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Sunday, June 14, 2009 | 2:06 a.m.
President Barack Obama will speak to the American Medical Association on Monday as part of his push to overhaul the nation’s health care system. It will be a tough sell. The AMA has been wary about a proposal to provide universal coverage through a government insurance plan.
The AMA, the face of the nation’s physicians, is representative of the opposition Obama and Congress face when it comes to health care. Although few disagree with universal health care, there are many people and groups who oppose government involvement or intervention.
Obama is making a strong case for why America needs change in health care. He has invited critics to be a productive part the debate, but the critics seem to be much happier trying to kill plans. They have bemoaned “socialized” medicine, although no one is seriously proposing having government take over health care. Conservatives also like to decry the cost of universal coverage, but they should look at the facts.
Americans spend more than $2.2 trillion a year on health care — more than $7,400 per person. Health care spending is expected to account for 20 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in the next decade.
There are any number of reasons for the high costs, including inefficiencies in the system and the costs of treating the uninsured, and what is needed is the political will to make the necessary changes. Unfortunately, past efforts to change the system have been derailed by those whose ideology or bottom line is threatened. As a result, costs have skyrocketed, and average Americans, whose voices are drowned out by the wealthy lobbyists, are feeling the pinch.
The average American needs to be heard. The president’s grass-roots organization, Organizing for America, is ramping up efforts to get citizens involved, which is vital. Americans should be concerned about the quality and cost of the health care system and make it clear to Congress, the insurance industry and the medical community that change is needed.
Do you want to know how to lower health care cost in america, well lets start here 1. stop smoking 2. stop abusing alcohol 3. stop useing illegal drugs 4. stop having unsafe sex 5. make sure your kids get there shots when there due 6. were your seatbelt 7. go to the dentist at least twice a year 8. allways were a mask in the buffet line 9. never walk in front of a las vegas cab driver even if you do have the right of way 10. just say no to socialism
11. Stop financing Mega-Pharmaceutical pushing mega-expensive poison down our throats, and just eat healthier foods.
12. Accept that death is part of life. Everyone's biological clock runs out of ticks at their specific time. The life-prolonging policies of todays health care industry puts an incredible strain on the entire system, both gov'nt, and private, by feeding an ever-increasing sick elderly population more and more very expensive drugs to keep them barely alive, and in pain. It's not fair to them, and it's not fair to the generation paying for it who are sacked with the bill.
A vicious cycle the more americans can't afford insurance the more that goes with out it, thats less paying the hungry machine so the machine goes up on the remaining ones, then we have yet another group that can't pay so it all starts over.
Very similar to what the credit card company's are doing.
Why is Medicaid Estate Planning Important?
The problem with the 5-year look back provision is that the new Medicare regulations do not consider the healthy spouse. It's a social punishment of the marriage certificate. It's a new social discrimination based on health. Eventually seniors will be forced to choose divorce for the sake of retaining their financial dignity.
What's happening with the Medicaid Health Care System?
The gross mismanagement of the social security system is going to force baby boomers into giving serious thought about their long-term health care. There won't be any money by the time baby boomers reach retirement age. Health care has been escalating at an alarming pace. Government planners have figured out that they can save $10 billion over the next 5 years by increasing the look back provision from 3 years to 5 years.
What's the 5-Year Look Back for the Nursing Home Program?
Before you qualify for the government nursing home assistance program, there is a 60 month look back to see if and when you transferred your assets for less than fair cash value or you transferred your assets into a trust system or any system of transferring your wealth for the purpose of becoming eligible for the nursing home program depriving the state of all your available resources for your long-term health care.
The Social Change at hand on home equity
According to the National Council of the Aging, 81% of America's 13.2 million households aged 62 and over own their own homes. Seventy-four (74%) of those seniors own their homes free and clear. Altogether seniors own nearly $2trillion worth of home equity.1 You got to hand it to the government to help you figure out how to spend it.
They want you to use the equity in your home to pay for your own long-term health care! They are going to make it super-easy for you to borrow against it or "reverse mortgage" your way to creating a new government sponsored reverse mortgage industry. Based on this perceived wealth, it will not be long before government will mandate look back provisions of 10 years for most asset transfers to 20 years for real estate property.
http://www.ultratrust.com/medicaid-nursi...
The governments both national and local can save billions if they stop paying for smoking and illegal drug related health problems, These are voluntary health problems and should not be paid for by Taxpayers.
I'd support them trying to fix a broken system if that is what they were doing. They are replacing a broken system with a broken system.
Why doesn't the government just open clinics and hospitals to care for the poor?
Then everyone with health coverage can go to the private doctors and hospitals and the government can show us how good their system is and how cheap it all is. Why mess with everyone unless there is another agenda.
Smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use are not the only voluntary health problems. Obesity is an ever-increasing serious health crisis that only has to do with food choices. It seems to me that lately I've seen the poorer segment of our society has the most obese people, and they have the fattest kids I've ever seen waddling along right behind them. When all they would have to do is NOT go to the snack,soda, and chip aisles, and go instead to the juice, fruit, and fresh veggie aisles(The food stamps will buy those things, in case they don't know that.), and get those fat kids off the couch, and take them out to the park and play some Frisbee or soccer, something-ANYTHING! These Fat-related problems, I.E.,high cholesterol, over-taxed circulatory systems, asthma and other breathing problems, high blood pressure, bone and joint disorders(feet,knees,hips- from carrying too much weight), Adult Onset Diabetes, kidney, and liver disorders,Etc.,ALL that are caused by hauling around an extra 100,200 + lbs, absolutely should NOT be paid for with my tax dollars. These people are solely responsible for their condition, and are also responsible for the health issues of their fat and super-fat kids. They should pay for their own poor health choices.
ok, 54patsfan. So, we'll euthanize old people, or at least not "prolong their suffering." And poor people should pay for poor health choices.
