Pending Health Care Legislation

[hordak]

Originally Posted by talisyn

Agreed. The USA doesn't have lines in the hospitals and dr.s offices because poor people don't go to dr.s and hospitals. Every try treating a bladder infection with aspirin and lots of water, all the while working your 40/hr week job that doesn't pay enough for you to afford insurance? It's not a pretty thing.

That's odd because one of the arguments i always hear for universal healthcare is that heath care is so expense due to the unisured ussing ERs like clinics and the bill get passed on to those who do pay?

[bytor2112]

Originally Posted by MorningStar

My family can't afford health insurance, but I don't want socialized medicine either. Quite the dilemma. My husband is covered by his employer, I'm not, my state doesn't have anything available for me, so $350 a month is coming out of our check just for me and my kids are getting on medical coupons through the state. We tried so hard to avoid that. It would've been $800 for the whole family. Washington State's Basic Health program has a waiting list of 20,000 people and you can't even apply right now. They're going to send me a letter when I can apply and you can only get on as other people get off. Not likely my number will come up anytime soon.

This is an all to common problem. As I posted earlier, I pay $269.00 per month for my entire family.......wouldn't be great if Washington state residents could purchase insurance from any state that had the best rate?

[anatess]

Originally Posted by bytor2112

This is an all to common problem. As I posted earlier, I pay $269.00 per month for my entire family.......wouldn't be great if Washington state residents could purchase insurance from any state that had the best rate?

I pay $135 for a family of four. For Hospital and Surgery coverage only (doesn't cover office visits, etc). I have a family who doesn't have any chronic anything. We are in our 30's, kids under 10, health nuts the bunch of us. We only go to the doctor an average of twice a year. I used to pay $380 through my work. I got out of job-supported medical coverage and purchased my own, hence the $135 monthly fee. I then took the $245 difference and put it into a Health Savings Account. Last year, we had a big whammy - my son broke his elbow and had to have pins in it - covered by insurance (surgical) - I only had to pay $700 or so for deductible which is only 3 months of the HSA... So, our HSA is growing steadily. Should be good for when we get older and the body starts to fall apart.

That's the cool thing about health care now - I have a choice on what kind of coverage I want to pay for.

Now, if we can get medical malpractice reform, the insurance company can probably cover my family for $30 a month!

So yeah, Universal Healthcare is not for me. It's a one-size-fits-all that punishes the ones that actually try their utmost best to stay healthy.

[talisyn]

Originally Posted by hordak

That's odd because one of the arguments i always hear for universal healthcare is that heath care is so expense due to the unisured ussing ERs like clinics and the bill get passed on to those who do pay?

Not here. LOL here the complaint is the undocumented go to the ERs, like it's a sign of character to stay home and sew your kids up yourself.

[talisyn]

Originally Posted by anatess

I pay $135 for a family of four. For Hospital and Surgery coverage only (doesn't cover office visits, etc). I have a family who doesn't have any chronic anything. We are in our 30's, kids under 10, health nuts the bunch of us. We only go to the doctor an average of twice a year. I used to pay $380 through my work. I got out of job-supported medical coverage and purchased my own, hence the $135 monthly fee. I then took the $245 difference and put it into a Health Savings Account. Last year, we had a big whammy - my son broke his elbow and had to have pins in it - covered by insurance (surgical) - I only had to pay $700 or so for deductible which is only 3 months of the HSA... So, our HSA is growing steadily. Should be good for when we get older and the body starts to fall apart.

That's the cool thing about health care now - I have a choice on what kind of coverage I want to pay for.

Now, if we can get medical malpractice reform, the insurance company can probably cover my family for $30 a month!

So yeah, Universal Healthcare is not for me. It's a one-size-fits-all that punishes the ones that actually try their utmost best to stay healthy.

I wish I had your faith in the insurance companies
I hate being cynical

[Just_A_Guy]

Originally Posted by anatess

Now, if we can get medical malpractice reform, the insurance company can probably cover my family for $30 a month!

I feel I have to speak up for my chosen profession here. Yes, there are some silly suits out there and there are certainly lawyers who milk the system. But by and large, malpractice insurance costs a lot because medical mistakes cost a lot. A doctor who botches a $1500 surgery doesn't owe the patient $1500; he owes $1500 plus the extra $50,000 per year the patient could have made, for the length of the patient's natural work-life expectancy. One slipped scalpel, and a surgeon can find himself owing a patient (and/or his survivors) well over a million dollars--and that's assuming you don't take into account punitive damages and/or additional compensation for pain and suffering.

Some tweaking may be necessary. But if you eliminate malpractice claims, you're going to have even more people who have no choice but to look to government (read: taxpayer) for their day-to-day maintenance.

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by hordak

The Treaty of Versailles.

Which, as I recall, is HOW the German government got into the financial situation that had them thinking just printing more money with no value backing it made sense.

[goofball]

Working in the health care system I see the pros and cons of both. Every medical provider I know says they will cut back on the hours they work because of the cut in pay. Why work 70 hours a week when you will get paid for 35. As a result it will be much harder for anyone to see someone for an elective problem. It will take a year before you will be able to get a hip or knee replacement because the line will be so long.

What people don't realize is their will still be a two-tier system like there is in those countries with the socialized medicine. Those that have money can get their medical stuff by the doctor who wants to still make more money and so those other two days he will see only cash paying customers that have the mula.

However it falls, I am scared to see the government trying to regulate one more huge undertaking as national health care

[deals_dog]

We have nationalized health care in New Zealand, its not a perfect system but if we need to get to hospital or an operation urgently we are in. We are taxed very highly here however but a least we don't have the kinds of problems you folk encounter, the poor are assisted no questions asked

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by deals_dog

We have nationalized health care in New Zealand, its not a perfect system but if we need to get to hospital or an operation urgently we are in. We are taxed very highly here however but a least we don't have the kinds of problems you folk encounter, the poor are assisted no questions asked

You are not alone. Every industrialized country on Earth has a health care system except for the United States. We are unique in that our values do not extend to taking care of the basic health care needs of everyone.