What's your opinion on the health care bill?

muffy · Guru

RE: What's your opinion on the health care bill?

sbucking · Guru

muffy wrote:

ok - slight tangent....

what are peoples impression of medicare? does anyone have actual experience with it?

reason i ask is because i think it sets a good example of what a US govt medical system could be -as it is actually in effect today :)

i have no personal experience, but my bff with the pituitary tumours/cushings and alllll the related medical issues is on medicare and i have to say....it has been a GODSEND for her and she had gotten pretty freakin amazing medical care under it - i mean, the best brain surgeons at the cleveland clinic... and as her tumour is currently growing back, her medical care increases by the month and she is still under the care of about 4-5 specialists, the best in the country. she will have another brain surgery in a year or two - just as soon as it is big enough to safely operate again - it will cost over $250k like the last time, and medicare will cover.

so those assuming they will get crappy substandard care.... judging from near personal experience i am not at all convinced that would be the case....

btw - her medical insurance before qualifying for medicare was very good - she worked for an office supply company that her father had previously owned, and he made sure they had great coverage.... but with her devastating illness the insurance co played lots of asinine games with her, refusing to pay most of her treatments and in the end dropping her completely as she could not "prove" the exact date when the tumour in her brain started growing and thus they considered it a pre-existing condition (she had been working there all her adult life - covered by this insurance company for nearly 20 years when they screwed her over) this is what happened when a private company out for a buck determined her health care.... great, huh?

but yeah, sorry for the tangent

but i am really interested on any opinions on medicare :)

I don't think there is necessarily an issue with the quality of care with Medicare, but with how it is funded, and the abuse within the system. My Senator's call last night said it will be bankrupt in two years. Medicare tells doctors how much is allowed for their services. The doctor charges say $100, but only $33 is allowed.

Why not open up all state borders from the limitations of providers, allow health insurance to travel and let the free market drive down costs? Look what has happened with Lasik.

muffy · Guru

Jenn - i am going to have to ask her, i can't remember off the top of my head which. i do know her doctors were all surprised that she qualified so quickly - normally they are really picky and it can take years, but hers was approved in just a few months as her case was so extreme. she does have certain doctors she can see, but she is being seen by some of the best doctors in the country at the cleveland clinic, and i do believe she is a bit of a "lab rat" for them, as they have written many medical articles about her case specificially.

she is financially destitute - she owns no property or car, no savings. she cannot hold a job because of her medical condition

Juanita · Guru

muffy wrote:

Jenn - i am going to have to ask her, i can't remember off the top of my head which. i do know her doctors were all surprised that she qualified so quickly - normally they are really picky and it can take years, but hers was approved in just a few months as her case was so extreme. she does have certain doctors she can see, but she is being seen by some of the best doctors in the country at the cleveland clinic, and i do believe she is a bit of a "lab rat" for them, as they have written many medical articles about her case specificially.

she is financially destitute - she owns no property or car, no savings. she cannot hold a job because of her medical condition

how old is she again because medicare is for older people

muffy · Guru

sbucking wrote:

muffy wrote:

ok - slight tangent....

what are peoples impression of medicare? does anyone have actual experience with it?

reason i ask is because i think it sets a good example of what a US govt medical system could be -as it is actually in effect today :)

i have no personal experience, but my bff with the pituitary tumours/cushings and alllll the related medical issues is on medicare and i have to say....it has been a GODSEND for her and she had gotten pretty freakin amazing medical care under it - i mean, the best brain surgeons at the cleveland clinic... and as her tumour is currently growing back, her medical care increases by the month and she is still under the care of about 4-5 specialists, the best in the country. she will have another brain surgery in a year or two - just as soon as it is big enough to safely operate again - it will cost over $250k like the last time, and medicare will cover.

so those assuming they will get crappy substandard care.... judging from near personal experience i am not at all convinced that would be the case....

btw - her medical insurance before qualifying for medicare was very good - she worked for an office supply company that her father had previously owned, and he made sure they had great coverage.... but with her devastating illness the insurance co played lots of asinine games with her, refusing to pay most of her treatments and in the end dropping her completely as she could not "prove" the exact date when the tumour in her brain started growing and thus they considered it a pre-existing condition (she had been working there all her adult life - covered by this insurance company for nearly 20 years when they screwed her over) this is what happened when a private company out for a buck determined her health care.... great, huh?

but yeah, sorry for the tangent

but i am really interested on any opinions on medicare :)

I don't think there is necessarily an issue with the quality of care with Medicare, but with how it is funded, and the abuse within the system. My Senator's call last night said it will be bankrupt in two years. Medicare tells doctors how much is allowed for their services. The doctor charges say $100, but only $33 is allowed.

