Health Care Discussion

[devilof76]

Re: The Right to Responsible Gun Ownership

My mom is an RNC and for a few years she was a payment coordinator for the second biggest hospital in Maine. From what she has told me, the entitlement programs are insanely difficult for hospitals to get payment from. If this is consistent throughout the country, it's no surprise that costs are out of control. This has been going on atleast since Medicaid was introduced. Originally, they had to employ DRG's to control costs; then the HMO's.

I'm guessing that neither worked.

 

[budafett]

I'd ask if it was possible. You could have say universal healthcare that would make sure everyone in this country would have access to health care (affordable, pre-existing conditions, etc.) or you would have to give up assault weapons, extended mags, hollow tip bullets, etc,

Would you?

Neither. Health Insurance isn't a RIGHT where my GUNS ARE. That pesky Constitution.

I'll get a job, get health care insurance and keep my guns.

 

[karamazov80]

Medicaid operations and functions vary by state. ACA is creating a mandatory expansion to folks who are at 133% of the federal poverty line or below, so that will standardize things a bit. But payment systems are still going to vary widely. In my state, the governor has been trying to move away from a fee-for-service system to a true managed/coordinated care option. It has proven effective in some places at both curbing costs and promoting better outcomes. And really, those are the two principal foci of ACA, and there is a lot in there dealing with managed care in its numerous guises.

As for inefficient repayment of money owed, ACA also attempts to address inefficiencies in information sharing and coordination across healthcare quarters (in part, anticipating problems with identifying eligibility when the subsidies and expansion of Medicaid go into effect). I think that is one of the parts of ACA that folks across the political spectrum would agree with.

To Badmoon's post, of course, that's the core of the proposed Republican alternative to ACA, and the Democrats might not have done themselves many favors by ignoring tort reform. But then, that's not exactly a left-leaning idea. Regarding costs, much of the ACA is ostensibly set up to curb costs. But that's not all it does, of course, and there are potential alternative ideas out there.

 

[hoodonit00]

Neither. Health Insurance isn't a RIGHT where my GUNS ARE. That pesky Constitution.

I'll get a job, get health care insurance and keep my guns.

He's just trying to paint us into a corner. When I asked if he would do the same with his collectibles he said he already donates to charity and doesn't have to give his collectible up.

 

[KitFisto]

I'm in full favor or health care reform, but totally against Obamacare. Public mandates, tons of exemptions given making it even more expensive for Joe public with a job and public abortion funding? No thanks.

Health reform yes. Obamacare, no.

 

[carbo-fation]

For those of you who are against socialized healthcare or against "Obamacare", what changes if any would you make that make the healthcare reform more favorable, in your opinion? I am really curious to see what good alternatives you guys can think of besides keeping the current system as is.

 

[karamazov80]

public abortion funding

Are you familiar with this?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pres...-affordable-care-acts-consistency-with-longst

Status quo isn't changed re: abortion funding via ACA. Bill might not have passed if it was. Here's more information, if you're curious:

https://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill18.pdf

 

[devilof76]

For those of you who are against socialized healthcare or against "Obamacare", what changes if any would you make that make the healthcare reform more favorable, in your opinion? I am really curious to see what good alternatives you guys can think of besides keeping the current system as is.

Total privatization of the healthcare industry.

 

[The Mike]

Alright, time to chime in before the lock.

I support a Universal Healthcare in theory but NOT being imposed in this nation under the status of the government funded programs we have now. The entire system needs an overhaul in terms of government aid. There are plenty of hardworking honest people who need to get government aid in some fashion or another but there are also a large population who simply work the system. I see it all of the time, there are parents who are on welfare for example who don't need it (remember that MTV footage of the late Ol' Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang still heading down to pick up his check?) or even parents who have their kids on a hot lunch program, free uniform program (our public schools require uniforms) and yet pull up in Range Rovers and are dressed to the nines in designer brands.

The healthcare system will be no different with assistance going to those who need it who would benefit from it and then a large population simply bilking the system. I don't feel it's fair that I pay more my coverage fees (mine just doubled thanks Blue Cross in anticipation of certain Healthcare reforms according ot their rep) and it has nothing to do with the care or disregard of my fellow man, it has to do with the government looking great by instituting such programs and yet not instituting the proper checks and balances to make sure that they are working and being cared for. There are already issues with healthcare now in the private systems which would only be made worse if the same kind of shotty care is given to that program as is given to the majority of other programs.

