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Health insurance was once a fringe benefit, a perk, to lure prospective employees. No where had it been written that businesses are required to supply employees with health insurance.
Did I ever say businesses are required to supply employees with health insurance??
Uh, what? Rationing? You mean the insurance companies denying claims when you need it is NOT rationing? Denying coverage to certain groups in NOT rationing? Covering only selected people? Covering only this and that, but not the important things? The list goes on and on...
"Rationing" is HAPPENING RIGHT NOW in the U.S. You on't have to wait for it, it's already here.
I've lived in some of the countries you referenced to. And there are no "death panels". That's total BS, sorry.
Hmm, so what magic wand will the super efficient and competent government use to cover millions more people with all their pre-existing conditions without rationing health care or increasing costs?
Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. There is no free lunch.
Ah yes....it proves mine as well: NO SYSTEM IS PERFECT!
I can bring up all sorts of stories of the horror of the American health care market as well.
I have read about this story and felt it was unfourtunate. People fall through the cracks in every country but if you look at the satisfaction rate among Canadians when it comes to their health care system....they like it a lot. They wouldn't dare bring upon the kind of "system" we have here upon themselves.
As I said earlier, we can learn a lot from other countries.
We'll have to agree to disagree on some points. Don't forget that many Canadians are conditioned to believe that anything originating from the U.S., with the exception of movies and TV shows perhaps, is inherently evil because your country traditionally supports free market ideologies.
Interesting. The system the US is trying to move away from is the system Quebec's citizens are trying to adopt.
There's nothing wrong with choice but here in America there isn't much choice. More than anything Quebec is going to be more like Australia or some European countries where it's a mix of public and private.
If you're poor you MIGHT have a chance at Medicaid....or you scrape up some money in hopes a doctor will treat you...or you just keep pushing on with your illness the best you can.
If you're middle class, you hope to goodness you don't lose your job that provides you with health insurance because you make too much money to qualify for Medicaid and you're not old enough for Medicare. If you do find yourself laid off without a job, you try to get private health insurance but they deny your health insurance because you've been sick in the past (WELL IMAGINE THAT???A HUMAN BEING BECOMING SICK??) or if you are lucky enough to be provided health insurance, the rate is unaffordable.
If you're rich, you get the best care because you have a very good health insurance plan or you're rich enough to pay out of pocket for everything.
If you're old, you get Medicare....
As I've said before, I'd rather have the German system. You can have private health insurance if you want it or you can belong to a sickness fund that isn't allowed to say, "You can't join our sickness fund!" and they have to pay all your claims. People are allowed to opt out, mainly the rich. It works out because it provides a "release valve" so to speak for the larger system that most Germans are under.
Did I ever say businesses are required to supply employees with health insurance??
My response was merely in reply to your post #58 which was an article stating how most businesses are shifting costs to employees.
As small business owner and employer, many potential employees come to me asking what type of health insurance I give them. Many potiential employees out there are under the impression that businesses should supply them with health insurance.
The POTUS has made claim in his HC proposal that employers are to pay up to a certain percentage of their employees health care or be penalized. What was once a perk he would mandate we supply and pay for.
Never before have employers been required to supply and pay for health insurance. To mandate that would be very expensive to many small businesses to the point where it could negatively impact them. Many of will dump insurance for the employees and take the less expensive penalty, leaving employees to deal with the UHC. Others might fire employees to offset the expense.
My response was merely in reply to your post #58 which was an article stating how most businesses are shifting costs to employees.
As small business owner and employer, many potential employees come to me asking what type of health insurance I give them. Many potiential employees out there are under the impression that businesses should supply them with health insurance.
The POTUS has made claim in his HC proposal that employers are to pay up to a certain percentage of their employees health care or be penalized. What was once a perk he would mandate we supply and pay for.
Never before have employers been required to supply and pay for health insurance. To mandate that would be very expensive to many small businesses to the point where it could negatively impact them. Many of will dump insurance for the employees and take the less expensive penalty, leaving employees to deal with the UHC. Others might fire employees to offset the expense.
(Sorry for going off topic.)
Ah...gotcha.
The main plan being talked about now will raise costs and it can completely be avoided.
We can either go for single-payer (Medicare for All) or try to institute some of the industry controls Germany has instituted. Their sickness funds can't make a profit (even though if we adopted that system, I wouldn't mind sickness funds having to save a certain amount or percentage in order to pay for future care...nursing homes, etc.) and they put a price on what Pharmaceutical companies can charge and things of that nature.
I can understand why SOME people would ask about health benefits. It would be very hard for them to get it on their own, either due to a pre-existing condition and/or they just can't afford the monthly rate.
There's nothing wrong with choice but here in America there isn't much choice. More than anything Quebec is going to be more like Australia or some European countries where it's a mix of public and private.
If you're poor you MIGHT have a chance at Medicaid....or you scrape up some money in hopes a doctor will treat you...or you just keep pushing on with your illness the best you can.
If you're middle class, you hope to goodness you don't lose your job that provides you with health insurance because you make too much money to qualify for Medicaid and you're not old enough for Medicare. If you do find yourself laid off without a job, you try to get private health insurance but they deny your health insurance because you've been sick in the past (WELL IMAGINE THAT???A HUMAN BEING BECOMING SICK??) or if you are lucky enough to be provided health insurance, the rate is unaffordable.
If you're rich, you get the best care because you have a very good health insurance plan or you're rich enough to pay out of pocket for everything.
If you're old, you get Medicare....