Why not open up all state borders from the limitations of providers, allow health insurance to travel and let the free market drive down costs? Look what has happened with Lasik.

i do see your point about free market - but that brings me to a topic that annoys the crap out of me which is all the advertising for drugs - allll those viagra etc. commercials on tv. and another example - locally near my parents house in ohio, commercials for birthing centers - offering suites nicer than the hilton, giving new parents champagne breakfast after the birth to use their services... that all seems sooo wrong to me. i don't know if i really want that type of free market in the medical system... kwim? how much money is being misused for that crap?

i also read today in the news there is an epidemic of teens misusing ADHD drugs... how to they get their hands on them if they are not over-prescribed. do doctors get paybacks for over prescribing drugs? do the drug companies care that prescription abuse is a big problem? does the govt? do the parents? anyone? (also disturbing is the abuse of adhd drugs by the moms.... sooo sad!)

regarding funding - when companies, like insurance companies, are losing multiple billlions, which is key to funding, then i am not at all convinced that private companies can properly manage and fund it either... except i dont think the govt is losing billions in bad investments, they are probably more regulated. in the end ALL american are paying the price as recently evidenced - so sad how much we had to pay to everyone in bailouts *sigh*

so how do we fix it? the billion dollar question....

muffy · Guru

jenn - she is 45 - so perhaps she is on medicaid?

Juanita · Guru

muffy wrote:

jenn - she is 45 - so perhaps she is on medicaid?

yeah, that sounds right, and she's right. It usually takes a long time to get approved, so she's very, very , lucky she got approved so quickly! That's EXTREMELY rare.

muffy · Guru

Juanita wrote:

muffy wrote:

jenn - she is 45 - so perhaps she is on medicaid?

yeah, that sounds right, and she's right. It usually takes a long time to get approved, so she's very, very , lucky she got approved so quickly! That's EXTREMELY rare.

well, so far she has almost died 3 times in the past 4 years... lucky for coverage, unlucky for everything else! her case is very bad and it was very obvious that she had a high need. thankful that when it is really necessary, it happened. and i am quite bitter about those who abuse it - it is a godsend to those in need, such a shame there are so many bad people out there....

Supafly · Guru

Juanita wrote:

I haven't read all of the bill either, and with it being over 1000 pages long, I doubt very seriously that all of the Senate has either, and that alone scares me.

I do NOT want the government telling me what doctor, hospital, speciality clinic I can use or take my children to. I do NOT want them telling me how long I need to wait to have a certain procedure done, or when any of my family can have surgery.

I do not want them determining what a "qualified plan" is, and if I'm not covered under a qualified plan, that they determine, I'll be automatically enrolled in the public health plan (page 16 of the bill)

In this bill private insurers aren't allowed to make a profit--what's wrong with that? I mean, they ARE a business. Now, don't get me wrong, the private insurance companies need a good overhaul, but until some of the waste and abuse of the medicaid system is done, that's not gonna happen. I want the option to have private insurance if I so choose.

The public health plan has no dental coverage (page 117)

There will be No more specialty hospitals, like cancer treatment centers (page 272)

Future doctors and/or nurses can no longer pick their specialties. The secretary will pick their areas of interest based on "needs" (page 869)

Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants are being elevated to the same status as Medical Doctors under the public health plan (page 461 and 480)

Those are just a few of the reasons I have.....But again, I haven't read the ENTIRE bill.

I haven't read the bill either, but wow. If this stuff is part of it, I am dead set against it. Horrid.

I am with Michelle. We definitely need reform of some kind, but what you have written above is NOT the answer. There has to be a better way...

Juanita · Guru

muffy wrote:

Juanita wrote:

muffy wrote:

jenn - she is 45 - so perhaps she is on medicaid?

yeah, that sounds right, and she's right. It usually takes a long time to get approved, so she's very, very , lucky she got approved so quickly! That's EXTREMELY rare.

well, so far she has almost died 3 times in the past 4 years... lucky for coverage, unlucky for everything else! her case is very bad and it was very obvious that she had a high need. thankful that when it is really necessary, it happened. and i am quite bitter about those who abuse it - it is a godsend to those in need, such a shame there are so many bad people out there....

Which is exactly the way it should be and what it was created for.

