Health Care in America: Discuss

[Dr Steve]

I was at a wedding and missed it originally. My Wife now loves you Dr. Steve lol..thanks for all the help in the previous emails too, you've been a LOT of help Dr.Steve. I've got some very very strong feelings on this issue, mostly in agreement with Foundy Music Jeff.

Jeff will be glad to hear it! We really tried to present ourselves as impartial during that show. I have very little to argue with Jeff on...he's absolutely right about the problems Americans face in healthcare today. The solution is what we have some issues on. I'm becoming more and more a fan of universal health care, but in a program that will pick up those who now can't get insurance. For those over 65, there's Medicare, for those in certain groups below the poverty level, there's Medicaid, and for many, many people, there's employer subsidized health care. We need to somehow cover those people who don't fall into one of those groups, and we're talking millions of people. And no kid in this country should go without healthcare.



Sorry for the long rant, but I need to share my thoughts!

A few comments on the show. I really liked the HealthCare political discussion, although I thought it leaned a bit in the Conservative direction



well, John and Jefferson were definitely in the McCain camp regarding health care, and if I was neutral, it would skew toward McCain. I do remember saying I couldn't make heads nor tails out of McCain's plan. It's impossible (and bad radio, probably) to be so impartial that no opinions go out. If the impression was that we only leaned "a bit" in one direction, that's probably ok. :-)


I think you guys should do another one, but look at other Countries besides Canada. France and Australia have FAR better Universal Healthcare systems then Canada, but I'd take Canada's over ours in a heartbeat if I coulnd't afford the best plan here in the States.



not a bad idea, actually. We'll look into Europe (though I've heard NIGHTMARES about the French system, where the docs seem to take vacation en masse in the summer and no one can even see a doctor. That may be a myth, though; we'll research it!

Believe it or not, Canada doesn't have the best Universal Healthcare system compared to others in Western Society, but it's still probably better then ours(for the average American who has lousy insurance or no insurance, not the well insured of course). For every Canadian guest that has a bad story as the one you put on your show, I'd bet my bottom dollar that you could find 10 to 20 Americans with absolute horror stories, simply for the fact that we have so many people without Healthcare,



This is a great point!


and people like myself with excellent Healthcare that are getting hassled with bills from the Insurance Companies because it's all profit driven, and nothing else matters to them at all. I really started getting emotional about this when my Wife, at 25, got cancer, and even with the best coverage in the area, had problems with the billing, since Blue Cross/Blue Shield was in the middle of a lawsuit with one of the biopsy testing companies that the particular hospital sent the samples out too. Long story short, it had to come out of my pocket. This is shit I shouldn't have to worry about, espcially if you saw our Companies premiums. This is the real problem in my mind, the insurance companies making money on the backs of you and companies like my own.

BTW, Foundry Music Jeff said one thing I disagreed with. You guys, the Doctors, the actual Healthcare providers shouldn't have to make "less money", it's the Insurance Companies that either need to go away or get nationalized in order to control cost and make less money, so that people like YOU can make a better living then what you have right now. At the moment, the insurance companies are making a killing off of YOUR work, that's the problem in this country, not Doctor's pay. There's a MASSIVE effort to keep our eye's off the ball, and that's the insurance companies, plain and simple. It won't fix all, but it's a start. Problem is, there's far more special interest money protection these fucking scumbags, that's it's going to take a monumental effort by the Amercian people to force our Politician's hands.


Hey, kid, I like the way you think! :smile:

I'm at work, so I'll let the rest of your missive stand without comment from me. I think this is a great starting point for a discussion on what we want as Americans from our healthcare delivery system.

your pal,


steve



I honestly believe you cannot have profit and people's lives in the same equation, as profit will almost ALWAYS supersede a person's life since Corporations MUST by law make the most amount of money possible, the shareholders demand it, and this poses a moral conundrum(Oh no, a Moral Conundrum, Conundrum!). I didn't always feel this way until I started to get older and met more people that have had utter nightmares and people that can't even get insurance. I live in an affluent area, so I've lived in a bubble my whole life, so it took some traveling and relationships with people to wake up from what I see as a NATIONAL DISASTER. I personally know "once" multi-millionaires, gone completely broke because they got sick or lost their health insurance at a bad time, and as a result have lost their homes and businesses. I know 2 families where this has happened after working their fucking asses of Dr. Steve, working hard every day, building up their business only to get fucked by Blue Cross or Aetna. The system can not stand in the way it stands right now, it's become far too bureaucratic and greedy as opposed to years past. Our system is the best for people who can afford it, no doubt, but that's simply just not good enough for most Americans, as most Amercian's have lousy pay, no benefits, or sub-standard benefits.

