Posted on 11/11/2013 5:28:25 PM PST by xzins
There is nothing about ObamaCare that’s working. It took a pack of lies to sell ObamaCare – which passed in the Senate by a single vote.
But the ultimate problem that dooms ObamaCare is cost — the sticker shock of the monthly premiums people are experiencing right now who have been thrown into the ObamaCare exchanges. According to a 49-state study by the Manhattan Institute , ObamaCare is causing an average increase in premiums for individuals of 41 percent.
The primary reason this is happening is that the architects of ObamaCare confuse health insurance with health coverage.
The purpose of health insurance is to protect one from a financial catastrophe in the event of a serious accident or a catastrophic illness. If you want to keep your monthly premiums cheap, you accept a high deductible of $5,000.
That is, your insurance pays nothing unless your medical expenses exceed $5,000 in a year. Until you hit the $5,000 in expenses level, you pay your health care costs out of pocket.
You pay for your doctor visits, your check ups, your prescriptions, your flu shots, your colds and sniffles. You pay for your routine vision care and routine dental work — teeth cleanings, fillings, and the like.
I keep my car insurance premiums low with the exact same approach. I have a $2,000 deductible. More importantly, I don’t make insurance claims for fender benders. I pay for those of pocket.
But that’s not the ObamaCare product.
Instead, according to the list on HealthCare.gov, everyone’s health insurance plan must now include:
Contraception, including the abortion-inducing “morning after” pill and vasectomies;
Maternity and newborn care (even though I’ve a 55-year old male with kids out of the nest)
Mental health and substance abuse counseling and treatment
Prescription drugs
Pediatric services
Behavioral health treatment
Rehab treatment
Dental and vision care
Alcohol Misuse screening and counseling
Aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease for men and women of certain ages
Blood Pressure screening for all adults
Cholesterol screening for adults of certain ages or at higher risk
Colorectal Cancer screening for adults over 50
Depression screening for adults
Diabetes (Type 2) screening for adults with high blood pressure
Diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease
HIV screening for everyone ages 15 to 65, and other ages at increased risk
Immunization vaccines for adults–doses, recommended ages, and recommended populations vary: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Herpes Zoster, Human Papillomavirus, Influenza (Flu Shot), Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Meningococcal, Pneumococcal, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussi, Varicella
Obesity screening and counseling for all adults
Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) prevention counseling for adults at higher risk
Syphilis screening for all adults at higher risk
Tobacco Use screening for all adults and cessation interventions for tobacco users
Anemia screening on a routine basis for pregnant women
Breast Cancer Genetic Test Counseling (BRCA)for women at higher risk for breast cancer
Breast Cancer Mammography screenings every 1 to 2 years for women over 40
Breast Cancer Chemoprevention counseling for women at higher risk
Breastfeeding comprehensive support and counseling from trained providers, and access to breastfeeding supplies, for pregnant and nursing women
Cervical Cancer screening for sexually active women
Chlamydia Infection screening for younger women and other women at higher risk
Contraception: Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling, as prescribed by a health care provider for women with reproductive capacity.
Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling for all women
Folic Acid supplements for women who may become pregnant
Gestational diabetes screening for women 24 to 28 weeks pregnant and those at high risk of developing gestational diabetes
Gonorrhea screening for all women at higher risk
Hepatitis B screening for pregnant women at their first prenatal visit
HIV screening and counseling for sexually active women
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA Test every 3 years for women with normal cytology results who are 30 or older Osteoporosis screening for women over age 60 depending on risk factors
Rh Incompatibility screening for all pregnant women and follow-up testing for women at higher risk
Sexually Transmitted Infections counselingfor sexually active women
Syphilis screening for all pregnant women or other women at increased risk
Tobacco Use screening and interventions for all women, and expanded counseling for pregnant tobacco users
Urinary tract or other infection screening for pregnant women
Well-woman visits to get recommended services for women under 65
Autism screening for children at 18 and 24 months
Behavioral assessments for children at the following ages: 0 to 11 months, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years.
