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Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive

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mirrorghost
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
god, they wrote about this on broadsheet, and of course a bunch of men are over there bitching about inequities in car insurance. it pisses me off to no end, it's a CHOICE to drive like an asshole, but not to have a vag.

i have one, don't plan on having kids or doing any "pre-natal" bullshit, but i gotta get pap smears and breast exams. i'm not just going to the doctor willy-nilly, for shits n' giggles. beyond that, it's usually the woman's responsibility to go to the doctor to get the more expensive birth control. also, it's not like most people like going to the doctor. i had some uniquely feminine issues last year and was in and out of the doctor every few months-more than i've ever been in one year, and even had to have minor surgery. BECAUSE I HAD TO, not for the fun of it. but yeah, i my dad's girl-sperm impregnated my mom, and now i have to pay for it for the rest of my life. and pay MORE, meanwhile insurance pays for viagra. gimme a motherfuckin' break.
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TheGuvnah
05/06/09

@mirrorghost: exactly. auto insurance disparities are based on actuarial, factual data about men's risks verses women;s.

Gender rating in private insurance CLAIMS to be based on actuarial data, but the premiums vary so widely that it is not possible that it actually is based on hard evidence.
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Everything MidnightBikeRide does is a balloon.
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I just want to know how we've been duped into usuing this system for so long. it's so transparently slimy and bad-for-us. The fact that there are people out there in this country who truly believe that some vague principle of capitalism is worth more than bodily health leaves me both mystified and enraged.
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formergr
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I definitely would support a government option, but what this post and many many other articles on health coverage issues isn't making quite clear is that discrimination on health insurance rates by gender (as noted above), being able to drop coverage for someone because they get sick, denying because of pre-existing conditions, etc are all only something that can happen on the *individual* market, not when you have coverage through an employer.

It's definitely becoming less and less of a distinction as less employers are able to offer coverage, and more Americans have to try and cover themselves on their own (if they can afford it), but I think there really is a misconception that if you have employer-sponsored care, your insurance can drop you or play the pre-existing condition games. It can't-- state insurance regulations prevent that. Unfortunately to date those protections haven't been extended to the individual market.

This of course still doesn't solve the problem of individual coverage being massively expensive, and close to impossible for many to afford! And of the problem of someone who gets sick while insured by their employer, and then eventually loses their job because of said illness. Now they have no job, money to buy their own coverage, and would likely be denied anyway.

So yeah, the government definitely needs to do something, whether it's offer a government plan option, put out an individual mandate, and/or tighten insurance regulation to offer consumers more protection and coverage options.
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TheGuvnah
05/06/09

@formergr: excellent point. however, there have been lots of instances of insurers actually harassing companies into firing an employee when they used their health insurance too much. abuse is rampant.
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formergr
05/06/09

@TheGuvnah: This is true-- and even when the insurers didn't outright harass companies into firing an employee, if it's an employer with I think under 10 or 25 employees on a plan, the insurers can make it very clear to the employer that s sick (i.e. newly diagnosed cancer) employee is causing the cost of their coverage contract to go way, way up. Which...of course that employer can figure out based on absences which employee it is, even if confidentiality is maintained. And then fire them.
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TheGuvnah
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
John Kerry just introduced a bill yesterday prohibiting gender rating and setting a bare minimum standard for what maternity coverage must look like. There is no bill number yet but if you live in MA, send him a thank you email!
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littlemisslondon
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I live in Canada. I cannot even imagine paying to go to the doctor. I mean, you're sick, you go to the doctor, it's a matter of public health. The concept of not BEING ABLE to go to the doctor if you can't afford it?! Completely and utterly ridiculous. And terrifying.

Our hospitals and doctors' offices aren't usually as fancy as the ones in the US, and there might be longer wait times for some things... but I am more than happy to wait an extra couple weeks for a routine doctor's appointment if it means that everyone else gets to go too.
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formergr
05/06/09

@littlemisslondon: I was at a (healthcare-related) conference last month where someone (again, who works in healthcare) actually thought that Liam Neeson's wife was flown to the States after her ski accident in Canada because there would have been a wait at a Canadian hospital to seek care!!

