U S Healthcare Needs Fixed!

[Lilllabettt]

When I got sick, I lost my insurance. People who work for larger companies for more than a year qualify under FMLA to take 1 year of unpaid sick time without being fired, allowing them to keep the insurance through their company. People who work for larger companies are allowed, under COBRA, to extend their coverage for 1.5 years, if they can afford the higher costs for doing so. Smaller companies and religious organizations are exempt.

Obviously, convents are religious organizations and are exempt. In my state, Medicaid is reserved for the disabled, the elderly, and pregnant women and children, and I am none of those. So I lost my insurance.

I then had a 60 day window in which to get other insurance, otherwise my illness would be considered a "pre-existing condition" and it would not be covered by future insurers. I could not buy private insurance, because they ask health questions and exclude people based on that. No one would sell me insurance for any price. I needed a job with group insurance. So I went on interview after interview. This was useless, as no one was willing to hire someone who looked as sick as I was.

During this time, my health rapidly deteriorated. My prescription medicine cost upwards of $500/ month. I also struggled to get medical attention. Local doctors do not want to see you without insurance, unless you can pay upfront. Even specialists at hospitals will not see you if you do not pay a percentage up front.

Because I had absolutely nothing, I eventually qualified as an indigent, and I received free medical care from an excellent hospital. If I made a more decent living (more than 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines) I would have been turned away, or expected to pay a percentage of "expected services" up front ...

For many, many people, the only way to see a doctor is if they are admitted to an emergency room. A person must suffer in agony until the problem becomes severe enough to be considered an "emergency." I cannot imagine being a parent and having to watch a child become that bad.

In my case, I had to wait so long that my doctor said there was little she could do for me, and sent me to a surgeon to have my intestines removed. Thanks be to God, I recovered before that was done to me. In my case, there were safety nets in place, and they caught me. But I saw up close how easy it would be for a person to slip through those safety nets. And I know that people who can afford insurance or have a job that provides it struggle with medical bills. 20% of hundreds of thousands of dollars is a lot of money.

I don't know if universal coverage is the answer. But I think health care is a right.

When I was very small, I remember I thought there was no abortion, no death penalty, no war, no immigration laws, no costs for school and no costs for doctors ... I thought nobody ever killed anyone. If you wanted to move to another country, you just did it. You could go to any school if you wanted to, and to a doctor whenever you were sick. I knew it was different before, but I thought it had changed since "now the world was run by grown ups."

Rude awakening that was.

Edited January 5, 2009 by Lilllabettt

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' post='1743334' date='Jan 5 2009, 11:03 AM']Rude awakening that was.[/quote]

I had one of those rude awakenings too. I went from being an attorney with a gold insurance card in private rooms, to depending on med students at the free clinic. At least I lived where there was a medical school. I had to do without the rehab I needed for my head injury. I was covered by insurance when I was attacked, but my private insurance would not pay because they said it was work related since I was still in my office building. Workman's comp wouldn't pay because I wasn't actually in my office, but in the hallway. Neither wanted to pay because it was an assault, and they wanted the victim's assistance program to pay, which wouldn't until an arrest was made for me to be in the "system." You can just imagine the fun conversations I had with insurance reps on the phone. The billing lady at the hospital where I was treated told me that it was even making her head spin.

The problem is that there isn't an easy solution. I'm just grateful that I live somewhere now where I am finally receiving the rehab I needed 17 years ago. I don't know how much improvement can occur after all these years, but I'm already seeing the benefits of the CBT for the PTSD.

[Hassan]

[quote name='KnightofChrist' post='1743173' date='Jan 5 2009, 02:41 AM']For a preview of National Healthcare in America go to a VA Hospital or most any open-door clinic and see how the people are treated like dogs.[/quote]


Yeah! I mean we don't have national health care and we're all the way at big old number 37 while those silly frogs with their national health care are way down at number 1.

Those poor French. They have national health care and now they have to suffer through the finest health care in the world while us lucky dogs get some of the worst health care in the western world

[Hassan]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1743263' date='Jan 5 2009, 05:49 AM']Not true in all cases. I've lived under the NHS for 2.5 years now, and granted, I can only speak of how it is in Liverpool. I have a choice in doctor & practice (there are 4 docs in my practice, and I can choose any of them, or I can choose another practice). If I wanted, I could get private insurance and go with a private doctor, but I've not seen a need to do so. My family have had excellent care, from my pregnancy & Kieran's birth to my husband's emergency appendectomy in March.[/quote]

uh, you poor thing. Another horror story of those poor souls not blessed enough to live under our glorious health care.

[sweens8403]

What? I couldn't hear you. please speak up

[StColette]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1742192' date='Jan 3 2009, 07:26 PM']As a friend of mine said, once the federal government takes over the health care system in the United States you will have bureaucrats in Washington D.C. deciding on who lives and dies.[/quote]

Don't they already do that?

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1743428' date='Jan 5 2009, 11:44 AM']uh, you poor thing. Another horror story of those poor souls not blessed enough to live under our glorious health care. [/quote]
+J.M.J.+
gee, comments like this are oh so furthering to this thread.

[KnightofChrist]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1743425' date='Jan 5 2009, 02:42 PM']Yeah! I mean we don't have national health care and we're all the way at big old number 37 while those silly frogs with their national health care are way down at number 1.

