Health care passes

[Torreyjs 64]

So healthcare passed. But I havent seen anyone here talk about it. So I took the liberty of making you a thread for you to discuss it.

Me personally Im glad insurance companies are getting regulated somewhat now. Ive hated insurance companies for bullshit they do since before it was cool to hate them for dropping sick people to dodge bills.

[HKofsesshoumaru 673]

I don't know what this means but Im sure Lady will be happy to explain it. Im still confused.

[Kite 3,263]

i was on holiday to Gibraltar, a British Colony

My partner was pregnant and having a few issues,

we dropped by the hospital, she was seen by 2 doctors and a nurse, and given an ultrasound.

at the end they took our details and said thank you for our visit.

Never was payment mentioned.

Personally health insurance has it's benefits, but considering the companies will do what they can to not honour their end of the agreement makes me ill.

[Dubird 6,815]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/22/AR2010032200410.html

A good non-partisian summary of facts.

And, another interesting article that i got to from yahoo of all places: http://www.frumforum.com/waterloo

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Ugh.... *shudder* *twitch*

The best part is that people w/ pre existing conditions- cancer diabetes allergies whatever-can't be denied coverage; this makes denying coverage because of a pre existing condition illegal. Finally you can't have your policy cancled in the middle of treatment because Cigna found out you're allergic to penicillin. The new law also requires that the majority of premiums and customer payments go to actual health care as opposed to advertising and CEO bonuses. Your money will actually go to taking care of sick people as opposed to buying some asshole his 6th yacht. First big step in the right direction to bring insurance companies under control which is why people pushed so hard to get it passed.

Also parents will be allowed to keep their kids on their family insurance policies until the kid is almost 30. Talk about blow back from kids moving back in with momma san. It speaks volumes in regards to our shit economy and just how many people are living below poverty level.

That said the individual mandate in the reform package requires every citizen to carry insurance on themselves. The millions of people who have been running around w/ no insurance either go out and buy insurance (millions of new customers for insurance companies) or they will be fined; as of 2014 it will be illegal to live in this free country without handing over ~ 5% of your income to insurance companies.

Personally I have a huge problem with the mandate. Sounds a whole hell of a lot like corporate slavery to me. Choosing to live is not like choosing to drive a car. A car requires insurance registration inspection and a citizens license to drive. Owning and operating a car is a choice, being born American is not. The individual mandate is a step in the wrong direction when it comes to individual rights and liberties. It is the foot in the door that will allow government to further legislate where our money and freedom is going.

I fully understand that the individual mandate is likely the only way we can get 30 million uninsured to pay their share; that the costs of their visits to the ER, inpatient services and whatever are being passed on to everyone else. The real problem is not addressed however; why are there so many people without insurance? Sure we can chalk some of it up to the lazy procrastinator who hasn't got around to it yet, but the bulk of the uninsured are uninsured because they can't afford it. It's a problem that a public option could provide a solution to (no to low cost insurance policies) but the public option was not in the bill because of assholes who thought it was a bad idea. This is where the word retard actually applies. Force people to purchase something but don't give them an affordable way to do it = ticking time bomb.

How many times have you or someone you know paid their car insurance late, it got canceled and then they got ticketed and yada yada yada. Troublesome, running back and forth to the court and dmv and blah.

Now lets just change that up a little bit. You're going through dialysis or kemo and whoops forgot to pay that insurance bill in your half dead state. Well, too bad so sad, now you have a mountain of medical bills you're liable for because they weren't covered AND you get fined by the government for letting that insurance lapse. Out of cash or available credit for that next treatment? Well you can just die then.

Equating health insurance to car insurance is total bullshit. I don't have the chevy emblem tattooed on my forehead. I am not an uninsured car sitting in the driveway doing nothing but taking up space. I am alive and trying to maintain that status....

The amendments process has begun.

Though I do not believe we can rid ourselves of the individual mandate that requires everyone to hand their money to private companies I do think there is a way to counter such an offense. An individual mandate MUST go hand in hand with a federal public option. People should be able to choose between plans offered by and for the people (we are the fucking government but everyone seems to forget that) or Wellpoint. A choice between non and for profit is the ONLY way to keep for profit insurance companies from charging too much.

okay then, take it away Joe...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_x2-Eh5oNA]YouTube- Biden drops F-bomb about the health care vote[/ame]

[Ladywriter 7,783]

oooh slide show

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/22/health-reform-bill-summary_n_508315.html#s75147

[Dubird 6,815]

There is an exemption for that fine for low-income people. I seem to remember talk about expanding Medicare as well, which will cover a lot of that.

