and being in ICU for 2 months was close to $300,000.00.

I can't understand why a social worker didn't get with her to apply for Medicaid. She probably would have qualified since she had no insurance, etc. and is still recovering at home which will take a very long time. That's going to cost money, too.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Angie, perhaps you could find her contact information and reach out to her, sharing your experiences, insight and suggestions just as you do with us here?

 

[Simone411]

Angie, perhaps you could find her contact information and reach out to her, sharing your experiences, insight and suggestions just as you do with us here?

I think it would be a great idea. She needs to know that she may qualify for Medicaid and that it would pay all her bills. She may be considered disabled, too, and look into that with Social Security. We don't know how long she'll have to use that ventilator and it could be for a very long time. That oxygen can only go through her nose.

I'm wondering if she has a website, etc. where it would show how to contact her. I'll also do Googles searches. I'll try the U.S. Gymnastics website to see if she may have contact info there.

If anyone can give me more ideas of how to contact her, please let me know.

 

[Tesla]

@Simone411 You are a very good person.

 

[haribobo]

100% everything Simone said. I just watched the story from the Today show. I am a social worker and can say that it is entirely possible that someone tried to get her on Medicaid or she had the option long ago and she rejected it until it was life or death. I also think her story about "30 surgeries" is highly unlikely. I also don't know if I buy that she had some mystery disease that nobody has seen before. People can say all kinds of stuff with great levels of enthusiasm and I think its not all necessarily factual- its the version she wants us to hear because it takes some or all responsibility off of her.

 

[MacMadame]

I also think her story about "30 surgeries" is highly unlikely.

Even if she had pre-existing conditions, the ACA makes it so she can get insurance and it's on a sliding scale too.

I get the impression that she sucks at managing money but had so much coming in (from endorsements, speaking engagements, etc) so it didn't matter but as it dried up (getting farther and farther from her Olympic glory), the mismanagement started to take its toll.

This is not a rare story for famous athletes. Or any celebrity with a shelf-life.

 

[Simone411]

Even if she had pre-existing conditions, the ACA makes it so she can get insurance and it's on a sliding scale too.

I get the impression that she sucks at managing money but had so much coming in (from endorsements, speaking engagements, etc) so it didn't matter but as it dried up (getting farther and farther from her Olympic glory), the mismanagement started to take its toll.

This is not a rare story for famous athletes. Or any celebrity with a shelf-life.

And you may be right about that. I found her home in Houston, TX. It's not too shabby at all. It's a 9000 sq. ft. mansion. It has custom features which include 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. So she may really suck at managing money. I also found how to contact her for booking and speaking engagements through her agent. But that's all I could find.

Here's Mary Lou's mansion, by the way.

Mary Lou Retton’s luxury Houston home

Every once in a while we enjoy taking a look at celebrity homes. It gives us a nice perspective and it lets us understand that every home is unique and

www.homedit.com

If she did refuse or rejected the chance to get on Medicaid, she may not be able to get on it now at all.

Just editing to add that you're correct about pre-existing conditions. There is a possibility she can get health insurance through the ACA.

 

[MacMadame]

If she did refuse or rejected the chance to get on Medicaid, she may not be able to get on it now at all.

She may not qualify as she does have assets. But the articles all say she has insurance now. So she got it from somewhere.

 

[Simone411]

She may not qualify as she does have assets. But the articles all say she has insurance now. So she got it from somewhere.

Well that's good. At least she has some type of insurance.

 

[once_upon]

She may not qualify as she does have assets. But the articles all say she has insurance now. So she got it from somewhere.

I'm guessing this is the reason.

 

[Aceon6]

She may not qualify as she does have assets. But the articles all say she has insurance now. So she got it from somewhere.

Hmmmm. I had a relative go through something similar. Continuing a decent employer sponsored plan was too expensive after her divorce, like $2,000/month expensive. Due to politics, she thought ACA plans were for other people and never investigated them. While uninsured, she skipped routine testing and vaccines, even the ones that were free because they were for other people. Guess what happened? She’s now on a brutal payment plan for her hospitalization and will be on it for at least 10 years. But she has an ACA plan now.

