Posted on 06/30/2012 5:33:56 PM PDT by Lorianne
It's no secret there's a health-care crisis in Texas. The state has the biggest uninsured population in the country with around 6.2 million—or a quarter of all residents—lacking insurance. As a Kaiser Health News report highlighted, poor and uninsured Texans must sometimes wait more than 24 hours in emergency rooms, where treatment is most expensive, while more cost-effective health-care options, like preventative care, are out of reach.
The Affordable Care Act was supposed to change all that. It offered new avenues for health-care coverage to people at all income levels by expanding Medicaid. But yesterday's Supreme Court decision made it optional for states to expand their Medicaid coverage. "There's going to be a donut hole in the middle if a state doesn't proceed," says Edwin Park, vice president for health policy at the D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In Texas, if the state chooses not to expand its services, almost two million people may be stuck in limbo—without access to Medicaid, but too poor for the subsidies.
First, a little background about the Court's decision: A key element of the ACA was expanding Medicaid to provide insurance for those making up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line; those who make above that amount can receive subsidies to help pay for their insurance. Prior to the ruling, states had little choice but to expand their programs by January 2014; if they did not, they risked losing all their Medicaid dollars. Now, however, the Court has ruled that states can only lose the extra dollars they would get through expansion, meaning they'll keep the Medicaid dollars they're already getting.
(Excerpt) Read more at prospect.org ...
They can start with buying coverage, like the rest of us. I bet 90% or more have multiple cell phones and cable tv in their households. If proper reforms go through (the opposite of those in Obamacare) these folks will have more options and at cheaper prices that will be less than their cell/cable bills.
Here we go. Right on cue.
Yep.
The health care sector is freaking out that it might miss out on MORE Obama Dollars than it already gets.
Yep.
The health care sector is freaking out that it might miss out on MORE Obama Dollars than it already gets.
[ In Texas, if the state chooses not to expand its services, almost two million people may be stuck in limbo—without access to Medicaid, but too poor for the subsidies ]
If they don’t like living in TX, they can always go back to Mexico.
They can get free cell phones from the government as well.
There is quite literally a Doc-in-the-box on every corner in major cities in Texas. I have used them in the past when I was temporarily uninsured and they are quite capable for most non-emergency situations and reasonably priced.
I had a Dem FB friend tell me he liked Obamacare because it forced people to pay for insurance like the rest of us. As I pointed out, Obamacare specifically excludes illegals, which in border states especially, are a good third of no pays that hospitals have to treat by law.
I don’t understand the mentality of folks that think they deserve a product or service for free.
EXACTLY...I’d say three quarters. Maybe Perry Homes & Charles Butt would pick up the tab...but wait...who would finance Perry’s reelection campaign.
Your FB friend is wrong. Obamacare was relying heavily on the Medicaid expansion for at least half of the newly ‘insured’. And those people would not have been paying for their ‘insurance’.
But it is really the health care industry that is freaking out about this. They were counting on a huge windfall in Obama Money with the expansion of Medicaid.
Of course the Federal price controls will so apply to all payors since they will not be able to pay out as much when they are forced to a accept applicants with pre-existing conditions. They will not be able to charge premiums high enough to be profitable.
This will necessarily result in a single payor or "nationalized heath care" leading to health disaster and federal bankruptcy. Sooner than later.
What did your friend say to that??? That’s all I’m seeing (online) from the Left! Magic pixie dust will be sprayed all over the deadbeat looters and they will pay up! Illegals, the same number the goobt keeps touting (30-50 million) are, as per usual, exempt from everything. And, at least here in southern AZ, THEY are the ones using ERs for sniffles and for having their anchor babies.
The Affordable Care Act is to expensive....we cannot afford it. This escapade will not end well. No one is talking about the loss of Freedom and Liberty. No one in the government. We may have one chance left. My assessment is that for all of the parameters to gel together timely for a decent result is very unlikely. Texas should tell Obama to stick it where the coliforms grow and the parasites whistle all day. Folks you might just as well move to Greece with the wisdom of the leadership in this country.
This was the intent of the Communists/Democrats all along. To destroy capitalism, you have to bankrupt the nation. Then Communists/Democrats take over. Then the Ayers-mentioned purges/murders/camps begin.
Real about Pol Pot in Cambodia to see their REAL vision.
Oh, really? First I've heard of this.
