Why should your healthcare be dependant on how much money you can afford to pay? (Congress, drug)
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I am someone with very serious medical issues and luckily for us, we have always maintained good healthcare plans, saved money and now that I no longer work, we are fortunate that my wife has a sizable income. But it gets me thinking about other, less fortunate folks. It doesn't even have to be just poor folks. You can be standard middle class folks and you could take a serious hit or be wiped out. Your health problems don't always reset each year, like the deductibles do.
So a serious, non partisan, non constitution issue discussion. How did it ever get to where employers were involved in our healthcare? That just seems crazy. Should people as Americans know that if they become ill, that they will be taken care of no matter what? Shouldn't there be a system in place where money is not an issue between the patient and the health services they need?
Remember, talking points are really easy.........until YOU find yourself in a bad situation. Again, we can afford what has happened to me, but we were lucky that it happened toward the END of my career. Had it happened earlier on, we would have been screwed.
In a word, OP, money. The insurance companies act as middle men, setting prices and rationing healthcare towards one goal only, to maximize their profits. There should be no one in between you and your doctor deciding what kind of treatment you will be allowed to receive based solely on an insurer's profit margin. But here we are, because money controls our elected officials, and the insurance lobby has a whole lot of money.
Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcies in America, but there are those will continue to insist that it's their own fault for not setting money aside for an emergency. But who could possibly save enough money to cover even one major illness or accident? It's not possible.
It's depressing to know that nearly every other first world country on the planet, as well as some that are not first world, can take care of the healthcare needs of their populations, but the strongest, richest, most advanced country on the planet can't manage it.
It's not for a lack of ability, but a lack political will.
in the past several years, pharmaceutical companies in America have pursued a strategy in which they obtain exclusive rights to manufacture a ubiquitous and cheap drug, only to multiply the price several times.
In ideal world, yes, I would support universal health care, but in reality..
To put things in perspective, all campaign contributions made by all lobbyists in all industries in Washington DC amount to about 100 million dollars a year. The pure profit reaped by pharmaceutical companies from a single law passed suriptitously at 3 in the morning (Medicare Part D) amounted to over 40 Billion dollars a year over ten years. Thats a return of 4000 times the investment made in bribing Washington officials for free money in a single year!
The pressure of this type of corruption is so great, makes you wonder, if a federal single payer will be even more vulnerable.
I am someone with very serious medical issues and luckily for us, we have always maintained good healthcare plans, saved money and now that I no longer work, we are fortunate that my wife has a sizable income. But it gets me thinking about other, less fortunate folks. It doesn't even have to be just poor folks. You can be standard middle class folks and you could take a serious hit or be wiped out. Your health problems don't always reset each year, like the deductibles do.
So a serious, non partisan, non constitution issue discussion. How did it ever get to where employers were involved in our healthcare? That just seems crazy. Should people as Americans know that if they become ill, that they will be taken care of no matter what? Shouldn't there be a system in place where money is not an issue between the patient and the health services they need?
Remember, talking points are really easy.........until YOU find yourself in a bad situation. Again, we can afford what has happened to me, but we were lucky that it happened toward the END of my career. Had it happened earlier on, we would have been screwed.
Honest discussion?
Non partisan, non constitution issue discussion.
Universal health insurance does not necessarily mean universal access to health care. In practice, many countries promise universal coverage but ration care or have extremely long waiting lists for treatment. Those countries that have single-payer systems or systems heavily weighted toward government control are the most likely to face waiting lists, rationing, restrictions on the choice of physician, and other barriers to care.
They say France has the best health care system. I read an article (don't remember and source and correct me if I am wrong here) that co-payments run between 10 and 40 percent, and physicians can balance bill over and above government reimbursement rates, something not allowed in the U.S. Medicare program. On average, French patients pay roughly as much out of pocket as do Americans. The Swiss government pays a smaller percentage of health care spending than does the U.S.
Healthcare here is for profit. Period. It is regulated to some degree but it's designed to make money for the providers. Insurance companies would be out of business if they covered everything and took in reasonable premiums. They must take in more than they pay out or its a wash. Chronic health issues make a client unprofitable. Americans are loaded with chronic issues so the HMOs have to charge outrageous premiums to make a profit. Make a choice America. Subsidized health care for all or quality health care for the ones that can pay....
Disconnecting health care from the free market is what has made it so expensive.
I'm sorry for your situation but state managed care is not the answer.
I am someone with very serious medical issues and luckily for us, we have always maintained good healthcare plans, saved money and now that I no longer work, we are fortunate that my wife has a sizable income. But it gets me thinking about other, less fortunate folks. It doesn't even have to be just poor folks. You can be standard middle class folks and you could take a serious hit or be wiped out. Your health problems don't always reset each year, like the deductibles do.
So a serious, non partisan, non constitution issue discussion. How did it ever get to where employers were involved in our healthcare? That just seems crazy. Should people as Americans know that if they become ill, that they will be taken care of no matter what? Shouldn't there be a system in place where money is not an issue between the patient and the health services they need?
Remember, talking points are really easy.........until YOU find yourself in a bad situation. Again, we can afford what has happened to me, but we were lucky that it happened toward the END of my career. Had it happened earlier on, we would have been screwed.
Honest discussion?
Because healthcare is a product for sale. It's a service provided and sold by people who know how to do it, and have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars themselves learning how to do it. Doctors and researches etc. don't get their education just so they can be charitable. Again, healthcare is a product for sale, like anything else, no different from a computer or a car or whatever. You just think of it differently because more emotion is involved, because lives may be on the line, but it isn't any different.
Profit also drives the quality of the healthcare you're getting. If you tell a doctor that he can only make so much, or charge so much, why should he strive to be the best, have the best techniques, develop the best medications, etc. when his extra effort won't be rewarded with extra profit? Think about it.
As everyone knows health care in our society is a luxury and privilege reserved for the wealthy.
But why? We have had both parties in control. They have had ample time to do what is right. They really can no longer keep blaming each other for not getting it done. When you have both sides of congress and the presidency, you get it done. Both sides had that. One side even had a super majority with their (I) friends recently. There is no acceptable excuse now. No one can blame the other party, as each party could have and should have taken care of it.
Why is it not corrected?
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