 

[Private Citizen]

Good for Christine Brennan for calling out the ridiculous lies that Retton and team are spewing.

When told that an insurance agent contacted by USA TODAY Sports found two plans charging $545 and $680 per month for which someone with her mother’s medical history would qualify, Kelley said that Retton had once been covered by health insurance but “because she was not able to work and give speeches for two years due to the pandemic, she gave up her insurance.”

Retton was “about to get (health insurance) again but didn’t, and then she got sick,” Kelley said.

Retton remains popular in Olympic circles, with a speaking fee that is believed to be at least $25,000.

Anyone who donated to this fundraiser needs their heads examined and has more money than sense.

As for Medicaid, we should all storm the Capitol if our tax dollars are funding medical treatment for someone with a 9000 square foot mansion and $25,000 speaking fees. There are many ways for Mary Lou Retton to make $545-680 per month to fund her own damn insurance like everyone else. She can probably make that much doing those silly little cameo videos that celebrities often do. And, yes, I'm fine if she were to lose everything and need to live in a homeless shelter over not having insurance. There are too many freeloaders; too many people who selfishly put their material wants over their healthcare needs. Don't let them die, but do make them suffer. And let the suffering be public enough that others think twice before foregoing insurance.

Please, Retton and team, stop speaking these lies. Good for at least some of the press to call them out.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Good for Christine Brennan for calling out the ridiculous lies that Retton and team are spewing.



Anyone who donated to this fundraiser needs their heads examined and has more money than sense.

As for Medicaid, we should all storm the Capitol if our tax dollars are funding medical treatment for someone with a 9000 square foot mansion and $25,000 speaking fees. There are many ways for Mary Lou Retton to make $545-680 per month to fund her own damn insurance like everyone else. She can probably make that much doing those silly little cameo videos that celebrities often do. And, yes, I'm fine if she were to lose everything and need to live in a homeless shelter over not having insurance. There are too many freeloaders; too many people who selfishly put their material wants over their healthcare needs. Don't let them die, but do make them suffer. And let the suffering be public enough that others think twice before foregoing insurance.

Please, Retton and team, stop speaking these lies. Good for at least some of the press to call them out.

Thank you for writing this. Its exactly how I feel.

 

[once_upon]

Unfortunately someone like Mary Lou makes the system suspect and reflects negatively on those who really needs assistance and really has no resources. Crowd sourcing to pay medical bills when you do have resources is fraud in my opinion.

I don't like the "rare unnamed pneumonia" description. In the very least identify it as bacterial, viral, fungal. Yeah she looked really sick in the NBC interview, but so do thousands of other people and they aren't getting national attention to their medical issues

 

[PrincessLeppard]

Some people are speculating it was pneumonia caused by Covid. She's apparently anti-vax?

(if true, I had covid after getting the vaccine [two weeks before my booster was due] and my lungs are still a mess)

 

[Evgeniafan]

Unfortunately someone like Mary Lou makes the system suspect and reflects negatively on those who really needs assistance and really has no resources. Crowd sourcing to pay medical bills when you do have resources is fraud in my opinion.

I don't like the "rare unnamed pneumonia" description. In the very least identify it as bacterial, viral, fungal. Yeah she looked really sick in the NBC interview, but so do thousands of other people and they aren't getting national attention to their medical issues

But shame on NBC for interviewing a wealthy person who got people to pay for her bills. I know so many people that are hard working individuals with insurance that the copays, deductibles wipe their savings out. Its disheartening.

 

[MacMadame]

Hmmmm. I had a relative go through something similar. Continuing a decent employer sponsored plan was too expensive after her divorce, like $2,000/month expensive. Due to politics, she thought ACA plans were for other people and never investigated them. While uninsured, she skipped routine testing and vaccines, even the ones that were free because they were for other people. Guess what happened? She’s now on a brutal payment plan for her hospitalization and will be on it for at least 10 years. But she has an ACA plan now.