After managing not to choke on my hors d'oeuvres, I explained to him that talk of waiting lists are greatly exaggerated by the right, and that waits in Canada when they do exist are for *elective* procedures. As in, they don't make you wait to be seen in an emergency! *headdesk* And then I concluded by pointing out that Canadian ER waittimes are likely shorter than here in the States, since your primary care is free, so people don't clog ERs trying to get their sore throat checked out.
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novelidea
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
of the past administrative jobs i have had, mental health costs have been covered for 12-20 visits. can someone explain to me why this is? i think it's fairly progressive but not enough--there are definitely mental health issues that cannot be magically cured in 20 visits.
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formergr
05/06/09

@novelidea: This should start to change in the next year or so due to passage last year of the Mental Health Parity Act. The details of what will and won't be covered are still being worked out, and I think the actual implementation of it starts at the end of this year.
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andromache
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I went to the dr for the first time in 5 yrs, and they were appalled that I hadn't had a pap smear in 5 yrs. I looked at them and said, hello, no insurance. They were acting like I'd been eating babies, that's how terrible it is to wait so long to get my cervix swabbed. I was like, well I'm here now because even though I get paid in coffee beans, I have a great benefits plan, and I want to get a full tune-up while I have coverage.

and one of the girls I work with is only 16, and her parents make decent money (they're not hungry but they're not rich), but since her dad is self-employed they don't have insurance right now. it took a lump in her breast for her to schedule an appt, and I'm pretty sure she has to pay for most of it herself. with coffee beans and gas money. it makes me thankful in retrospect that my dad always had a steady paycheck and good family insurance coverage when I was growing up.
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SouthernSatine
05/06/09

@andromache don't want no scrub: I went about 6 years without going to dentist because of similar financial reasons. I grew up with a single mom, no dental coverage, and it just wasn't something that we could afford. When I finally did go, the dentist acted like I was a terrible human being for my lack of dental cleanings. It's one of the reasons that I hate the dentist. Clearly, I never went back to him.
P.S. I now have a lovely dentist who never makes me feel ashamed.
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Cerridwen
05/06/09

@andromache don't want no scrub: My uncle's ex-wife is dying of terminal cervical cancer right now because of this crap. And the kicker? She can't even get insured to cover her palliative care because she has a "pre-existing condition."
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formergr
05/06/09

@Cerridwen: Eeesh, that's awful. Can she qualify for Medicaid by any chance?
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Reinette (wants a threeway with Gambit and Wolverine)
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I love my country, and I would like to live in it for most of my life. But if people can't see reason and actually force the crappy insurance companies out in favor for some genuine healthcare system, then I'm moving somewhere else. UK, Sweden, whichever. I don't want to have to live my life making horrible choices between paying so much for basic healthcare or potentially dying.
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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
05/06/09

@Reinette (wants a threeway with Gambit and Wolverine): Come to New Zealand! Our healthcare is nationalised, which is great, because pretty much all my prescriptions cost only $3 to fill ($USD 1.75)- and that includes my anti-pregnancy drugs and my crazy pills!
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J.D.Regent
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
Aw isn't that special. NOW GIVE ME MY GOVERNMENT INSURANCE! Specter if you try to fuck with this I will PERSONALLY run against you.
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sybann
05/06/09

@J.D.Regent: You'll get my vote if I have to fucking move.
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Newsgirl
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
College students need coverage. Good, affordable coverage. F this "dropped when you reach 23" crap.
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taranwanderer
05/06/09

@Leslie: Sigh. It was for this reason I spent many years without health insurance. Including the months I spent abroad. Suckiest rule EVER.
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vulcanized
05/06/09

@Leslie: I'm dropping off my mom's (wonderful government) insurance tomorrow. My shopping for insurance was dictated entirely by cost and not quality of coverage at all.
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heartandanchor
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
this picture (and of course her living conditions!) is heartbreaking.
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NefariousNewt
05/06/09

@heartandanchor: But her situation is a perfect example of why medical care is so expensive. Hospitals will often treat those without insurance, and pass that cost on to everyone else when they run out of their own funds. If there were a universal system, she could get the prenatal care she needed, and it would get paid for. The benefit in universal care is that costs are always covered, and hospitals and doctors are not left making up shortfalls by driving up prices for services.
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LaFemme
05/06/09

@heartandanchor: I thought the same thing. So sad.
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prestocaro fears the culling
05/06/09

@NefariousNewt: But isn't there a shortfall now when a medicaid/medicare patient is treated? I know the teaching hospital in my area (UTMB) is a main provider of indigent care -- or at least it was until a hurricane came and shat all over it -- and part of the reason why they were in the red was that they weren't getting reimbursed 100% by the state/feds for providing treatment.
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NefariousNewt
05/06/09

@prestocaro, emissary of hell: One hopes that part of the Obama Administration's health care reform will be making sure providers are paid on time. The insurance companies are notorious for not ponying up money they owe immediately, in the hopes that people will pay part of the bill, thinking that someone is going to ruin their credit if they don't.
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formergr
05/06/09

@prestocaro, emissary of hell: Medicare has fixed prices that are, according to hospitals and doctors, lower than the actual cost of the treatment it is supposed to reimburse for. One argument (depending on who you believe) is that this shifts costs to the insurance companies, because hospitals need to charge them more when negotiating their contracts with them to make up the shortfall. The other side says that Medicare rates are fine, and hospitals should just become more efficient and they'll be able to cover their costs.
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Pretentious
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
Actually, when you look at entire populations, preventive care for that whole population is actually more expensive than waiting for a few people to get sick and then treating their illness.
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J.D.Regent
05/06/09

@Pretentious: do you have some links to research that supports this? it also must depend on the health status of the population. i can't imagine that working well in a country with an 18% HIV rate, for example.
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Questioning Everything
05/06/09

@J.D.Regent: I've heard this before...emphasis on ENTIRE POPULATION!