This is starting to get interesting. I doubt the Court really cared much about Medicare, it was just a small consolation prize.
...but it looks to be a bigger and bigger deal. It looks like a LOT of people that were looking for a free ride will have to wait a bit longer.
If they don’t like it here, they can go back to Mexico or whatever Blue socialist state they came from.
Right now, most Texans are telling Greg Abbot (AG) to continue fighting with everything he can throw at them. He is just as fit to be tied over the SCOTUS ruling as we all are. Yesterday, he posted on FB he has “just begun to fight”
The Medicaid/Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals have been dropping for years.
I know of a number of doctors that have resorted to no longer accepting patients associated with these programs. I know of many that have cut their practices by 3/4 and charge an annual fee if you want to remain their patient.
And so now the demand for health care will increase, with absolutely nothing done by anyone to increase the supply of health care.
Jimmy Carter II. Except the lines will be at ERs not at gas pumps. (Unless Zero and his minions think there are as many unemployed doctors working at Starbucks as there are unemployed lawyers working at Starbucks. As dumb as this guy has proven to be, it's entirely possible.)
I’m not of any political importance...but I will say thank you!
I just googled “uninsured in california” and the first hit was from a group called the California Health Care Foundation. It claims California has the most uninsured at 6.9 million or 28%.
I see..the monumental waits at the ER are just being experienced by the poor and uninsured?
Chuckle...Kaiser Health has evidently not been to an ER lately. There is no express lane..for anybody!
Interesting. In all the articles I read Texas is given the distinction of the highest uninsured rate. It would make sense that California’s would be higher.
One option is to get your lazy welfare butt to work.
..So ironic...Kaiser pulled out of Texas years ago because of the high cost of healthcare operations...
“I just googled “uninsured in california” and the first hit was from a group called the California Health Care Foundation. It claims California has the most uninsured at 6.9 million or 28%.”
Hey dingbat, the claim that California has the most uninsured is only operative in California. Here in Texas, we have the most uninsured...when it makes us look bad. No doubt the other 55 states lead the country in something bad regarding health care too.
Sorry, typed my response quickly. They are excluded from paying the fine for not having insurance. I’m sure they are not excluded from getting all the free care they can take.
This was from the Americans for Tax reform web site in the Obamacare Individual Mandate Excise Tax section. I assume undocumented immigrants is PC for illegal immigrants.
(Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, those earning less than the poverty line, members of Indian tribes, and hardship cases (determined by HHS). Bill: PPACA; Page: 317-337)
Read more: http://www.atr.org/comprehensive-list-obama-tax-increases-a6694#ixzz1zKUy5Z00
Good News - Elizabeth Warren is exempt!
But I thought the healthcare was free. Viva Obama
In Texas at least Oh the Hugh Manatee
About eight years ago my mother (a single, middle-aged woman) suddenly became very ill. She hadn’t been working at her job long enough to have insurance.
As her illness took it’s toll, she ended up losing her job. She just didn’t have the energy to get to work. She was having ‘panic attacks’ several times a day and her heart would race at over 200 BPM.
I paid to fly her down to move in with us. She was sleeping a ton, hysterical when awake, losing her mind, running a fever... something was terribly wrong.
No insurance. Too young for medicare. Couldn’t get to a dr for tests and a disability diagnosis for medicade because she had no insurance.
I called my family dr (an internal medicine dr) just to ask him for advice.
He told me to bring her in.
Eventually we got help from social services, but - in the meantime - my dr started running tests and got her stabilized.
I will never forget his kindness. His genuine concern for my mom. The look of real worry that he wasn’t going to be able to save her. He ran every test that he could and didn’t say anything about money. He was ready to eat every dime personally to save this woman he didn’t even know.
G-d bless doctors like you and him! On behalf of everyone who didn’t say it, I’ll say it: THANK YOU.
(BTW, it was a thyroid storm complicated by liver failure. This was due to taking handfuls of Tylenol every day for years to self-medicate an old back injury. Yes. We found out that 1,500mg of Tylenol taken every four hours for eight consecutive years will kill a liver. Add that to Grave’s Disease and it nearly did her in. She’s fine now. Disabled and a little slow physically, but plucky!)
They can pay their own way or do without!!!
I’m tired of paying taxes to support other people!!!
Make your own way in this world or quit taking up space on the planet!