Right on!
In reality, good groceries are VERY expensive these days. Often, less expensive foods are higher in fat. However, there IS an epidemic in America in general with obesity. Certainly not isolated amongst the poor.
And I like old people. Let's keep them around as long as we are able.
POWERPLAY, sans grammar & spelling issues, has a nearly entirely cogent post here! Can't say I'm disagreeable with any of it.
Its time to get the government out of health care altogether. The NGO's and churches can do a much better job.
what the heck will a NGO or a church do for people in need of HEALTH CARE? Pray for them?
"Accept that death is part of life. Everyone's biological clock runs out of ticks at their specific time."
Except for those of us who are fairly young and (without proper health care) terminally sick. I don't want my parents burying me. Would you want to bury your kids?
"Oh, it's just his time to go" is a load of fertilizer. And this is something I'm going to the barricades on - we NEED working health care in this country. I'm tired of being screwed by the insurance companies, tired of being told that a level playing field is unfair to those who "live right" (like I asked for this or something), and tired of self-righteous jerkwads like you who seem to believe that I should lie down and die because I'm inconvenient.
I'm not a statistic. I'm not some faceless, nameless person. I have a life, a family, a future...and you think that's irrelevant because IT ISN'T YOU.
Take the profit out of healthcare. Why should people die because some healthcare company's profits are down?
Because profits are a reward for hard work and innovation. take profits away and people work less hard and are less innovative. Sure maybe we can save a few people today but at what cost? maybe some new medical science won't be discovered costing millions of lives from diseases that we could have saved.
The trade off is this. We can have universal health care to save some lives today at the expensive of far more lives in the future.
"what the heck will a NGO or a church do for people in need of HEALTH CARE? Pray for them?"
More than the government...governments are best known for killing millions of people, screwing up economies, and corruption. They can't even get their own house in order and you want them to run everyone's life from cradle to grave? How absurd.
Patrick, give it a rest for 5 minutes.
YOU ARE SOUNDING LIKE AN ANTI-GOVERNMENT LOONEY.
p.s...PAT;
Nice link to your own blog on another Sun story earlier today. The NPRI Blog site. What a joke.
"Sure maybe we can save a few people today but at what cost? maybe some new medical science won't be discovered costing millions of lives from diseases that we could have saved."
You and your "What ifs".
We can save people in the here and now, and you're worried about protecting some hypothetical treatment that may, at some ill-defined point in the future, save some unknown number of lives.
That's the kind of grim calculus that frankly scares people - that we're all just grist for the mill. And if a few people get ground up in the process, what's the harm? Plenty more where they came from.
Sounds like a lot of folks never saw the movie 'Soylent Green'.
"Sounds like a lot of folks never saw the movie 'Soylent Green'."
Yes - and what does that have to do with anything we're discussing here?
"Soylent Green are PEOPLE! Spread the word!"
How much are you willing to pay and for what level of treatment? Employer sponsored group plans have levels of coverage, co-pay and max lifetime coverage and your costs. Private insurance has the same with higher costs to you as there is no employer to pay also.
If you cannot afford either of these you are left without coverage which is now where the question comes. Is universal medical treatment something that should be considered a general welfare and national infrastructure component?
If it is are the voting public and/or their elected representatives willing to allocate federal funds to cover all persons in the country. I won't even address the non-citizen issue as what hospital would take the time to verify citizenship while someone with a lawyer is dying in the waiting room.
If universal coverage is not general welfare or national infrastructure I do not see a way that everyone can be covered. If you cannot afford it now what would be different?
If price controls are applied by some new law to private insurance companies will doctors and hospitals play ball or simply do as they have with medicare which is they may or may not accept it.
If there is a good answer that will work I would bet the federal and state governments would love to hear about it.
As far as expecting Congress (either party) to have any real concern for this just consider how much they pay for their health care.
Profit does not belong in medicine or healthcare. Period.
The result is what we have now in America - a broken system that is based on a faulty premise.
America is pretty much the only place on earth in which sick people are viewed as a profit center. Sad.
Healthcare and medicine exist as a premise to help people, not as a vehicle to make money off of them. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. End of story.
What is funny is that libs require private insurance to handle more and more and more, like all the expensive new experimental treatments but once the government gets it hands on running a single payer system than all that immediately gets thrown out the window.
You will be lucky if you get to see a specialist within six months.
Just go to Canada or Sweden and you will see what single payer does to options and benefits.
"What is funny is that libs require private insurance to handle more and more and more, like all the expensive new experimental treatments"
I don't have an experimental treatment. I have the same conventional treatments that have been treating conditions similar to mine for over 20 years - same medications, same regimen. And same cost - $3,000 a month out of pocket.
I have Medicare because it's considered a disability, but in 9 months it runs out. No private insurer will touch me - not unless I want to pay hand-over-fist for premiums AND not have the very condition I need the insurance for covered.
I don't have $36,000 a year just for medication. Neither do my parents. I can't go begging for that kind of money. But in your world, letting people like me die is better than a "minor" inconvenience (which in and of itself makes no sense since RIGHT NOW in this country it takes months to see a specialist anyway thanks to the referral system).
But you know what - if Republican congressmen want to talk the talk, they better walk the walk. They have to surrender their gold-plated bullet-proof GOVERNMENT-RUN insurance policy. After all, government can't run health care in their worldview. So let's see them go out into the marketplace and get decent health insurance like they want all us rabble to.