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Regardless of how you feel about Micahel Moore and / or where you stand politically, i highly recommend the documentary "Sicko".
And, if after watching this film you don't feel strongly that the U.S. needs universal health care, .... well, i'd be amazed and i'd truly wonder why.
The health care system in this nation is insane and bordering on evil.
The health insurance companies are (evil!).
It's the worst capitalist poison i've ever seen or been aware of.
Outrageous.
I felt sick and sad in my heart while watching this ... sad for the victims of this system and sad for this country.
If you believe this thug or crap ij his movie your an idiot!
Have you watched documentaries on Canadian healthcare plans????
We have the best health care plan in the world!
Why fix something that is not broken!
I am sick to death of hearing "Oooooh nooooo, we can't have a single payer health care system. It would drive the poor private health insurance companies out of business!"
I think liberals look at the situation of big insurance companies being greedy and evil instead of how many Americans they employ. If you were an insurance employee that faced losing their job because of this healthcare plan... would you trade your entire income for free healthcare?
What would be wrong with an expanded national health care program similar to Medicare? It has only a 2% overhead.
Many doctors don't accept Medicare as full payment, it doesn't pay enough and some that do say the only reason they can is because private insurance pays better and helps offset it. Medicaid pays even less than Medicare and if UHC goes through it will pay even less than Medicaid pays.
Some people on Medicare choose an HMO as a supplement but, that results in the same problems the under 65 crowd gets from HMO's and managed care. The best way to supplement Medicare is with a Medi-gap policy and I suggest plan F, it pays doctors the difference what a doctor charges and what Medicare pays but, that will be all irrelevant if we end up with a single-payer system and no insurance companies left that market health insurance.
Many doctors don't accept Medicare as full payment, it doesn't pay enough and some that do say the only reason they can is because private insurance pays better and helps offset it. Medicaid pays even less than Medicare and if UHC goes through it will pay even less than Medicaid pays.
Some people on Medicare choose an HMO as a supplement but, that results in the same problems the under 65 crowd gets from HMO's and managed care. The best way to supplement Medicare is with a Medi-gap policy and I suggest plan F, it pays doctors the difference what a doctor charges and what Medicare pays but, that will be all irrelevant if we end up with a single-payer system and no insurance companies left that market health insurance.
By law, if we are medicare providers (nearly every physician is), we cannot balance bill. Hospitals can, but providers cannot.
We are paid about one fourth from medicare what is reimbursed from private insurance. I would offer that many practices would go bankrupt if all fees were are at medicare rates, as most practices run a 40-50% overhead. Not that it makes any difference to the public, but when national healthcare goes through, there will be increased demand and the need for more providers, not less.
If you believe this thug or crap ij his movie your an idiot!
Have you watched documentaries on Canadian healthcare plans????
We have the best health care plan in the world!
Why fix something that is not broken!
I think it's nice you have that much confidence in our system but I totally disagree. A country that dumps people off on the street instead of treating them, has such a high obesity rate, basically refuses to pick up anyone who has been sick before, basically tells our elderly 'tough break,' and leaves volunteers to die a slow death after praising them for about 45 minutes just to get some good PR from the public constitutes as the best health care in the world. No. We can do better and others are doing better. Maybe you have wonderful health care personally, I do to at the moment, but something is WRONG. There is much to be fixed.
By law, if we are medicare providers (nearly every physician is), we cannot balance bill. Hospitals can, but providers cannot.
We are paid about one fourth from medicare what is reimbursed from private insurance. I would offer that many practices would go bankrupt if all fees were are at medicare rates, as most practices run a 40-50% overhead. Not that it makes any difference to the public, but when national healthcare goes through, there will be increased demand and the need for more providers, not less.
This, on top of the fact that doctors are in debt up to their ears before they can even enter the profession (to pay off med school loans) and then have to pay off partnership loans if they are in a partnership practice ... then pay malpractice premiums set by INSURANCE COMPANY BUREAUCRATS because of lack of tort reforms ... see where this is going? There are many layers to this clusterF of a healthcare system we have here in the US. Yes, we have the finest doctors in the world and we're damn lucky we do in spite of the system they have to work under. The only doctors that seem to make money out of the chute are sugeons that do elective surgeries only because they don't have to deal with INSURANCE COMPANY BUREAUCRATS telling them how to treat their patients.
In nationalized healthcare system countries, doctors aren't burdened by student loans from college and med school. They are educated in state run universities (our state run universities are BARELY THAT anymore with states pulling more and more funding away). Then their governments pay for medical school training, SOMETIMES IN THE US !!!!!!! And then they come back to their countries ready to take care of patients AS THEY SEE FIT because the governments who employ them REALIZE THEY ARE NOT DOCTORS, and stay the freak out of their expertise. It's their home governments that deal with big pharma (even in Switzerland, a big pharma country ... the government negotiates prices the people will pay, not the drug company). Physicans in nationalized healthcare countries are not poor, they make fine livings.
But again, the problem is much deeper than what is being presented (and not clearly either ... I think the administrations handling of this mess has been deplorably rancid). There's problems with how physicians, nurses, pharmacists pay to become medical professionals, there are problems with the state of the legal system with medical malpractice, and then doctors not being able to "practice their love" without the burden of an INSURANCE COMPANY BUREAUCRAT telling them what to do.