We are the ONLY Western Country NOT to have a comprehensive universal system, which I find strikingly sad and immoral at the same time. I think we need a Medicare + system, where people who lose their job can go on the system temporarily, until they find new employment, making it less stressful for people to move between jobs. I can't even tell you Dr. Steve how many people are stuck in their jobs because they cannot risk losing their healthcare, and these people are worried about their kids for Christ's sake. I think we need to place all children on a "Medicare +" immediately, under 18's. If we can subsidize multi-billion dollar corporations, we can help people. Why is it that it's ok to help the Banks and Financial Institutions from a Top down approach, who fucked up big time, (basically stealing tax payer dollars as we've seen already), but as soon as we talk about helping people, that's labeled "Socialism". That's just ridiculous and infuriating at the same time. First off, we have a mixture between Capitalism and Socialism in this country, and the socialism is much more prevalent at the top then most people realize.

There's billions of dollars in marketing and fighting the idea of helping people in this Country, and I don't know how any Doctor WOULDN'T want to fix this system, and in a big way. As a Business owner, I'm willing to pay that 3 percent more on my earnings if it will give me a healthier work force to hire from. When people are stressed, broke, or uncertain of how they're gonna get by (most Americans), I can tell you first hand, you get far less efficiency from labor. There's an intrinsic value in making sure people get the care and emergency care for themselves and their children. Peace of mind goes a long way and a healthier middle class, is a better economy in my view. That also includes preventative medicine and people taking drastic action to lose weight and take care of themselves in the first place so that it helps take a chunk of the burden off the rest of us. But of course, my issue is with the people that for no other reason, have bad luck and terrible things happen to them. I think we all agree, the world isn't fair, so the least we can do is help people out medically when they need it. As a society, I think this is as American as it gets.

As a Business owner that does far more than 250k net(Obama was saying would raise my taxes 3 points above all money over 250k), and someone who believes strongly in the free market(although it's controlled privately for the most part, I guess I can dream), I honestly feel this country is broken at the core. The multinational corporations have run amok and simply don't pay their share of taxes, while us US based civilian Corporations get the brunt of it, the "small businesses that make millions all the way down to thousands. I honestly don't mind paying a bit extra IF we can get an efficient system put in place (like the Military is run, the largest social program in the Country and on Earth, or the public education system which if funded properly, runs pretty damn good in affluent areas like my own, better then Private schools for that matter).

So, in conclusion, where does the money come from? Number one, cut out the garbage in the Defense budget. We spend as much on Defense as the entire world combined, there's something wrong with that. Number 2, roll back some of the Bush tax cuts, and close out the thousands of loopholes, especially on Corporations that specifically multinational corps that have zero allegiance to this country.Number 3, end the 10 billion a month we're spending in Iraq. Done.

It's simple to come up with a plan, but will takes some balls to implement. As soon as Obama cuts defense spending, which the Pentagon is actually calling for btw, he'll be labeled as anti-troop, anti-military President, which is just ridiculous. If anyone is anti-troop, it's the chickenhawks that sent our boys and girls into Baghdad without proper Armor on their Humvee's..that's Defense spending WE SHOULD have covered, not the 25 destroyers and the billions of dollars we'll spend building them and only using half. As both candidates said, they need to go line by line and prioritize for the people of this country, and we can do all of this without being "Socialist", as the right wing would love to call it. Yes, people need to pull themselves up from the bootstraps, but what about the people that don't even have fucking boots to pull up?

[nukinfuts]

I just ran across post this the other night and it made me think about my recent choice regarding insurance coverage. I decided with the uncertain state of health care coverage and costs in the US that I would move to a Health Savings Account. This has been an option with my employer for the past couple of years but this year I was in a position to fully fund the savings account for the high deductible which is $3000 up front at the beginning of this year. I can put in up to I think $5900 this year for family I think for an individual it's lower than that. If you don't know how a HSA works you are still covered by insurance in my case it's Blue Cross but instead of paying $400 a month to have a $25 copay at the dr and a $10 copy on prescriptions you put that $400 a month or however much you choose into a health savings account which is a lower interest account but at the end of the year whatever you don't use rolls over, unlike a flexible spending account. I am responsible for $3000 out of pocket to meet the deductible but I can use the money that's in this HSA account to pay those $3000 in medical costs and after that I have a 10% copay. This all sounds scary but when I put it all out on paper my health expenses for my family were less that $2000 last year but I paid almost $4800 for health insurance. This also gives me a chance to have an investment where when I retire I can use this money to purchase health insurance and not rely on 100% medicare which is not really friendly to the retired person as my father has found out. What I am doing is what so many American's need to do and that is to take responsibility for their health care. Since I have moved to this plan I am taking Chantix to stop smoking and I will think twice before I run to the doctor for a little cold or when one of the kids has a little cold. I have also been working on losing weight and trying to be a little more health conscience.

