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Christi Diggs
on May 23 2013 - 06:00 AM
A drop of spin, a cup of deception and tsp. politics=Apathy
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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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- kim nakahodo - Profile | Pictures | Blog
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As you know, the United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system.
Well…. sort of.
We have a universal health care system that covers almost 30 percent of the population through programs for the elderly, disabled, children, military service families and veterans, and some of the poor. These programs are known as Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and TRICARE.
I am fortunate enough to have good quality health care for my family, but it is expensive. Our premiums and co-pays have jumped up over 50 percent in the past 3 years – not to mention the increase in cost to my employer which affects my raises.
I hardly feel like I can complain about my insurance when I know so many people who have little or no insurance. I know a few moms who either stay in school or only work part-time so their kids can qualify for Medicaid. They are in a tough position – they can’t afford health insurance and daycare so qualifying for Medicaid is the only option they have.
Healthcare is a multi-forked problem with this nation divided on a solution. The only thing we can agree on is that the system is broken.
Now the big question is how do we fix it? Some people think that the system will fix itself; others call on the government to step in.
Either way it’s going to be messy, expensive and highly debated. Private, for-profit companies pitted against financially-strapped public health care providers. But we are not the only country to go through it – Canada retooled their system in 1984 and Mexico is in the process right now.
Several states have decided to take things into their own hands and tackle universal health care themselves. Massachusetts implemented a near-universal health care system in 2007 by mandating residents purchase state-regulated health insurance. The state felt it was better to mandate insurance coverage than pay for the rising cost of health care for uninsured residents.
I think there is a solution somewhere in the middle, think Medicare. Everyone is on Medicare, but you can opt to have more coverage if you choose to.
So what are your thoughts?
My family has insurance through my husbands work. The same as you our copays and premiums have gone up. What I don't understand is why don't the insurance companies offer some incentives.. More preventive care things. For instance pay part of a gym membership or give a kickback for not having to use the insurance.. I'm not sure if that makes sense but they sure do take our money but don't offer any incentives for trying to take care of ourselves..Just my 2 cents..I have no idea how to fix it. That's why I'm not demanding I be put in charge of the world. All I know is that I'm one of those people caught in the middle. We BARELY don't qualify for the "poor people" insurance, and the insurance we have through DH's work usually covers...well...nothing. I believe it covered about half of my son's birth, which means we'll be paying on that about as long as we're paying on my student loans. (Mostly because we're so broke, though.) Thank goodness they can't charge interest on medical bills!!Ya know...Since I have been home unemployed, I have been watching the issue on universal health care. I do know that regular company or personal insurances that if you are diagnosed with a cancer or other possible terminal illness it could take up to 90 days to get the surgery, or procedures just to see if it is truly necessary. The gripe that people have with the universal insurance is that you have to wait for breast cancer surgeries, other cancer surgeries, etc. etc. 7 years ago, my dad who had bladder cancer, had to go thru a 60 days "just to see if it worked" procedure because insurance wouldn't pay for the bladder removal until they saw if it worked. As expected, the first procedure didn't work so he was 30 days away from the 90 day window from the time the cancer would exit the bladder. Then it took another 60 days to get approval for the bladder surgery and when they finally removed the entire bladder, the cancer tumor was attached to the side and they almost punctured the tumor trying to get the bladder out. So which insurance is better. The insurance that medicare and employed people pay for that we have to wait for the insurance companies to see if we are really sick and see if it is in their coverage --or--- the universal insurance that we pay a minimal fee or tax, but at least we know we are in line for something and it will be paid and the company won't come back and give us a list of things we need to do to get our procedures. I think that sounds right. At least to me. I know right now I couldn't get private insurance because of my child's kidney stone problems, or my husbands anxiety medication or my 36 years of migraines (heriditary (sp), I would have to pay the premium for a year before they would cover anything. So if anyone can give me a better plan than the one we have now, bring it on. I'm game.So many people I know from countries where they have universal health care (Canada, England) say it is the worst thing ever. I would love to not pay$400.00 a month for mine though. Would I be willing to give up my doctors and convenience just to not pay that amount? I don't know.This topic is touchy. How to have universal health care, yet still keep it accessible? As one Canadian put it in an earlier thread, they throw a party to send cancer patients to the States so they can be treated "in time." What happens when the States has the same system?Where my DH use to work they had great insurance, they paid for part of a gym membership all of the kids well visits were covered 100% and lots of other perks, but the new company that he works for isn't as good. We still have pretty good insurance, but not as good as what we had before. I think companies choose what they want to make a priority some care more about the health of their employees than others.Now my buttons have been pushed. We have also seen insurance premiums sky rocket. Before DH went out on his own and started doing contract work premiums were getting higher and benefits were getting lower. Now that he does contract work he does pretty good except for insurance. What ever insurance company we have wants a new contract every year and they up our premium no matter how much we have use it. One year we paid almost 1,000 a month in insurance. DS and I only went to the doctor a couple of times. Then at the end of the year DH and I both had minor problems that needed to be addressed. The insurance company didn't pay the whole bill for either of us because something the doctor did fell under our deductible. So we got hit with more medical expenses. Every year we have to shop around for insurance to get a lower rate even if it means losing coverage. Can you imagine how much it cost the insurance companies to go over everyone's contact every year. And they do the same with doctors. The doctors charge one price, then the insurance company pays them the contracted amount. No one knows what that amount is until it goes through the system. Quite often these amounts are 30% to 50% less than what the doctor charged. A few years ago I tripped and thought I had broken my arm. So I went to the ER to get it X-rayed. Once I saw some one who determined I needed an x-ray I sat in the waiting room to wait until a tech could take me to radiology. After the X-Ray he took me back to the waiting room. An hour later they called me into the back, put me in a room with a bed as if I had just gotten there and needed to be assessed, only to wait for the doctor to tell me it wasn't broken. Which was great. That was all fine and dandy until I got the bill. The hospital charge over $900, of which the insurance knocked down to around $600 of which I think I had to pay $150. That is $900 for an x-ray. That is ridiculous. I didn't even get to rest in the bed the whole time I was waiting, since most of the time I sat in the waiting room. But I am sure they charged the same. Fees are outrageous. Then the insurance companies spend tons of money on contracts and paper work. That is just the tip of the ice burg on how difficult it is getting small business insurance and the monumental cost of it. Since DH was actually employed for 6 months it has been great having good insurance again. The premium was still high but at least they paid good. Now that he isn't working for a large company anymore we get to pay for cobra. The cost shouldn't be as bad as it was when he was solo but who knows how well the coverage will be. Our health care system is terribly broken. I wish we could scrap the whole thing and start over. I have faith in Obama and think he means well but I am not to sure he is on the right track. Everyone needs to have coverage of some sort. But the cost need to be brought down considerably. I believe one way to do that would be to get rid of the PPO and HMO contracts. The doctors could cut their fees by 30% right off the bat. The other way to help premiums be more affordable would be for us to keep our contracts for at least 2 years with a locked in premium. And yes incentives for people who don't use their insurance that much, or live healthy lifestyles would be great. It is unfortunate to have a system that really is made for big business to insure their employees. And still that cost is considerable. But this country is build on free enterprise. What nobody mentions is that you can make money in any way you want to (as long as it is legal) if you can afford the insurance premiums. I don't have much of an answer but Obama has more of a solution than anybody else. Here is hoping.
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