health care
The other day i was watching the Evil MSNBC (trying to catch the weather before work), well when i was browsing they were talking about health care. The news caster said that the bill being planned may actually make the health plan i have from my employer and many others, no more. Does this have any truth to it. And how could that be?
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funny sh%$%^%^###$$t
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/268/if4f.mp40 -
i was reading that americans have to pay alot for their health care. we moan about our nhs here! would you prefer our system? 0 -
wonder if this could happen if Obama care is signed into law.
if I were the father, Hell would be paid for this crap.
I was premature, I weight less that 1 1.2, I had ask my dad for photos, but back then, photos in the ward were few and far between.
my dad took his ring off his finger and put on my wrist.
My mom told me that.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1212924/Doctors-said-Id-miscarriage-did-premature-baby-fought-life.html0 -
No I don't expect the govt to supply me with a job OR health care but OUR govt makes health care only available thru employers.it is too expensive on the open market because young healthy people don't pay into it.I'm 56 years old and put in 30 years with the phone company(the lowlife ALLTEL co)and I'm left with no ins and working two jobs,one of which has health ins.YOU MAY BE IN THIS POSITION SOONER OR LATER.
Watch what you say.I once made fun of a short fat,bald,old ,ugly guy.
NOW I AM ONE.0 -
I assume most of us have a company sponsored health plan. After talking at length with a friend from Canada, I've become convinced that a single-payer plan is a better bet. I am no proponent of gov't sponsored anything, but what say you to bidding it as you would any other government contract? Cover it with a national sales tax and eliminate the need (and expense) of a employer sponsored plan. I think the current plan before Congress really ends up making the workers pay for both. 0 -
Prefer isn't a good term.
Our system is badly broken. Yours is perhaps as broken, but in a different way.
Here in the US there are few checks and balances. Costs are hidden until after the service is rendered, and many times the services prescribed are merely the result of a doctor trying to cover his backside or increase his bottom line.
In theory this is good medicine because the total bill will be covered by insurance and the patient won't be affected. That's the theory, but flaws abound.
Insurance companies are in business to make money and there's no free lunch. What we tend to forget is that insurance is already a socialized idea and that our premiums merely are a way of sharing expenses with the insurance company taking a cut as profit.
Then we have the drug companies wining and dining our medicos. Cash bonus plans, trips, kickbacks, etc. All with the intention of having their products pushed by our medicos. Again, no problem because "insurance" covers the expense.
But there is a problem because no matter how we cut it, we insure ourselves. The insurance company merely accepts premiums, transfers money, and takes a cut of the action.
Now, let's take a look at insurance costs and insurability. Each state has its own regulations, but the short of it is that everything is now out of control.
How would you look upon a state that taxes you for being hospitalized? New York adds 6% (as I recall) to each bill as their cut of the pie. Then they regulate who can be insured and who can insure. The cost is astronomical. This is why businesses are beginning to drop employee coverage. A husband and wife in their mid 50's with a private insurance plan can expect a bill of about $12K per year... For rather poor coverage!
Imagine paying a third of your annual income for medical insurance that will only cover 80% of your bill at best. This when the average blue collar worker here is bringing home less than $40k a year and a major medical crisis could easily add up to $350k and more.
So... Even with insurance we're fooling ourselves! A $70k debt just to leave the hospital alive. This becomes a disaster whether we live or die.
Now tell me, is your medical "insurance" worse than ours?0 -
were outsourcing most healthcare now to hindu, islamic pakistani, foreign doctors. our own american people can't afford to get through school, or pay the insurance to practice[;)][V][B)] 0 -
I only pay $15.00 copays when I visit the DR. And $10.00 copays for generic prescriptions and $25.00 for any new drugs that don't have generics yet. My company pays the rest. And that is how every one I know is. I have had a few surgeries over the years and never paid a dime. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Sigfan
I only pay $15.00 copays when I visit the DR. And $10.00 copays for generic prescriptions and $25.00 for any new drugs that don't have generics yet. My company pays the rest. And that is how every one I know is. I have had a few surgeries over the years and never paid a dime.
Everybody wants to know where you work and if there are any openings! Not many folks have that kind of coverage these days.
I would to some extent agree with Nord, but would more correctly state that our healthcare payment system is broken. Some of it was caused by coverage like you describe - patient had no idea what anything cost & didn't really care as long as it didn't impact him. Medicare and Medicaid came along and took over a major percentage of the business, then set inadequate rates, and at some point insurance companies started demanding discounts like Medicare and Medicaid. Through all of those changes the "answer" for providers was to raise charges so that somebody else would pay. One day the world wakes up and realizes the uninsured are still being charged "list price" and we have a crisis.
On top of that our litigious (sp?) society has pitched in to cause the "cover your backside" approach to providing services.