Blood Pressure screening for children at the following ages: 0 to 11 months, 1 to 4 years , 5 to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years.
Cervical Dysplasia screening for sexually active females
Depression screening for adolescents
Developmental screening for children under age 3
Dyslipidemia screening for children at higher risk of lipid disorders at the following ages: 1 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years.
Fluoride Chemoprevention supplements for children without fluoride in their water source
Gonorrhea preventive medication for the eyes of all newborns
Hearing screening for all newborns
Height, Weight and Body Mass Index measurements for children at the following ages: 0 to 11 months, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years,11 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years.
Hematocrit or Hemoglobin screening for children
Hemoglobinopathies or sickle cell screening for newborns
HIV screening for adolescents at higher risk
Hypothyroidism screening for newborns
Immunization vaccines for children from birth to age 18 —doses, recommended ages, and recommended populations vary: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus, Inactivated Poliovirus, Influenza (Flu Shot), Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Meningococcal, Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, Varicella
Iron supplements for children ages 6 to 12 months at risk for anemia
Lead screening for children at risk of exposure
Medical History for all children throughout development at the following ages: 0 to 11 months, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years.
Obesity screening and counseling
Oral Health risk assessment for young children Ages: 0 to 11 months, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years.
Phenylketonuria (PKU) screening for this genetic disorder in newborns
Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) prevention counseling and screening for adolescents at higher risk Tuberculin testing for children at higher risk of tuberculosis at the following ages: 0 to 11 months, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years.
Vision screening for all children.
This is not a joke or satire. I copied and pasted all this directly from the healthcare.gov website.
All this cumulatively is very expensive.
Obama must think we are all living in the doctor’s office. We don’t need or want all this crap. Most people don’t need most of the items on this list.
I’ve never had a flu shot. I don’t plan on ever getting one. I pay for my own eyeglasses, teeth cleanings, and annual physical exams.
When and if we need some of these items, most of us can pay for these kinds of routine items out of pocket, which would be even easier with tax-free health care savings accounts.
How expensive is a condom?
Is that what we really need health insurance to cover? Should I really be required to pay for someone else’s STD screenings?
Insurance is always a bad bet — which is why you want as little insurance as possible. Insurance companies make a good profit by betting on your continued good health. I don’t think this makes them evil.
You should follow the example of the insurance companies and bet on your own good health. You only need insurance to protect yourself from a true disaster.
And, of course, anything and everything the government gets involved in gets more expensive. usually exponentially.
But, you might ask, what about people pre-existing conditions?
That’s an easy fix.
They can be put in a high-risk pool and subsidized. But let’s not include self-inflicted illnesses (such as alcoholism, drug abuse, and obesity) in the pre-existing condition category.
But what about the elderly?
We have Medicare. Without ObamaCare, we could restore the $716 BILLION that Obama stole from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare.
What about the poor?
We have Medicaid.
So there was no need at all for anything like ObamaCare.
Yes, the old system needed some reforms — some tweaks here and there.
My Nine Tweaks that Would Have Fixed Most of the Flaws in America’s Health Care System
After we repeal ObamaCare, here would be my nine-point plan (tweaks) to fix the old U.S. health care system, which was the best in the world:
1) If really needed, expand Medicaid to address the uncovered poor (easy to expand an existing, well-established program).
2) Make health insurance tax-deductible for individuals (like it is for businesses).
3) Allow insurers to compete across state lines (competition always brings costs down, improves quality and choices)
4) Expand Health Care Savings Accounts (Tax-deferred, like-IRAs)
5) Cap Medical malpractice lawsuit awards (a big upward driver of health care costs)
6) Subsidize those with expensive pre-existing conditions. This could probably be done through Medicaid.
