Obama finally called them out

[FarmerChick]

I know what you mean me&thegals

I wonder also. Will the true effect of all this mess get to my wallet?

But first I still have to put others having insurance first----then I jump back to my wallet..LOL

I think it can eventually.

Uninsureds are the problem truly. If they are insured, then the free rides at the hospitals are over. The hospitals can lower their cost of a MRI and then the ins. companies can lower their premiums.

If a hospital charges $1800 for a basic MRI, and it gets paid only 6 out of 10 times....but then all of the sudden 10 times out of 10 they will be paid....hmm....the could lower the cost of that MRI, and then the ins. carriers dont have to pay $1800 for an MRI, maybe just $1100. The the prems come lower. (boy I hope all this goes well..LOL)

And the govt. backed plan....if it is low enough, offers good choices and coverage and gives you the option of no maternity and all that.....that plan could be very affordable. And if it is tempting to many....then the other companies have to follow for fear of losing customers and them opting for the govt. plan.

(Now hopefully that all will transpire as the new policies come into effect.)
we shall see how the ball rolls of course..LOL--but like I say, I am all for moving forward.

 

[ORChick]

I have been following this thread, but not commenting till now because others are expressing my thoughts better than I could. But I thought I might just throw in this little bit. My dear friend is a physician. She is a naturalized citizen of the U.S., originally Canadian, and got her medical training in France. So she is very up on 3 different aspects of health coverage. And she is, need I say?, a thorn in the side of the financial managers of the clinic she works in. She told me this little story.
At a meeting in the clinic the doctors were told that the prices for procedures were going up. My friend pointed out that Medicare, Medicaid, and most, if not all, insurances would still only pay a certain amount, the same they had been paying, so who would be hit with this rise? The number on the billing sheet would be higher, but the amount the clinic received, for the most part, would be the same. So the higher price would only be applicable to those who paid cash - that is, the little guy. The ones without insurance, but who are of the mindset that a bill is something to be paid (I know that not everyone who is un/under insured feels this way) would suddenly find themselves paying (as an example only) $120 instead of the $110 they might have been charged last week, and also instead of the $89 that the clinic would have received from insurance. Others hit with this would be people like me; my DH and I have insurance, but it is a very high deductable, catastrophic plan. Essentially, until we have paid more than $5500, we are as good as "un-insured". (Although, granted, often doctors give us the insurance price, but not always). Now, for the little guys who never have any intention of paying that $120 this doesn't matter in the least. For those who do, for whom it is a point of honor so to do, it is, at best, a slap in the face.
Something needs to be done with the health care situation in this country. And, even if this plan that is in the works now isn't perfect, it is at least a step in the right direction.

 

[Blue Skys]

Do you agree with the "mentality" behind it though?
If you drive, don't insure, you should be fined?

I wasn't talking who funded it?




and should states tackle their own insured's problems. Pick a very highly under-insured state? Could those other residents who work and pay taxes give their uninsureds healthcare? Just let the states raise state taxes to a level that every single person is insured in the state?
The inbalance would be huge in some states, and very minute in others where the majority are insured.

Do you think that can be done?

I do not agree with requiring anyone to have insurance - that is why mine covers un-insured motorists. That's how I take responsability for myself. If someone hit me and didn't have insurance would I expect the government to pay for the damages? No. I'm not sure that's the equivilent, but it makes my point, not that it matters.

I guess it's just a principles issue. I take responsablility for myself and my actions and expect others to do the same, and not expect anything from anyone else. I do help my neighbors when I can and am not a cold person who has been brainwashed my the "right wing fear mongerers", I have thought long and hard about the issue without the help of the media or politicians.

I have seen first hand the individuals that take advantage of the systems and I will not condone allowing them to continue to reap the benefits of the honest working folks in this country, at the sake of making things "fair".

I'm not sure why I even began commenting on this thread, nothing anyone says will change anyones mind, I guess I just couldn't look on and say nothing. This is not a matter of rich, poor, insured, uninsured, taxes, no taxes this is a matter of freedoms slowly being ripped from our grasp. It is worrisome to see so many turn the other cheeck, or even encourage such actions that are bringing this administration down the road of tyranny.

I wish you all the best, I will not look at this thread any more.

Don't tread on me!!

 

[FarmerChick]

good post ORChick

it is good to hear from a physicians view and what they know about billing. confirms that I know us little guys get screwed over time and again.

definitely time for a change!

 

[FarmerChick]

Bluesky
how about you covering an un-insured on medical care also.
would be the same if you are willing to pay extra money for other people's irresponsibility. I am not willing to pay for others not being insured anymore.




Quote---It is worrisome to see so many turn the other cheeck, or even encourage such actions that are bringing this administration down the road of tyranny.

***but you can turn the other cheek on 47 mil that are suffering needlessly. And the second part, I don't believe we will lose our freedoms just because people need healthcare. The only biggest situation that can help since we are on the brink is the govt. Some help, not control.


**** do you know that out of that 47 mil uninsured, MOST are working. Without insurance. They are not deadbeats at all. They are hard working people with jobs and families and no insurance. Yes the deadbeats hurt the system, but NOW it is regular folk on the uninsured list...regular working folk, people just laid off and can't afford COBRA, families bankrupt from medical bills not being able to afford other medical bills still racking up, not paying, into the system it goes.

Everyone pays. If it is the little guy thru the wallet like me, the hospitals shutting doors and laying off much needed employees, the uninsured who might pay with their health.