Stop buying ciggies, etoh, lottery tickets, snack foods, cable tv and on and on. Buy you health care. Cry me a river.
Stop buying ciggies, etoh, lottery tickets, snack foods, cable tv and on and on. Buy your health care. Cry me a river.
I know the payments are terrible. My husband and I are on Medicare, had no choice when we turned 65. I am trying to talk my husband into trying concierge medicine. Doctors have business and employee expenses like any other business and I don’t see how they make it
If illegals were taken off of EVERY welfare roll in TX, imagine the tax $$ that would be saved.
Where in this world are those who will do medical care for someone who is willing to work off the bill?
My wife needs a hip replacement and has begged to work off the bill after we pay out of our pocket a sum of money to get the ball rolling. She WANTS to be able to go back to work, but cant till she gets that hip fixed.
Let me know if you got any ideas. Till then, she is disabled.
Cry me a freaking river.
They can get their free education, get jobs, and then buy their own health care insurance, just like normal working Americans ("Republicans") do.
My suggestion to you is to go to an orthopedist, tell him your situation, tell him you will pay the best you can. He will still be required to bill you, but if you have a prior agreement he will give you latitude. The real problem for your situation is being admitted to the hospital for elective surgery. I do not know what their position would be.
My suggestion to you is to go to an orthopedist, tell him your situation, tell him you will pay the best you can. He will still be required to bill you, but if you have a prior agreement he will give you latitude. The real problem for your situation is being admitted to the hospital for elective surgery. I do not know what their position would be.
Please know that my stories are not unique. Most, not all, but most physicians, nurses,..try to do the right thing. My lament is for our children and grandchildren. Liberty is very hard to regain once it is lost.
and how many of them are ILLEGALS???
It used to be about health care. But from now on, it will be about votes and who controls the Government.
Somehow, making my health care a political football and slashing repayment to Doctors is supposed to increase the quality of my care.
I’m totally unimpressed with the sophomoric logic of liberal arguments.
I should have included HICFA in my rant. Please add at the appropriate places.
How would they know? She is hired for a bit, paid, and the money is paid back for the billing..how the hell would they know?
We have done the latter...to no avail. Many will not even look at the Xrays and refused to even see her.
So sadly, she waits till she gets on medicare next Feb. What a GD scam this all is.
All we want is to get her hip resurfaced, since they cant do a typical hip joint operation on her. She has had her femur broken twice and it isnt straight enough to get the pin in.
You should see the XRays.
The state has the biggest uninsured population in the country with around 6.2 million—or a quarter of all residents...
I welcome anyone to come down here to South Texas and see just how many ADULT men and women DON’T work. They don’t work because their welfare bennies are worth a hell of lot more than they would ever make if they actually got off their butts and produced some effort to fend for themselves.
Next, drive around all of the hovels they live in (including apartments) and you will quickly notice that these non-working adults have the latest fads in automobiles. How do they do that without working???
The common practice is for them to live in what I call “hives.” Hives consist of the crack dealer boyfriend, his girlfriend with 8 children, the Mommasita and a few cousins. They pool the EBT purchases and sell them to relatives and others who are not on the dole. This process goes on in most of the population down here. Go to the HEB food store here and you will see that about 7 out of 10 are on the dole.
The best thing is that our welfare system is so corrupt and most are related to the local Commandant who runs the local program.....so no one is actually convicted of any wrongdoing or has to worry about an unannounced inspection.
My gut just turns every time some naive bleeding heart starts to whine about the injustice of these poor people being mistreated by those who (1) work for a living and (2) are being raped to pay for these low-life parasites.
The uninsured can move to another state, like, Californication.
Regarding how they would know....you must understand it is a violation of law. If, for example there was a bad outcome, and you and your wife became disgruntled, all it would take is a call to the State Board of Medical Examiners and your physician is under investigation immediately. Or you could call HICFA and initiate an investigation. It is a shame, but it is no longer as simple as trying to help someone in need. It should be, but it is not.
I believe your statement to be true regarding most in the medical profession to try to do the right thing.
To have the ability to cure and heal is a gift.
Being hampered by current and upcoming regulations is a travesty. I fear that a lot of people in the future simply won’t want to spend the time or money to become a doctor or nurse. To the general public’s detriment.
I fear for our children and grandchildren as well. As you have said, liberty lost is hard (if not impossible) to regain. They may never know the liberty we have enjoyed in this country.
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