The Trouble With Healthcare Reform, In Numbers

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OMFG!!
4 hours ago I got a phone call from 9722840600 - 972-284-0600 and for some reason thought the call was a scammer.
So without thinking, I went nuts - and called the the company and yell.
You will never believe this... Gulf Coast Western -an oil corporation- was calling to approve my job application - apparently I got the job!
Anybody know how I can fix this?!!!

spooceemexody of AL 6:31PM March 30, 2010

Looks like we are heading for a communist contry. The government is going to force you to have health care afford it or not. If we dont get it then we will pay a fine. Our military has fought for our freedom of choice and now our president and his merry men want to take that away from us. What are they going to try and take away next. I am a Democrat but I will vote against the Democrates on any next election and deffinately against Prtesident Obama as he is making the wrong changes and forcing people to do things in the future they don't choose to do or they can't afford to do.
This is America the land of the free. The government is now trying to slowly take that away.

theapache of CO 3:09PM December 24, 2009

re, the "savings" from getting uninsured out of the emergency room and into mainstream health care--the greatest users of the emergency room system are the illegals we seem to welcome. The old joke "know how to clear out an emergency room? Go in and yell "Migra" (Immigration)".
re, have to cover pre-existing conditions, there is nothing in the bills that say the coverage has to be affordable. So, what's the big deal?
There is no true reform---why does one think there hasn't been a swell of resistance in the health care community? Because they ain't gonna get hurt in the pocketbook.
Socialism is great in theory but it has never worked in actuality. Besides, what we are talking about here is not socialism, but communism. The peasants paying for, and governed by, a ruling class. In true socialism, all would be treated equal, but you can bet, as has been the case for decades, the politicians and bureaucrats will be exempt.

Ken Jantz of TN 12:37PM December 24, 2009

I believe That the Obama/Pelosi plan is not the way to go. The Canadien healthcare system started out with a public option. Under this, private insurers are unable to compete with taxpayer dollars and eventually you wind up with the single payer system - the government. Canada has tried this and you have Doig, the head of the Canadien system saying their system is imploding and in need of help. Yet this is what Obama and the Democrats are trying to push through congress. The Republicans have come up with a plan of their own. Healthcare insurance purchased across state lines to reduce that cost. It addresses the problem of cancelled policies when health problems arise and provides some coverage for pre-existing conditions. It provides torte reform as well. This can be accomplished without Obamacare with its "public option."

Robert Tebeau of MT 12:16AM November 30, 2009

Either way, if the reform passes or doesn't, I(we) as a working middle class person will pay. I(we) will pay for the millions of uninsured coming on board through taxes, I(we) will pay for higher private insurer premiums if it doesn't pass. Nothing really changes.
In my state, Massachusetts, they tried to adopt the revolutionary comprehensive care tiered insurance plan. All it did was take the block sum free care pool money that went directly to health care providers(hospitals, clinics, etc.)who used it for the uninsured and also to balance their internal financial affairs to stay in the black and moved it to the insurance companies who then dicker and dole out just what, when, where, how or if they are going to cover any of the costs incurred by the patients. Result: Health care facilities are losing more money and moving into the red as reimbursement shrivels. As long as politicians and insurance companies are in each other's pockets don't expect healthcare to work for the masses. There are always going to be people; the chronically unemployed, the system riders, frequent flyers, etc. who just will not pay for healthcare. In our ER they come in for aspirin and pregnancy tests. As long is there is no review process for individuals and families who are evading paying into the system, they will exploit it.And again, I(we) will pay. Soon enough many will begin to go John Galt...but that's a topic for another day.

suzanne of MA 2:51PM September 16, 2009

To Collins of OR--I have worked in health care and I am sorry to say that many people become sick through no fault of their own, just bad luck, bad genes, or bad environment. There are others who contribute to their illnesses through bad self-care or not following the doctors' orders. A recent survey found that only about 5% of Americans are following advice not to smoke, to drink only in moderation, to exercise 30 min 5 days a week, to keep a normal weight, and to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I have decided that it is best to withhold judgment.
I would be very happy to see us become a healthier society, and in fact I hope a change in attitudes will be one consequence of our shared "footing the bill."

