At last... someone has figured out the problem with health care in America

Mountains

Sorry, but as someone on the front lines of the debacle we call the health care system in America, I just have to vent. In an article on the NPR web site today, no less an authority on health care than former senator Dick Armey (Republican, of course) states, "The main cause of excessive medical inflation (which is itself the main cause of people being uninsured) is the fact that most Americans are over-insured..."

I just about lost it when I read the piece. Yet another prime example of someone with no credentials, no clue, and no business blathering off at the mouth, and now we're blaming the victims for the mess we're in. I just fired off a *very* sharply worded letter to Mr. Armey at his plush PAC offices in Washington. It won't do any good of course, but it made me (or at least my ego) feel better...

Sheesh...

MindGate

Surprise surprise.

zombiegirl

so dumb.

i recently heard that congress is voting on a bill that will strip all funding from planned parenthood. uuuggghh. very nervous about this one. although i have (extremely crappy) health insurance, they do not insure any sort of "women's health services", as they told me. this means that my yearly screening to check for cancer (i have a high rate of cancer in my family) would cost around $150 (at the time i was making less than 10 grand a year, so i made a lot of phone calls)... i wouldn't have been able to afford it if it weren't for planned parenthood's sliding price scale based upon your income.

sometimes i just think this country is so backwards. they're blocking the push for universal health care at every turn and trying to close down places that provide affordable health care! maybe they just want all the poor people to die... i think so.

Talisman

But if all the poor people die, then the rich won't have anyone to stand on.

zombiegirl

But if all the poor people die, then the rich won't have anyone to stand on.

yes, they're really not thinking ahead. the best business is one that keeps its workers happy and well. if we get sick, then our production levels will plummet and profits will follow in suit. it sure is a good thing that we have such an overwhelming amount of poor people in this country though, there's always someone to take a fallen worker's place for an ALMOST livable wage!

zombiegirl

But if all the poor people die, then the rich won't have anyone to stand on.

yes, they're really not thinking ahead. the best business is one that keeps its workers happy and well. if we get sick, then our production levels will plummet and profits will follow in suit. it sure is a good thing that we have such an overwhelming amount of poor people in this country though, there's always someone to take a fallen worker's place for an ALMOST livable wage!

hm, just read this over. sorry all, i fear i am being sarcastic and not helpful... perhaps i am just in a crabby mood today. :bowdown:

Talisman

lol ur good girl

Mountains

Every time I read something about the Republicans and health care, I get really crabby. Not to worry about it

Roger

Very sad. When we were kids we couldn't even imagine corporations making a profit off of people being sick and needing medicine or a doctor's care.

ragyaba

i fear i am being sarcastic and not helpful...

You were pretty much right on the money.



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caz

Here In Britain we have what you would call socialised healthcare, The nice bit is it may not be as good as private care but at least its nice to know you have somewhere to go in your time of need.

Roger

Here In Britain we have what you would call socialised healthcare, The nice bit is it may not be as good as private care but at least its nice to know you have somewhere to go in your time of need.

You know what? I think they're at least the same, maybe your's is BETTER! I have "private" care here in the USA. Major hospital and expensive insurance coverage. Guess what? I feel like I'm getting third-world care! If they can't find out what's wrong with you there's nothing wrong with you. My annual physical? Takes ten minutes with three of those getting "probed," followed by two blood draws. Fill out a questionaire and then, "Buh Bye!" Chest X-ray? Nah. Colonscopy? Nah. More specialized/tailored blood tests? Nah. Check my tonsils? nah. Could order and consume fast food just as quickly. (I'd never do that BTW).

Just saying what I think..., I sooo much dislike having negative thoughts.

Dakini

Very sad. When we were kids we couldn't even imagine corporations making a profit off of people being sick and needing medicine or a doctor's care.

Right! Then Reagan had the bright idea to deregulate the hospital industry, and other deregulation followed. VOILA! Unaffordable health care!

