Health Care? Or Health $
Posted: Saturday, September 12, 2009
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
What if we took all the money that is currently being paid as premiums to the Insurance companies, along with the co-pays and the deductibles (I know that if my wife or I have any medical problems, we have to pay an enormous amount up front, plus 20% of the rest, plus we are cut off at a million dollars lifetime which is chicken feed these days with the expensive technologies), and then what if we cut out the 30% of health care costs nationally which is paper work (it's unbelievable) caused by the 1500 different insurance companies and their forms and the endless haggling over who will pay for what which entails a gazillion hours of manpower and more paper work and stress for the patient, the hospitals, the doctors, and everyone else, and then what if we forced everyone to pay into health care (like social security) so that they can't bop into an emergency room for free treatment, which eventually costs us all more, and then what if we had a single payer system that negotiated with the drug companies so that we would pay the same as everyone else in the world (which is a lot less than we pay in the United States), and then what if we had the clout of a single payer system to stop the insidious "the more tests I order and the more procedures I do, the more money I make, and the more I can operate, even when it's not necessary, the more money I make - because I have to make a lot of money as a doctor because I have to hire an entire staff to argue with the insurance companies and do all the stupid paper work," and then what if we all had a card that we simply presented to our doctor and hospitals and we wouldn't be involved in any haggling or endless, complicated paper work that you will soon have to hire an attorney for, or a "health care arbitrator! And what if we could be assured that we wouldn't lose our life savings because of a whim of a fly by night insurance company, or because the company that we work for goes belly-up, or tightens down, raising your insurance rates every year, or dropping their insurance carrier altogether, leaving us to try and find insurance on our own (and you better not have any "pre-existing conditions," and you better be ready to pay three times what you were paying with your employer. It could easily happen to any of us, and already has in many cases.
If our system continues as it is going, only a few of us common folk will have health insurance in the future. Many firms can't afford it anymore and are either hiring part timers whom they don't have to cover, or dropping insurance all together, or raising rates so that their low paid employees can't afford it (we all don't work for IBM!), leaving the underpaid no alternative but the "free" emergency room.
Something quite radical has to be done, but will it? Key in "Sick and Wrong : Rolling Stone" for a great, in depth opinion on why nothing will be done, and what the consequences of that will be. Also, keep an eye out for my upcoming article, "Can We Save Our Democracy?" which addresses some of these issues at a deeper level, and does offer a solution.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Good article E. I remain hopeful that something will be done, but like you, I do feel this uneasiness about what will actually get done. Will it be a bill that will address the real needs of the American people? I have no idea right now, but I continue to hope against hope. Thanks again E.
Me too, Edward, I hope that Obama is taking all the hits for all the right reasons, i.e. for the common folk like me, and their well being. I can't see any other reason why he would take a chance and use up all of his capital except that his heart is in the right place. If this is true, that he is doing this out of compassion, he will go down in history as a great president, (and is probably smart by compromising now and getting what he wants later). We will see . . .
Thanks for reading the article and commenting. I appreciate it very much.
Best........e
Thank you for you insight and I agree will you. I once was in the Insurance business, I was also in the merchant service business. What I did was to go to many different companies with my client’s information and get the best rate. I can’t see why this government form a comity, (witch they are good at), to negotiate a good rate for everyone. It would be through private insurance companies not the government. There is strength in numbers, or as I have suggested in my Blogs a straight $25.00 pre person. Children would still be cover with in the government program that is in place now. No Illegal Aliens would be covered. No insurance no medical service.
It seem that no one is talking about the lawyers. There should be under some control. The pharmaceutical industry should be control also. They shouldn’t be able to charge us more that they charge other countries. If these two industries are not brought under control there will be no cost effective healthcare reform.One thing I do not wants to see it healthcare reform get passed at any cost.This is our third and last chance.
Hi Herb, Thanks for your comment. "No insurance, no medical service" sounds good. Then everyone would have to chip in. Make insurance real easy to get, so much so that emergency rooms wouldn't have to take anyone without a card, or if they didn't have a card, they could apply (with verifications) right after they were treated. If they are illegal with no ID, then they would get only absolute, cursory (quick) life saving care according to strict guidelines (no flue, headaches etc). If they have a card, then they would get extended care. With wide open borders, we have to change something, but whatever we do must be humane, because an illegal is a human being just like us.
Thanks again, Herb...............e
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