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posts about #healthcarehowarddean more → 
Health Insurance, Anti-Abortion Amendments, & Howard Dean's Big Brass Balls
New York, 5:46 AM
Tue Dec 22
55 posts in the last 24 hours
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Health Insurance, Anti-Abortion Amendments, & Howard Dean's Big Brass Balls |
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07/08/09
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And another damn thing - despite all the "OMG! We'll end up like Canada or the UK! They wait forever to see a Dr!"
How many of them do you hear complain? How long did you have to wait for your last appointment? HUH?! To paraphrase Will Shakes... first we kill all the "health insurance providers."
07/07/09
This pisses me off.
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07/07/09
Health insurance in this country is FUCKED. I got laid off in October, found insurance, had a major surgery and despite the fact I've had health insurance for 37 consecutive years, my new carrier denied every penny of my surgery claim as a pre-existing condition. Because they can, and nobody in Washington gives a fat baby's ass.
What was I supposed to do differently? I made sure I had coverage, I paid my premiums, I jumped through every authorization hoop - I was laid off, like millions of other Americans were in October. There was no way for me to afford COBRA so I found what I thought was a better option, knowing that having coverage with no lapse is SUPPOSED to protect you from pre-existing condition denial. Not so much.
I was never treated for my condition before I was insured with this company - but they claim that the tumor that would have killed me if I had not had it removed was there, even if I didn't know about it, before I was insured.
By all accounts, it would have been cheaper to let the tumor kill me. This is the United Fucking States of America, having to choose between being ruined financially and dying should never have to happen here.
Dean '16. You yell until you're hoarse, Howie.
07/07/09
They work with patients who have had this type of denial from the insurance company and they sometimes get the insurance company to pay. I also hope you sent your story to every one of your elected officials.
07/07/09
I was never treated for my condition before I was insured with this company - but they claim that the tumor that would have killed me if I had not had it removed was there, even if I didn't know about it, before I was insured.
Granted, I don't know what state you're in, but this is BULLSHIT. The only thing that matters is whether you knew you were sick before you bought that insurance policy. Raise hell. Get on the phone and make it clear to them that you know they're lying, then threaten to sue. If that doesn't work, take Lymed's advice.
07/07/09
I mean, Jesus Christ, if they can deny this, they can deny anyone with a previously unknown genetic condition. They can deny anyone with heart disease (well, you should have known your arteries were already filled with plaque). They can deny anyone with cancer -- cancer can grow for years before it's detected. They are LYING. Kick their asses for me, please.
07/08/09
07/07/09
I once suggested to a family physician that if we all paid a GP what we pay into insurance companies and made a contract with that doctor to treat us (no matter what) we'd be much farther ahead. You should have seen the smile on his face.
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I could see that working as long as you still have a catastrophic insurance policy in the case of serious illness. Unfortunately, serious illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer, can cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is really the only thing insurance is good for nowadays. It gives you the chance to be deeply in debt rather than dead. But that's just not good enough anymore.
07/07/09
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Maybe someone who knows more about economics than me can explain how our "competitive" health care system is actually supposed to benefit people.
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Plans to mandate coverage for abortions, either directly or indirectly is unacceptable.
If only we had statesmen, not politicians, in office.
07/07/09
I have absolutely no faith that coverage and availability for abortions and contraceptives won't change every time the other party comes into power. And it's not just about covering abortion or not -- my greatest fear with a single-payer system is that physicians who provide abortions wouldn't be reimbursed by the government for other OB/GYN procedures. Shit, if they did it to women overseas with the global gag rule, I believe they'd do it to us.
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I'm curious. It seems there is a certain strategery to avoiding the thorny abortion issue when the insurance issue is so damn important and possible. In Missouri, certain Repubs would have no problem sinking the whole damn boat just cuz'.
07/07/09
In the individual market, it is hard to even get pregnancy covered.
07/07/09
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Not that high deductible plans are good. They are awful for health care and discourage people from geting the care they need to prevent unecessary complications.
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I have the impression pharmaceuticals are still doing a nice biz, though.
07/07/09
All these people at the top who already have so much are the ones doing the most complaining, and I'm beyond tired of hearing it. These people have helped themselves long enough; it's about freaking time the little guy got a hand, too.
07/07/09
A lot of professionals amass incredible debt, but that shouldn't stop us from trying to change a broken industry. If anything, we can hopefully get rid of the physicians who are only in it for the money and bring in some who are interested in patient care.
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Also, while I agree with you somewhat, I want medicine to be a lucrative career so the smartest people, with the most career options, will want to go into it!
Basically, I don't think physician's salaries are what's driving up the costs of medical care -- it's bureaucracy, malpractice insurance, inefficiencies and lack of competition. NOBODY is happy with the current system - not patients, insurers, or most physicians.
07/07/09
However, I certainly agree with your point that there are a lot of other factors driving up the cost of medicine, probably moreso than physician salaries; it's just a point that gets in my craw personally. I think we need to look at this from all angles and find a solution that works for EVERYONE.
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It doesn't surprise me that Medicaid is that bad, but I've actually seen worse from my own insurance company. I had a first office call with a doctor, with a total charge of $245. My insurance company paid $115. At that appointment, I had $95 of tests done. My insurance company paid $25, and for one of the tests (I shit you not) they paid $0.01. One friggin' penny!!!
I used to work in a doctor's office and a number of insurance companies pull that crap, and, unlike government plans, they require paperwork through the nose and mucho jumping through hoops to justify charges.
07/08/09
07/07/09
I have "good" health insurance, and to keep it, I have to jump through hoops every year. If I don't 1) get a flu shot, 2) get an eye exam, 3) get a PAP smear, and 4) get a dental cleaning, I get bumped down to the shitty insurance where I'll have a huge deductible, ridiculous co-pays, and not the money to ever use it.
07/07/09
/a shot that gives you the flu
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Also ironic coming from people who want the government to step between a woman and her doctor anytime her uterus is involved.
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