This is exactly what I think happened. Or close enough.

Anyone who donated to this fundraiser needs their heads examined and has more money than sense.

Can't disagree with that.

As for Medicaid, we should all storm the Capitol if our tax dollars are funding medical treatment for someone with a 9000 square foot mansion and $25,000 speaking fees.

Well, they don't.

Which is good because I can't afford a plane ticket to DC and we all saw what happened the last time people stormed the Capitol.

 

[FiveRinger]

Good for Christine Brennan for calling out the ridiculous lies that Retton and team are spewing.



Anyone who donated to this fundraiser needs their heads examined and has more money than sense.

As for Medicaid, we should all storm the Capitol if our tax dollars are funding medical treatment for someone with a 9000 square foot mansion and $25,000 speaking fees. There are many ways for Mary Lou Retton to make $545-680 per month to fund her own damn insurance like everyone else. She can probably make that much doing those silly little cameo videos that celebrities often do. And, yes, I'm fine if she were to lose everything and need to live in a homeless shelter over not having insurance. There are too many freeloaders; too many people who selfishly put their material wants over their healthcare needs. Don't let them die, but do make them suffer. And let the suffering be public enough that others think twice before foregoing insurance.

Please, Retton and team, stop speaking these lies. Good for at least some of the press to call them out.

With a speaking fee of $25,000, I don’t see how you can’t afford insurance. If you do one speech a quarter you’re in 6-figure salary territory. That’s an excellent return on very little work. One speech would pay your insurance for a year. I’d even bet that once she’s well her fee will increase.

I’m sorry, but the excuses that Retton and her family are giving are a bunch of lies. I would have preferred if she just said she didn’t prioritize her health. But the truth doesn’t get people to open their wallets. They should all be ashamed.

 

[FiveRinger]

Hmmmm. I had a relative go through something similar. Continuing a decent employer sponsored plan was too expensive after her divorce, like $2,000/month expensive. Due to politics, she thought ACA plans were for other people and never investigated them. While uninsured, she skipped routine testing and vaccines, even the ones that were free because they were for other people. Guess what happened? She’s now on a brutal payment plan for her hospitalization and will be on it for at least 10 years. But she has an ACA plan now.

Doesn’t this situation qualify you for ACA? No one should be paying that for insurance. I thought that if ACA was cheaper than what your employer offered you would be eligible.

 

[Aceon6]

Doesn’t this situation qualify you for ACA? No one should be paying that for insurance. I thought that if ACA was cheaper than what your employer offered you would be eligible.

Yes, once she turned down her ex-spouse‘s group coverage, she was eligible. But, like I said, politics. She fell down the rabbit hole believing ACA was as evil as some make it out to be.

 

[FiveRinger]

I have another question. This isn’t a dig, but I’m curious. I know MLR had 2 hip replacements. How in the hell is she able to sit Indian-style in that interview?

 

[MacMadame]

I have another question. This isn’t a dig, but I’m curious. I know MLR had 2 hip replacements. How in the hell is she able to sit Indian-style in that interview?

The same way Rudi Galindo can still do triples? Artificial hips are pretty amazing.

 

[Coco]

I think "lying" is a strong word. Confusion, chaos and poor communication are far more likely.

Regarding ACA, after the changes Trump implemented which Biden did not entirely undue, it is now far more common to see plans with max out of pockets of $10,000-$12,000, deductibles of $8,000 and premiums of ~$1,000. With such a high deductible and premiums, many people play the odds. They describe it as not being able to afford insurance when the reality is needing to liquidate their assets, set up a fund, live in a shoebox or with relatives.

You can't be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions, but I think you can still be charged an arm and leg.

The article on her mansion is from 2009 and I believe one of the recent articles states that she sold that and lives in a smaller home. If she's still in that place, taxes might be as much as $100,000/year or even more.

