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I need to vent my dissatisfaction with "health care" in the US. It is apparent to me Affordable Care Act was written by insurance and drug Corp lobbyists. Previous to enactment my premium for a basic BCBS was a little over $800/mo. When so called Obamacare took effect my subsidized payment rose to around $1600/mo. I paid for a "Silver" plan the first year that the premium doubled this year so like many I dropped to "Bronze". At lease some preventative care is included.
I recently had to have surgery in the ER to repair a severed tendon in my hand. I have a $12,000.00 deductible so I called to get a quote of possible cost. The gal I talked with said it could possibly be as little as $200-300. After attempting to stitch it myself I realized I truly needed a pro. LSS.....I was in the ER for about an hour and a half and had a surgeon work for about 15 minutes. The hospital doc group just sent an additional bill for $354.00. only one doc looked at my hand for a minute to determine a surgery was required. Total bills for the 1-1/2 hr ordeal......approx. $5,000.00. Oh, not including drugs that I asked the pharmacist not to fill if not covered. Surprise, the meds were covered. Other than drugs and about $800.00 it is all my cost to fulfill my deductible.
I too have significant resentment towards the providers of health care providers and Obamas health care plan. I am a senior and retired but because I had children late in life and I find myself really struggling with having to pay the enormous price for health care insurance. My monthly cost for a family of four is $1200 a month and that is with my previous employer, the government, paying 51 % of my health insurance. The cost has driven me almost to the point of bankruptcy. I have worked in the medical field all my adult life as a psychotherapist. Most of my work has been in public clinics with physicians who prescribe the latest and greatest psychotropic medications to those with Medical Assistance. The costs of these medications are outrageous. Because MA pays for these medications with little or no copay it raises the price of medication to others who have to pay for them. There is no longer a an issue of market value because of this. I saw some of the bills the pharmaceutical companies were paying for these drugs and sometimes a 30 day supply cost as much as $ 800 a month for one drug which MA paid. The pharmaceutical companies are well aware of the number of people receiving MA and target this population. They have pharmacy representatives who visit the doctors and will actually bribe the doctors into prescribing their medications. The doctors usually will follow the advise of these "reps" as we call them even when there are equally effective older medications at a much lower cost. This is supposed to be against the law, according to MA, but the doctors usually get around the law by saying that the drugs had fewer side effects. Then there is salaries of the health insurance employees, especially the executives. In general salaries of individuals who work for health insurance companies are significantly higher than the same positions in other businesses. Executive salaries are beyond outrageous with some making as much as 26 million a year. Who deserves that kind of salary especially when you are suppose to be in a business that is helping mankind. A problem we have in Baltimore is with individuals with MA using hospitals as their primary source of health care, the cost of which is 10 times that of a primary care physician visit. Those who savvy, homeless or out of money for food will often visit the ER's claiming to be suicidal. Depending upon bed space, hospitals will frequently admit this. With Obama care there has been an incredible increase in MA recipients. Recently Allen Greenspan predicted that the cost of these entitlements would bankrupt the US if they are allow to be continued.
My thoughts?
I am someone who thinks the government is the most inefficient, incompetent, corrupt bunch of baboons.
I am someone who hates the rigamarole medicaid and medicare puts you through to get their sad little reimbursement.
I am someone who opposed Obamacare with every fiber of my being.
I hate CMS so very, very much.
But I have gotten to the point now that I can't stand seeing people have to go through so much nonsense for basic healthcare. I hate seeing people with critical, life-threatening illness sit there calculating in their heads if they can afford to stay vs risk dying/decompensating. I'm tired of seeing people with premium plans or medicaid (ie, no copay) come with sniffles and scratches while the middle bunch of people count pennies and roll the dice with whether or not they should have their chest pain checked out.
Something really needs to change right now. This system sucks ass.
While I don't agree with your preamble, I agree with your conclusion (although you probably won't agree with mine ).
We are supposedly the richest nation in the world. It seems to me that all the American people ought to receive something concrete back from what I will call the bounty of America. And I can't think of anything more basic to human life than excellent health care. It shouldn't matter if you are rich or poor, or live in a lavish community or a ghetto. You ought to have the gift of health care from this nation.
...
Right now, we have an illegal population that uses the emergency room (on our taxpayer dime) 3 times more than a US Citizen. A lot of people use the emergency room for minor things and we all pay for that in some way.
...
I think that's a problem that is EASILY solved, and not just for the illegal population, but also for Americans who still don't have health insurance, but who go to the emergency room for reasons that are not an emergency. And I discovered it in Thailand when I lived there. For health care I went to one of the best international hospitals in the world (which was remarkably inexpensive). There was the main hospital (much like ours). There was an emergency room (much like ours). And right next to the emergency room was a walk-in clinic where anyone could go for "minor" care. Such a simple arrangement.