You know what? I think they're at least the same, maybe your's is BETTER! I have "private" care here in the USA. Major hospital and expensive insurance coverage. Guess what? I feel like I'm getting third-world care! If they can't find out what's wrong with you there's nothing wrong with you. My annual physical? Takes ten minutes with three of those getting "probed," followed by two blood draws. Fill out a questionaire and then, "Buh Bye!" Chest X-ray? Nah. Colonscopy? Nah. More specialized/tailored blood tests? Nah. Check my tonsils? nah.

Guess, what, Roger: you ARE getting 3rd-World care! The WHO ranks the US somewhere around 25th in the world re: quality of health care (I forget the exact ranking), BEHIND Costa Rica (!!) and just ahead of SLovenia! I imagine (going by personal experience and observation) that this has a lot to do with the fact that the US med system doesn't treat chronic health problems, other than to throw pharmaceuticals at them. So people with chronic health issues (that's a LOT of people) only get worse. And like you said, docs don't want to order the testing patients need to a) stay healthy and b) uncover the cause of chronic health problems (those tailored blood tests you mentioned). The med education system is pathetic, and is in the hands of Pharma.

At least we have Mountains, reporting for us from the Front Lines. Keep up the good work, brother Mountains!

Mountains

Really, truly, you don't want to get me started on health care (or lack thereof) in America. I could go on for days and days. The upshot is, as long as there's a profit motive behind the provision of health care, the situation will not change. Only by semi-governmentizing the insurance end of things (a national quasi-governmental single payer system) can the unending lust for ever more profit be put to an end. In any industry, the only way to increase profits (and thus, dividends to shareholders) is to reduce costs of production. Some of that can be done by true efficiency (an unknown concept to the insurance industry - they try to nickel and dime us to death in the trenches), but in the end, it's done by reducing your cost by not paying out claims. You don't pay out claims in the insurance industry by reducing "benefits" (oh, how I detest that word) and becoming ever more stingy and picky. My own personal health insurance plan is through the university I attend. Because I'm over 40 and have had cancer (when I was 31, and have been cancer-free since 1993), I essentially can't get privately purchased insurance on my own. Actually, I can, but they want to charge me $2400 A MONTH (!!) for the most basic coverage (i.e., no benefits to speak of), and oh by the way, no coverage whatsoever in any way for any form of cancer, whether related to my previous one or not (because as we know, it's all related). So I'm stuck with the bare-bones plan the school offers, which covers nothing, costs me almost $4000 a year in premiums, plus an annual $1500 deductible, and gigantic co-pays. And they don't cover anything "preventative" (this whole concept astounds me - you don't pay for preventative medical care!?!?!?!). That includes "preventative care" such as a $17.25 flu shot. Sorry, we'd rather risk you getting the flu, then having to go to the emergency department, spend $5000 (or more) for an overnight stay, and possibly die. Of course, if I die, they don't have to pay anything, so they're money ahead, since I've pre-paid my premium.

See how much sense this makes?


PS: It's very, very un-Buddhist of me, but I think the entire health insurance industry (or at least anyone in management therein) should be lined up against a wall and shot. They're no better than corner crack dealers ethically as far as I'm concerned. They do at least as much direct harm to the health of those they're trying to say they "help" as any drug dealer ever hoped to. And they're making more profit doing it. Oh, and they all have *really* good insurance coverage.

Dakini

Really, truly, you don't want to get me started on health care (or lack thereof) in America.

Um, but...you started this thread. lol ^_^

PS: It's very, very un-Buddhist of me, but I think the entire health insurance industry (or at least anyone in management therein) should be lined up against a wall and shot. They're no better than corner crack dealers ethically as far as I'm concerned. They do at least as much direct harm to the health of those they're trying to say they "help" as any drug dealer ever hoped to. And they're making more profit doing it. Oh, and they all have *really* good insurance coverage.

Yeah, it's outrageous. But guess who controls the decision-making in this country? If it were the people, then a single-payer plan would've been voted in. And FYI, Mts: I've been through the "uninsurable" routine. I'll spare you the details, but by working with an experienced independent med ins. agent, I was able to buck the system a little. But only a little.