I see no reason to doubt 30+ surgeries. She had 3 or 4 known procedures before she was 17, and since technology has improved a lot since then, it's not surprising if she's needed additional procedures.

She was on DWTS 5 years ago, though, and you would think they would have mentioned a hip replacement if it had happened by then. It would be strange if 4 happened in 5 years, unless both were needed and then both had to be redone in short order. With her being so short, it's plausible that the fake parts didn't fit right. We just had a friend who needed hers redone w/in 6 months

My guess is she did not handle getting divorced well. It's possible she was the higher earner and has to pay him support, who knows. But I'm guessing managing the finances is new for her and it is clearly not pretty.

I don't know how many speeches she was giving even before the health issues. You have to be on the older side to remember 1984. Before this happened, she was doing those commercials associated with fading celebrities who can't get better work, like life insurance and sanitary products for the elderly.

 

[FiveRinger]

I think "lying" is a strong word. Confusion, chaos and poor communication are far more likely.

Regarding ACA, after the changes Trump implemented which Biden did not entirely undue, it is now far more common to see plans with max out of pockets of $10,000-$12,000, deductibles of $8,000 and premiums of ~$1,000. With such a high deductible and premiums, many people play the odds. They describe it as not being able to afford insurance when the reality is needing to liquidate their assets, set up a fund, live in a shoebox or with relatives.

You can't be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions, but I think you can still be charged an arm and leg.

The article on her mansion is from 2009 and I believe one of the recent articles states that she sold that and lives in a smaller home. If she's still in that place, taxes might be as much as $100,000/year or even more.

I see no reason to doubt 30+ surgeries. She had 3 or 4 known procedures before she was 17, and since technology has improved a lot since then, it's not surprising if she's needed additional procedures.

She was on DWTS 5 years ago, though, and you would think they would have mentioned a hip replacement if it had happened by then. It would be strange if 4 happened in 5 years, unless both were needed and then both had to be redone in short order. With her being so short, it's plausible that the fake parts didn't fit right. We just had a friend who needed hers redone w/in 6 months

My guess is she did not handle getting divorced well. It's possible she was the higher earner and has to pay him support, who knows. But I'm guessing managing the finances is new for her and it is clearly not pretty.

I don't know how many speeches she was giving even before the health issues. You have to be on the older side to remember 1984. Before this happened, she was doing those commercials associated with fading celebrities who can't get better work, like life insurance and sanitary products for the elderly.

There are a couple of things that I want to address. This is just based on my personal knowledge of ACA when I was on it and unemployed from Mar 2020 to May 2021.

ACA is based on income. If MLR was unemployed, which is essentially what she says that she was during and after covid because she couldn't do speeches, her premiums and co-pays would have been adjusted. I don't live in TX, but my monthly premiums were $100/mo. Literally. I was getting unemployment, so I provided that pay stub. Otherwise they ask how you plan to file your taxes . It's a pretty straightforward application. And all that, for me, was while the orange walrus was in the WH.

They cannot base your premiums on pre-existing conditions. They don't even ask about them. It's illegal. So she certainly wouldn't have had increased rates because of her medical issues.

How apropos is it that she was out here doing insurance commercials when she herself didn't have any?

MLR used to promote a company years ago. I can't remember the name. But she did infomercials for them talking about her hip replacements. She was in her 30's at the time. I remember it vividly because my grandmother had had her own hip replacement right around that time and I was not impressed. Infomercials....yuck!! That means MLR had hers 15-20 years ago. I can't say why it wasn't discussed on DWTS....but those hip replacements aren't a secret.

I'm disappointed in Hoda because that was such a soft interview, and frankly, someone should have pushed back on MLR's answers. Her refusal to answer questions about what she did with almost half a million bucks makes people who are paying attention suspect. Did she think nobody would ask? She lost the right to privacy the second her kids started asking for money. It won't happen, but I wish someone would look into it.