Alicia · Senior Member

sbucking wrote:

muffy wrote:

ok - slight tangent....

what are peoples impression of medicare? does anyone have actual experience with it?

reason i ask is because i think it sets a good example of what a US govt medical system could be -as it is actually in effect today :)

i have no personal experience, but my bff with the pituitary tumours/cushings and alllll the related medical issues is on medicare and i have to say....it has been a GODSEND for her and she had gotten pretty freakin amazing medical care under it - i mean, the best brain surgeons at the cleveland clinic... and as her tumour is currently growing back, her medical care increases by the month and she is still under the care of about 4-5 specialists, the best in the country. she will have another brain surgery in a year or two - just as soon as it is big enough to safely operate again - it will cost over $250k like the last time, and medicare will cover.

so those assuming they will get crappy substandard care.... judging from near personal experience i am not at all convinced that would be the case....

btw - her medical insurance before qualifying for medicare was very good - she worked for an office supply company that her father had previously owned, and he made sure they had great coverage.... but with her devastating illness the insurance co played lots of asinine games with her, refusing to pay most of her treatments and in the end dropping her completely as she could not "prove" the exact date when the tumour in her brain started growing and thus they considered it a pre-existing condition (she had been working there all her adult life - covered by this insurance company for nearly 20 years when they screwed her over) this is what happened when a private company out for a buck determined her health care.... great, huh?

but yeah, sorry for the tangent

but i am really interested on any opinions on medicare :)

I don't think there is necessarily an issue with the quality of care with Medicare, but with how it is funded, and the abuse within the system. My Senator's call last night said it will be bankrupt in two years. Medicare tells doctors how much is allowed for their services. The doctor charges say $100, but only $33 is allowed.

Why not open up all state borders from the limitations of providers, allow health insurance to travel and let the free market drive down costs? Look what has happened with Lasik.

This happens in private insurance also. My bill says what the doctor charges and what my insurance approved. I don't know anything about the health care bill but something needs to change. I've been without insurance(not provided by work or too expensive to get), been on Medicaid when pregnant w/Stephen, been on insurance that wasn't usable and been on some really great insurance. There was a time in between having insurance that I was paying cash for doctor visits. I couldn't believe how little I was charged compared to how much my insurance would have been charge. I paid a little more then what I would of paid for a copay.

Juanita · Guru

Alicia wrote:

sbucking wrote:

muffy wrote:

ok - slight tangent....

what are peoples impression of medicare? does anyone have actual experience with it?

reason i ask is because i think it sets a good example of what a US govt medical system could be -as it is actually in effect today :)

i have no personal experience, but my bff with the pituitary tumours/cushings and alllll the related medical issues is on medicare and i have to say....it has been a GODSEND for her and she had gotten pretty freakin amazing medical care under it - i mean, the best brain surgeons at the cleveland clinic... and as her tumour is currently growing back, her medical care increases by the month and she is still under the care of about 4-5 specialists, the best in the country. she will have another brain surgery in a year or two - just as soon as it is big enough to safely operate again - it will cost over $250k like the last time, and medicare will cover.

so those assuming they will get crappy substandard care.... judging from near personal experience i am not at all convinced that would be the case....

btw - her medical insurance before qualifying for medicare was very good - she worked for an office supply company that her father had previously owned, and he made sure they had great coverage.... but with her devastating illness the insurance co played lots of asinine games with her, refusing to pay most of her treatments and in the end dropping her completely as she could not "prove" the exact date when the tumour in her brain started growing and thus they considered it a pre-existing condition (she had been working there all her adult life - covered by this insurance company for nearly 20 years when they screwed her over) this is what happened when a private company out for a buck determined her health care.... great, huh?

but yeah, sorry for the tangent

but i am really interested on any opinions on medicare :)

I don't think there is necessarily an issue with the quality of care with Medicare, but with how it is funded, and the abuse within the system. My Senator's call last night said it will be bankrupt in two years. Medicare tells doctors how much is allowed for their services. The doctor charges say $100, but only $33 is allowed.

Why not open up all state borders from the limitations of providers, allow health insurance to travel and let the free market drive down costs? Look what has happened with Lasik.

This happens in private insurance also. My bill says what the doctor charges and what my insurance approved. I don't know anything about the health care bill but something needs to change. I've been without insurance(not provided by work or too expensive to get), been on Medicaid when pregnant w/Stephen, been on insurance that wasn't usable and been on some really great insurance. There was a time in between having insurance that I was paying cash for doctor visits. I couldn't believe how little I was charged compared to how much my insurance would have been charge. I paid a little more then what I would of paid for a copay.

Which is why I 100000% agree with insurance needs to be overhauled! I know they're a business, and they need to make a little profit, but it's absolutely ridiculous how much stuff is marked up.

I know it's not the whole reason, but I do believe the abuse in the medicaid system is part of the reason why it's marked up so much--to make up for what they lose.

