Weasel Loc: In the Great State Of Indiana!!

So we can all agree that this is torture. We all live day to day never knowing the end result. Only that every week someone takes our hard earned money without giving any answers to us. We only hear that the system is broken but still they take our money! It is like a beating waiting to happen. Lord forbid we get sick. What will we do, what will happen then? We can not afford to get sick, we are going broke trying to stay healthy. It is paranoia on a daily basis. Complete Torture!
Who do we thank for this? Who do we blame?

pafret Loc: Northeast

If the government weren't meddling and controlling the insurance companies there would be someone leaping to fill the need for catastrophe insurance. I bet that if they can figure a way not to be called health or medical insurance someone will do it. Then you can pay even more for what you used to get for peanuts in comparison.

Maybe what it will take is everyone refuse to pay medical bills, insurance payments and IRS penalties. Everyone call their Congressman and tell them F. U., and hang up. Send letters or postcards to Trump, the Supremes, Congress, the A.G. office and any spook agencies you can find addresses for, with the same message. Everyone doing this every day for about two months should be enough to bury Washington by about thirty feet. Maybe they will come to understand that we don't like what they are doing.

archie bunker Loc: Texas

Damned if you didn't just nail that one to the wall pafret!! You rock!!👍👍👍👍

PaulPisces Loc: San Francisco

I think you have made a basic mistake, my friend. It is not the government controlling the insurance companies, but the other way 'round.

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

PaulPisces wrote:
I remain unclear on the answers to several importa... (show quote)
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I think many of the responses already enumerate many of the problems. I was on an Obamacare policy for a short while after coming off a COBRA plan with my employer. Even though I was paying the full cost of the COBRA policy, my Obama policy premium increased over 30%, but the deductibles increased by 250%, so unless I had a major illness, the insurance to me was worthless.

Why is it that while we are supposed to be a free market economy, many of you feel that it is necessary to have a socialized medical care system called universal coverage? I've heard horror stories about the Canadian system and how long it takes to get an operation. I've also read about a Canadian foreign minister who came to this country to obtain an operation that it took too long to obtain in Canada.

There are so many things that could be done to decrease the cost of healthcare in this country. The major problem from my perspective is that the politicians who will legislate our new healthcare regulations are dependent upon political contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry, medical device manufacturers, etc.

Here are a couple of ideas that I would like to suggest to actually bring down the cost of healthcare for all Americans:

1. Enact legislation that a drug manufacturer cannot sell his product in this country for an amount greater than they are willing to sell it in any other country.

2. Allow Medicare to negotiate the price with the pharmaceutical companies that it will be charged to medicare patients.

3. Require doctors, hospitals, surgeons, etc. to post their prices for services, so consumers can make intelligent purchasing decisions, and or shop for a doctor or medical professional. There is no reason why one consumer should pay $400, while another consumer will pay $4,000 for the same test or procedure, simply because that is the price that was negotiated beforehand with the insurance company.

4. Shake up the FDA and remove those officials that protect the interests of the pharmaceutical giants that allow them to buy off their generic drug competitors to not produce a competing product that would be competition for a brand name drug.

5. Allow people from any state to form their own purchasing groups to negotiate with insurance carriers for their business.

Bigfuzzy

the only people that think its a good thing don't have to pay for their insurance or the tax payers pay for it.
if you can direct me to the 100 dollars a year insurance that pays for anything, maybe I would like it.

kenvrla Loc: East Tx Piney Woods

Right there with you on this one, recon.

robmull Loc: florida

Back from the riots, pisces, huh? 1) The parts that are collapsing all-over American taxpayers. Or hadn't you noticed. And how-about (2) the "single-payer" abortion/scam, that was about to {God forbade} "replace" the UCA {unaffordable care act}. And (3), the "UCA," had NOTHING to do with healthcare for Americans {just illegals/refugees/terrorists}; and was quickly "Grubered-in" (D), just for the CONTROL of everything from birth/abortion to death, starting with "GUN CONTROL." And the "slam-(D)unk" crap you mentioned is now (D)irectly in the "resist," stages, which is slowly and accurately being separated, as-is-in "the wheat from the chaff." 4) The 27 million pages? of the UCA can be "(R)epealed and (R)eplaced," by simply going back to private insurance, "iter"-state policies rather than the former "intra"-state monopolies, and huge group-policies for pre-existing conditions. Competition/free-market is the American way!!! Hummmmmmmmm. What IS that "crushing" noise I keep hearing??? Another 46, (R)ight (D)own-the-tubes; a thousand more-to-go!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PRESIDENT "45" DONALD J. {BORN AGAIN} TRUMP: JUST LIKE THE WEATHER!!!

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

I have been making these points. Thank you. Why are we not hearing any politicians talk about the consumers right to see the price of products or procedures before we pay for them? My wife just had a leg operation. Because of our ridiculous out of pocket she asked them how much was the procedure for cash. She was told $15,000. Since that was around our out of pocket we used our insurance. The hospital billed insurance $56,000.

moldyoldy

DASHY

I have it. Most "seniors" in this country have it. The cost to me is 100 bucks a month, not 100 dollars a year. It's called MEDICARE. It should be made available to all citizens. To help fund it, take another look at the various taxing methods contained the the current ACA. Only very rich Americans are affected. If our goal is to make health care available and affordable to all Americans, then MEDICARE FOR ALL is the only answer. Every country in the world who embraces this basic goal as public policy offers a form of MEDICARE FOR ALL to its citizens. A free market approach to health care has never worked. It is a puzzle why smart American policy makers keep telling us it could work here. We can only conclude that our leaders have in mind a goal that is very different from providing health care for all Americans. I just wish they would stop lying about it.

missinglink Loc: Tralfamadore

pafret Loc: Northeast

Medicare falls far short of covering medical expenses, if it weren't for supplemental insurance I simply could not afford the medical care I require and I would have been dead 15 years ago. Most physicians in my area do not accept new medicare patients and some have abandoned Medicare completely. If you have medicare than you see some other doctor or go to the ER.

Some of this is because the government refuses to pay enough for the work being done but most of it is because it interferes with the treatment of their patients. Medicare imposes restrictions on testing, frequency of testing and other issues, which require the physician to be a legal expert so as not to bankrupt their patients.

I needed eye care and was given an appointment 6 months out. After two more months I called to find out why they had not called me for cancelled appointments as I requested. The secretary hummed and hawed until I asked to speak to the office manager. That woman told me that there were plenty of appointment slots but Medicare would only allow one eye exam a year and if I wanted more then I would have to pay 100 % of the cost. How about that, a damned government insurance provision would allow me to go blind because they have a rule that care is only needed at the interval they defined. There is no doubt that government control is wonderful -- marvelous, -- best thing since sliced bread!

Bigfuzzy

I am not that old. wait is this the insurance you have to buy another policy to go with it to cover everything it doesn't?
that supplemental insurance cost more than a 100 dollars a month also

reconreb Loc: America / Inglis Fla.

All you need now is a plane ticket .. oh and one small error moldymuck .. Their immigration policy is much more restrictive , they do not allow the multicultural invasion of their country .. Whole different ballgame there . ..http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2015-12-07/immigration-is-a-tough-one-for-japan-to-swallow