Posted on 08/16/2009 3:22:32 AM PDT by Scanian
"The health care system in America is broken. Costs are rising at an unacceptable rate -- more than doubling over the last 10 years, which is nearly four times the rate of wage growth. Too many patients feel trapped by healthcare decisions dictated by HMOs. Too many doctors are torn between practicing medicine and practicing insurance. And 47 million Americans worry what will happen to them or their children if they get sick."
Who do you think said that? President Obama? Actually, those words were written by Republicans. They are part of the summary of the Patients' Choice Act, introduced this May by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in the House and by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in the Senate.
To hear it from President Obama, the choice is simple: his plan or the status quo. He is wrong on both counts: he has no plan, and the Republicans do. In fact, Republicans have introduced meaningful health care reform for years.
In the 1990s, Republicans tried to change Medicare into a defined-contribution model, more along the lines of the plan that federal employees enjoy. The Republican-controlled Congress passed such legislation in 1995, but President Clinton vetoed it. Seeing that Medicare costs were out of control, Clinton set up a bipartisan Medicare Commission headed by John Breaux (D-La.). The Breaux Commission came up with a similar plan in 1999. Democrats killed that too.
When Republicans controlled Congress and the White House, from 2003-06, they provided Health Savings Accounts and prescription coverage under Medicare for the first time. With the Democrats regularly using Senate filibusters, those were significant achievements.
Republican introduced precursors to the Patients' Choice Act in the House in July 2007, May 2008 and September 2008. All died in the Democrat-controlled House.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
(How do you think self-employed people get coverage?)
Well, as pointed out earlier, they crafted the popular and useful HSAs, which are a sensible product and real hot seller here.
Everything is not the same in all states, and in some, it just absolutely sucks....(Northeastern states)
I agree that the feds have no business crafting a federal plan (and that probably should include MediCare and Medicaid) but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they were to ban a couple of public policy practices that are truly killing people and small business.
The feds should outright ban Community Rating and Guaranteed Issue. They should do this with the threat of withholding federal dollars.
Those together can double or triple the premium and for no good reason other than they destroy the concept of insurance.
Other than that, I agree with you.
900 a quarter?
Jeez. I know it varies state-to-state but even when I hit the big 30 and lived in Seattle I had a VERY good PPO plan for half that per quarter.
In the two or three states that I’ve checked, health insurance shouldn’t run a young woman in good health (and not a smoker) more than 100 buck a month. And that should be a really good plan that covers doctors visits, not just extreme emergencies.
The problem is lost on you, Jim.
You refuse to admit that, outside of my personal story, there just might be a young person out there who wouldn’t have the $300 per month to pay. A figure which is easily 30% of a low wage worker’s wages.
Your whole answer to this is T.F.B! It’s regretable that you cannot see the forest.
Skywalk..
Through an employer, you are correct. But if a person cannot optain insurance through thier job (for whatever reason) the price becomes much higher.
However, there was an earlier posetr who mentioned that self employed people get a good deal somewhere else..I’d love to know more.
GV,
It’s my daughter, not me. I retired from the military and have good enough coverage, at a great price. What you’ve written is good advice and I will look into it further. So far we’ve not found such coverage, but I will not say it doesn’t exist until we’ve looked thoroughly.
As for looking for employers to provide coverage, well that is exactly how the majority of our population gets health insurance. It’s not unreasonable to expect it as part of a benefit package, and good employers are acutely aware of that. Of course, with 9.4% unemployment, they hold the upper hand.
What this whole conversation is coming to (see posts) is that my daughter should be happy to have either (1) no coverage at all (2) pay more for equal coverage than anyone who already gets it through thier employer, or (3) get on a plan that doesn’t cover much other than catastrophic care.
This is akin to the NIMBY philosphy, or the “I got mine, to hell with you” philosophy.
I think there’s an assumtion being made that I’m not conservative enough in my approach, or that I might even “support” the idiotic plan coming out of Filthosi’s fat trap. Not so, not even close.
What I do expect is for conservatives to appraoch this in a realistic fashion. It’s not just about saying NO. It’s about solving a problem that really exists. Putting forth our own ideas would be better than just telling the rest of the country T.F.B.!
The ultimate problem with healthcare is that costs are growing by leaps and bounds every single year. There are a lot of reasons for that. Illegals, Lawyers..whatever. The point is that if some tweaking isn’t done soon, even large employers will become unable to provide health care as a benefit.
Shall we wait until then before effecting a solution? Is it going to be only when some of our louder memebrs of FR have lost thier own insurance that they will begin to see that healthcare, just like social security and the schol system had better be fixed or they will completely fail?
