health insurance

[linda]

Just a little political info- Jenn's post made me think of it.

If the person who would try to get universal healthcare passed gets elected as our new President, make sure you all get your voice heard concerning the COST of that healthcare. I was able to get health insurance while living in AZ because they already have a HIPAA law in place that states that health insurance can not be denied to anyone because of pre-existing conditions. HOWEVER, they failed to stipulate how much the insurance companies could charge for premiums, my monthly premiums there were $$$1,030.00-I'm not exaggerating. It is a very effective tool to keep people with pre-existing conditions from acquiring coverage, they simply can't afford it.  Another ploy they use is to challenge every test or rx so that it takes a long time to get the care you need. Requiring insurance companies to provide coverage w/out regulating the price is pointless. Organizations like the Healthwell Foundation (found at needymeds.com) currently provide help with insurance premiums, but if they became flooded with new applicants (i.e. if all 50 states were suddenly required to offer coverage to everyone despite their current state of health) they would not be able to help. They are non-profit and already stretched financially. So write your congresspersons or senator to let them know that it's not enough to allow everyone coverage, it needs to be AFFORDABLE and TIMELY. Just my 2 cents-

linda

[Michele]

Hi Linda,

Good Points!! Jennifer's posts regarding the documentary “Sicko” by Michael Moore made me add it to my Netflix queue. We just watched it last weekend. It definitely shows the very interesting history of how President Nixon sold our nations health away to insurance companies. For those who haven't seen this documentary, since Pres. Nixon taped every communication, this shows the actual video of these meetings.

Linda's point about how to implement such a structure in our country is important. Personally, I'm pretty cynical about our “honest” politicians. They appear under every donkey and elephant. So I'm concerned about how they write these laws no matter the party affiliation. Something MUST be done. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind. But my cynicism about the “same old same old” politician bought, funded, and paid for by the lobbyists, will only have greed in mind in the end.

After seeing “Sicko” which gives a look into other countries who have universal health care. I would LOVE to hear from people on this board who live in Canada, France, UK, Cuba, or a country that has universal coverage. One of Michael Moore's points is that the care in these countries WORKS. Patients and doctors alike were very satisfied. There were no long waits to see doctors. Care was convenient. Medicine was affordable. People were all happy…especially in France! Doctors earned a very nice income they felt was appropriate. They didn't have to turn patients away because they didn't have the means to pay. They earned incentives and made more money by having patients who changed to healthier life choices, like discontinuing smoking or maintaining healthy weights.

Is this true?

So people from countries with universal health care…how is it working out for you????

Michele

[Jo]

I hate insurance.

I hate the political pressure to force people to buy insurance.

I have friends in England and Canada who are trapped by their so called public health system.  I have one friend who couldn't even get a hearing aid for 5 years because in spite of being almost deaf in one ear, she wasn't deaf enough in the other.  She sent me money to buy one here in the States for her.

I have another friend in the UK with RA, who couldn't get her NSAID as it wasn't approved there, again she sent me money to buy it for her.

There are programs in Canada, where people come to the USA and pay cash for treatment because they are too far down the waiting list to get what they need in their own country.

Even with the expense of my husbands RA, I could afford it, if I could pay the same amount the insurance allows.

Doctors visits at 125 dollars, so that the insurance will authorise only 41 dollars, of which 35 is my co-pay.

Tests listed at over 3000 dollars, of which the insurance authorizes only 600 of which 20% is my co-pay.

If they could charge me what they charge in reality, instead of the artificially inflated prices to make up for the insurance discounts. I wouldn't need the stupid insurance at all.

I definately don't believe that we have a medical cost problem. We have an insurance problem that forces the uninsured to pay more, in order to protect the medical community from the insurance companies humungous discounts.  Get rid of the discounts, the inflated prices drop, and we can then afford it, without the huge monthly payments to the insurance companies.

You will never find me supporting any program that gives the governement another gun to hold at my head to steal more of my money for them to waste.

A simple law that forbids medical discounts to insurance companies would go a long way towards solving the problems.

 

[Jennhere]

There are lots of good organizations to join if you're interested in showing the elected leaders you want healthcare reform.  I added a link to one below my posts.  You're supposed to be a medical professional for that site, but I joined to keep up with the dialogue.  It keeps me going to know that there are groups out there working to get everyone insured.