As for Sicko. I don't notice anyone who has actually seen the film offer criticism. Just you silly people who listen to Shammity, Limpbaugh and the people trucked into these town halls seem to know all.
Ok, you don't like Moore .. fine. Frontline did a fantastic film about being sick around the world. Very fair and balanced as the tightie righties like to chant and best of all THEY DIDN'T GO TO CUBA. Look it up.
Last edited by domergurl; 08-06-2009 at 07:44 AM..
By law, if we are medicare providers (nearly every physician is), we cannot balance bill. Hospitals can, but providers cannot.
If so then what is the benefit on Medigap plans F,I and J (described below) for, just doctors that don't accept Medicare at all (doctors that are not Medicare providers)?
Medicare Part B excess. This Medigap insurance benefit helps cover the additional cost of services by doctors who don't accept "assignment" (that is, who don't accept Medicare's reimbursement as payment in full). Medigap G pays for 80% of the extra cost, and Medigap F, I, and J cover all the extra cost.
then pay malpractice premiums set by INSURANCE COMPANY BUREAUCRATS because of lack of tort reforms
The thing people don't realize insurance companies don't give rate increases because they want to make more profit, they're the result higher than anticipated claims. Rates are initially determined by actuarials (statisticians who calculate risk using historical data), then the cost of covering the claims for that risk, along with the cost of doing business (including reserves and target profit and/or surplus) is combined to establish the rates they will charge. The goal is to increase business (and therefore stability) through sales volume which requires maintaining rates as low as possible, along with calculating risk and underwriting new business as carefully and accurately as possible in order to compete with others marketing the same insurance product. Rate increases are bad for business because, it lowers new sales volume and causes current policyholders to shop around for less expensive coverage (especially the healthy ones who's premiums help pay the claims of others and can easily get accepted elsewhere). When the government places mandates on insurance, it often interferes with competition by forcing companies to over compensate for risk, that can not be calculated.
The only doctors that seem to make money out of the chute are sugeons that do elective surgeries only because they don't have to deal with INSURANCE COMPANY BUREAUCRATS telling them how to treat their patients.
When you say, "insurance company bureaucrats" in this case, do you realize you're referring to doctors that are employed by the HMO's and have taken the same oath as the members doctor....not that it changes whether it's OK, it's just that people talk, about this like it's the insurance company executives that makes these decisions.
It's their home governments that deal with big pharma (even in Switzerland, a big pharma country ... the government negotiates prices the people will pay, not the drug company).
Drug companies have taken advantage of fact that insurance plans include prescription cards that at one time had minimal co-pays (but have now been forced to increase those co-pays) by, introducing every new drug and re-introducing old drugs, as maintenance drugs that are taken on a daily basis....they've even made Viagra available to be taken daily now. All of which gaurantees monthly refills and has increased sales volume with some drugs by 100's if not 1,000's of percent of what it would have been or was but, instead of lowering prices to a fraction of their original cost (like it should have), they've even gone higher with most non-generic brand name maintenance drugs in the $80-225+/mo. range.
As for Sicko. I don't notice anyone who has actually seen the film offer criticism. Just you silly people who listen to Shammity, Limpbaugh and the people trucked into these town halls seem to know all.
Moore makes movies that sell tickets....that's what he does for a living. After making 911 and appearing at Democratic Convention, he has a legion of liberal loyal fans that he can count on for buying a tickets to his lastest movie.
I'm an insurance broker (which means I work for the client not, the insurance company) that specializes in health insurance. When I heard Moore was doing Sicko, I e-mailed him and offered my knowledge of the industry to him in an effort to bring accuracy to the film. To my surprise they contacted me and I began explaining how things worked and why they did to his staff. There are two sides to every story which when heard makes many things that seem outrageous if you only hear one side, become very rational and plain boring. There are areas within the industry that are truly controversial, if you're into insurance and work in the industry but, would put anyone else asleep to hear about....which need less to say were of course also of no interest to Moore's staff. They wanted things that wouldn't disappoint fans....things that Moore is famous for......things that would have fans walking out of the theater fired up and mad at "them" for doing what "they" did. When it became apparent that they were only interested in telling one side of a story to things that really were not an issue, I no longer wanted to be involved and stopped offering my help.
Ok, you don't like Moore .. fine. Frontline did a fantastic film about being sick around the world. Very fair and balanced as the tightie righties like to chant and best of all THEY DIDN'T GO TO CUBA. Look it up.
Something I just saw today on CNN....doctors in Cuba make $30 a month.
I am sick to death of hearing "Oooooh nooooo, we can't have a single payer health care system. It would drive the poor private health insurance companies out of business!"
Indeed.
The most ridiculous argument made since the one where Saddam posed a serious threat to America.
I think liberals look at the situation of big insurance companies being greedy and evil instead of how many Americans they employ. If you were an insurance employee that faced losing their job because of this healthcare plan... would you trade your entire income for free healthcare?
Oh, the business end of it is that there are lots of jobs created in bilking people out of thousands of dollars, being the leading cause of personal bankruptcy or telling them they are not covered for a procedure they need.
Yea, thats a great thing to keep intact.
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