As I've said before, I'd rather have the German system. You can have private health insurance if you want it or you can belong to a sickness fund that isn't allowed to say, "You can't join our sickness fund!" and they have to pay all your claims. People are allowed to opt out, mainly the rich. It works out because it provides a "release valve" so to speak for the larger system that most Germans are under.
Interestingly enough, it you're uninsured and here as a 'person of questionable immigration status' you can walk into the ER for myriad reasons, be treated, and the hospital will absorb the loss of revenue by billing everyone else more or in the case of state hospitals, receive hand outs from the state -- i.e. taxpayers.
Of the millions of uninsured, allegedly a substantial amount are illegal aliens and healthy young people who aren't old and wise enought to give consideration to their health, or who have opted not to pay for health insurance.
If you have insurance and you lose your job, you are entitled to continue your benefits through COBRA. Been there, done that AND have several preexisiting conditions. NYS has programs available (scaled based upon income) to provide insurance for families and children. One is based through Medicaid, the other is not.
Tort reform needs to be visited. Excessive malpractice awards are becoming the norm, and have increased malpractice rates meteorically. Drug companies have to be brought in line. Insurance should be available to be purchased and used across state lines. Mandates should be placed requiring the insurance companies to provide 'entry level' health plans to cover drastic situations.
I am not unsympathetic to what you're writing. My opinion is that health care in America is sick. But the current approach is drastic. Fix what is wrong, don't turn it upside down, shake it up and see what happens.
We can point to many different countries and say yea or nay to their systems, but it's apples and oranges. How many of them have as large a legal and illegal population, as litigous a society, and greedy politicians bowing to Pharma?
Interestingly enough, it you're uninsured and here as a 'person of questionable immigration status' you can walk into the ER for myriad reasons, be treated, and the hospital will absorb the loss of revenue by billing everyone else more or in the case of state hospitals, receive hand outs from the state -- i.e. taxpayers.
Of the millions of uninsured, allegedly a substantial amount are illegal aliens and healthy young people who aren't old and wise enought to give consideration to their health, or who have opted not to pay for health insurance.
If you have insurance and you lose your job, you are entitled to continue your benefits through COBRA. Been there, done that AND have several preexisiting conditions. NYS has programs available (scaled based upon income) to provide insurance for families and children. One is based through Medicaid, the other is not.
Tort reform needs to be visited. Excessive malpractice awards are becoming the norm, and have increased malpractice rates meteorically. Drug companies have to be brought in line. Insurance should be available to be purchased and used across state lines. Mandates should be placed requiring the insurance companies to provide 'entry level' health plans to cover drastic situations.
I am not unsympathetic to what you're writing. My opinion is that health care in America is sick. But the current approach is drastic. Fix what is wrong, don't turn it upside down, shake it up and see what happens.
We can point to many different countries and say yea or nay to their systems, but it's apples and oranges. How many of them have as large a legal and illegal population, as litigous a society, and greedy politicians bowing to Pharma?
It depends on the ER, many ERs have demanded cash payment before treatment or they'll simply refuse to treat you.
Some people have opted out not to pay for health insurance because it's unaffordable, not because they want to live with that risk of not having health insurance.
COBRA is fine and dandy but it's still unaffordable for a lot of people. It's why Congress is helping subsidize it for some people.
I won't keep typing because I doubt I can convince you to see things my way and that's fine. We'll agree to disagree.
Tort reform needs to be visited. Excessive malpractice awards are becoming the norm, and have increased malpractice rates meteorically. Drug companies have to be brought in line. Insurance should be available to be purchased and used across state lines. Mandates should be placed requiring the insurance companies to provide 'entry level' health plans to cover drastic situations.
The whole buying insurance across state lines might sound good on Fox News but in the real world...it would suck for a lot of people.
A Critical Review of the Literature" which considered CAHI’s work, among many others, found the following, "Despite exhaustive research, little compelling evidence exists that state health insurance mandates do, in fact, have a significant impact on" the cost of health insurance.
Selling insurance across state lines raises one more issue Republicans tend to ignore. Insurance companies keep costs down by using their volume-based bargaining power to make agreements with doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers to get lower rates than any individual buyer could ever achieve. But insurers operating from one state may have a difficult time, on their own, bargaining in states where they have relatively small market presence. It is unlikely that an insurer could ever get a doctor or hospital in Massachusetts to agree to the same fee schedule that is acceptable in Idaho. Even Medicare, the largest single "player" in the healthcare market, hasn't figured out a way to pay the same reimbursement rate to all health care providers across the country. It would seem like the only way for insurers to offer cheap insurance across states lines would be to offer less comprehensive and effective coverage--which, if this proposal goes through, is exactly what would happen.
It's also funny some Republicans want to champion State Rights! but they don't want to allow states to regulate health insurance companies.
I also wouldn't want to see all these big health insurance giants/monopolies buying up these smaller health insurance companies. That's what happened to the credit card racket...I mean business.
Government-run HC leads to rationing, no doubt about it. We see it in Canada, the UK, France and other countries with huge HC entitlements. When rationing, someone who works for that huge bloated bureaucracy must make the decisions (those "independent panels" of obama's that will make determinations) on who to treat, when and how much it will cost.
=====death panels.
You are wrong about Obama's plan.
What's curious is why you don't object to Insurance Company Death Panels that actually exist right now.......??????
Why do rightists NEVER knock a Death Panel(or address the issue at all) that is run by an Insurance Company?
Does the Adoration of the Wealthy Religion forbid it??
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