7) Those who show up at an Emergency Room without health insurance would be treated, but then sanctioned criminally. Probably pay a fine or do community service. Multiple offenders risk jail time (like deadbeat dads). That takes care of the Emergency Room problem. It’s a requirement that everyone have some kind of health insurance done the right way.
8) Medical costs and doctor visits should be tax-deductible to encourage illness prevention.
9) Restore the $716 billion that was stolen from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare.
I actually think Medicare was a pretty good idea. Our parents and grandparents should not be bankrupted for the getting old, or not treated when they get cancer or other fatal or debilitating illness through no fault of their own. Getting old is beyond the scope of what we can expect private insurance to cover. But we certainly don’t need Medicare for all, including the healthy who are producing income. The private insurance market most certainly can cover the young and healthy.
These reforms could fit on a single sheet of paper — in contrast to the 2,700-page ObamaCare law, plus 15,000 pages of ObamaCare regulations.
There.
Health care insurance problems fixed.
We bring overall health care costs down by phasing out third-party payment systems as much as possible (including employer-provided insurance) and by making individuals responsible for the lion’s share of their own health care coverage. Then watch health care costs drop.
Flat screen TVs, personal computers, and cell phones used to be prohibitively expensive for most people. Now almost everyone can afford them, even people on welfare. A flat screen TV used to cost $20,000 when they first hit the market. Now they cost $600 — for a good one.
When the market is allowed to operate freely, without a lot of government interference and mandates, costs always come down — often to almost nothing.
This is how human progress occurs. This is how free-market capitalism helps everyone become better off, including the poor — as even oneof my favorite rockers Bono admits .
We then take care of the elderly with Medicare (when health care really can become prohibitively costly). And we provide for the poor with Medicaid. All this was happening under the pre-ObamaCare system.
We had a mostly good health care system. It just needed a few tweaks, some minor adjustments.
There was no need to completely reorganize 18 percent of the U.S. economy with ObamaCare.
Screening and interventions for tobacco but not for reefer, opium, meth, coke or malt liquor? Hmmm, somewhere an Imam is weeping and angry.
It is possible to buy coverage for your transmission. It’s called an extended warranty. The warranty company is gambling that your car won’t need it, and that they’ll take your money having had to pay out nothing.
Insurance versus warranty: what’s the difference? One is geared toward the truly catastrophic events with repairs, injuries, and lawsuits in mind; that is, protection against levels of cost that could financially ruin a family. It is coverage against catastrophe.
An original warranty is a guarantee by a manufacturer about the quality and durability of their product. An extended warranty is, as you suggest, a maintenance plan. For the lion’s share of households in the USA auto maintenance of any kind won’t cause financial ruin.
The parallel, though, even between aspirin and a car maintenance plan, really is about a minimal expense that is so small that it probably costs more to process the claim than it does for the individual to pay for the bottle of aspirin. In that sense, it’s a losing proposition for the company. There is no way to recoup such an expense. That is why I suggested “car fragrance” as a parallel, but even an oil change at $21.99 at WalMart is probably less than the cost of processing an oil change claim. And since every car needs oil changes, it would be a continual expense for an insurance company that they could never hope to win a gamble on unless they were careful to have their price include the cost of both the items for an oil change + their cost of processing the claim.
So, some expenses are actually cheaper for me to personally handle. Along comes the government, though, and requires it to be covered in a car insurance policy. They are unnecessarily costing me more than I can have it done myself.
I didn't write this article. I simply posted it.
Oops, sorry, I guess I missed that part.
Mark
And the irony is - women under 30 are not required to have maternity coverage, though they bear most of the babies. Though most of them these days are doing so on Medicaid.
If you buy generic Aspirin at a CVS, it costs about $1.00 - $1.99 a hundred, or between $4-8.00 a year for the average person taking a full dose (up to 850MG per pill), one a day.
Coated pills cost more.
Many people can take just 81 MG per day and have the pill work. As you get older, or if you have a heart problem, the doctor will usually increase the dosage.
