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Obama Care
ThailandTom
Veteran
I always wondered why the US does not have something like the NHS or what many other countries have setup, a free health care service, so I thought 'yea Obama care sounds good'. After watching this I have changed my mind, you guys still deserve free health care but not Obama care.
2
Comments
1. Who created this video?
2. What is their agenda?
```Some Philistine paid to help derail the program by any means necessary.
2. What is their agenda?
```To spread rumour and innuendo to obstruct the President and his administration if for no other reason than just spite.
Never before in the history of the United States have so many members of one party in Congress sworn allegiance to anything but the Constitution of the United States. Now they put their agenda before the well-being of the country and have signed other instruments.
It really sucks that we had to have a very urbane, smart guy elected to the highest office in the land. The country club types and their employees want someone they could warm up to at a barbecue.
For some, free healthcare is seen as "Socialist" and that it equates to some sort of communistic, anti-capitalist idea. The principles evinced in the report by Lord Beveridge, a Conservative of the pre-Macmillan school, that sickness and poverty are social evils to be fought against is being forgotten.
The results are an increasingly sick and poor population. Reducing or eliminating care for the vulnerable is, to my mind, the result of a willful blindness towards the sacred nature of each human life and a deliberate redefinition of human rights, even those of the US Founding Fathers of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. These have been superceded by the pursuit of profit and self-serving pleasure. This, in the end, will result in the greatest misery for the greatest number but the greatest ease for the smallest number - umtil the revolution of course when all will suffer as in the Arab world.
I'm not sure we have the resources at the moment to implement Obama-care smoothly.
(But maybe we do and I'm in the dark about it)
I do agree that taking care of the sick should be a greater priority, regardless of the person's net value.. I just don't know if this is the way to do it. Maybe it is? I don't know too much about the issue honestly, just my thoughts after hearing what some people close to me had to say.
Many of us realize this was the next best thing. Baby Steps, as they say.... baby steps.
BTW I have applied for the Affordable Care Act program.
(I'll call it "Obamacare" when it succeeds- just to twist the knife of irony in the GOPs! LOL).
I hope to be getting health insurance coverage for the first time EVER in my adult life.
Even though I've worked, full time, for most of my adult life, even in the medical field as physician's assistant and hospital ER technician.... not one single employer I had ever offered health coverage.
With ACA, because I'm still too young for MediCARE, and have a very low income level, it looks like I may be covered under an ACA expansion of my state's MedicAID program- not ideal, but better than nothing! Baby steps.
I'll let you know how it turns out. I should be hearing something within a couple more weeks...
HOWEVER, this is an important step in the right direction, even if it has problems:
The interesting thing to note is that the conservative leadership (and not just teabaggers) are dead set against even this. The reason why (at least for the Republican leadership) isn't just ideological opposition, but also that once people get a taste of this, we will be on our way to something more like Medicare for everyone. People will realize the US isn't going to fall off in the ocean (no other countries have). The avalanche will follow-- just as bigots were dead set against desegregation knowing it would lead to other things down the road. They are so desperate to stop it, to throw a monkey wrench in it somehow, because they don't want people to have a small taste of what other industrialized nations have had for some time.
So I support the ACA, even if at the same time I don't agree with it. Its a damn sight better than what we have right now, which is NOTHING.
and yes baby steps...but having worked in public health for 30 years...there is a lot of crap to be corrected.
President Obama and the Democrats bit off what could be chewed. To go to single payer in this country, politically, would have been like an old WWII movie I once saw -- a bridge too far. The choice was to do what can be done, or continue to do nothing.
I don't expect a program this big to just be one smooth transition. Wish it was. But don't expect it. This is a MAJOR change in American life.
I just received notice that my BCBS policy is being transitioned to Aetna by my pre-retirement employer (who still offers me and covers some of my health insurance). Raise in price = 11%...but that's after 3 years of very little price increase. It's a burden I'm willing to bear for the good of many people without insurance and for the country.
I don't know if you are old enough to qualify for medicare yet... but if that's the case then you only need supplemental health insurance coverage to pick up what medicare doesn't (co-pays, etc).
Since you have coverage now, (unlike me) there is no rush, but eventually, when the ACA is running more smoothly and things have settled down, it might be a good idea to call /contact them and see what supplemental insurance you might qualify for - and at what price.
Could end up being MUCH cheaper than what you pay now to continue coverage from a former employer... ya nevah know!
the insurance companies and pharmaceuticals companies
lobbies against it.
