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Are you really that foolish? With UHC, those that are "chronic" wrecks of health will simply be pushed aside as untreatable. Happens in Canada every day. Whether we have tax dollars or premium dollars, the financial model is still pretty much the same when it comes to health insurance. The one difference, at least in theory, is that the uninsureds will no longer create costs that the insureds must pay for.
What happens if a doctor (now a governmental employee) cuts off the wrong leg? Ever try to file a claim against the government? Who ever sued the government for that carelessly unrepaired pot hole that caused the accident that killed the child perfectly strapped into the back seat of his/her parents M/B?
Where do you get this idea that anyone with a chronic condition is pushed aside? Oh yes, from the Current Private Health Insurance Scenario in America. The only Chronic patients that are avoided or not treated are when a Insurance Company either refuses cover due to the chronic illness being a pre existing condition or when they fabricate a reason (eg. Non disclosure on a form) to avoid paying for treatment.
In a UHC people with Chronic conditions are NOT refused treatment. I myself am Diabetic and i get all of my Insulin, syringes, Testing Equipment, and any other drugs that i need, whether for the Diabetes or not, completely free. I get regular check ups, eye tests with the doctors often and NO co pay. NO ONE with a Chronic illness is pushed aside...EVER.
If a Doctor under the UHC in the UK cuts off the wrong leg he is just as easy to sue as any other person or even liable for criminal prosecution. He then goes before a Disciplinary Committee of the Medical Council or a court and if found Guilty of negligence, he can be struck off the Doctors register, fined and even imprisoned. A cap is put on the amount payable from any medical disaster but is on a sliding scale depending on the seriousness of the claim.
Too many on here use the Private Insurance Scenario in America as a template for how a UHC works. NOTHING could be further from the truth. In a Insurance run Health System you are completely at the mercy of the Company that you are Insured with. Decissions are made by pen pushers and not the Doctors as to whether you get treatment or NOT. In a UHC the Decisions are made solely by the Medical Proffesionals, it is the finance that comes from the Govt. and NOT the Decisions on your treatment. Guidlines are put into place by the Govt to protect patients and to bring a uniform service to everyone. If a drug is not yet licenced in the UK is cannot be used. If a comparable regime of treatment is deemed to be as good otr better than a expensive alternative, then the cheaper regime/ drug is used. Generic and named drugs are prescribed as each Doctor see fit. The Health system of each area is run by the local Health Authority and NOT the Govt.
Stop using the America system as it is now to define a UHC, it just doesn't work that way.
I have a chronic disease. I know people all over the world who have the same disorder, 2 of which are in Canada. They have NEVER EVER been denied their medication, nor has it even been late in the many, many years since they were diagnosed.
Me on the other hand, I have been dropped by TWO home health companies because they weren't making enough profit from the insurance company. I've had interviews with the insurance company where I had to 'prove' that I had my genetic disorder because they didn't trust the doctors diagnosis. I have also lost two extremely good jobs because the companies premiums went up for everyone and by process of elimination they found out it was me and unceremoniously fired me. They have also refused to carry more than two doses at a time (I get IV infusions every other week for life) because it's too expensive. If they run out and forget to order, or just don't feel like ordering because of the price issue (and they lag between getting reimbursement) then I go without. Insurance companies don't give a crap about your health. It's profit ONLY.
I welcome UHC because anything is better than dealing with insurance companies for long term disorders.
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JetJockey, I am so sorry to read that you have a serious illness. Hopefully we can pass a form of UHC that will end any further aggravation and tension your situation must cause you. It is the same with many hospitals;
the mark-up on everything from a box of tissues to your meds is obscenely high. Too many industries have had carte blanche in this country, largely due to endless deregulation. Medicine was never meant to be a business; it
exists to tend to the health of citizens, not squeeze them for every dime, deny them care due to a pre-existing condition, or cut them off mid-treatment.
I have a chronic disease. I know people all over the world who have the same disorder, 2 of which are in Canada. They have NEVER EVER been denied their medication, nor has it even been late in the many, many years since they were diagnosed.