SusanRN of AL 11:30PM September 15, 2009

As a regular volunteer in a free clinic, I have plenty of experience with the uninsured. As a self-employed person paying all my health insurance costs directly, my deductible is so high that, except for a major catastrophe, my family is basically uninsured. There is no good way out of these problems until we can reduce the cost of US medical care.
Almost no one seems to recognize that one major cause of these soaring costs is our own "sue crazy" culture. Until we start charging the cost of ridiculous suits to the person and lawyer who filed them and have torte reform to limit the astronomical amounts currently awarded, changing the health insurance system will not change the huge cost of medical care at the root of the problem. This is a hugely uphill and largely unaddressed problem, since most of our legislators are lawyers! A large part of their campaign funds come from other lawyers. An obstetrician can basically work three days out of the week simply to pay his malpractice insurance. Any doctor is likely to order expensive and probably unneeded tests "just in case" he might get sued later. These things hit all of us hard in the pocket book. They are bankrupting the whole system. Let's do something constructive about it NOW!
Why does New York City have more lawyers than the entire nation of Japan? Because "we the people" are willing to keep them busy.

Diane of NC 10:55PM September 09, 2009

Why doesn't Health Insurance defined by it's various components like car insurance?
Because car insurance has specific categories and definitions I can shop and compare apples-to-apples making an educated purchase.
If the various parts of Health Insurance were defined across the country, consumers would be able to purchase the elements of health care they needed and not be asked to pay for components they don't need.
Do we have enough doctors, technicians, nurses to provide services at a reasonable rate?
The best way to reduce doctors charges, fees incomes - is to have plenty of doctors available. Why not have a college tuition incentive/scholarship program specifically for people training in these critical fields. As these medical positions are filled the program can be trimmed to adjust for future needs.
Third we have to quit stuffing the pockets of lawyers with cash every time a procedure does not have the result the patient hoped for. Much of medicine is still trial and ERROR. Huge payouts based on empathy for an injured patient need to be tempered with reality. Torte Reform, the limiting of how much someone can sue for must be addressed. Any Health Care plan without Torte Reform will just shift more cash to the attorneys and not help the people who really need care.

Ginny of CA 8:49PM September 09, 2009

There are 2 main concerns I have with the health care reform.
1: Government seems to have the capacity to change the rules as they go along. Government's decision on "what works and what doesn't" to determine what's covered in health care, may change just as radically as their subsidy of public school text books have, over the years. They would likely get political and it could be used as leverage to get people to go along with certain beliefs and views in the future. I am not comfortable with Governments controlling vital decisions like that when they are already covertly planning population-control measures and other things that might effect "who lives and who dies".
2: Money is the main motivator. Drug company, insurance company and gazzillionaire representative lobbyists care little about anything in reality, further than the financial bottom line. Health care has gotten too expensive. True. And it's partly because some professionals believe that their services really are worth $1000 per hour. A slightly smaller house )or fewer of them), a slightly smaller yaght, and fewer cars might impact the cost of health care? Any solution that doesn't require the top providers and executives to sacrifice equally along with the rest of us, won't cut it. If the average individual has to sacrifice (reduce incomes, increase costs, etc. to the tune of 10% of their incomes, then the doctors should also be willing to sacrifice 10% of theirs.
One more thing. Many people choose to do things that intentionally cause harm to them. I am willing to help pick up the health care tab as a tax payer for a victim who is harmed and needs medical help-- but I am not willing to allow people to smoke, take drugs and drink excessively causing medical problems and them ask me to pay for them. I will help vote out of office any elected official who spends my money that way.
UNLESS----- when I neglect to put oil in my car, the government will fix my motor when it breaks.
So let's provide a health care solution that works for those who are doing some minimum standard of maintenance-- but not for anyone who tries to purposely drive up their health needs. if someone chooses to smoke a pack a day, they shoulod not get cancer care-- because they are intentionally acting in ways that are proven to cause cancer.

Collins of OR 6:55PM September 09, 2009

I do also feel that our goverment is full of liars and money hungry politicians. But so are the health insurance companies. There not in it for our benefit, but thier own. Its just a business and they are out to make a profit. One of the problems is that no matter how much profit they make, its not enough. I want a complete revamp on the healthcare system. I dont feel that the goverment should run it. I dont feel the the insurance and HMOs should run it. Our care should be determined by our doctors. And they should CARE for us.
I know there are a few out there that dont want this healcare reform because they dont want it goverment ran. But i bet the majority of the people that are aginst it, Stand to loose from it.
The one benefit I see in having a Goverment healthcare system is that, We still have the right as voters to not reelect someone into office that we dont feel is serving in our best intrests. We do not have that ability to do this with the CEOS of the Insurance and drug companies.

Lynn of AR 6:36PM September 09, 2009