There is really so little difference between the two parties right now, except for a few issues. Therefore, I think the venom and the poison are simply inexcusable. They call themselves Christians and yet they exude none of the goodwill that is an essential component of the Christ-Mass tradition. If I were rich I'd rent a huge highway billboard or two and erect the words, "RUSH IS GOD" on them, with Rush Limbaugh prominently displayed. The guy is just phenomenally a pariah. His behavior reminds me, as I said before on NB, of the narrator of St. Luke's Gospel's words putting Jesus's parable of the Publican and the Pharisee in the Temple: "And to those who trusted in their righteousness and despised others, he told this parable..." (Lk 18)
This rather mean-spirited political polarity is basically built on intolerance of the views of others. In the 70s and 80s I saw a lot of this spewing forth on the Left, now it's coming from the Right. Why all this hate? Politics is a Greek word and the English translation should be "Squabbling," for that is what is "done in the city" [polis]. Politics has always been about arguing for the best bargain. But this polarized situation here is disabling and dismantling the mechanisms of the compromises needed for resolution of the issues.
Too many people thinking in deeply disturbed ways. And yoga and Eastern Wisdom traditions are just devilish options for many of them. That's too bad.
I know lots of Northerners and Westerners think that we Southerners are just dumb, but at least until recently, we still called that period of war between the northern states and the southern (1861-1865) rightly as "The War Between the States." It was no civil war. It was a war between peoples who thought they belonged to two different nations. Unfortunately, in America, incorrect usage of our Mother English language usually wins out.
I think that some of the Tea Party members have acted in a way that might well have fomented outbreaks of hostility that could lead to real civil war, a clash between partisans within a single nation. I definitely and absolutely IMPEACH all Congressional partisans of the Tea Party movement for their actions in putting their hands to instruments that did not firstly bow down to the primal authority of the constitution of these United States.
According to the World Health Organization, for example, France has the best overall health care system in the world, excelling in 4 areas: (1) universal coverage, (2) responsive health care providers, (3) freedom of choice and (4) overall health and longevity of the population.
In 2005, France spent $3,926 per capita on healthcare, and of that, approximately 80% was government expenditure. The US, in comparison, spent $6,347, and of that, approximately 45% was government expenditure. Yet France has a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate than the US. (Although, to be fair, I've heard it mentioned that the US counts premature births whereas France doesn't, and these differences can't be attributed to the differences between the two systems alone as there are undoubtedly other factors involved, e.g., eating habits, stress levels, etc.)
Spain's constitution guarantees the right to universal healthcare and requires the state to provide it, it's ranked 7th best by the WHO, and according to one study published last year in the US journal Health Affairs, there are a third fewer deaths caused by delayed access to health care than in the US.
And then there's Canada's healthcare system, which was quite similar to ours before they adopted a single-payer system (with a 14 page bill, no less). It's not only ranked higher than the US system by the WHO (30th v. 37th out of 191 nations), but like France, Canada has a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate than the US. (Again, these differences can't be attributed to the differences between the two systems alone, but I think it at least goes to show that Canadians seem to be doing OK with the system they've got.)
In addition, a 2006 peer-reviewed study of healthcare access in Canada and the US done by the American Journal of Public Health concluded that "U.S. residents are one third less likely to have a regular medical doctor, one fourth more likely to have unmet health care needs, and are more than twice as likely to forgo needed medicines." Of course, every system has its problems, but I'd still say that Canada's system is pretty damn good considering it covers everyone and costs less per person than ours.
(The VA itself is another example of a socialized healthcare system. While far from perfect, it's interesting to look at and compare to the broader, for-profit insurance system, e.g., this, this, and this.)
But regardless of where one lives, progress itself is a never ending struggle, pushing to create something better from what we start out with. And looking at the facts, it's become my opinion that, among other things, we can do better when it comes to our healthcare system; and most of the arguments against a single-payer, universal system are simply fallacious.
We could potentially have a better system here that covers everybody for less than we pay on average now, where an entire industry profits off of sickness and suffering and doling out care, and I think that's something worth debating as a community and working to fix, ultimately providing all Americans with access to healthcare like they do in every other wealthy, industrialized nation on Earth. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Example 1: I needed refills on all my prescriptions. I go to the doctor about every other month as it is. But I had to go in for a "medication review". Translation: I (the doctor) want more money. Think not? Here's the way it went: "So Vince, let's start with Prinivil. Is it working okay for you?" "Perfect." "Okay. Now, how about Metoprolol tartrate? Is that working okay for you?" "Yes. No change needed." "Okay. How about the Cardura? Doing its job?" "Yes." "Okay." "Anything we need to change?" "Nope." "Okay, then we're done." (Translation: I just earned $120). Was there a little more chat than that. Yes, but nothing really significant that we hadn't already discussed at other appointments. And in case you're wondering, this is a multiple award-winning GP with a large practice with 3 doctors and 3 nurse practitioners who work for him...literally the most respected family doctor in the region.