Me on the other hand, I have been dropped by TWO home health companies because they weren't making enough profit from the insurance company. I've had interviews with the insurance company where I had to 'prove' that I had my genetic disorder because they didn't trust the doctors diagnosis. I have also lost two extremely good jobs because the companies premiums went up for everyone and by process of elimination they found out it was me and unceremoniously fired me. They have also refused to carry more than two doses at a time (I get IV infusions every other week for life) because it's too expensive. If they run out and forget to order, or just don't feel like ordering because of the price issue (and they lag between getting reimbursement) then I go without. Insurance companies don't give a crap about your health. It's profit ONLY.
I welcome UHC because anything is better than dealing with insurance companies for long term disorders.
This would NEVER happen under a UHC. I am sooo sorry jet that the American Health System treats you this way. You did not cause your health problem but the America Health System IS causing you unimaginable stress and possible worsening of your condition. You are just a number in a Insurance Company Computer that decides whether you are a profit or loss to them.
I get soooo annoyed at this kind of story and the m8illions like it in America today. Because of certain self interest groups YOU must suffer jet. Let's get this UHC off the ground and give Every single American a Health care that they deserve and not one that they have to put up with.
Are you really that foolish? With UHC, those that are "chronic" wrecks of health will simply be pushed aside as untreatable. Happens in Canada every day.
Where do these rediculous stories of people with chronic illness being cast aside under a UHC come from? They are fabricated lies. When i see these posts i realise that the American System is being quoted to describe a UHC that very very few in America Understand.
This would NEVER happen under a UHC. I am sooo sorry jet that the American Health System treats you this way. You did not cause your health problem but the America Health System IS causing you unimaginable stress and possible worsening of your condition. You are just a number in a Insurance Company Computer that decides whether you are a profit or loss to them.
I get soooo annoyed at this kind of story and the m8illions like it in America today. Because of certain self interest groups YOU must suffer jet. Let's get this UHC off the ground and give Every single American a Health care that they deserve and not one that they have to put up with.
Yep. Me and the other 1500 or so other people in this country that are currently being treated for our rare genetic lysosomal storage disorders. It's a small number and apparently easy to ignore because of that.
For those bitching about a UHC, imagine that you or your spouse or your child is born with one of these disorders. Your entire LIFE will be based upon getting good insurance. Hate your job? Doesn't matter, it offers insurance. Being sexually harassed? Ignore it, you can't lose your job and insurance. You will always live in fear of being fired or laid off and being uninsured. You will spend countless hours coordinating medication, nursing, tests, doctors, insurance companies, referrels etc. all the while hoping that they won't 'accidently' bill the wrong # or deny your claim. I was sent to collections for an overdue bill of $327,000 because of an insurance oversight and it took me 6 months to get it off my credit reports.
This is what I've been going through since I was 11 years old.
Yep. Me and the other 1500 or so other people in this country that are currently being treated for our rare genetic lysosomal storage disorders. It's a small number and apparently easy to ignore because of that.
For those bitching about a UHC, imagine that you or your spouse or your child is born with one of these disorders. Your entire LIFE will be based upon getting good insurance. Hate your job? Doesn't matter, it offers insurance. Being sexually harassed? Ignore it, you can't lose your job and insurance. You will always live in fear of being fired or laid off and being uninsured. You will spend countless hours coordinating medication, nursing, tests, doctors, insurance companies, referrels etc. all the while hoping that they won't 'accidently' bill the wrong # or deny your claim. I was sent to collections for an overdue bill of $327,000 because of an insurance oversight and it took me 6 months to get it off my credit reports.
This is what I've been going through since I was 11 years old.
DAMN!
You really need all of this grief from the age of 11 and trying to cope with a Medical problem. Tooooo MANY people on here think that they will never have medical problems or problems because of their insurance cover. Many of those are in for a HUGE shock. The Insurance Companies are trying to fight a UHC and so will probably promise many things but like the Banks and Insurance CEO's, as soon as the Dust Settles they will return to their old money grabbing ways.
I have Always appreciated how a UHC works and being diabetic i have NEVER had to give my condition a second thought as far as getting treatment. There is so much RUBBISH put on here about how a UHC discards people with chronic conditions....ABSOLUTE TWODDLE!
You are a living, breathing example of how bad the current US health Service is. They will try to discredit you jet, or get you swept under the carpet, but that must NOT happen this time.
I am in the UK for the Summer but when i get back to my house in America i am going to actively start some UHC reform groups and email the President personally. I get emails from his team often. I will make them aware of how REAL Americans now feel about a UHC. This pathetic health system MUST stop here and now.
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