*For the record, I am NOT totally sold on Obamacare. Nor am I sold on socialized medicine. I do think that there is a desperate need for some kind of health care reform.*
I listen to a lot of Talk radio. My mom is smiling and laughing at me right now. But it is true. I don't love Glenn Beck but he has a lot of ideas. Not always good ones and he is a little over the top. But there are so many others down here that I listen to. Anyway, all the rage is the "Obamacare" and the down side of it. I like the local ones, but find myself disagreeing with some but not all of the ideas of the plan or several plans.
That said, I have a lot of research to do and lots of pros and cons but here are my thoughts..
Socialized medicine is put down A LOT. Meaning that while living in an apartment with 3 Canadians at one point in my college career, they got amazing health care in Canada. They had everything the needed while living there and didn't have anything bad to say about it. While I don't always agree with socialized medicine and hear all the time that preemies are being sent to the states to get care, I don't agree with that. American NICU'S and Canadian care is not the worst thing. They still get great care there. America isn't the highest in Health care and saving babies
I watched the documentary on socialized medicine from Michael Moore and frankly we didn't do those people justice either. They were able to walk across the border or row a boat for that matter and get the care they needed.
I hear all the time that people are waiting YEARS for a CT scan. Yet if Ty went in in shunt malfunction ( a life and death situation) I am sure that care will be given. I don't think that he will wait months of years to get something that is life threatening. If Dallas went into his primary care doc and had to have a MRI for a non life threatening situation I am sure he would be waiting months.
THAT said, to get an appointment with a developmental pediatrician, with PRIVATE insurance in the great state of ARIZONA and last I checked the United States of America, it takes 9-12 months. That is right. He can't get in to see one for almost a year. There is no difference. It wouldn't make a darn difference if we were in socialized medicine or not. No more or no less would be seeing this doctor with socialized medicine. For Ty to get an appointment with the lady that does his botox it took 9 months to get. So again, how is it that any different than socialized medicine?
We are now looking at private insurance. Knowing we will have to pay out over 700 dollars a month we still embarked on the journey. Sadly Cerebral Palsy is a condition that is one of the most expensive disabilities. Those who suffer from it need on going therapy of some sort to keep their body functioning. Therefore we are having a hard time finding someone to insure us privately. We have had no lapse in coverage since the day he was born, it is not considered preexisting because of a bill of HIPPA passed by President Bush ( the first one I think?) so the idea that we can't cover our family because we will never pay in as much as they pay out is stupid.
We are part of a "socialized medicine" already. It is called Medicaid, medicare or whatever you state wants to call poor people insurance or old people insurance. Its a broken system. Ty is on State insurance in Arizona but in order to be on medicaid in a different state ( the state we are moving to) a family of 5 must make UNDER 700 dollars a month. Yes that is right 700 a month for a FAMILY OF 5. We are a family of 3. Can you imagine making less than 700 a month? In order to keep him covered we have to do something.
Is Obamacare the answer? Maybe, maybe not. But is leaving someone uninsurable the answer either. He deserves care to. We are not even asking it be free we are asking that it is made obtainable. We need something we can afford. We can't afford to pay 700 for me and Dallas to be insured and a spend down program of 400 for Tyler. That isn't "fair."
We are paying taxes, we are paying into a broken system as well. What do we do?
Some say that in Obamacare Tyler wouldn't have been "saved"? While that may or may not be the case he is here now and he is a contributing member of society in some way. Without some kind of reform in the system we have, you are telling me that he is not a productive or contributing member of society.
We are not asking for a handout. We are not asking it to be free. We are ASKING to pay for it by applying for health care coverage. The current system is denying us. They are saying no. If there was something we could do instead we would do it.
SIDE NOTE: There are a lot of people out there that get medicaid while having babies and are saying no to socialized medicine. Did it ever DAWN on any of you that medicaid IS socialized or government ran insurance? Those of you with preemies who are totally against Medicaid, I recall MANY of you getting SSI and medicaid while they were young and even up through age 2, again, GOVERNMENT ran insurance. You can't say you don't want it when you used it. Maybe saying reform is a better idea?
