Comments on: The People Know What They Want – A PUBLIC OPTION IN HEALTHCARE

By: mon_dieu_ishmael

mon_dieu_ishmael — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:13:14 +0000

“It's free for over 65, disabled and lots of other categories.” – IT IS NOT FREE!!!
Someone has to pay for it!!! MEDICARE is taken out of social security checks, and is paid by every worker and employer in the USofA.

The mind set that healthcare is FREE is very, very wrong. It is very, very expensive no matter who pays.

By: mon_dieu_ishmael

mon_dieu_ishmael — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:13:14 +0000

The mind set that healthcare is FREE is very, very wrong. It is very, very expensive no matter who pays.

By: yob

yob — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:25:03 +0000

I bust my butt to go to school while working 40 plus hours a week only to have the Government handing out more of my tax dollars. I am not rich but I get up ever morning to earn a living. I pay for my mom's medication and contribute to her well being. I hate handouts. I am over all of the welfare and social programs.

By: yob

yob — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:24:47 +0000

I am sorry to her about your daughter.

By: twg

twg — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:51:28 +0000

I guess there's not much interest in healthcare right now because of the SCOTUS non-decision released today.

Cancer and other terminal illness with definitely be a challenge for any new HC proposals. Those issues are not being talked about, but looking to other single-payer systems indicates that rationing, waiting lists, and bureaucratic issues are a fact of life. Some appointed hack may get to decide how much your life is worth, or how long you will live if you get cancer. My first wife died at 35 (in 2004) of breast cancer. We had good insurance. Chemo, surgeries, PET scans, x-rays and like like cost in excess of 600k over the last 3 years of her life. Our son was 6 years old when she died.

600 grand was/is ridiculous! They charged $1k just to ADMINISTER her IV chemo (into a port no less). Hospitals routinely over-billed, mis-billed our insurance. I saved somebody 20-30 grand by looking at the bills and asking questions. It is not easy calculus, but something HAS to be done. We were fortunate in certain ways and met many others with much, much tougher struggles.

By: rikyrah

rikyrah — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:29:59 +0000

EVENING OPEN THREAD IS UP!!

By: yob

yob — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:03:42 +0000

My mother is a breast cancer and brain tumor survivor with no health insurance. She received excellent treatment. Universal Health Care would have killed my mother. She would have been on a waiting list.
In February 2009, outrage in the Obamas' community exploded upon learning that a young boy covered by Medicaid had been turned away from the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dontae Adams' mother, Angela, had sought emergency treatment for him after a pit bull tore off his upper lip. Mrs. Obama's hospital gave the boy a tetanus shot, antibiotics and Tylenol, and shoved him out the door. The mother and son took an hour-long bus ride to another hospital for surgery.

I'll guarantee you this: You'll never see the Adams family featured at an Obama policy summit or seated next to the first lady at a joint session of Congress to illustrate the failures of the health care system.

Following the Adams incident, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) blasted Mrs. Obama and Axelrod's grand plan. The group released a statement expressing "grave concerns that the University of Chicago's policy toward emergency patients is dangerously close to 'patient dumping,' a practice made illegal by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)" -- signed by President Reagan, by the way -- "and reflected an effort to 'cherry pick' wealthy patients over poor."

Rewarding political cronies at the expense of the poor while posing as guardians of the downtrodden? Welcome to Obamacare. http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-275398

By: twg

twg — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:24:59 +0000

Public option should be available, no excuses. Public option health care as advocated here is about half class-warfare and half genuine concern though.

How much would Medicare cost per person if it was breaking even? Right now if you are fairly young, Part A and B would cost around $500 per month, not much drug coverage. Is that too much? It's free for over 65, disabled and lots of other categories. BUT you can get better insurance cheaper……if you are willing to pay for insurance. I personally don't want to pay extra for people who are not willing to contribute toward their own health-care. I will/would pay extra from my modest <40k salary for meaningful care and support of the less fortunate. Common sense says the current proposals will mean my insurance will be worse and cost more. I have lots of experience with health issues, insurance, and hospitals BTW.