 

[Wifezilla]

Can we give the "47 million" number a rest? Seriously?

"The Census Bureaus Current Population Survey (CPS) is a misleading measure of those who lack health insurance in America and an imprecise tool for analyzing the dimensions of the problem. Analysis of data from earlier Census Bureau and other government reports shows that roughly 7 million are illegal immigrants; roughly 9 million are persons on Medicaid; 3.5 million are persons already eligible for government health programs; and approximately 20 million have, or live, in families with incomes greater than twice the federal poverty level, or $41,300 for a family of four.

Most of the uninsured are in and out of health coverage. The professional literature also shows that, overwhelmingly, the vast majority of the uninsured are persons who are in and out of coverage, largely as a result of job changes. Only a small number of the uninsured are chronically uninsured. For most of the uninsured, the problem is fixable if policymakers simply take steps to make health insurance portable, so the insurance policy sticks to the person, not the job.

Current Federal Tax Policy Fuels Uninsurance. A substantial portion of uninsured Americans are not poor but rather middle-class working Americans who are forced to face a major tax penalty, resulting in premium increases of 40 to 50 percent, if they do not obtain health insurance through the place of work. For millions of Americans without job based health insurance, both the tax policy, and the excessive regulatory burden on health insurance in the states, prices families out of coverage. Current federal tax policy then unnecessarily drives millions into the ranks of the uninsured.
So, lets get inside those rough numbers.

Who tends to be uninsured?
They tend to be younger, with those most likely to be uninsured between ages 19 and 24. Almost all adults age 65 and above are covered primarily by Medicare, and many of them have supplemental private insurance. Men are a little bit more likely to be uninsured . Married individuals and persons with more than a high school education are much more likely to be insured. Most of the uninsured (88 percent) are in good to excellent health. The likelihood of being insured rises with income and full-time work status, although nearly half (47%) of the uninsured are full-time workers. Hispanics are considerably more likely than those in any other ethnic category to be uninsured (over 30%). More than a 25% of the uninsured are foreign-born. By Census Bureau estimates, about 10 million uninsured are not citizens and half of them are illegal immigrants. "

http://www.wikio.com/article/121021762

 

[reinbeau]

Wifezilla, I posted a link way back with the information on what the 46.7 million represented, but it was ignored - as will your info, because it doesn't support the Obama plan. I've noticed many here who are for this plan just don't read what's posted - Big Daddy, you are not one of them. Really, how can you be educated about the issue if you don't read all of the sides and issues?

 

[Blue Skys]

Bluesky
how about you covering an un-insured on medical care also.
would be the same if you are willing to pay extra money for other people's irresponsibility. I am not willing to pay for others not being insured anymore.




Quote---It is worrisome to see so many turn the other cheeck, or even encourage such actions that are bringing this administration down the road of tyranny.

***but you can turn the other cheek on 47 mil that are suffering needlessly. And the second part, I don't believe we will lose our freedoms just because people need healthcare. The only biggest situation that can help since we are on the brink is the govt. Some help, not control.


**** do you know that out of that 47 mil uninsured, MOST are working. Without insurance. They are not deadbeats at all. They are hard working people with jobs and families and no insurance. Yes the deadbeats hurt the system, but NOW it is regular folk on the uninsured list...regular working folk, people just laid off and can't afford COBRA, families bankrupt from medical bills not being able to afford other medical bills still racking up, not paying, into the system it goes.

Everyone pays. If it is the little guy thru the wallet like me, the hospitals shutting doors and laying off much needed employees, the uninsured who might pay with their health.

I tried to bow out gracefully - so much for that. Look at wifezillas post - If you really think those 47 million people are "suffering needlessly" then I don't know what to tell you. There are ways to get healthcare without insurance, and again there are the exceptions that rack up thousands of dollars on bills, but the majority of people won't have to go bancrupt for the sake of regular healthcare, they may just have to learn to spend less on other things - vehicles, houses, etc... as someone had stated earlier.

Oh, and look at what the government did for the regular folks who bought more house than they could afford, they bailed them out. Look at the other places the government has stepped into help, they now how control - not outwardly, but control none the less.

Oh and auto-insurance is completely different, I will not continue that example.

 

[FarmerChick]

1 person without coverage in this day and age is unacceptable.

and yes, if the number was, lets pick --20 million does that make you all feel better? It isn't. It is 46.5 million (yea, million) people without coverage.

The health costs WILL NOT EVER decrease unless this is tackled. On a big scale.

How can people not see this?

I know it is basically HOW the change should be made. For me, govt. help is the only way to make a progressive change for the good. HELP from the govt. Not total control.

And go and tell those 46.5 million that they are healthy. Please...one accident, one car crash, one slip of a building they are roofing, one idiot that hurts another (oh no coverage for those things that happen every day to thousands) well that is OUR problem again.

And I mean OR NATIONs problem we must fix.



The debate is basically should the govt step in and help.
I say YES

if you say no then that is your choice. but I think the majority wants change and wants it badly.

stagnant, no change over many administrations hasn't worked now has it?

I say GO change! And on a big scale!

(this is just my opinion and I stand by it. Of course you all have yours)

 

[FarmerChick]

Blue the argument "you can always get health care when needed" IS THE PROBLEM. The unisureds are taxing the system and taking everyone in this country down, down, down. It is time for an uplift.

It is time for change. BIG change.




_____
not addressed to you personally

but so many are so paranoid of the govt.
while I am truly not a govt. fan, I see their need to step in and help this situation