Also the clause of them coming in and telling you how to parent: they do that if you are in the system any way. If you are getting early intervention services there is someone coming into your home every six months telling you if your kid is delayed, what services they will be sending to you, what things you should be doing. I don' think in real life they would be sending out someone every day to your house just to tell you how to parent, but I do think if you are using the government health care and you just racked up a million dollar bill they might be stopping by. Oh well. I would rather them do that the me try and pay out the money that I can't afford.
That is my rant...
6 comments:
Doug Wright made a similar comment the other day. He said that he may not agree with everything that Obama is trying to do, but he is giving the guy credit for bringing the the topic for discussion and at least trying to do something. Almost every single president since FDR has wanted to do something about healthcare but not one of them has succeeded. I hope that something happens because reform is needed.
I agree with in the sense that I don't agree with everything that Obama is trying to do, but SOMETHING needs to be done. I don't want the government to have complete control, but yet what we have right now isn't working either.
I can completely see where you are coming from, especially seeing that you have a child that will have outstanding medical bills for probably the rest of his life. How is that fair to you that you've maxed out 3 insurances and can no longer find insurance for your son while I can sit here and take my kids to the doctor any ol' day. It's not fair, totally and completely not fair. There HAS to be change. But socialized medicine is in no way the answer.
The major downside to socialized medicine is that the right to make important decisions about care is stripped from the patient and the physician, and are given to the state. A good example of this... the hospital where my friend works determined that it is "too expensive" to repair umbillical hernias in patients over the age of 50. Usually the condition is mildly painful, but may look particularly gross - like a large lump under the skin by the belly button. All of the citizens who are within the "district" that is served by that hospital are no longer allowed to have umbillical hernias repaired under government funding because the hospital and that district's healthcare management team determined it wasn't cost effective...
Now, across the city in another district, that same decision was NOT made... people there can still get their hernias repaired and don't pay a penny for it. So, why don't people from one district just go to the other hospital? They'll be governed by the plan of their original district since their healthcare system is totally unified. When the admitting records person tries to set them up at the hospital for the procedure, the computer will tell them the operation isn't covered by the social healthcare system of their home district.
In short, doctors get paid less, everybody pays MORE since there is major corruption and "pork" in any government run program, and doctors have less ability to help patients who need it because their hands are tied by policy decisions. If you want to see what socialized healthcare will be like, pop into your local emergency room in a major metropolitan city for a cold or flu... you'll wait upwards of 18 hours to be seen. If you make an appointment with a staff physician at the same hospital, you'll wait 2 or 3 weeks to get in.
It all sounds GREAT right up until we implement it - and everyone who has enjoyed next day appointments and exceptional care under their insurance finds themselves fighting with illegal aliens and the extremely poor to see a doctor for simple conditions. Remember - now that everyone would have the same insurance plan, your doctor would likely open his or her doors to ANYONE and EVERYONE who needed help - meaning the appointments that were once available next day will be filled weeks in advance. You'd be adding 40 million new healthcare consumers to a healthcare system that, as it is, is WAY over capacity, too - and not provide any additional funding for new medical schools, training, hospitals, etc. It may sound insincere or mean... but our system simply cannot handle a major influx of 40 million new patients right now. The government needs to stop trying to sell "insurance for all" in their campaign bids and then not explaining where these new doctors and nurses will come from... it takes 4 years in medical school and at least 3 in residency to educate a new doctor... 7 years is the shortest amount of time in which a new medical school could have a major impact on the supply of physicians. The answer isn't in socializing medicine, it's in gutting the insurance companies to make insurance available to all at a reasonable price - and providing enough physicians to actually TREAT all the new patients a program like this would allow into the system.
... it cut me off early :)
Most people who are well-to-do in nations with socialized healthcare purchase "supplemental insurance" simply because socialized healthcare is so terrible... they'd rather pay for insurance in addition to the "free" coverage from the government since they know the government's plan is so awful.
In Coeur d'alene, a town in northern idaho, I have a friend that lives in an apartment complex that is 60% Canadian people that have MOVED, yes moved, to the US for the time being to get US healthcare, whether it's because they're having a baby, need a surgery, etc.
People in Canada and Britain DO NOT receive the care they need. Another man that was on the news actually died because he needed emergency surgery. He was put on a waiting list for 3 months and in the meantime, his kidney's shut down and he died at home. It's not the answer.
