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Health Care isn't an Inane Right. If your employer wraps it up in a bow like we do, great. But, I just really really want to know when the right to coverage came into being. Why do you once again, get something by paying for nothing???
Even in the 50's people paid their own doctor bills and then had Major Medical Insurance for hospital stays.
Well, as a start you can discuss items such as restricting access to specialists, and copay for all medical visits, including medicare.
I hope that a restriction of access to specialists were not the case. I see my neurologist on average of 3-4 times as much as I see my GP. My medical needs require that this is the case. Restricting me from being able to visit my Neuro would basically sentence me to disability. I do agree that our system is not perfect, far from it. But I do not believe that adding a layer of frosting over a turd cake is the way to get it fixed. It is like putting a bandaid over a gun wound. We need to get to the core of the problem, and work from there. All our politicians want to do is get something that looks good to the people passed so they can get reelected.
Greatday, I generally agree with your above posting, but one key point is that we need to start restricting access to medical care. Without this change, we aren't addressing the key item of overall medical cost running away from our overall ability to afford care.
How care is rationed can be debated, from items such as how specialist services are identified as needed through end of life care.
But Obama cannot continue to avoid this discussion.
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Originally Posted by HIF
How will you restrict access? Lock emergency room doors?
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Originally Posted by NewToCA
Well, as a start you can discuss items such as restricting access to specialists, and copay for all medical visits, including medicare.
I do not think that is the problem. That was tried in the 80s, with those gawd-awful HMOs. Then most people went to PPOs so that the pt. could access specialists w/o wasting everyone's time going to a GP-type first. One of the many insurances we had charged a higher co-pay for specialists. I don't know much about medicare.
I would totally support patients having to pay a co-pay when they go to their PCP or Specialist. I'm not talking about a $5.00 or $10.00 co-pay - I'm for the $50 or $75 (or more).
So what about people like me that are independent consultants that can't afford 1200 dollars a month? This absolutely sucks.
If the government can provide healthcare for my family I'm all for it.
The fact that health care costs so much is abysmal.
I'm in the same boat as you. Just starting a freelance business, and as someone with a pre-existing condition (borderline hyperthyroidism), I suspect that getting private health insurance will be difficult and expensive.
It would be nice to know that I would have some kind of health insurance. I'm active on several freelancing sites, and I hear many people say they would love to start their own businesses, but are tied to their jobs due to the prohibitive cost of private health insurance.
Providing some kind of blanket coverage might actually stimulate the economy by cutting those ties. Imagine that.
This is not FREE health care. How many times do some of you have to be told?
The Obama-Biden plan will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals purchase new affordable health care options if they are uninsured or want new health insurance.
Let me ask this - why, on what basis, would you want to restrict access to specialists?
I didn't state I want to limit it, however you would need to do so to start to drive down the overall cost of medical care. Unless you address the cost issue, the insurance issue is going to be pretty irrelevant.
I would totally support patients having to pay a co-pay when they go to their PCP or Specialist. I'm not talking about a $5.00 or $10.00 co-pay - I'm for the $50 or $75 (or more).
And this would likely go a long way in helping controlling overall medical cost.
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