I guess that those that fell through the cracks aren't valued enough to get healthcare at all since it'd be more expensive than shoddy healthcare for the lucky few. That's the breaks, right. How nice!
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sybann
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I'd rather trust the government than the damned insurance companies who have proved they can't be trusted! Over and over again.
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morninggloria
05/06/09

@sybann: It's because insurance companies are not accountable to the PUBLIC, they're accountable to their SHAREHOLDERS and EMPLOYEES. But mostly shareholders.
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formergr
05/06/09

@morninggloria: There are actually quite a few insurance companies who are "not-for-profit"-- this doesn't mean they aren't raking in the big bucks, but it does mean they aren't accountable to shareholders (though still their@Pretentious: True that-- though it doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. Making primary care widely available and affordable is what saves the most bucks population-wise. It lets people get treated for a bad cold before it becomes pneumonia, stops expensive visits to the ER just to get antibiotics, helps diabetics have better control over their blood sugar so they don't have to undergo kidney treatment, amputation, blindness, etc.
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formergr
05/06/09

@formergr: Yikes, half-formed first thought! Just was going to say they don't have shareholders, but are still big businesses accountable to their employees (and executives) as you pointed out.
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vamusical
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
I know it's unfair that women under 55 pay more for health insurance, but doesn't it just do a 180 after that and charge men more because of heart disease? Hopefully government intervention would cure that as well.
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AthertonMerriweather
05/06/09

@vamusical: Unfortunately, heart disease is the leading cause of death among women.
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vamusical
05/06/09

@AthertonMerriweather:

But hey, at least we get away with paying less for it as we get older! And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it the leading cause of death for American men as well?

2nd bullet Identifies the age thing:

[www.aetnaushealthcare.com]
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MissyMcCLung
05/06/09

@vamusical: But don't you spend more of your life under 55 paying for your own insurance than you do over 55?

(I'm Canadian and this whole thing makes my head spin, so I may not be right)
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Questioning Everything
05/06/09

@MissyMcCLung: You are correct.
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vamusical
05/06/09

@MissyMcCLung: Well I'm assuming the stat is for 18-55, so if you don't live until you're 92, then yes. Women are still screwed more.
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formergr
05/06/09

@vamusical: But then they are close to Medicare age (65), so the ladies end up way short-changed even in the long run.
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MissyMcCLung
05/06/09

@formergr: yeah - that's what I though. Even if you live to 92, still short changed.
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morninggloria
05/06/09

In reply to Health Insurers Offer To Make Our Uteruses Less Expensive
Also, this is why American capitalism sans universal healthcare was bound to collapse. Private companies should not be managing and profiting from a public need. Private companies running health care leads to private companies appeasing shareholders rather than providing fucking health care.
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bluebears
05/06/09

@morninggloria: AMEN.
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jigglyball
05/06/09

@morninggloria: Seriously. My libertarian, "let capitalism do its thing" boyfriend believes in universal health care for precisely this reason. Says him, "Health care is like roads; everybody needs 'em."
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J.D.Regent
05/06/09

@morninggloria: why is the business not revolting and demanding government funded healthcare? i don't get why they put up with it at all.
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formergr
05/06/09

@J.D.Regent: I think from what I've read that business (such as the National Business Group on Health, etc) is coming down on the side of an employer-driven health system (versus single payer, or governmant plan option) because if the government provided or paid for health care, employers would be taxed to fund it.
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J.D.Regent
05/06/09

@formergr: I'm sure the tax would be less than the cost of employer based insurance, no?
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J.D.Regent
05/06/09

@J.D.Regent: also don't companies just get out of paying their taxes anyway?
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formergr
05/06/09

@J.D.Regent: Ha! Seriously. Yeah, I don't know if it would be less (I don't know that much about payment and coverage issues), but I think the other part is that if employers didn't offer insurance, they'd be expected to raise salaries. I'm not sure if I agree with the logic, but since benefits are considered by many job seekers to be part of the benefit package that employers can compete for recruits with (not in a recession, obvs), without it employers would have to raise salaries.

And since health insurance benefits given to employees are pre-tax or give employers some kind of tax break, they'd overall pay more if they had to pay straight $$ as increased salary (since I think that *would* be taxed). Someone with more experience in this area should weigh in to clarify what I'm trying to say!
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J.D.Regent
05/06/09

@formergr: that makes sense. fucking assholes. pay me a higher salary AND give me government health insurance. raise my taxes, go ahead. I'M MAKING MORE FUCKING MONEY ANYWAY.
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