Another downside is that the Doctors are paid salary and on a fixed 9-5 type schedule, and can take their merry time to do a procedure or to even schedule you in for one. Theres no competition or reason to be concerned about standards and quality, since the best Dr or surgeon won't get paid anymore than the failure who barely got his license.
Now ask yourself why people from Canada come over here and pay more for surgeries rather than have to wait months to years for even needed surgeries.
it is not all its cracked up to be. We'll regret it if we go that route.
And, just because I worked for Health and Welfare, Medicaid is NOT a government ran insurance. It is welfare, it's government assistance. It is not an insurance program.
Like I said before, there should be insurance reform. Take away insurance maximums and make a cap on medical lawsuits so the price of healthcare will go down.
I still love you Nancy!! I just have such a huge opinion about this (if you couldn't tell). :)
@megan, I appreciate your response. I do have to clarify, we have not maxed out our insurance in three insurances. We are not able to GET insurance because he is a liability. They are saying because of his condition they won't cover him because he will cost them money.
While I do think that the socialzed medicine is NOT the way to go ( my brother is a doctor and I am SURE he agrees it isn't the way to go) there has to be reform to the current system at hand.
While medicaid is a welfare program what option do people with medical problems or life long disability have. We get "state insurance" or welfare in arizona making plenty of money AND having private insurance, yet Tyler gets the care he needs. Yet in Utah we are on a waiting list for just a waiver that he is ENTITLED to because of his condition but can't GET because the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and STATE got their money cut. So because of that how is it NOT goevernment run. Social security and medicaid are GOERVNEMNT PROGRAMS not just welfare.
I agree that the ins and outs of Obama care might not be the answer but there has to be SOMETHING. Something to help those that are wanting insurance, even offering to pay for it and expeciting to pay 700 or more a month and can't get it...
Pond family- The points you make are all completely valid except one: That right now the transaction that takes place is between the doctor and patient and with govt insurance the state would be involved.
You're half right. Currently the transaction is between you, your doctor, and your insurance company. The insurance company now decides what things will be covered. "the right to make important decisions about care" is not stripped from the doctor and patient and given to the state because it is currently in the hands of the insurance company.
I am certain that Nancy would have handled Ty's care differently at SOME point in her journey if she had been given the choice, whether it was medical or developmental.
Who's to say the govt would do worse or better?
I don't disagree with what you're saying, I just want to make it clear that the current system doesn't give you a lot of choice either.
I have in NO WAY incurred bills that Nancy or Tammy has and will continue to have. Nor do I presently need the level of care they need, so I don't feel the frustrations and urgency they feel. I want things to change and their children deserve better (I don't know your situation, it may be similar).
I've got TMJ. It is very uncomfortable. I cannot open my mouth all the way. Every time I open my mouth it pops, grinds, and cracks. For years, I haven't fully chewed the food I swallow. The insurance companies calls ANY care for this condition "cosmetic". PEASE!
And TMJ is a laughable inconvenience compared what Tyler needs.
I don't know nearly enough about any of this, it just irks me when people make it sound like right now we all have this simple, easy relationship with our doctors and care as if insurance companies weren't a HUGE part of the equation. We don't have easy access to care unless the insurance company decides we do.
Those people who've moved here from Canada may have done so for very specific reasons. My dad went to Mexico to have dental work done because it is just as good as the care here and was thousands of dollars less. Medical tourism isn't new. It is the equivalent of different care because of different insurance coverage.
Again, that doesn't mean I'm all for any of these options. I don't know enough to be.
Good post Nancy, you hit the nail on the head here.
Agree, agree, agree. I get frustrated with people say someone else will be making your medical decisions when it is already happening. The insurance company runs the medical "industry". They decide if they will cover a procedure, and if they decide no, you either have to pay out-of-pocket which won't be counted toward your deductible, or you don't have it. After paying premiums monthly and not needing any services, then needing something and not having it "covered" it just doesn't seem right. I know people who work for the company need to make a living, but be reasonable. My premium is going to buy their multi-million dollar house while they say I can't have the procedure I need to make my life comfortable.
And like the commenter said, what about the doctor? Who will want to go into medicine if they can't make enough to pay off their loans? Who will incur that amount of debt for no payment? What quality of doctors will we get when the insurance company decided what they will be paid? The way I see it, the insurance companies are where the reform needs to happen.
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