Hi Folks
Anyone see the Frontline issue on Health care problems we face today? For now I’m just going to say i an hour long show it did pretty parts of the health reform iss ues clear and up front… I’ll check back later to see how may have watch last night. Sometimes these shows are done on different nights in parts of the country…Would like to take more on this…
thanks
Bob O’Brien Coatesville
I didn’t see Frontline, but wish I had. I received an email today from a friend and found the same information online at the link below. T. R. Reid who also made Sick Around the World says PBS modified his documentary to come to a totally different conclusion than his documentary. The Frontline version interviewed Karen Ignati who is the head of the lobbying organization for commercial health insurance companies. Not surprisingly, she thinks policy should require citizens to buy health insurance from the for-profit companies she represents. According to Mr. Reid who parted ways with Frontline after he saw how his film had been edited, his research on health coverage in the U.S. and overseas led him to believe that: “You can’t allow a profit to be made on the basic package of health insurance.” Read this story:
Huh. “Require” citizens to buy insurance–but a national healthcare system would be “socialist”? You have to wonder at the logic.
IMHO, insurance has no place in preventive or chronic healthcare, and if it is needed at all, should be only for costly acute traumas or illnesses.
Hi Folks
My biggest issues is seeing shows like this or reading stories that deal with the crumbling of our country. When I sit talk with others, we don’t have much trust /faith (whatever you call it), in out leaders ,not just in DC, but across the land. We see our country sliding into a third world abyss. I guess Our Country along with Western Europe( almost forgot the great land of Oz, and New Zealand ?) have been so far ahead of even the countries like Russia, China.
Oh well the only can do is talk about it and post on it from time to time… Hasn’t really help much.
Thanks
Bob Obrien
[QUOTE=bobeleanor;17602]Hi Folks
My biggest issues is seeing shows like this or reading stories that deal with the crumbling of our country. When I sit talk with others, we don’t have much trust /faith (whatever you call it), in out leaders ,not just in DC, but across the land. We see our country sliding into a third world abyss. I guess Our Country along with Western Europe( almost forgot the great land of Oz, and New Zealand ?) have been so far ahead of even the countries like Russia, China.
Oh well the only can do is talk about it and post on it from time to time… Hasn’t really help much.
Thanks
Bob Obrien[/QUOTE]
The main reason health insurance is so expensive is Government mandates. In other words, politicians want someone else to pay for Jane’s Breast enhancements. If you want a breast enhancement with your health insurance policy, then pay the extra money for that type of policy. I do not understand how the payment system is going to be non-profit, yet, the physicians, nurses, labs and others are going to work for a profit? The logic of T.R. Reid is contradictory. Who does he believe is paid for caring of the patient in the hospital? Does Reid think that someone other than the for-profit physician or nurse will care for the patient? How can you make a non for profit payment to a for profit physician, nurse, or a lab? By the way, how do you stay in business, year after year, without making a profit? Does Reid believe that his auto insurance company stays in business, year after year, if his payments do not produce a profit for the company? Would T.R. Reid work for a corporation if they did not pay a salary that would enable him to live above his basic living expenses?
One of the main reasons that health insurance is so expensive, is that government forces the customer to buy a policy that is within the state. In other words, if you live in Ohio, you may not buy a health insurance policy in Indiana or Kentucky. We buy goods and services in other states, 24/7, why cannot we not buy health insurance policies in other states? Could it be that private health insurance companies are paying lobbying money to the government to keep a captive audience?
Allowing private health insurance consumers to purchase policies across state lines would help drive down private health insurance. Competition equals lower costs.
I am in favor of eliminating private health insurance and government from the health care sector for the vast majority of health care decisions. Who knows more about your and your health, private insurance, the jerk politician, or you?
Mark
Hi Mark,
I’m not aware of ANY health insurance policy that covers breast enhancement or any other cosmetic surgery. So, it’s not true that we’re all paying for those even though only some are using them.
It’s also not true that physicians and nurses work “for profit.” Generally, they work for a salary, or if doctors are lucky, “fee for service.” It’s healthcare companies–insurance plans, labs, managed care–that work for a profit.
It IS true that our choices are limited by the 1974 passage of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), which, among other things, puts some restrictions on health insurance. I tried to quickly look around on the Web to see if any site explained just how that works, but wasn’t able to find it. It’s out there somewhere.
[QUOTE=Dori Schatell;17611]Hi Mark,
I’m not aware of ANY health insurance policy that covers breast enhancement or any other cosmetic surgery. So, it’s not true that we’re all paying for those even though only some are using them.
It’s also not true that physicians and nurses work “for profit.” Generally, they work for a salary, or if doctors are lucky, “fee for service.” It’s healthcare companies–insurance plans, labs, managed care–that work for a profit.
It IS true that our choices are limited by the 1974 passage of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), which, among other things, puts some restrictions on health insurance. I tried to quickly look around on the Web to see if any site explained just how that works, but wasn’t able to find it. It’s out there somewhere.[/QUOTE]
Hi Dori:
The breast enhancements were just an easy example to explain the costs of government mandates on health insurance policies. I worked for a non-profit retirement community for seven years. Yes, they had to turn a profit, otherwise they would not be able to stay in business. At some point, physicians and nurses have to make a profit. It is impossible to stay in business without making money. The next time you visit the physician, ask him/her if they can continue to lose money, each and every year? Ask them if they did not make a profit, could they continue to serve their patients/clients?
Mark