 Also, joining Michael Moore's Sicko site gives you opportunities to sign petitions for bills being floated.  The Divided we Fail organization is good.  I also signed up for the nurses association… I forget the exact name of their group, but the emails they send me are so inspirational.  There are lots of people working on making healthcare available to people who really need it.  You know, the sick people!

I have two kids with health issues.  If their father wasn't in the military, they would be denied due to pre-existing conditions.  A teenager and a pre-teen…

Did anyone see Hillary tonight?  When she talks about Universal HealthCare… I just get chills.  You don't know how scary life is when you can't afford to get sick….. and you already have a serious illness. 

I'd gladly stand in a looooong line for health care.  It's better than having no line at all to stand in. 

[Michele]

Thanks for the input, Jo. Valuable to hear.

Your post reminded me that 15 years ago I temped in a Cincy, OH hospital accounts office for a week. 15 years ago, they were paying $300.00 for a clip-board. Lot's of other outrageous expenses I saw go across my desk that week, but that one stuck in my mind.

Michele

[Jennhere]

http://www.guaranteedhealthcare.org/

Here's another good site to join.  Once you begin to realize how many groups are working to get healthcare reform, you start to believe it can happen.  I know I'm more hopeful!

Jenn

[Jo]

[user=10]Jennhere[/user] wrote:

people!

I have two kids with health issues.  If their father wasn't in the military, they would be denied due to pre-existing conditions.  A teenager and a pre-teen…

 

Every single state has a Family Care plan that covers children up to the age of 19, that is based on income.  No pre existing conditions clause.

If you have a pre exisitng condition, then it would be wise, NOT to let your insurance expire, until you have a new policy. If there is no gap, then the pre exisiting clause doesn't come into effect.

Doesn't change the high prices for private insurance, though if the medical prices weren't artificially inflated to allow for the insurance discounts, you could probably afford the care without the insurance. 

How may people actually check to see how little the insurance is actually paying out vs how much the premiums are?

[linda]

Great information for those sites, everyone. I really hope we see some changes in our country's healthcare system. Jenn's right, a long line is better than no line at all. My concern is that it won't get done properly, or that there will continue to be loopholes like the outrageous pricing, to protect the interests of the insurance companies. They're a powerful group with lobbyists wooing both parties. I hope it doesn't become another break for the corporations accompanied by a tax increase for the middle class. I don't mind paying more taxes as long as the money goes toward providing affordable healthcare for everyone. I worry tho that if the gov't is involved in my healthcare, will they be deciding who my doctors should be, like HMO's do now? And what happens to research, will private corporations get more funding if they develop products approved by the gov't, who are in bed with the insurance and big pharma lobbyists (who would rather not see biologics replaced by low cost abx)? I'm obviously not very trusting of the gov't. I can see so many ways for universal healthcare to be corrupted- maybe I'm just too cynical.

Sigh…there's a lot of work to be done. I say this to myself as much as anyone else, we need to be involved if we're going to get the kind of healthcare we want.

Jenn, I'm so glad your children are covered under the military. I was married for 20 yrs, but my ex was only in the military for 15 of those yrs, so I didn't get the medical benefits either.

[Jennhere]

Jo,

Don't those programs for children require you to make under a certain amount of money?  I think they do.  I don't have a money problem- unless faced with medical bills!!!

I'm trapped in the world of the middle class.  I make way too much to qualify for any $$ based program, and far too little to pay for medical costs without insurance (which I can't afford even through the state programs I've checked into such as California's MRMIP. 

Linda,

I'd rather be divorced and uninsured than still married to my ex!;)  (seriously)  What I've lost in healthcare I've regained in mental health!  No woman should have to stay married in order to keep health insurance.

Jenn

[Maz]

[user=50]Michele[/user] wrote:

They earned incentives and made more money by having patients who changed to healthier life choices, like discontinuing smoking or maintaining healthy weights.

Hi Michele,

Yea, I'm still up, but just read your posts of today…thought you might be interested to read a piece in this week's Newsweek, if you can get a hold of a copy. A Tuft's medical rep of some sort was talking to the interviewer about this very subject….the value of preventative healthcare in the US. Basically, the bottom line is that this guy pretty much said that preventative healthcare costs more to insurance carriers in the longterm than not offering these services…e.g. screening tests, like regular prostrate checks from middle age onwards, being amongst those things mentioned as being the most costly. He more of less said it's cheaper to allow people to get sick and die quickly than to prolong their lives with regular screening and early interventions. I was pretty stunned by this revelation. 😯

Peace, Maz

[louris]

[user=465]Jo[/user] wrote:

If you have a pre exisitng condition, then it would be wise, NOT to let your insurance expire, until you have a new policy. If there is no gap, then the pre exisiting clause doesn't come into effect.

