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C-NICE

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Health insurance companies are buttheads!! I hear all this garbage about due to Obamacare they are losing money and to that I ask why am I supposed to care? I'm a type one Diatetic, and have to worry about staying alive. The sick people of this country should not be treated like crap for being sick. They did not ask for their illness or for it to cost money. Just a rant from someone sick & tired of this shit.
 
This kind of stuff was happening way before Obamacare , insurance companies are business for only one reason and that is to make a lot of $$$! My mother in law was dietetic
and had to go to ER b/c her blood sugar got too low and when saw her bill she almost had a heart attack too, the small glass of orange juice she has costs $12 ! I told her she should had come to my house and she have all the OJ she wanted for free. Insurances companies never really cared about sick people .
 
If I may get off on a tangent here, I think that our current battle over healthcare almost solely revolves around who's going to pay for medical services. Almost never does anyone talk about how much those services cost and why. The reason medical care is such a burden on our society is that pharmaceutical companies and, yes, clinicians themselves are never called to account for the fact that their goods and services are so steeply priced. We can complain about the insurance companies all we want, but their greed is not the root of the problem. I'm sure this is also true in countries that actually have socialized medicine.

Even the language we use to talk about this topic is crafted to keep us from thinking about this issue. Notice that you always hear about the "cost of healthcare." Cost. Ever hear words like price or charge? Mylan charges six hundred dollars for an Epipen. "Highway robbery" just doesn't cover it (no pun intended). They get away with it because they can, because you need their products right now, and you'll pay whatever they ask. The same is true for a physician's care.
 
C-NICE said:
Health insurance companies are buttheads!! I hear all this garbage about due to Obamacare they are losing money and to that I ask why am I supposed to care? I'm a type one Diatetic, and have to worry about staying alive. The sick people of this country should not be treated like crap for being sick. They did not ask for their illness or for it to cost money. Just a rant from someone sick & tired of this shit.
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I sympathize. There are too many people, like you, becoming casualties of our chaotic healthcare system.
 
Double-U said:
If I may get off on a tangent here, I think that our current battle over healthcare almost solely revolves around who's going to pay for medical services. Almost never does anyone talk about how much those services cost and why. The reason medical care is such a burden on our society is that pharmaceutical companies and, yes, clinicians themselves are never called to account for the fact that their goods and services are so steeply priced. We can complain about the insurance companies all we want, but their greed is not the root of the problem. I'm sure this is also true in countries that actually have socialized medicine.

Even the language we use to talk about this topic is crafted to keep us from thinking about this issue. Notice that you always hear about the "cost of healthcare." Cost. Ever hear words like price or charge? Mylan charges six hundred dollars for an Epipen. "Highway robbery" just doesn't cover it (no pun intended). They get away with it because they can, because you need their products right now, and you'll pay whatever they ask. The same is true for a physician's care.
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I was a health aide and I know insurances companies will refuse to pay for people meds , yeah and I cost of meds are outrageous . Someone was taking meds that cost $5.00 per pill and they took about 4 others meds too. She was on a fixed income so this was real hardship on her.
 
The insurance companies' greed are PART of the problem. I do think Pharmaceutical companies and anything else should be held accountable. To me... all of it is the root of the problem why health care and insurance is spiraling out of control. The US is one of the few countries (first world at least) where not everyone has access to insurance & health care without having to file for bankruptcy or have to choose between that, rent or food if their employers do not offer it or if they're out of work (COBRA is horribly expensive...and only lasts for 18 months).
 
DeafDucky said:
The insurance companies' greed are PART of the problem. I do think Pharmaceutical companies and anything else should be held accountable. To me... all of it is the root of the problem why health care and insurance is spiraling out of control. The US is one of the few countries (first world at least) where not everyone has access to insurance & health care without having to file for bankruptcy or have to choose between that, rent or food if their employers do not offer it or if they're out of work (COBRA is horribly expensive...and only lasts for 18 months).
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I get you. I think we should have socialized medicine. I just think that ensuring access to medical care is only one part of the solution. But somebody has to pay for it, and regardless of who that is, and as long as it is unreasonably priced, society as a whole suffers. If we really were serious about "socialized" medicine, the government could provide a little competition by, for instance, setting up a drug manufacturing operation to produce generics.
 
Double-U said:
I get you. I think we should have socialized medicine. I just think that ensuring access to medical care is only one part of the solution. But somebody has to pay for it, and regardless of who that is, and as long as it is unreasonably priced, society as a whole suffers. If we really were serious about "socialized" medicine, the government could provide a little competition by, for instance, setting up a drug manufacturing operation to produce generics.
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You might want to talk to people in Canada and the UK about their socialized medicine. From things I've read, it's not the best solution.
 
Double-U said:
I get you. I think we should have socialized medicine. I just think that ensuring access to medical care is only one part of the solution. But somebody has to pay for it, and regardless of who that is, and as long as it is unreasonably priced, society as a whole suffers. If we really were serious about "socialized" medicine, the government could provide a little competition by, for instance, setting up a drug manufacturing operation to produce generics.
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You do realize that socialism removes competition in a capitalistic market? A socialized drug manufacturer would be headed by a political bureaucrat rather than an expert in that business.

Not all drugs are available as generics.

"Not every brand-name drug has a generic drug. When new drugs are first made they have drug patents. Most drug patents are protected for 20 years. The patent, which protects the company that made the drug first, doesn't allow anyone else to make and sell the drug. When the patent expires, other drug companies can start selling a generic version of the drug. But, first, they must test the drug and the FDA must approve it.