We have the best healthcare in the world, no doubt. Our payment system is totally whacked, though.0 -
Good health insurance benefits are used as a draw to get well-qualified (young, non-smoking, no history of cancer or drug abuse) employees to sign on. When reality hits most of these folks, they will have paid (sometimes in combination with employer) almost $10,000 in premiums, which is the "buffer" between you paying 60% of the bill and you paying ALL of the bill for a covered event.
Gov't. employees are "drawn" to the supposedly wonderful benefits available to group policies, but most times, unless the employee works for a well-funded Federal branch; their benefits are no better than most self-insurance plans that cost less.
I'd heard that in the U.K. , one would face a wait of up to 8 months for a Cardiologist, and longer for a Specialist in heart valves, etc.
We all know the Dentists are overworked[:D], and that some folks are now pulling their own teeth with pliers due to lengthy waits/pricey services, but what about all the Cambridge/Oxford/etc. Doctoring students? Are they all Hindi or what?!0 -
quote:Originally posted by rhythm_guy
quote:Originally posted by Sigfan
I only pay $15.00 copays when I visit the DR. And $10.00 copays for generic prescriptions and $25.00 for any new drugs that don't have generics yet. My company pays the rest. And that is how every one I know is. I have had a few surgeries over the years and never paid a dime.
Everybody wants to know where you work and if there are any openings! Not many folks have that kind of coverage these days.
My health care coverage is not unusual at all where I live, here in Northern Virginia. I work for a government contractor, so do all my friends. We all have very similar health coverage, they have to offer us all about the same thing, as it is very competitive to hire well qualified educated people around here. My company also offers $10,000 NET (as in take home pay) referral bonuses for every person I refer and they hire. Once they hire 10 people that I have referred, they also give me another $40,000 bonus. One of our competitors, Lockheed Martin, was offering $25,000 sign on bonuses last year. As for openings, yes we have many openings. You need a degree in Engineering(Electrical, Mechanical, Computer, Aerospace or anything related) or the equivalent experience and at least a TS clearance. If you have that, send me your resume.0 -
quote:Originally posted by gunnut505
Good health insurance benefits are used as a draw to get well-qualified (young, non-smoking, no history of cancer or drug abuse) employees to sign on.
I do not agree with that at all. I am 45, so no young chicken (although I am in good health.) I have excellent health care that covers my entire family, as do all my friends, many of whom are older than I and have health problems. Providing health care coverage is just another part of doing business, any decent company will do it. I would not work for a company that doesn't. Like I said, I have had a few surgeries due to injuries the last few years, I never paid a dime. And I have never had to wait for months for treatment like the stories I have heard about nationalized health care in Canada and the U.K. I will keep our system, thank you.0 -
O.K., I admit I have (and pay for) Medicare. Also as a U.S. Govt retiree have blue Cross and Blue Sheild policy. A real good deal but a bit expensive but at my age (in my 80's) and on a fixed income I feel it is needed. This most all the time covers ALL hospital costs, plus a small fee for a 90 day supply of drugs. When I go to a doctor , with both health benifits there is no "if ands and buts" as far as paying and no extra charges. Yes, being a WW 2 disabled Vet I could probably use the V.A. but why bother in my case. This has worked out fine for me with no hassle. Only thing I have with the V.A. is my WW2 life insurance which I kept and apply the dividends for "paid up Life Insurance" each month (cost, $6.40 per month out of my V.A. check) and
my paid up G.I. Insurance is way the hell up by many, many times from the original $ 10,000. Hell no, I am not a well to do college grad, but a ex working tradesman now retired.0 -
I've got good insurance its the hospitals that suck.I was number 28 two and a half weeks ago, for cataract surgery. I'm still number 28 on the list. The hospitals don't have enough eye surgery operating rooms. 0 -
HealthNet....a company that bills patients for doctors and hospitals has pocketed BILLIONS for their services. They tucked some of the money into their Non-profit that they created.....the California Wellness Foundation.....which they use to lube politicians.
They have very generous Federal Contracts now for healthcare to boot.
You ain't paying for healthcare morons. Yer paying a mafia that goes all the way to Congress and the White House.
What are you? Stupid or something?0 -
quote:Originally posted by ObiWan
HealthNet....a company that bills patients for doctors and hospitals has pocketed BILLIONS for their services. They tucked some of the money into their Non-profit that they created.....the California Wellness Foundation.....which they use to lube politicians.
They have very generous Federal Contracts now for healthcare to boot.
You ain't paying for healthcare morons. Yer paying a mafia that goes all the way to Congress and the White House.
What are you? Stupid or something?