Example 2: I needed a heart scan. It looked as if it wasn't going to be covered by my insurance. So, the cardiologist told me to go down to the hospital and discuss the fee in advance. Bottom line: If I was billed for the procedure it would be $1,300. If I paid in advance, it would be $800. A $500 discount for cash in advance? That's some pretty expensive paperwork. And again, this is a highly respected hospital ranked higher on a nationwide basis.
Example 3: Kidney surgery last June. Someone without insurance would have to have paid about $34,000. But under contract to a major medical insurance company, the surgeon performed the surgery for less than $1,000, and the total bill the insurance company and I paid was for less than $5,000. Now let's see, if it's a patient without health insurance the fee is $34,000, but with insurance the same operation and hospital stay is about $29,000 less.
Counter-rant.
I agree, to an extent, about drugs overseas being less expensive. A stomach medicine I use here is 4X as expensive as in Thailand...made by the same company. Obviously a case of what the traffic will bear.
Yes, that surgery went quite well. Thank you!
I'd say the feelings are there toward "white trailer trash" just as much as Blacks and Latinos.
You'd have to live here for a while to pick up on the "code." I have a nurse friend here from Canada who was shocked but picked up very quickly on the "code" that whites here speak regarding black people. Non-southerners don't realize the extent of the cultural conditioning here.
It isn't JUST a race issue, it isn't JUST a class issue-- what is strange about the history of the south is that the two elements are so intertwined with one another that it is hard to extricate the two.
I am not an idiot, I have seen so many well established documentaries from there, I have friends who have moved there, I have friends from there, there is something not right in society and I really cannot pinpoint it properly.
The sheer size of the place plays a HUGE role, states have different laws and social norms etc, kinda like different countries, which makes things difficult. I dunno, something needs to change there and all over the west, also in parts of the east to of course, everywhere has it's faults. But at the end of the day, who has the power, who has the ability to destroy everything and cause the most suffering?
How Insurers Are Hiding Obamacare Benefits From Customers
The Uproar Over Insurance ‘Cancellation’ Letters
'Winners And Losers From Obamacare'
It isn't the best solution, but it also isn't "outrageous." Just because talking heads and corporatists like to use irresponsible hyperbole doesn't mean we all should also.
Let me show you how they are twisting the data.
I liked my BCBS coverage that I have had for the past 5 years. And now my company from which I retired (and still receive benefits) has dropped it. So, the conservatives would say, "See, he couldn't keep his health care." But the real truth is that my former employer simply switched companies to Aetna. Virtually the same coverage, and in fact, slightly better coverage.
And then they will say, "But I bet your cost skyrocketed!" Well, it went up 10.7%. "Aha! See. What Obama did is costing you more money!" Well, the problem is that over the last several years...before Obamacare...my health insurance was going up, too...last year by 6.5%.
Or you could take my mother. If she were still alive, she couldn't keep her lousy insurance...if she were still alive.
Of course, if the Republicans came up with some realistic solutions it would be nice...but all they do is bitch.
And in terms of what those companies "say", I remember when some companies said they might have to go out of business if they were required to print nutritional information on their labels. They didn't. I remember grocery stores that said if they had to put new shelf labels up that told the price per ounce or pound or whatever, that grocery prices would sky rocket. They didn't (in fact, it eliminated some cost because stockers no longer had to stamp a price on each package).
And as I read through that list from National Review, some of it looked like a good consequence (e.g., "Earlier this month, the computer giant, once famed for its paternalism, announced it would remove 110,000 of its Medicare-eligible retirees from the company’s health insurance and give them subsidies to purchase coverage through the Obamacare exchanges").
It's being able to recognize that FOX News is biased to the right, and MSNBC is biased to the left.
Yes, it's yours and my responsibility to determine the truth. But you didn't even see the bias.
The bias in that story.
But let's see -- there are no more lifetime limits, people can no longer be denied insurance due to a preexisting condition, there will no longer be a need for uninsured people with a medical problem that is non-threatening to go to an emergency room for treatment. Gee, I came up with 3 consequences in 3 seconds without even needing to research anything.
If you really can't see any bias in that article, then you're not looking.