Healthcare needs repair. It does. It should be done in the most free market way, with the most choice for the average citizen. It should be withheld from illegals in all but life or death circumstances, and lawyers should only be allowed to sue for amounts based on actuarial factual losses, and not go for the gold based on the sympathy of a jury on any given day.
WHY THE HELL IS THIS PLAN NOT BEING TOUTED BY REPUBLICANS ?
Please define the problem that really exists.
Do you dispute that, over a lifetime, $3600/year is a reasonable cost share of expenses that anyone will likely accrue? Of course not.
So, the question then becomes, do you want someone else to pay for what people such as your daughter use, or do you want everyone to pay their own share?
And, if as I suspect your answer is "someone else should pay", exactly who is that someone else?
And if your answer is $3600/year is too much (because of illegals, or price-gouging, or fraud, or whatever), then who or what should have the power to close down enough hospitals and doctors offices to reduce the annual tab to a level that you DO think is "fair"?
I don't know why that is true. I hear some union benefit plans are going broke and HR3000 will supposedly pick-up the tab for that. But they're going broke because union membership has been in a long period of decline and is only now picking members through immigration. Perhaps you know more about that?
Shall we wait until then before effecting a solution?
I don't know what this impending peril is, so I can't answer that.
Is it going to be only when some of our louder memebrs of FR have lost thier own insurance that they will begin to see that healthcare, just like social security and the schol system had better be fixed or they will completely fail?
I'll speak from my own experience. HSAs are a pretty good way to gauge what things really cost. Here's what I get:
My annual out-of-pocket limit is $5,200 (the highest limit available.) There are some as low as $500 but they have higher monthly premiums and more co-pays. My lifetime benefit limit is $6,000,000. (That's six million.) My monthly premium is $237.
I get a complete annual physical mostly because it costs me $35. I don't have vision, or dental, or any other add-ons.
Professional services Office visits: No charge after deductible
Preventive care Annual routine physical exam, gynecological exam, well-baby care office visits (includes Pap test or other approved cervical cancer screening tests, and routine mammography when received as part of the annual exam or preventive care visit): $0 Outpatient services Non-emergency services and procedures, outpatient surgery in a hospital: No charge after deductible
Outpatient surgery performed in an ambulatory surgery center: No charge after deductible
Outpatient X-ray and laboratory: No charge after deductible
Hospitalization services Inpatient physician visits and consultations, surgeons and assistants, and anesthesiologists: No charge after deductible
Inpatient semiprivate room and board, services and supplies, and subacute care: No charge after deductible
Emergency room services ($75 or $100 copayment/visit is waived if the member is admitted directly to the hospital as an inpatient) No charge after deductible
ER physician visits: No charge after deductible
Ambulance services (surface or air): No charge after deductible
Prescription drug coverage (outpatient; subject to the plan medical deductible): No charge
Formulary brand-name drugs: No charge after deductible
Durable medical equipment: No charge after deductible
Home health services (up to 90 pre-authorized visits per calendar year): No charge after deductible
Rehabilitation services Provided in the office of a physician or physical therapist (up to 20 visits per calendar year): No charge after deductible
Chiropractic services [Insurer's] payment is limited to $25/visit: No charge after deductible(up to 12 visits per calendar year)
Out-of-state services (full plan benefits covered nationwide/worldwide) No charge after deductible with participating providers
Now, this boils down to me getting the access to these services for $2,844 a year, with deductible payments up to $5,000 a year. Worst case scenario is $7,844 a year. This is not an HMO. It is a "Preferred Provider" network.
My insurance premiums are not tax deductible, but any payments I make for health care services from the health savings account are. Employers CAN make contributions to an employee's HSA.
Is this expensive? Hell yes!
But, I DEFY the US government to provide this level of service and choice in health care to every man woman and child in America for $7,844 a year. Can't happen.
Healthcare needs repair. It does. It should be done in the most free market way, with the most choice for the average citizen.
There are no hybrids in a free market. The most free market way is a FREE MARKET, and with the government's mandates on health care, WE DON'T HAVE ONE!
P.S. HR3200 will eliminate HSAs.
I’m talking about private insurance:
http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/
http://www.gohealthinsurance.com/
You put in very basic info and you get a good deal in most cases.
I really think you need to check it out.
I think a lot of people don't realize this.
The question is whether we conservatives can develop the patience and focus to achieve that sort of progress. We're awfully wedded to the "big victory" theory of politics, which allows us to rest on our achievements, while the other side is busy looking for ways to chip away at anything we might have gained.
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