True, it is wise not to let your coverage expire, but what happens when no carrier will pick you up due to current health status?  This happened to me.  My COBRA expired and I was denied by every carrier that writes policies in my state.  Indeed, one issue is affordability, another is access to coverage.  The conversion policy offered by my former company's claims administrator is a drop in the bucket for services, and doesn't cover any doctor's fees.  I can afford to pay for health insurance (within reason), but nobody will provide me with coverage.

[Jo]

[user=290]louris[/user] wrote:

True, it is wise not to let your coverage expire, but what happens when no carrier will pick you up due to current health status?  This happened to me.  My COBRA expired and I was denied by every carrier that writes policies in my state.  Indeed, one issue is affordability, another is access to coverage.  The conversion policy offered by my former company's claims administrator is a drop in the bucket for services, and doesn't cover any doctor's fees.  I can afford to pay for health insurance (within reason), but nobody will provide me with coverage.

http://www.hrtw.org/healthcare/private.html#risk

Check the section under high risk … it also has several links to find the information for your particular state.

 
In particular is this one:

 

http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/

[Jennhere]

Since I really wanted and needed health insurance, I did look and call and ask and plead and grab fist fulls of money and insist I could pay up to a point….

So, I know there are people out there who think it's the sick person's fault for not jumping through the proper flaming hoop, but that's simplifying the situation.  If movies are made about our country's health care system, organizations are cropping up all around with the sole focus being reforming our healthcare system, people are posting stories of being refused coverage due to their health conditions, and Sanjay Gupta is getting on CNN once a month to underscore the problem…. then there is a problem with the SYSTEM, not the sick people who didn't look hard enough for the ~available~ solution.  For many of us, there is no solution.  We are being left to wither and die.  There isn't some obvious or unobvious plan out there.  Americans are dying as a result of our profit driven healthcare system turning it's back on sick human beings…  They're NOT dying because they didn't read the information on the state web site correctly.

Jenn

[Jo]

[user=10]Jennhere[/user] wrote:

Since I really wanted and needed health insurance, I did look and call and ask and plead and grab fist fulls of money and insist I could pay up to a point….

So, I know there are people out there who think it's the sick person's fault for not jumping through the proper flaming hoop, but that's simplifying the situation. 
Jenn

 

It's politics, and politics is always the peoples fault.   Priorities and entitlement ideology are the problem.   The people of California passed prop 13 to limit property taxes, few other states did, so I have no sympathy for people who complain about high property taxes, organize and copy prop 13, don't tell me about it.  But they want someone else to put in the work, it isn't worth it to them.

NJ and MA both have laws that prohibit insurance companies from using health condition as a reason to reject or to consider it in the premiums.  I'm sure there are other states that do the same.

If the priority is health insurance, then move to one of those states, or start a petition to change the law in your state.

However, for most, the priority is to take money from healthy people to pay for their insurance, and to complain about it while they wait for someone else to do it for them.   As one of the healthy people who HATES insurance, I'm sure you understand why I am not sympathetic and will fight tooth and nail against such legislation.

Now a law that prevents insurance companies from getting discounts, or from considering health condition, I could support that.  As long as it keeps people hands out of my pocket.

[Jennhere]

J[user=465]o[/user] wrote:

 

However, for most, the priority is to take money from healthy people to pay for their insurance, and to complain about it while they wait for someone else to do it for them.   As one of the healthy people who HATES insurance, I'm sure you understand why I am not sympathetic and will fight tooth and nail against such legislation.

I actually don't understand why you're not sympathetic.  I'm guessing it's because, like you said, you're healthy.  If the day ever comes when you're sick and you can't get insurance and can't afford to pay for care- maybe you'll pack up and move to a state that will assist you…?  I don't know what you would be willing to do.  Being sick changes a lot of our long held assumptions about “what we would do”.  Being sick also drains a person of that gumption to “fight tooth and nail” against… anything.  Getting out of bed is sometimes the biggest accomplishment you manage on a really painful day.  There's some fighting tooth and nail just to walk across the room on a bad day.  I think we don't agree on the need for universal health care in the U.S..  

Jenn 

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