And what do you do? Do you have health care insurance or not? If not, what do you do when you get sick or injured? Make the ER take care of you for free?0 -
Sigfan,
I was booted from the US Military 2 years ago (medically retired) after I busted my back..12 years Active Duty- only twice to the Gulf. I needed a spine fusion after the first surgery failed and the military refused to give me time off to recover from the 2nd surgery. Military regulation states "convalescent leave" after surgery is up to a commanding officer...not a doctor. If your commander decided you don't need time off after surgery....you get NONE. He can and DID REFUSE to allow me to take normal leave for SURGERY AND Convalescent Leave. You would not want to hear the story and neither did the military want it to get out...thus why I got out with such a generous rating. They did give me high frequency ablation and sever the god dann nerves from my spine for temporary relief and put me on Oxycontin for the last few months in uniform.
That is but a snapshot of what I went thru in 4 years of he!!.
I still need a spine fusion and have needed one since 2004. VA won't pay for it and neither will DOD.
My disability rating with DOD is 40% and 40% with the VA.
Starting in 2004 they ceased letting military "retirees" or Veterans needing surgery get air travel from Guam to Hawaii. We have to pay 100% out of pocket and files claims to get reimbursed. (12 cents per mile I believe)
Well you know how claims and filings with the govt go....you don't git it back.
So I'm going to get all of you. I'm going to keep working until I'm in a wheelchair.....you see I'm Civil Service now in the same branch that booted me...doing the same thing I did active duty....nobody saw that coming.[}:)]
Then I'll get Civil Service Disability on top of the VA Disability...and the Military Disability REtirement....and I'll file for Social Security Disability....and laugh at all you fawkers that keep screwing over Veterans Healthcare.
I'm covered for healthcare....they won't provide it so I make money by not getting it.0 -
quote:Originally posted by ObiWan
Sigfan,
I was booted from the US Military 2 years ago (medically retired) after I busted my back..12 years Active Duty- only twice to the Gulf. I needed a spine fusion after the first surgery failed and the military refused to give me time off to recover from the 2nd surgery. Military regulation states "convalescent leave" after surgery is up to a commanding officer...not a doctor. If your commander decided you don't need time off after surgery....you get NONE. He can and DID REFUSE to allow me to take normal leave for SURGERY AND Convalescent Leave. You would not want to hear the story and neither did the military want it to get out...thus why I got out with such a generous rating. They did give me high frequency ablation and sever the god dann nerves from my spine for temporary relief and put me on Oxycontin for the last few months in uniform.
That is but a snapshot of what I went thru in 4 years of he!!.
I still need a spine fusion and have needed one since 2004. VA won't pay for it and neither will DOD.
My disability rating with DOD is 40% and 40% with the VA.
Starting in 2004 they ceased letting military "retirees" or Veterans needing surgery get air travel from Guam to Hawaii. We have to pay 100% out of pocket and files claims to get reimbursed. (12 cents per mile I believe)
Well you know how claims and filings with the govt go....you don't git it back.
So I'm going to get all of you. I'm going to keep working until I'm in a wheelchair.....you see I'm Civil Service now in the same branch that booted me...doing the same thing I did active duty....nobody saw that coming.[}:)]
Then I'll get Civil Service Disability on top of the VA Disability...and the Military Disability REtirement....and I'll file for Social Security Disability....and laugh at all you fawkers that keep screwing over Veterans Healthcare.
I'm covered for healthcare....they won't provide it so I make money by not getting it.
Sounds like your beef is with the military itself, not with the general health care system. The military allowing your commander to make the call on convalescent leave instead of a DR is just plain stupid.0 -
Sig...that's military regulation. No doctors order is actually an order in the military. A unit's commanding officer has total power and can refuse you time off for a surgery for an injury you received either in combat or at work.
Military legal folk told me it was "unethical"....but fully legal.
That's the law.0 -
We have Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health and Dental and I am very satisfied with it. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by ObiWan
Sig...that's military regulation. No doctors order is actually an order in the military. A unit's commanding officer has total power and can refuse you time off for a surgery for an injury you received either in combat or at work.
Military legal folk told me it was "unethical"....but fully legal.
That's the law.
That is idiocy. Sorry it happened to you.0 -
I do think a large part of the increased cost of health care is the multi million dollar lawsuits against doctors, hospitals and anyone related to the field.
Until our mentality changes about winning the lottery every time something doesn't go our way and filing BS lawsuits to win million of bogus dollars this cost will continue to skyrocket. Our greed has come back to bite us in the butt!
Its one thing to be compensated for injury in a valid claim. To have our medical costs paid and be comped for actual disability. But this isn't the way its working, the lawsuits are massive and the jury awards are punitive. There is no relation to the actual medical costs incurred and the monies paid out.
We need caps on BS lawsuits! Or just continue to gripe as the costs escalate out of sight.
Same with car insurance and anything thing else the tort lawyers can sink their teeth into. We just enrich them plus pay them their standard hourly rate in the hopes that we can win the big one and enjoy a multimillion dollar retirement in Hawaii.
We have a big stake in the blame for the cost of health care!0
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