If they can fix the structures and actually make it a functioning machine then I'm all for Universal Healthcare, start with the programs you already have though before adding another, until then I refuse to support it because in the end when it is half assed and functioning the people who really need it, the people who are most benefitted from it will end up being the ones who lose out with no other option.

 

[The Craw]

i already have affordable healthcare. my job pays for it. and i don't own a gun. so i'm technically already living in this utopia.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

free health care is all well and good but how can it be paid for when nobody is hiring, no new jobs are being created, and the average person can barely handle the taxes that are tacked on now?

 

[karamazov80]

Mike makes some good points, IMO. Again, the ACA has several provisions aimed at combating fraud and abuse, as that is a major hurdle to the prospect of cost-effective health care both from the consumer side, and from the provider side (provider fraud is a major issue combating Medicaid and Medicare, as well as private insurance). But any system is going to have loopholes that people exploit--the tax system in this country is probably manipulated and abused worse than the health care system, which is saying a lot. Efforts should definitely be made to shore that up IMO.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

i already have affordable healthcare. my job pays for it. and i don't own a gun. so i'm technically already living in this utopia.

I'm set with healthcare for life. I wonder if they could arrange a trade in program for gun owners. Trade in x amount of firearms for a year's worth of coverage, or copays. That might be a good incentive for people to give up their weapons.

 

[devilof76]

Tax reform is easy. Use services provided by the government, get a bill. Don't use services, don't get a bill.

 

[FLOSI]

I'm not sure how these two issues are related (Because they're not).

 

[karamazov80]

I'm set with healthcare for life. I wonder if they could arrange a trade in program for gun owners. Trade in x amount of firearms for a year's worth of coverage, or copays. That might be a good incentive for people to give up their weapons.

Interestingly enough, there's a provision in ACA that says insurers can't discriminate against people for being gun owners

Tax reform is easy. Use services provided by the government, get a bill. Don't use services, don't get a bill.

Can you exclude yourself from protection by the national military? Or from having access to clean air and water? Or from using interstates (I suppose you could do that one, but it would be difficult. . .)? And I wonder if you have to pay more for food otherwise subsidized by the government if you opt out of paying taxes. . .

 

[wofford29]

My wife and I are blessed to have our insurance paid 100% by the company she works for, but our medication has risen twice since Obama has been in office. We've gone from paying $1.08 for our generic prescription to around $30 a bottle now. My vote for reform is whatever Obama is doing reverse it, and then get him out of office.

 

[The Mike]

My healthcare went from being 100% covered to at this point about 60% thanks to our union being flat out retarded in arguing for a raise (which never came due to cuts in funding) and forgetting the issue of Healthcare. I am paying over $500 for my benefits which are pretty damn good. I pay about $10 for my generic perscriptions, usually less. The thing is Blue Cross has already said because of what has been pushed through via reform they will probably raise rates 30% to handle it. So I have to pay for others to have healthcare. Call me inhumane or whatever you'd like but if the government is pushing this and can't cover it so I have to I'd say something is severely wrong.

 

[karamazov80]

I suspect that some of that (not sure how much) is insurance company posturing, in an attempt to get support for repeal. Some of it is due to uncertainty, and insurance companies hedging their bets. But another thing is related to the parts of the bill that most people support in an abstract sense--no pre-existing condition exclusions, no rescissions except in case of fraud, and limits on lifetime and annual coverage limits. That all sounds good, but someone's got to pay for it. And until the government can enforce the individual mandate so insurers can spread costs around (if it happens at all--2014 is the effective date in the law), then onus fall on insurers in the current system, who pass those costs along to consumers.

But to have already raised rates so high is a bit surprising to me, since the required changes thus far shouldn't be all that drastic. Plus, the Medical Loss Ratio limits were instituted on January 1, which forces them to pay a certain percentage of their profits to consumers (80 to 85%), and to offer rebates or additional services if they fail to do so.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

My wife and I are blessed to have our insurance paid 100% by the company she works for, but our medication has risen twice since Obama has been in office. We've gone from paying $1.08 for our generic prescription to around $30 a bottle now. My vote for reform is whatever Obama is doing reverse it, and then get him out of office.

Wow that's a heck of a price hike. My mom has systemic lupus, and has to pay big $$ for her prescriptions. She's constantly _____ing about how much they cost.

I can't imagine how much of a burden it would be for someone to cover costs if they're already struggling to make ends meet.