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My first job out of college was at Blue Cross in Oakland, California in 1978. I didn't stay in that industry - but I can certainly tell you how very different the margins and industry business models are now than they were then. I now have coverage through one of their policies and spend hours per month arguing with their decisions and attempting to get them to stop micro-managing my phyisicans. Complete waste of resources. The administrative layer is a waste of billions of dollars. Am I concerned about finding those clerks new jobs? NO. There are plenty of expired parking meters around the country...and unlike those of us paying the salaries of those (underqualified and overcompensated) insurance clerks....parking meters don't breathe!
I am one of those uninsured. I work a 6 month seasonal job while my DH was laid off from his work in Dec. We spent the winter looking for work while receiving unemployment compensation. Now he is sub-contracting at a venue clear across the state after a nearly 2 month stint with a NH company.
We weren't eligible for COBRA from his previous employer because they defaulted on their coverage, and even if we were we couldn't afford it . We can't budget for individual insurance and still pay our bills so we will have to pay out of pocket for our physicals to get our hypertension medication.
This is why we need some kind of health care reform. The ordinary costs for medical care have skyrocketed through the years because of the peculiarities of private insurers' relationships with doctors and medical facilities. Health care has deteriorated from a noble profession to a for-profit proposition. Insurance underwriters base their formulas on statistical cost vs. profit data instead of the best health applications for the human organism.
Ethics have gone out the window with my idealism.
i agree it would be great to have low cost health insurance, but i do not want 1) higher taxes ( i can barely live as it is! 2) make it so hospitals have waiting lists.
I don't want higher taxes, either. I understand that the proposals involve taxing incomes well above most middle class folks. And all the people I have met from Canada or Europe had no complaints about their health care. I have met Canadians that were admitted to facilities in NH at the expense of their government services because there was no local facility available.
My own physicians have 1-4 month waiting periods for appointments generally. Now that I am self-pay I am hoping my options for services are not compromised by these same offices.
Many of the fears and complaints that people are concerned about are already perpetrated by private insurers locally:rationed care, waiting lists and exclusions. I don't profess to have answers, I just feel that this is too rich and resourceful a nation to let it's citizens go without basic health care.
I don't want higher taxes, either. I understand that the proposals involve taxing incomes well above most middle class folks. And all the people I have met from Canada or Europe had no complaints about their health care. I have met Canadians that were admitted to facilities in NH at the expense of their government services because there was no local facility available.
My own physicians have 1-4 month waiting periods for appointments generally. Now that I am self-pay I am hoping my options for services are not compromised by these same offices.
Many of the fears and complaints that people are concerned about are already perpetrated by private insurers locally:rationed care, waiting lists and exclusions. I don't profess to have answers, I just feel that this is too rich and resourceful a nation to let it's citizens go without basic health care.
i have on the other hand heard complaints, but its natural for visitors to make their own countries sound nice too,
heck ive heard people claim mexico is a great place to live, nevermind them wanting to move here....
I am one of those uninsured. I work a 6 month seasonal job while my DH was laid off from his work in Dec. We spent the winter looking for work while receiving unemployment compensation. Now he is sub-contracting at a venue clear across the state after a nearly 2 month stint with a NH company.
This is a very unfortunate situation and speaks directly to the need for options for health insurance here in Maine.
We weren't eligible for COBRA from his previous employer because they defaulted on their coverage, and even if we were we couldn't afford it . We can't budget for individual insurance and still pay our bills so we will have to pay out of pocket for our physicals to get our hypertension medication.
This is why we need some kind of health care reform.
Yes, "some kind". Right now, here in Maine, the simplest way to achieve true reform would be to eliminate the "guaranteed issue" requirement. That would open the doors to other insurers coming in to the state and offering insurance coverage. It would directly lower the cost of health insurance for individuals simply by having options in coverage and a little competition.
The ordinary costs for medical care have skyrocketed through the years because of the peculiarities of private insurers' relationships with doctors and medical facilities.
Well, in a word, no. Not really. There are no "cute" relationships between private insurers and doctors and medical facilities. In point of fact, there is a tenuous relationship between all three at best, because for the most part, their goals, aims and objectives are somewhat conflicting. There are two major reasons for the skyrocketing of medical care in general. One is the increase in use of very expensive technology at every phase of diagnostics. This in turn requires emense capital outlays at the hospital level, and for that matter, at the doctors' office level, too. Another reason is the near absolute lack of control over malpractice actions, and the enormous rise in the cost of physicians delivering medical services. Malpractice insurance isn't a major cause by itself, but the rise in the amount of documentation required for all phases of medical services and the overall increase in the cost of trained staffing has helped to drive up the cost of medical service.
Health care has deteriorated from a noble profession to a for-profit proposition. This is somewhat true. But I don't think that the medical profession is much different than any other profession or business in this country. Up until the great collapse of the economy last fall, I think that almost everything in the country has been based on a selfishness and greediness never seen here before. It is pretty hard to be altruistic when the entire society in which you work is driven by "what's in it for meism".
Insurance underwriters base their formulas on statistical cost vs. profit data instead of the best health applications for the human organism. Insurance companies are ONLY concerned with the statistical cost vs. profit data. It is NOT the province of the insurance industry to be concerned with "the best health applications for the human organism. THAT is the job of the medical profession. The insurance industry does a pretty good job overall. It analyses the risks actuarially, and charges premiums for its products intending to deliver those insurance services and return a profit to the shareholder.
