For years, my doctors have ordered tests or medicines for me. And it was because the insurer didn't approve them that I didn't get them without extravagant charges.
Now, before the Democrats have even finalized a program, Republican conservatives are being told this:
" 'The most successful attack is, "It will lead to the government setting standards instead of the doctor who really knows best. '"
The above is a quote from an article off the AP wire shown on Yahoo News pages, today. What the hell do the republican politicians think the people of this country have already been subjected to? Are they out of their minds?
Yes, they are out of their minds. You'd think they never use medical services. Well, ordinary people do, even Republicans, and even Republicans (those who are not billionaires, anyway) want relief from the current system. Even if you have health insurance, which a vast number of people in this country does not, your health care is rationed by a number of factors. When there is insurance, there are as many sets of regulations and requirements as there are insurance providers. It's an administrative nightmare for doctors, hospitals, labs, etc. Instead of focusing on health care, they push paper.
ReplyDeleteThe only rational solution is to do what most of the rest of the world does. Have a universal health care system. It can be done and still allow the patient to select providers of his choice. It doesn't have to be like Kaiser, but more like Canada.
Wow, I think this is the first time you've ever drawn me out of lurkdom. But I think yes, they are completely, completely out of their minds. And there's no single-payer representative involved in the discussions in Congress this week. At least there are universal coverage folks, but I cannot believe there's not even an advocate at the table.
ReplyDeletePogo, Exactly! That is why two of my favorite rheumatologists left the provider and went into private practice.
ReplyDeleteWe need a real healthcare system, one that works for a modern industrial country, but then the only thing we seem to be making in this country is armaments! Isn't that our major export outside of corn and dried milk? And I agree, no, it shouldn't be like Kaiser, where a doctor can be penalized for moving a patient up to specialists. Bah!
Sayingthings, yes it is. And welcome and hello there!
Somehow I think that there's not going to be a serious advocacy for single-payer, not because it doesn't work well but because the big BIG pharmas and the Health Insurance Companies have just gotten so much power. They can turn all the heads in Washington wherever they want them to look.
It's disgusting, when we have people who work and pay their own way getting sick and being told they have to have 150K upfront $$s to even get a shot at a life saving cancer operation.
In so many ways, right now, our government stinks. They take our tax money and dole it out for things like hedge fund triage, and war industry C-170 cargo planes that NONE of the military services even want, but they can't sit up and take notice of the needs of the people. I'm going to Norway in my next life, if I get one. and I'm not kidding.
Today's newspaper hits right on topic - http://www.rgj.com/article/20090509/NEWS/905090336/1321 A girl in Reno must be taken to Oakland for chemotherapy for her leukemia, even though her doctors come to Reno weekly to administer the same treatment to others. Why? Because her father's health insurance says so. Read it and weep. Dad's a Federal government employee, and this is the treatment he and his family get.
ReplyDeleteObiviously none of you have ever lived in a country with a single payer system. What the government is lokking at is much like the system in Canada where private insurance is illegal. Whn they turn you down for treatment it isn't like with insurace where yu can pay for it yourself, no the treatment is not avaliable to you so you die. No lady it is you who are out of your mind for wanting something that in other couties deny care to those over the age of 65 because it is too expensive, who deny care to babies born before 25 weeks because it is too expensive. In Canada and in the UK people die from live threatening thigns like cancer 30%-40% more than they do here because it takes so long waiting for treatment.
ReplyDeleteOk, you've had your say, D. In the US we are considering several options, and actually I never did talk about the Canadian system, which I don't prefer to others. I'll do my own fact finding about the percentages, which I don't think, having spoken to several Canadians about it, is as bad as what we have, now, here. We have a system that is broken, and the Canadian system is not the best fix for ALL Americans, rich and poor, but this is my opinion.
ReplyDeletePogonip, it's the stupid way things are done here that has brought us to where we are. It really shows in the case of this little cancer patient. Thanks for illustrating the problem with her case.