Creating a drug costs lots of money. Since generic drug makers do not develop a drug from scratch, the costs to bring the drug to market are less; therefore, generic drugs are usually less expensive than brand-name drugs. But, generic drug makers must show that their product performs in the same way as the brand-name drug."

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/QuestionsAnswers/ucm100100.htm
 
LoveBlue said:
You might want to talk to people in Canada and the UK about their socialized medicine. From things I've read, it's not the best solution.
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You are correct... as far as that goes. I've heard, though, that Canada and Britain have crappy healthcare when compared to countries like Holland and Switzerland.

Also, I'll repeat a point I made earlier: socialized or not, the medical industry will continue to burden society with unreasonable charges, regardless of who pays, unless we address the issue.
 
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Reba said:
You do realize that socialism removes competition in a capitalistic market? A socialized drug manufacturer would be headed by a political bureaucrat rather than an expert in that business.

Not all drugs are available as generics.

"Not every brand-name drug has a generic drug. When new drugs are first made they have drug patents. Most drug patents are protected for 20 years. The patent, which protects the company that made the drug first, doesn't allow anyone else to make and sell the drug. When the patent expires, other drug companies can start selling a generic version of the drug. But, first, they must test the drug and the FDA must approve it.

Creating a drug costs lots of money. Since generic drug makers do not develop a drug from scratch, the costs to bring the drug to market are less; therefore, generic drugs are usually less expensive than brand-name drugs. But, generic drug makers must show that their product performs in the same way as the brand-name drug."

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/QuestionsAnswers/ucm100100.htm
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I'm not saying the government should shut down the existing companies, just provide them with a little competition. I would expect the project to generate a little much-needed revenue.

Our healthcare system isn't so purely capitalist, though, is it? It's already socialized, just in a way that patients don't benefit. The government and the schools get to determine who gets to be a physician, and how many get to go to medical school, for instance. Is that free or capitalist? I'd say not. I asked my aunt, a doctor, why more medical schools aren't built, and why we don't have more physicians. Her response had nothing to do with what's best for the country. It was more along the lines of, "because we don't want to be like the damn lawyers...." (in reference to the fact that there are more law school grads than openings, leading to a drop in salaries)

For obvious reasons, healthcare must be regulated to a great extent by the government. They've been regulating it in favor of drug companies and clinicians for a long time. I think it's long overdue that patients are given a little consideration.
 
Double-U said:
You are correct... as far as that goes. I've heard, though, that Canada and Britain have crappy healthcare when compared to countries like Holland and Switzerland.

Also, I'll repeat a point I made earlier: socialized or not, the medical industry will continue to burden society with unreasonable charges, regardless of who pays, unless we address the issue.
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You do know who pays for gov't spending, don't you. We the tax payers.
 
LoveBlue said:
You do know who pays for gov't spending, don't you. We the tax payers.
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You pay for healthcare, anyway. Every time someone uses Medicaid, we pay. Every time somebody uses an emergency room as a clinic because they can't afford to go to a GP, we pay. Every time someone takes out more from Medicare than they paid in with their payroll taxes, we pay. Lastly, we pay in the form of insurance premiums, which are skyrocketing. It's already spread a lot thinner than you think.

To be honest, regardless of what type of system we have, the costs to us will be high until we address the pricing issue.
 
Double-U said:
You pay for healthcare, anyway. Every time someone uses Medicaid, we pay. Every time somebody uses an emergency room as a clinic because they can't afford to go to a GP, we pay. Every time someone takes out more from Medicare than they paid in with their payroll taxes, we pay. Lastly, we pay in the form of insurance premiums, which are skyrocketing. It's already spread a lot thinner than you think.

To be honest, regardless of what type of system we have, the costs to us will be high until we address the pricing issue.
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I'm disappointed with Medicare because they don't cover 100%, even they won't cover on vision and dental.

Medicare premium is $121 + $60 for Part D (drug plan) + $150-$250 for Medigap = $331 to $431 per month

Also Medicare Part D isn't good as private insurance - if Dexilant cost $600 per month so you have to pay $60 per month with private insurance or $300 per month with Medicare.
 
seriously? there are some Medicare part D plans under 60$ a month.

Medicare Advantage (or Part C as it's known) is also an option- cost for that is not too bad as you still have to pay for Part B (Part A is 0$ cost) but you still have to deal with the health insurance making decisions (some pretty dumbass from what I have heard).
 
DeafDucky said:
seriously? there are some Medicare part D plans under 60$ a month.

Medicare Advantage (or Part C as it's known) is also an option- cost for that is not too bad as you still have to pay for Part B (Part A is 0$ cost) but you still have to deal with the health insurance making decisions (some pretty dumbass from what I have heard).
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Mine is $60 per month because all of my drugs are on their formulary, but cheap plans usually have fewer options and higher co-payment.

Medicare Advantage isn't option if you are traveling different states due to network restriction, also you can't buy Medigap either, also out of pocket expenses are too high for some of them, including mine. I rather to have Medigap to cover all over $10,000 medical debt.

I'm currently enrolled in Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help, but I will not eligible if I switch to SS Survivor after one of my families pass away.
 
My Medicare premium is $129/month even though I use VA and Tricare Standard for meds and health services.
 
Reba said:
My Medicare premium is $129/month even though I use VA and Tricare Standard for meds and health services.
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I received a mail from Tricare that recommended me to not buy Medicare Part D, but I went ahead to take advantage of Extra Help.
 
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