So, while I believe EVERYONE deserves health care, I also think the we'd be in much better shape if the government would fix those things first.

ineedcoffee · Senior Member

This whole thing is such a mess to me. I work in healthcare, more then 50% of our patients every day are medicare patients. On the surface that seems like it works for them. Underneath, not so much.

I have cataract patients who have been waiting for over a year for surgery. Mind you, they can't see! Quality of life totall affected here, but they sit and wait for the approval. Once they get approval it is for one lens and one lens only. Doesn't matter if that specific (bottom line, low dollar cost) lens won't completely correct their problem. Now, if they actually want to be able to see they will have to pay an additional 475$ to 2700 (!!!)$ for their own eye sight. Crazy!

I cannot agree more that we need reform. Reform to me is different than government run healthcare. I believe that reform needs to start with frivolous lawsuits. I have had to testify (luckily not in court) regarding cases and am always stunned at the amount patients sue for. 1.2 million dollars? Come on, you fell down and broke your hip! What makes you think you should get 1.2 million dollars for that, since you didn't listen to your nurse and follow the instructions you were given.

I agree with the comments about the drug companies as well. The amount of money they spend on doctors, commercials, free post-its and pens alone could overhaul the system.

We, the public need to look at how we perceive things as well. I cannot tell you how often I get patients who are on 12-25 (!!!!) medications. Do they need to be on all of those? No, most people want a quick fix. High blood pressure, take a pill, high cholesterol, take a pill. Did they try working out and fixing their diet? No, most likely they weren't even told this was an option. So many patients walk in the door wanting a pill to fix their problems. Sometimes this is the answer, sometimes it isn't .

My largest question is this though: Why aren't we looking at what works in other countries, other states and using that as a basis for our model. Switzerland has a great system. Not government run, but everyone is insured. It works, why haven't we looked at that. Massachusets? Is it working, I don't know, but everyone is insured.

Sorry about the soapbox. :bag

muffy · Guru

ineedcoffee wrote:

This whole thing is such a mess to me. I work in healthcare, more then 50% of our patients every day are medicare patients. On the surface that seems like it works for them. Underneath, not so much.

I have cataract patients who have been waiting for over a year for surgery. Mind you, they can't see! Quality of life totall affected here, but they sit and wait for the approval. Once they get approval it is for one lens and one lens only. Doesn't matter if that specific (bottom line, low dollar cost) lens won't completely correct their problem. Now, if they actually want to be able to see they will have to pay an additional 475$ to 2700 (!!!)$ for their own eye sight. Crazy!

I cannot agree more that we need reform. Reform to me is different than government run healthcare. I believe that reform needs to start with frivolous lawsuits. I have had to testify (luckily not in court) regarding cases and am always stunned at the amount patients sue for. 1.2 million dollars? Come on, you fell down and broke your hip! What makes you think you should get 1.2 million dollars for that, since you didn't listen to your nurse and follow the instructions you were given.

I agree with the comments about the drug companies as well. The amount of money they spend on doctors, commercials, free post-its and pens alone could overhaul the system.

We, the public need to look at how we perceive things as well. I cannot tell you how often I get patients who are on 12-25 (!!!!) medications. Do they need to be on all of those? No, most people want a quick fix. High blood pressure, take a pill, high cholesterol, take a pill. Did they try working out and fixing their diet? No, most likely they weren't even told this was an option. So many patients walk in the door wanting a pill to fix their problems. Sometimes this is the answer, sometimes it isn't .

My largest question is this though: Why aren't we looking at what works in other countries, other states and using that as a basis for our model. Switzerland has a great system. Not government run, but everyone is insured. It works, why haven't we looked at that. Massachusets? Is it working, I don't know, but everyone is insured.

Sorry about the soapbox. :bag

amen to that!

i am curious because a highschool facebook friend is very conservative and the actively participates in these "tea party" rallys. she is going to DC in the next weeks to protest the healthcare changes.

so, i have been looking online for tea party stuff - and my only interest is not them badmouthing obama, but i am well and truly interested in what they propose positively - so yeah, it is so obvious they dont agree with ANYthing obama does, but what would they do if they were in his shoes?

and i cant find anything positive online where they state in positive terms what they would propose if they were sitting in the presidents seat.

so, i PM'ed my HS friend and asked her nicely to provide me some email links with this info - no response yet.

it is SOOOOOO easy to diss what is proposed.

it is SO easy to point the finger to any other countries system, that works for them better than the US, and criticise why it could not possibly work in the US.

but why are people not able to make real, decent proposals as to what COULD be done????

Joyce · Senior Member

I just finished watching Michael Moore's Sicko. You should watch it. Very interesting!