While I don't agree with people being fined by the government if they can't afford insurance, I do have a feeling this will help bring down costs and be more benifical than harmful. There is no good solution that will help everyone, not as long as insurance companies and the higher-ups in the health care system are more concerned with making money than serving the public, which is what being a doctor is SUPPOSED to be. At this point, I'm actually glad the government is stepping in to try and help our health care system because the corporations that run it have more than proven they can't be trusted with it. I'm one of those how-ever-many millions of Americans that don't have insurance because I can't find one that I can afford. And the thing is, I'd be fine with just emergency and hospitalization coverage because, despite allergies and other things wrong, I'm healthy enough that unless I have an accident, I don't need constant care. I go to the doctor when I know I'm coming down with something and get it take care of before it gets bad. Yet, because I'm single and my employer can't afford to split the insurance costs, I can't find one for what I need under $100 a month. And I can't afford that. Plain and simple.

[Kite 3,263]

i pay about 5.3% to national health from may pay

general rant not aimed at anyone:

what people need to know though is health insurance isnt just for sick people.

Medical staff work around the clock, when you dial 999 or 911 and call for an ambulance, you expect one,

when you have an accident and need a blood transfusion, you assume there's blood in the bank, but when was the last time you donated blood

you have had a shit day at work, well imagine cleaning up shit at work.

when the last time you donated money to cancer research or HIV/AIDS research, yet if you contracted these you would be the 1st to say how it is whack there's no cure

From the person who disinfects the hand rails to the receptionist to the doctor taking your pulse or removing a tumour. there there when you need then. so yes if you are expected to pay health insurance, too fucking right you should. because when you are ill, or dying, you would bloody hell regret not.

i pay health insurance, and would gladly pay it every time and never need to go hospital or see a doctor

Edited March 24, 2010 by Kite

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Arigato Kite san. You say it well.

Our ability to live on is a right but there is a cost attached to that.

I would rather put my 5% into something non profit ~ a reasonably healthy adult with traditional risks I'm trying to give the boot (ex:smoking, soda/beer) exercise or obesity aren't a problem for me but who don't wanna lose 10 lbs I have pre existing conditions that require monthly medications to keep myself alive and functioning.

[Dubird 6,815]

I'm not saying we should all have free health care and everyone in the medical profession should work for free. I agree, the medical profession should be paid, and paid more than the average Joe gets. It's a specialized field that requires a lot of knowledge and responsiblity, and that totally deserves compensation. I have no problem with paying for insurance. I just can't afford what it costs right now. That's the biggest problem. I'm one of those that falls through the income cracks in that I honestly don't make enough to qualify as middle class, but since I'm single and rent an apartment, I'm not really eligable for any kind of aid. Hell, I owe $250 in taxes for last year, but I don't make enough to be able to do anything extra unless I moved into some ghetto apartment somewhere. There are LOTS of people in the same boat I am, and most of them don't have insurance of any kind. You've also got a lot of seniors that are on a fixed income, and that sometimes doesn't include extra money for medical.

I guess what I'm saying is that there should be a better system of aid for those that need it than what there is now. Hell, I'd be fine with some kind of payment system to pay off bills at a fixed rate that I could adjust for my budget. i do firmly believe that basic health care is a right everyone should have access to. But with so many insurance companies raising rates and cutting benifits just to line the pockets of the few in charge, that basic health care is impossible to get sometimes. I understand that money has to come from somewhere if the person in question can't pay it. Which is why I like how they're adjusting the tax bracket for that.

Sorry, one contact out right now, so I'm not sure how coherent that was. ><

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

With how much bullshit we spend on useless garbage, we could all have free healthcare.

[Dubird 6,815]

With how much bullshit we spend on useless garbage, we could all have free healthcare.

Yes, but that means less extra money lining the pockets of our congressmen, and we all know how much chance THAT bill will have of passing.

[Kite 3,263]

democrats have been receiving death threats all over the place,

WTF, dont people want healthcare

[Ladywriter 7,783]

ppl have had Glenn Beck and Rush screaming at them for a year terrorizing the living shit out of them. Yes they're stupid to just buy into the bs without checking any facts, but scared ppl do crazy shit.

If we got rid of some of the 700+ military bases across the globe we could afford health insurance for all.

We need a constitutional amendment to right the shit that the Supreme Court let fly [ame=http://forums.ancientclan.com/showthread.php?p=114404#post114404]Squee we need an amendment - Ancient Clan Forums[/ame]

and real campaign finance reform.

I still won't give up on the public option.