I’m a 68 year old male and I don’t think I’m going to get pregnant unless the Obamites know something I don’t know (and I wish they would let me knwo what it is). But then, again, sexuality under the Obamas has been turned on its head so anything is possible. In fact, they might even find Obama’s birth certificate someday.
I wish Obamacare would cover getting rid of Democrats because they are driving me crazy, and I don’t know whether that is covered under “mental illness” (i.e. the Democrats) or “depression” (what they are doing to me and our country).
I never thought that I would live under a marxist regime after having fought them for over 50 years. But then, again, I never thought that the Democrat Party would become the party of “treason”. Wrong on both accounts, I am!
Remember how we can’t possibly deport illegals from hospitals, because it will discourage them from seeking treatment?
If you skip out on a hotel bill, it’s a criminal violation “defrauding an innkeeper.” Why should ER scofflaws get off easier?
Don’t see the problem with thyroid screening. Does anybody here that doesn’t have, or doesn’t know anybody with any endocrine disease, know what it’s like to live with it? I haven’t had all my problems fully found out, but I’m guessing that if my primary hyperparathyroid disease goes uncured, I’m not going to live a long life.
Checking the endocrine system is vital to maintaining a properly functioning body.
And the quickest and best way to fix this mess Obamacare has created is to amend the law immediately to drop all these ridiculous and for the most part useless mandates and to require only as a basis a bare-bones policy which will qualify for the taxpayer-supported subsidies if taxpayer-supported-subsidies we must have, so that insurance companies need no longer cancel existing policies because they don’t meet the government standards, and can set about reinstating everyone who’s been cut......
I agree there’s no way to force unwanted insurance, but imposing some hefty, life-wrecking penalties on those who abuse the ER would cut down on those confusing it for a freebie Minute Clinic.
Let’s say a month in jail per grand owed, if you can’t or won’t pay...no pleading out, but you do get the option to turn around and take yourself back out before accepting treatment.
So, how serious are we about stopping those picking our pockets?
I remember a time where all we carried was hospitalization insurance and paid as we got ill or minor injuries as we incurred such. My employer now pays for my HMO / PPO medical, dental and eye care. I buy supplemental plans for for serious illness like cancer etc .... and also income insurance while off work due illness or injury as well as world wide medical evacuation plan if I get ill or injured while on travel.
This I receive as a benefit from employer and I augment out of pocket.
Precedent for Life Generalissimo Erkel Mugabe’s FUBAR’macare will screw my current plan into the dirt.
Doom on this crap and it’s handlers.....
Stay Safe D1 !
Does it cover Viagra? Iask seriously, because some insurances do why now most do not. This is a very expensive drug taken sometimes sure for ED, physicians, including me, prescribe it all the time to people based on their symptoms not from objective tests.
Secondly, why should a single woman or single senor female be required to cover the costs of that drug?
Anyway do you know?
We bring one of ours in, we pay cash. Don't criminalize not having someone else handle the money first.
“You do what you do best: find something simple and complicate it!”
Burt Gummer to g-men in Tremors 3
It’s not for you. Like everything else government makes us pay for, it’s so the government can bribe other people with free contraception and abortions using your money.
Excellent post. Regardless of whether you’re dealing with “insurance” or “maintenance,” the one big difference between covering an automobile and covering a person is that the stakes are much higher for the latter.
I don’t need thyroid screening, and I certainly don’t need it forced on me. If they sell a policy that covers medical/hospitalization once you reach 8,000 dollars spent on med care, then that should be available for someone who wants to buy it. They should not be required to have thyroid screening if that’s not the direction they want to go.
And, I’m betting there are a lot of people whose personal and family history says that this is a waste of money for them.
I don’t know if it covers Viagra, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Having cash is insurance. I’ve often wondered if Bill Gates, for example, would even consider paying for health insurance. It has to be a losing proposition for him since he has the money to gamble on his own health.
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