The real problem I have with ACA is that the politicians all exempted themselves. I recall not that long ago, the hue and cry that went up in Congressional offices when their staffers feared not being exempted from it. Now, I ask you...WHY is it not good enough for the politicians? You know, the ones who voted it into law? Ms. Pelosi with her, "we have to pass this to see what's in it", when she herself is exempt from it?? I don't think so.
For those of you who want a 'single-payer system', tell me, who will that apply to? Just us unwashed masses, or the big wigs, too? Why isn't ObamaCare good enough for Obama???
A gripe of mine for many years. I lived in the Washington, D.C. area for most of my adult life, so each year I would see articles and ads for people covered under Congress for their MANY options in health care.
Here's my solution: Members of Congress get the AVERAGE level of health care of all Americans. If that were true, things would change quicker than the results of an enema!
The idea that government can force individuals to buy from private industry is probably as invasive into individual Liberties as is allowing Carte Blanche surveillance of telephone calls.
It would be easy to call Obama a crazy guy for breeching Constitutional Liberties has he has so many times during his ignominious term in office, but he is not a crazy, just a puppet for Wall Street and Big Business, both of which love the idea of forcing individuals to buy from private industry. Obama's is undoubtedly the biggest traitor to the working person that ever sat in the White House.
My thoughts?
I am someone who thinks the government is the most inefficient, incompetent, corrupt bunch of baboons.
I am someone who hates the rigamarole medicaid and medicare puts you through to get their sad little reimbursement.
I am someone who opposed Obamacare with every fiber of my being.
I hate CMS so very, very much.
But I have gotten to the point now that I can't stand seeing people have to go through so much nonsense for basic healthcare. I hate seeing people with critical, life-threatening illness sit there calculating in their heads if they can afford to stay vs risk dying/decompensating. I'm tired of seeing people with premium plans or medicaid (ie, no copay) come with sniffles and scratches while the middle bunch of people count pennies and roll the dice with whether or not they should have their chest pain checked out.
This is exactly where we're at. We have excellent insurance, yet we consider cost for every medical issue. We "roll the dice" for our medical care and just thank God we have dice to roll Then, you have those with no insurance, not even Medicaid, clogging the ER with minor problems, or drug-induced overdoses, withdrawals, etc, and the cost is passed on to us, via our ever increasing deductibles and copays.
Last edited by Jeo123; 08-23-2015 at 07:07 PM..
Reason: Fixed Tag
The idea that government can force individuals to buy from private industry is probably as invasive into individual Liberties as is allowing Carte Blanche surveillance of telephone calls.
What government agency sells car insurance? Oh, right the government forces you to purchase car insurance from... private insurance companies. Such a destruction of your individual liberties. Meanwhile the uninsured cost the government thorough we the taxpayers for those who not insured, so whose liberty is actually be abused? I think that answer is rather clear. Now if you would declare now and forever that you will never ever get medical attention unless you can pay the full freight then I might consider your individual liberty sacrosanct.
What government agency sells car insurance? Oh, right the government forces you to purchase car insurance from... private insurance companies. Such a destruction of your individual liberties. Meanwhile the uninsured cost the government thorough we the taxpayers for those who not insured, so whose liberty is actually be abused? I think that answer is rather clear. Now if you would declare now and forever that you will never ever get medical attention unless you can pay the full freight then I might consider your individual liberty sacrosanct.
Big difference. Anyone who wants to buy a car knows of STATE requirements BEFORE buying one. How does one choose whether or not to live? Basically the precedent that is set by Puppet Obama is that the Federal Governed can force an individual to buy anything the corrupt politicians decide. Nice precedent! I wonder where this little idea will go?
While I don't agree with your preamble, I agree with your conclusion (although you probably won't agree with mine ).
We are supposedly the richest nation in the world. It seems to me that all the American people ought to receive something concrete back from what I will call the bounty of America. And I can't think of anything more basic to human life than excellent health care. It shouldn't matter if you are rich or poor, or live in a lavish community or a ghetto. You ought to have the gift of health care from this nation.
not to thread crap but
USA is not the richest nation in the world
To call a country rich you don't look at income, you look at assets minus liabilities then divide this by the number of people
Our liabilities are rising 4 times faster than assets.
now imagine, FED was not allowed to print electronic zeros called money, than what would happen?
Don't even get there. You don't want to know. But if you are really curious, watch Mad Max, that will give you an idea...
Sorry carry on. I can't help myself when someone calls USA rich.
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