Health Care Reform

Unless you advocate non-insured/under insured people being refused medical care they cannot afford.


Are you serious. Do you really think people that need medical care do not get it? Talk to some one in a hospital and learn that it is illegal to refuse medical care to someone because they cannot pay or do not have insurance. This whole thing is a farce. No one in this country goes without medical care, not even the illegals. That is half the problem, Look into why California is bankrupt. They pay medical expenses for everybody that can't afford insurance, but they sure as he%* can afford their $600 mo car payment, their big screen tv, their cell phone and what ever unneccesary toys they have, but they can't afford health ins! What the heck the Fed govt is deficit spending trillions now, whats a few more trillion.
 
FSUDave said:
Do you really think people that need medical care do not get it? Talk to some one in a hospital and learn that it is illegal to refuse medical care to someone because they cannot pay or do not have insurance.
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Dave I agree and am quite vocal about it. Everyone has access to high quality health care. In fact the homeless and the indigent get better can than the insured! That is a fact, as they get what is medically needed you the insured do not get anything more than your group policy has defined.

The problem for the illegals, the uninsured and the under insured is they must rely upon local clinics for after care. These clinics are centralized, not always convenient, and have long wait times for appointments. BUT it is free, or at the worse they have a prorated ability to pay system applied. Also, their drugs and DME requirements are treated in a similar manner. In very remote areas in the west, doctors and hospitals can be 30-80 miles away and there is some whining about that out there, BFD, move!

What reform we really need is simple.

1. Detach health care from employment. Employers would by law have to raise salaries by the benefit costs for GI etc.. States and local governments would have to reduce their tax loads by that now burdened on the taxpayers for Health care. We clean slate the issue as far as the citizen getting their money back in their pocket.

Medicare and Medicaid and the US government employees and congress would be in the Network including Congress and the president. The only exception would be Veterans who would receive special care dictate by their wounds and injuries. Worker's compensation (health care portion) would be obtained by the Network with special non deductibles etc for work injuries. Employers would still pay their risk sensitized premiums to the network which would reallocate to the carriers base upon their costs. (employers still pay for unsafe conditions, the worse you boss the more you pay.)

2. everyone in the nation required to have a health care plan. The indigent would be covered in a tax supported manner by a levy on the existing insured. The insured would be quite intolerant of individuals unnecessarily sucking on the wallets of the insured. I'm sure since the insured are directly laying for waste and excesses by individuals they roll over on a crooked person or provider. I know I'd cop out a fraud If I knew it.

3. All health care plans would be private under a national network structure. Each Insurer would be required to meet regulated minimum standards as to care, coverage and services. The Insurer could make their plans better but not worse.

4. The public could comparison shop plans and buy from the best cover they could afford or desired. If they didn't like one plan and a better one was discovered they could change plans perhaps 2X a year. A Insurer would have to be great in customer focus to keep their clients. The good insurance companies survive and prosper the crappy ones die by mass exodus of insured to better firms.

5. Hospitals, Doctors and other providers would be allowed to BID their fees for their services with the National Net Work, thus there fess would be consistent for every Insurance company in the network. Doctor your fees too high, patients leave your practice and you starve. Patients choosing a higher cost provider would pay the excess charges or no service.

Citizens failing to carry coverage in the network would be subject to civil penalties with a enforced public service requirement to clean streets, wash windows etc in the public infrastructure, point is no free ride.

The basic concept keeps choice with the patient, the services desired and required within the patient/doctor relationship and the system private and profit seeking.

The best win, the dullards die

And most important the public would get better lower cost health care and no snot nosed punk in DC would decide if I can have a nose job or not.

There now I've solved that problem, I'm going boating.!
 
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This thread has driven up some serious blood pressure…. Some may need that health insurance.

Weekend with CSR at the Inner Harbor is coming up, time to relax!
 
comsnark said:
If I didn't have insurance. . I would have been charged a HUGE bill (several boat units) If I was POOR without insurance. . I would have been totally hosed.
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Now I'm confused. If you were poor, you were already broke. So now you're just broker..er..er... What's the difference?

At least you'd be healthy....:huh:

Actually, even if you owed $100K you could work out a deal with the hospital to pay it off $25/mo. I did it 15 years ago. Was in the hospital for 10 days with an intestinal infection (damn Virginia crab cake :smt013). I owed them something like $6K out of a $50K+ bill by the time all was said and done. I actually had the money at the time but I wanted to use it for an "investment" (I would have been better off spending that money on women and booze, but that is another story). I called the hospital and told them that I didn't have it. The lady asked "What can you pay?". I told her to put me down for $25 a month. She said "Ok". I started getting monthly statements in the mail. I usually sent in much larger payments, but it was nice to know that I could take a vacation and only be obligated for the $25 for that month if I had to. I paid it off in about 2 years.

The point is, people just need to make an honest effort to pay. Nobody is going to take their house, or put them in jail. Medical bills are usually unexpected, and no one is expected to have that kind of money just laying around. The system isn't broken. It is just that people who have no desire to understand it want to change it.
 
I think Chad should chair a tri-lateral (Rep., Dem., & Ind) committee of citizens and create a "think tank" on this issue. This could then be injected into the House & Senate by one of our Reps. ( maybe Bill Nelson, D., Fl.) and massaged by the appropriate committee in Washington.

Chad...I read and re-read your contribution and I must say I think you nailed it.:thumbsup:

Thanks for a terrific injection of sanity...you have obviously given this issue some thought.
 
The problem witha GOV'T apporach is that they will redline out the elderly and oput them on death sentances, but will keep a brain dead infant alive for 20 years.

What the nation needs is simple BASIC health plan on to which insured can add bells and whistles if they want them and will pay for them.

For instance, I do not thinka BASIC plan should include fertility egg harvesting and invitro at fertilization. I think Mom and Daddy to be should dig if they want kids or adopt. If you want that coverage, pay for a rider.

On the other hand, get this ... Womens Birth Control pills are covered in most policies drug plans, BUT men's ED drugs are excluded. Ah... She can screw but he can't ... HUH? The libs can fix that one if they'd like!

BASIC ... that is the ticket.
 
skibum said:
Now I'm confused. If you were poor, you were already broke. So now you're just broker..er..er... What's the difference?

At least you'd be healthy....:huh:
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This was "important" but not "emergency". It was "non-emergency outpatient" stuff..

In this case. . if I didn't have the money, I was NOT going to get the service. Plain and simple.

If I didn't have the ca$h, and didn't have insurance, I probably could have financed the work, but the amount that would have been financed would be the total high dollar amount, not some reduced amount.

If I didn't get the work done, I would have been ok. . for awhile. I was not going to an emergency room. I just would have had much more significant problems in 3-5 years. Much more expensive, more significant problems.

As it was. . I had a few monthes notice and I was able to take advantage of (1) insurance for a lower overall price (2) insurance for partial payment, (3) Pay with credit card (1% cash back) (4) Medical Flex Spending to pay off the credit card with pre-tax money. (yes, I actually got the FSA check before the credit card bill was due)
 
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