Healthcare... America and the rest

[pErvinalia]

That's un-Amerkin!

It's Canadian. So, yeah, it's un-Amerikin as in "not US".

Humour is lost on some people. Take your aspie medication.

[Hermit]

That's un-Amerkin!

It's Canadian. So, yeah, it's un-Amerikin as in "not US".

Humour is lost on some people. Take your aspie medication.

^^^ Yeah. Right. 'Twas a joke.

[pErvinalia]

What? Take yer pills, STAT.

[Tero]

Ryan/Trump to ruin Medicare as well as Obamacare. Defunding can start any time:
For example, House Speaker Paul Ryan and the congressional Republicans, not to mention 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, continuously screeched about how the ACA had ruined Medicare. Completely untrue. The ACA extended the solvency of Medicare by 11 years, while trimming billions in waste, fraud and abuse. The ACA also phases out the Medicare Part-D “doughnut hole” — the coverage gap in which seniors were previously forced to pay for meds out of pocket or go without. But the relationship between Medicare and Obamacare is complicated, so it’s easy for Ryan and others to demagogue.

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/12/obamaca ... sible-way/

[Scot Dutchy]

[Trump]More poor people will die. Problem solved. [/Trump]

[Forty Two]

This just in! Paul Ryan has discovered that sick people are using Medicare! Costs will be cut by cutting off these sick people from Medicare!

I bet you were really outraged when Obama proposed cutting $415 billion from Medicare over 10 years. $41.5 billion annually.

Here is what Paul Ryan said -

“When Obamacare became Obamacare, Obamacare rewrote Medicare, rewrote Medicaid, so if you’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare, you have to address those issues as well....What people don’t realize is that Medicare is going broke, that Medicare is going to have price controls. Because of Obamacare, Medicaid is in fiscal straits. So you have to deal with those issues if you’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare. Medicare has got some serious problems because of Obamacare. Those things are part of our plan to replace Obamacare.”

What a maniac.

[Forty Two]

My father-in-law had a heart attack about ten years ago when he was wintering in Mesa, Arizona. His insurance company hired a private plane, two pilots and a nurse to accompany him back to Thunder Bay. He was brought to a hospital here, they did tests immediately and shipped him via medivac plane to Hamilton, Ontario, where he had a quadruple bypass operation within four days. The medical bill to my father-in-law: $0.00. I have the same insurance. So does my wife.

What's the plan? Canadians keep telling me they have single-payer government provided health insurance there. What sort of "insurance policy" do you have, and what are the premiums? Does every Canadian have that coverage?

I inquire not to argue with you. Here in the States, someone like me pays $1200 to $1500 per MONTH for 2017 policies, for a family of 4. Something has to be done, because Obamacare is crushing is down here in Merkaland. The same coverage in 2012 and 2013, before Obamacare fully kicked in, was less than 1/2 the price.

So, a plan which was supposed to LOWER premiums and make them more affordable, and reduce costs of medical care, and reduce the fraud and administrative headaches of private medical insurance (remember that debate in 2010?) -- pretty much fucked us up the ass, no lube, and no kiss on the cheek. For 2017, most of my policy choices have REDUCED coverage from 80/20 (insurance covers 80% of various procedures and the insured pays for 20%) to 60/40 coverage. And, duductibles are sky high - now up to $6,000 and more.

So, to have the coverage you had, which would fly a person up to Thunder Bay on the insurance company's dime (even though they had no say in your travel to Arizona), and then again to Hamilton, and have $0 deductible, $0 copay, and $0 premium is outstanding. Given how I will have to pay almost $15,000 for an insurance policy that will have a $6,500 deductible in 2017, I may consider emigrating to Canada for your cost-free, outstanding health insurance, which is apparently run by philanthropists and saints.

[Tero]

Correction: insurance is crushing. It's a semi monipoly. Nothing to do with Obama. Well, insurance that has value. We had catastrophic before Obama that had such high deductibles it had little value for buyer.

[Forty Two]

Correction: insurance is crushing. It's a semi monipoly. Nothing to do with Obama. Well, insurance that has value. We had catastrophic before Obama that had such high deductibles it had little value for buyer.

It has everything to do with Obamacare. It's a direct result of Obamacare and one I predicted in railing against the proposal when it was set forth. It was offered as a cost and premium reducing plan, which would take $50 billion a year out of the costs just by reducing fraud. It would save the massive administrative costs, and it would make insurance more affordable. It hasn't.

The "catastrophic" policies of four years ago are better than most of what's on the market now. I never had a policy that only covered 60/40. Now, Aetna only offers three choices. Two "silver" plans which are 60/40 with $6000+ deductibles, and one "bronze" plan which has a huge deductible, but also allows a Health Savings Account to pay into it. Still going to work out to be about $1500 a month when you combine premium and Health Savings Account contributions to cover the deductible.

It's monstrous, and it has everything to do with Obamacare, and your protestations to the contrary are ridiculous.

Nothing to do with Obamacare. Right. That's one of the single most pathetically silly statements I've heard anyone utter in seriousness on these boards.

[Tero]

Bzzzt! Ding ding ding!!! Fal!!

Both Obamacare and Medicare have reduced fraud. Medicare would reduce fraud even more if it were properly staffed.
Now it will be further defunded.

Hillary's plan of putting all older than 50 into medicare would have saved the most.

[JimC]

Just had a free CT scan on my back, paid for by a civilised health system...

[Feck]

For profit health insurance companies are incompatible with Healthcare.

[Tero]

Not necessarily. You could run them as co-ops with the profit going back to members. You would pay staff and make a few % profit.

But even nonprofits, so called, like Blue Cross, have CEOs making 30 million!

[Feck]

I'm not sure a co-op counts as for profit ??? and yes government healthcare or charity healthcare often over pays some people BUT The essential nature of a commercial company is incompatible with the essential nature of of healthcare . The duty of care for a company is to it's owners or share holders .

[Tero]

Well, the best run outfits, Kaiser and Mayo Clinic are nonprofits.