Universal Health Care Passes House

[Portia]

Don't forget, our Medicare system is a direct copy of the program of the same name in Canada.
Both my husband and myself work in health care. I guess it's a double edged sword if it all works as planned; we will get reimbursed less for what we do, but more patients will have insurance & thus we can recoup some that way. It will be interesting. I also have a preexisting condition & have a private practice, if it wasn't for my husband's health insurance I would be up a creek without a paddle.

 

[call ducks]

if it is based on the one here and canada duck - and - cover and hide under the closeist thing like this

. it's good and all but the wait times for sugery is sooooooooooooooooo long

 

[Katy]

I just keep hoping that one of these days something will change so that I'll be able to afford to go to the doctor again......haven't been able to in many years.

 

[hen-thusiast]

Quote:
Is it that different here? Sometimes I have to wait three months just to see my specialist and then another month plus for surgery. In the meantime, I'm usually hobbling with a cane.

 

[bargain]

I'm concerned about my increased premiums potential as I pay for my insurance and husband's as an early State retiree. This year, no increases in retiree cash income......the first time since the State began hiring of employees, but 15% increase in premium costs and higher out of pocket deductibles for any of the plans. So that the net effect on our funds will probably be 25% increase.....well that's just the effect of the State managing a health system and not the Feds....mmmmmmmm

I'm concerned that there is a tiered system and someone will be choosing who is worthy of treatment....There is language in the bill leaning into what I call "rationing" care to the disabled and seniors.... The makers assured that this system was open to all....yes it is but there will be decisions made regarding "worthiness" of receiving care and life expectancy.......sounds like rationing to me.

Well, I've worked all my life and am working very hard fuller time than ever on our full time farm,,,,,,it feels bad to me to think that if I should have to be covered by this insurance or the State decides to abandone its plans and just adopt the Federal plan, it might not deem me worthwhile enough for say knee surgery when it might for a 20 year old. I have preexisting conditions and my doctors know how to treat me..... My life can depend upon being given the ability to choose my doctors and not be assigned to a physician or a nurse casemanager (no offenses to nurses, I have relatives and friends that are) to decide over the phone if I'm sick enough for a doctors visit or er visit.

I certainly think that the bill should never have been 2000 pages long... There was a commitment to succinctness......

I think we are rushing too rapidlyjust to say we Have a BILL and few have truly read the bill and digested it in full.....It's pretty scary....

I'm sure there are opportunities for improvement through health care but I bet if there were a 50 question test on the basics of the plan given to each of our elected officials on major parts in the bill, they would fail it, as they haven't had time to read, more or less digest.I know that as a former government employee there were issues with Medicaid and Medicare and I saw many persons health just waiting and wasting away while decisions were made on eligibility and coverage.....The stress alone was incredible.....I don't know how with all that history that the government now thinks it can run a health care system.....It puzzles me......

I had the opportunity to listen to a Georgia physician who has been standing on in a small minority of physicians against the plan as he has indicated that it endangers the lives of those who are not young and healthy......This man is not a radical but he took the time to read and digest.....

Well, don't get me cranked up....Smile, you already have! Good topic

 

[Crusty McPottydoodle]

Quote:
We have a triage system here in Canada. The more serious the issue, the faster you get seen, treated, operated on, etc.

It works that way from the emergency room on up the line.

If you walk into an ER with a sprained ankle, you are going to wait a lot longer to be seen than the guy who came in after you who was hit by a car.

The same goes for treatment and surgery.

If you need a knee replacement, you are going to go behind the person who has breast cancer and needs a mastectomy. Yes, needing a new knee has a big effect on quality of life, but nobody dies from not getting a knee replacement fast enough. Who here would really be okay with having their knee replaced ahead of someone needing cancer surgery?

I have a friend who had skin cancer. She was in to see the specialist the same day our GP saw the cancer on her leg. She had it removed within a week.

I went into the hospital at 11pm one night with severe abdominal pain. I was in surgery by 7pm the next day. I had massive infection and had my appendix removed.

It really bothers me when Canadians bash our system. No, it isn't perfect, but it is not terrible either. Never once since our universal healthcare system was put in place, has a Canadian gone bankrupt courtesy of medical bills. Not once has a Canadian been denied care due to a pre-existing condition.

 

[bargain]

Okay I'm not from Indiana but I must post what this elected person said:
U.S. Rep. Mark Souder released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962 :

“This government takeover of our health care system not only ignores the concerns of Hoosiers who voiced their opinions in letters and phone calls, at town hall meetings, and in visits to Washington—it also erodes choice, competition, and innovation, leaving us with higher taxes, increased deficits and bigger government.

“At a time of record unemployment across northeast Indiana, the 1,990 pages of regulation in this bill are a death sentence for jobs and employers. This bill raises taxes on small business owners and severely taxes innovation in the medical device industry in Kosciusko County.

“It is only a matter of time before the public option drives out private insurance and government becomes the sole bill-payer for health care services. And, under this single-payer system, federal bureaucrats will decide the course of action—not doctors and patients.

“I simply do not support a bill that raises taxes, restricts job growth, facilitates an unconstitutional takeover of 17 percent of our economy, and spends a trillion dollars."



Interesting......

 

[Crusty McPottydoodle]

Quote:
I would like to point out that here in canada where the gov't is the sole bill payer, the only people who decide medical courses of action ar the doctors and the patients. I challenge someone to show me an instance of gov't bureaucrats having any say in a medical course of action.

I just want to point out that I know of no instance where a patient or Dr. here in Canada has to have any pre-approval before treatment, surgery etc. The patient and the Dr. decide on the course of action and follow through. The dr's office bills the gov't for whatever treatment or visit or surgery is done.

I have been asked by the gov't if I received treatment that for which they were billed. Which I did, but that is the only instance of the gov't being involved in my medical treatment.

 

[GrayDragon]

Quote:
My mother waited almost 12 hours in the ER after being slammed into by a drunk driver going 50+ miles per hour, with a bleeding head injury. A friend of mine's brother died in the ER waiting for care, he slipped into a coma after a severe allergic reaction and died.


I hoped the healthcare bill would fix the actual problems inherent in the system, like folks using the ER because they don't have a regular family doctor because they can't afford insurance and thus don't treat their illnesses until they become actual emergencies. I hoped it would provide for those who cannot afford insurance or those who get screwed because they have a pre-existing condition or because their workplace abruptly changes their insurance on them (or they get laid off or fired for idiotic reasons).

I just wish one politician out there would actually examine the bill with a truthful eye. One side is lying about the benefits, the other side is lying about the drawbacks, and the end result is nobody has an actual clue what the bill really will mean to us.

 

[The Poultry Peanut]