I guess that I have been fortunate enough to always have health insurance. Since I was 18 years old I have made sure that I have worked for a company that would provide this benefit and even if I wasn't taking home a lot of money the benefit of insurance always factored in to my career choices. I hear so many people say that they make great money but they can't afford health insurance but if you look into these health savings accounts it is a way to have health insurance but you have be willing to assume some of the risk of having a high deductible. I could have stayed on my traditional health insurance plan for another year because truthfully the rate that we pay at my company is still better than most but I see the direction of healthcare in the US and my fear is that with a nationalized system the level of care will go down or there will be long waits to even see a doctor. I see how the government manages others things, such as social security, and I don't want them to be in charge of my health...I would rather take charge of my own health care and leave them out of it.

I do believe all children should have health insurance and most states have plans where children are covered by Medicaid. However this means that people have to go through paternity tests and child support collections in order to be eligable and there are many people that aren't willing to do that and in my opinion these people are just ignorant. I guess to are going to have to remove the "rules" in order to protect these children from parents that are stupid. I also believe if the government is going to offer nationalized insurance then they also need to make those people who are able bodied and want to take advantage of that to get a job and pay taxes as well as commit to a healthier lifestyle such as not smoking...ect. This would send up red flags with the ACLU because you would be taking away that person's right to smoke...get cancer...and be a leech on healthcare and taxpayers. It's a no win situation sometimes for the overall view of healthcare but I think I made the right decision by moving to the health savings account so if anyone has this option I encourage you to research it and put some thought into taking advantage of it.

[Death Metal Moe]

I pay way too much for the most basic coverage ever and pay all dental bills out of pocket. I have regular doctor's visits, limited hospitalization and a common prescription plan. That's it.

Whatever is going on with Healthcare isn't helping me in the least.

Oh, and my boss was kind enough to include a little "Health Care is going up again next year" paper in with out last year's check at our Christmas Party. What a swell guy.

[KatPw]

My office does not offer health insurance. In my line of work it is not the norm for an office to offer it.

[nukinfuts]

I pay way too much for the most basic coverage ever and pay all dental bills out of pocket. I have regular doctor's visits, limited hospitalization and a common prescription plan. That's it.

Whatever is going on with Healthcare isn't helping me in the least.

Oh, and my boss was kind enough to include a little "Health Care is going up again next year" paper in with out last year's check at our Christmas Party. What a swell guy.

That's the good thing about a health savings account. You can use it for dental expenses you are paying out of pocket and if you are able to open one through your employer all the money you put in is pretax. The basic coverage where I work has consistently gone up and we are due for a huge increase after 2009. I figured if my manager can manage with a HSA and he has 3 kids and a wife then I could probably try it with 2 kids. I don't see the premiums getting any better and I would rather have money going into something where I can save a little rather than dumping it all into a high premium plan that I may never use the same amount of $$ I am putting into it. My boyfriend said well you pay those high premiums to keep health insurance because it's like car insurance you may never need it but when you do need it it's good to have. In my opinion I am only on the hook for $3000 of the deductible and that's less that what I am having taken out of my check to pay for a low deductible high cost premium plan. If it sucks being on the HSA I will let you all know but it's worth a shot especially if you have no health care through your employer but are able to pay for one of these on your own it's worth looking into.

[epo]

Health savings accounts are great for the insured as a means to help control the costs, but they really don't solve the problems of the uninsured or under-insured.

Using an HSA as your primary means to fund your health costs as some have suggested is pure insanity.

[cougarjake13]

i paid 90 a month for the year last year costing me 1080.00

i went to the doctor once, maybe twice so i;d obviously love to have that money back


but you just cant take the chance of having no insurance if something bad happens




in 2001 i had no insurance and had to have an emergency appendectomy

overall it cost me close to 12,000 for that

[epo]

A lot of people talk about how we fix the American system of delivering health care and its obviously a very complicated issue. We want the best technology. We want doctors to be paid to the best of their ability. We want the cost to be reduced. Hell....we want it all...and we'd like a silver bullet to be delivered today.

Unfortunately there aren't many silver bullets in this world, but I think a couple of major first steps could be made to expand coverage and reduce cost:

1. Expand preventive coverage to the under/uninsured. By working in a model in which we deny/restrict coverage to the poor/working poor...we cost ourselves more money, which serves the effect of raising costs. Many of our coverage underserved are avoiding providers when they are ill at early/low-cost stages, which then later will cause exponentially higher cost visits to the hospital (generally the emergency room).

2. Educate the public on what services to access. Employers and the providers need to do a better job of explaining how to access services provided by the medical community. Too many people are going to the emergency room when they could go to an urgent care or their providers office. This is clogging our system with patients at the wrong locations and often at unnecessary costs.

3. Look at providers rates of reimbursement for government provided insurance. I know our government bodies aren't in the kind of shape to expand their budgets, but I honestly think their rates of reimbursement for programs like Medicare are so low (approximately 60% of cost in many cases) that they are raising the costs for the insured and uninsured. This cost shift is necessary for providers to make up for the low rates of government and is a perfect example of an unaccounted for "back door" tax on society.

I'll hang up now and listen for Dr. Steve's thoughts....