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You lost me on the first comment. Medicare beneficiaries do use their benefits.
There are and should be similar concerns for any family without HC benefits.
HC is not a right. But IMO we the people with our rich, advanced and caring society should make it so as close as possible.
You suggested seniors should do themselves in and I said no, use the benefits first. But then they can just go get a job and pay for their insurance like the rest of us do. Yes, it will be difficult but they will learn their lesson, that everyone should have health coverage.
Remember when Medicare Part D was passed? It was completely unfunded but did you see any seniors protesting that?
But let younger families get health coverage? Tea Party protests with signs saying "keep your government hands off my Medicare".
Yes, and so do many people who don't qualify for Medicare. Believe it or not, you CAN get health insurance at age 65+, and premiums DO vary depending upon your medical history and personal lifestyle choices.
As an internist I have taken care of the elderly for 40 years now. Tens of thousands, and can think of only a few without Medicare. It is not cheap in the individual market, especially with disease. I can't even find a quote. You might have better luck.
You suggested seniors should do themselves in and I said no, use the benefits first. But then they can just go get a job and pay for their insurance like the rest of us do. Yes, it will be difficult but they will learn their lesson, that everyone should have health coverage.
Remember when Medicare Part D was passed? It was completely unfunded but did you see any seniors protesting that?
But let younger families get health coverage? Tea Party protests with signs saying "keep your government hands off my Medicare".
Part D was a serious boondoggle that few of my Medicare patients could figure out. It was TOO complicated. Even today as doc myself enrolling in Medicare Jan 1. it was hard to choose a proper and least expensive plan. I probably chose poorly as I seem to be paying more OOP for the same meds now.
Oh, and by the way, I am still in support of a public option, not necessarily universal single payer. And leave the private sector to its own devices.
As an internist I have taken care of the elderly for 40 years now. Tens of thousands, and can think of only a few without Medicare. It is not cheap in the individual market, especially with disease.
That's my point. It is surprisingly cheap for those of us who have no disease. Why? We're not penalized for others' irresponsibility in life and lifestyle choices, unlike Medicare, Obamacare, or any other form of socialized health care.
Part D was a serious boondoggle that few of my Medicare patients could figure out. It was TOO complicated. Even today as doc myself enrolling in Medicare Jan 1. it was hard to choose a proper and least expensive plan. I probably chose poorly as I seem to be paying more OOP for the same meds now.
Oh, and by the way, I am still in support of a public option, not necessarily universal single payer. And leave the private sector to its own devices.
My point is where were the seniors protesting against Medicare Part D? Because it benefited them they were silent even though it was completely unfunded. But let those that were younger get healthcare? Unleash the hounds! Tea Party protests everywhere! Load up the buses! No, I'm sorry, I see seniors as extremely self-centered. Extremely. I would not cry for these seniors, they showed their true selves.
Steps would need to be taken to seriously decrease the cost of healthcare. Europe doesn't pay $15 per pill of Tylenol, $8 for a "mucus recovery system" (box of Kleenex), or $23 per single alcohol swab. http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/wi...ospital-costs/
The problem with Obamacare was never the fact that they tried to do socialized medicine or copy Canada and the EU. The big problem was that nobody did anything to reduce out of control price gouging already built into the system before trying to do socialized medicine.
EU public healthcare is not without its many flaws, but the cost of coverage here in the USA has simply gotten to be too much to handle. It's gotta get fixed one way or another. More and more, nobody can actually afford to use our current healthcare system.
No one is paying $15 for a Tylenol or $8 for a box of tissues.
The " Chargemaster" within Brill's book is Cost Accounting, a process that captures the cost of production as well as fixed costs including depreciation of assets. Say a hospital offers complimentary valet parking. The cost of this compliment is allocated to every box of tissues used in the production of healthcare. The cost of mowing the grass and plowing the parking lot is allocated to every Tylenol pill. There are millions of line items related to the production of healthcare.
Most US hospitals are not for profit which does not mean they are unable to profit. In fact many record $ hundreds of millions in profit each year. What they cannot do is use those profits to declare a dividend for shareholders, the way a for profit business would seek to do. Instead, they use those profits to destroy or acquire the competition, build the brand, expand, provide features that enhance the in patient experience and do all sorts of thing that don't have much to do with healthcare.
In contrast, European hospitals primarily focus on getting patients well. That might mean hospital rooms with 6-12 beds and surcharges for things like bed linens, towels, soap, TV, WIFI, if available. No valet parking. No latte in the lobby. No art collections. No therapy dogs. No roof gardens and park like settings.
Generally speaking medical outcomes are as good and sometimes better than those in the US.
Generally speaking healthcare providers are paid less in Europe than the US, despite having higher taxes and higher cost of living.
Generally speaking, European hospital administrators are fewer and definitely not compensated as well as their US counterparts.
Most European hospitals do not have many uninsured indigent patients compared to the US.
The European culture trends substantially less violent than the US.
Government negotiates directly with unions, pharmecutical distributors and medical equipment suppliers. It begins with " we have $X to spend this year".
Bottom line, healthcare in the US is business, a big business and major employer with powerful lobbies.
5 key forces to US healthcare: insurers, hospitals , patients, pharmecutical companies and medical devise suppliers vs. the general public and DC.
I know we have Obama-care and not at all very likely to ever happen, but hypothetically speaking, if every U.S politician decided they wanted a healthcare system just like in the U.K or other European countries practically identical for every U.S citizen what would it take, and how much would our politicians have to sacrifice to get it?
That's my point. It is surprisingly cheap for those of us who have no disease. Why? We're not penalized for others' irresponsibility in life and lifestyle choices, unlike Medicare, Obamacare, or any other form of socialized health care.
What annual premium, co pay and deductible do you consider to be surprisingly cheap for a healthy 65 y/o or a healthy 95 y/o for an individual HC policy?
It would take a more unified populace on the matter.
We're on the way. Trump is for the medicaid expansion and for reigning in the pharmaceutical
companies. Hillary talks about it. Bernie wants single payer. Kasich is in line.
The only outlier is Cruz.
The truth is we cannot afford to toy with a regression in healthcare affordability.
Year after year has proven, in financial, energy, healthcare,
that these "industries" (who perform ESSENTIALS at a huge profit) are exploiting us
and refuse to work with the people.
They are not going to make it "affordable", ever, without being forced to,
and that can only be done by government, the one authority they cannot
stop. We're going to single-payer, or we're going to profit limits and many other
adjustments, this genie is out of the bottle.
No candidate will win the presidency by taking away the healthcare of millions
of Americans.
The HMO, PPO, Big Pharma and other connected lobbies are going to lose,
because the people will not vote for their stooges anymore.
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