Those poor French. They have national health care and now they have to suffer through the finest health care in the world while us lucky dogs get some of the worst health care in the western world[/quote]

Both examples I gave are examples of Government Health Care in [b]America[/b].

[sweens8403]

What was the criteria for those ratings anyway?

I wonder if the difference between 1 and 37 is like the difference between the gold medal olympic swimmer and #10.

[Hassan]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1743540' date='Jan 5 2009, 04:55 PM']+J.M.J.+
gee, comments like this are oh so furthering to this thread. [/quote]

sorry.

[Hassan]

[quote name='sweens8403' post='1743826' date='Jan 5 2009, 08:41 PM']What was the criteria for those ratings anyway?

I wonder if the difference between 1 and 37 is like the difference between the gold medal olympic swimmer and #10.[/quote]


[i]Although the French system faces many challenges, the World Health Organization rated it the best in the world in 2001 because of its universal coverage, responsive healthcare providers, patient and provider freedoms, and the health and longevity of the country's population. The United States ranked 37.[/i]

[url="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/11/frances_model_healthcare_system/"]http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...lthcare_system/[/url]

[Hassan]

[quote name='KnightofChrist' post='1743816' date='Jan 5 2009, 08:23 PM']Both examples I gave are examples of Government Health Care in [b]America[/b].[/quote]

Which is why we should not continue on the present course.

[CatherineM]

Part of it has to do with things like infant mortality, healthy life expectancy, deaths from illnesses that should not have been fatal had they been treated promptly, survival rates for things like breast cancer and cervical cancer. If you have a huge gap between the care received by the rich and poor, those kinds of things really drop your numbers. I'm sure the US would be much higher if they only counted the health care received rather than the health care that wasn't received.

[add]

[quote name='sweens8403' post='1743826' date='Jan 5 2009, 08:41 PM']What was the criteria for those ratings anyway?

I wonder if the difference between 1 and 37 is like the difference between the gold medal olympic swimmer and #10.[/quote]
Cost was a major factor in determining this ranking, not the level of service.

[CatherineM]

[quote name='apparently' post='1743853' date='Jan 5 2009, 07:11 PM']Cost was a major factor in determining this ranking, not the level of service.[/quote]

You don't see a correlation there at all do you? Have you ever had a serious illness?

[add]

The health care cost more but is vastly superior to countries with universal health care system when measured by service only,
in Canada for example One of the major complaints are the long waiting times, whether for a specialist, major elective surgery, such as hip replacement, imaging procedures such as MRI or Cystoscopy, or specialized treatments, such as radiation for breast cancer.

[CatherineM]

[quote name='apparently' post='1743893' date='Jan 5 2009, 07:48 PM']The health care cost more but is vastly superior to countries with universal health care system when measured by service only,
in Canada for example One of the major complaints are the long waiting times, whether for a specialist, major elective surgery, such as hip replacement, imaging procedures such as MRI or Cystoscopy, or specialized treatments, such as radiation for breast cancer.[/quote]

Wait times in Canada include everyone who wants the procedure, not just people who can afford it. Let's see my waits so far in the 3 years I've been here, 2 days for a mammogram, 4 days for an orthopedic surgeon, 2 hours for a high risk OBGYN the first time, and 2 days the second time, a week for a psychiatric consult, and 6 months to get into a special PTSD program. Blood tests, I have to wait sometimes as long as 30 minutes. That's also the longest I have ever waited to see my GP, and he doesn't take appointments, walk in only.

[Hassan]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1743937' date='Jan 5 2009, 10:26 PM']Wait times in Canada include everyone who wants the procedure, not just people who can afford it. Let's see my waits so far in the 3 years I've been here, 2 days for a mammogram, 4 days for an orthopedic surgeon, 2 hours for a high risk OBGYN the first time, and 2 days the second time, a week for a psychiatric consult, and 6 months to get into a special PTSD program. Blood tests, I have to wait sometimes as long as 30 minutes. That's also the longest I have ever waited to see my GP, and he doesn't take appointments, walk in only.[/quote]


Is there any movement in Canada to get off national health care?

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1743990' date='Jan 5 2009, 09:00 PM']Is there any movement in Canada to get off national health care?[/quote]

Our last premier talked about adding some private health care that would have looked like UK's. He had been been in office, practically without opposition for 16 years, and promptly got booted from office. Not his party, just him. The Conservatives hold 90% of the provincial legislature, so they can pass just about anything they want, but the people spoke so loudly, that they didn't dare mess with it. Remember, the have nots always outnumber the haves. If the people in the US ever had a chance to actually vote on health care, it would sure be an interesting election.

[Galloglasses' Alt]

Thou shalt not trust those kind of surveys to begin with. For example, one survey placed Ireland in the top ten countries in the world were the people were happiest in the late 90s, however, when the results were studied again except with the average income of Irish citizens not taken into account, we were one of the most depressed countries in the world. Just above Somalia.

Don't get me wrong, I live right here in Europe and only need to take a glance across the water to see a couple of my neighbour's passing wind in each other's general direction. I can say the French have a fantastic health system... One thats costing them staggeringly. So much so their current level of healthcare is economically untenable.