Ethics have gone out the window with my idealism.
Well, not really. Each industry has its own set of ethics. You have been unfortunately victimized by the overall decline and fall of our economy. This is not the fault of the insurance industry, the medical profession or anyone else by themselves. You would probably have nothing to add to this conversation had your insurance remained intact. That it didn't points to a major issue facing this entire nation. It is far more than merely reorganizing the insurance industry. The work must be directed to restoring more than mere profit motive, litigiousness, and lack of quality in every day life.
I don't want higher taxes, either. I understand that the proposals involve taxing incomes well above most middle class folks. And all the people I have met from Canada or Europe had no complaints about their health care. I have met Canadians that were admitted to facilities in NH at the expense of their government services because there was no local facility available.
My own physicians have 1-4 month waiting periods for appointments generally. Now that I am self-pay I am hoping my options for services are not compromised by these same offices.
May I introduce you to my wife's family in Toronto?......I would especially like to connect you with my brother-in-law. Fortunately, he is still alive today, and actually CAN talk with you! Had the unbelievable Canadian health care system in that backwater town of Toronto been allowed to keep their grips on him any longer, back when he was a child, he would unfortunately be "predisposed" being dead today, and would not be in the mood for talking. FORTUNATELY, my in-laws were smart enough to IMMEDIATELY zip the lad to Buffalo NY as fast as they could. The good old American system there WAS able to reverse the Canadian care, and to save Aaron when his serious brain illness looked terminal. Phew!
(My wife would also want to tell you some stories about emergency "care" she has received in recent years, on trips back to visit her family...)
It is truly AMAZING what you say about your waits to see your doctor. I have been able to have MRIs and CAT scans within DAYS of needing them, office visits within HOURS of wanting them, phone consultation with nurses within MINUTES of picking up the phone book, etc. etc. I typically wait a week or two to get in to see my doctor or to get a blood test, x ray, etc. No big deal. And I live in a typical podunk town.
As to all those people "without basic health care" that you allude to..........I must tell you that in years of working as a social worker with thousands of people, I have never met one (not ONE) that didn't have basic, decent health care. Now think about that, and who I work with: I work with the poor and disadvantaged!! I am not making this up.
As to all those people "without basic health care" that you allude to..........I must tell you that in years of working as a social worker with thousands of people, I have never met one (not ONE) that didn't have basic, decent health care. Now think about that, and who I work with: I work with the poor and disadvantaged!! I am not making this up.
And where do they receive this "health care" and who pays for it?
This whole reform issue isn't about health CARE. This whole issue is about a plan that will pay for health care for everyone and more importantly, the mechanism by which this care is paid for.
This is about health INSURANCE that is not simply paid for by welfare programs or subsidized by high costs sent along to those with insurance already.
And where do they receive this "health care" and who pays for it?
This whole reform issue isn't about health CARE. This whole issue is about a plan that will pay for health care for everyone and more importantly, the mechanism by which this care is paid for.
This is about health INSURANCE that is not simply paid for by welfare programs or subsidized by high costs sent along to those with insurance already.
EXACTLY, Acadian: the Obama/SEIU/AARP side has intentionally chosen to obfuscate that there is a HUGE difference between health care, and health insurance. (So that they will get this bill through). The media has played along.
My clients almost all get Maincare, or have insurance, or go to emergency room, or get charity care, or go to free clinics, or just don't pay their bills for years and years, or etc. etc. etc.
BUT they ALL get basic health care!! Every single time.
EXACTLY, Acadian: the Obama/SEIU/AARP side has intentionally chosen to obfuscate that there is a HUGE difference between health care, and health insurance. (So that they will get this bill through). The media has played along.
My clients almost all get Maincare, or have insurance, or go to emergency room, or get charity care, or go to free clinics, or just don't pay their bills for years and years, or etc. etc. etc.
BUT they ALL get basic health care!! Every single time.
Well, it isn't just the current administration. The terms have been feely confused and confusingly used by many administrations for many years.
In this country we generally do not deny basic medical care to anyone. Most hospitals that run an emergency room will see and triage anyone who staggers through the door.
Who ultimately pays for it? Why those people, both individuals and companies that have purchased health insurance, and those people and companies that pay taxes.
Now, the real argument is that if the 40 million Americans who have NO health insurance....that is to say: those 40 million Americans who are not paying premiums into some system somewhere, did so....then the entire cost of health insurance would drop for everyone.
I don't believe that this is true. I do believe that we should be providing some sort of health insurance mechanism for ALL Americans, and I will go so far as to say that it is disgraceful for a nation that prides itself on possession of a world leading position regarding human dignity and human rights to NOT have such a system. Now having said that I do not believe that we should have a "single payer" system...the Federal government, nor do I believe that unlimited health care is a "right" of living in this country. I believe that people should be given basic health care and they should be taught how to take better care of themselves. I believe that Americans should not fear catastrophic loss and the disruption to family that such losses bring, when losses are from unavoidable injury or illness. In that I believe that all Americans are, and should be equal.
I do not believe that someone or some group that can buy a super deluxe health insurance plan that includes dental, mental health, obstetrics and a host of other non-essential items should be restricted from doing so. People should be free to spend their money anyway they want to, including for advanced, or "deluxe" health insurance plans.
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