More children lack health care

[Bill Sikes]

Originally Posted by Peg

I work with mostly senior citizens. It is sad how many of them cannot afford the medicines they need. Almost on a daily basis I see them choose between medicine that will help keep them alive, or medicines that will help ease their pains. I see them wondering if they are making the right choice to stay alive when they are in constant pain. Our government spends billions of dollars helping people in other countries while our people dreadfully lack health care.

This is monstrous.

[persephone]

Originally Posted by gmc

This is really alien. i live in a country where health care isn't free-you pay for it all your life but at the point you need it you don't have to pay. It's not perfect but there is a basic assumption that everybody is entitled to health care as the need arises irrespective of their wealth or otherwise.

This is not quite true nowdays, yes we pay all our lives, but we have to pay for dentists and eye care.

There is also a big drive in hospitals now to enforce payment of treatment for foreigners. You must have an address in the UK and I think they even go so far as to see your papers now.

We had a women turn up to the Labour Ward, it was a few weeks before her due date, she had flown in from Trinadad, the week before.
We had to explain that for her to have her baby in the hospital it would cost somewhere in the region of £2000. She said she was stuck here now because she couldn't fly home so close to her due date.

The answer was well you didn't get here by boat.

There are signs up all around the trust stating that if you are not a resident of the UK you will have to pay for all healthcare treatment.

[peace]

So far as the paperwork question if you lose your paperwork they will usually treat you while you try to find it - but this is why it cost so much more than in other countries.

I live in the US and I have absolutely no understanding of our health care system more like the logic behind it. Here is what I really don't understand, if you get really sick and you have to quit work you lose your health insurance and then how do you pay to continue treatment and get better. Of course euthanasia is illegal as well... Either it is in the governments interest to keep sick people alive or it's not - they can't have it both ways, we won't pay for your health care but your not allowed to go off life support seem to be the christen rights attitude about it. Guns are also perfectly legal... I'm trying to understand this correctly, if there are any republicans around please help me, our governments attitude is we don't care if die unless you're stabilized in a coma first and practically and for all practical purposes you are dead already? So basically the government only cares if a person who is already a corpse for all practical purposes like Teri Shivo dies?
The christian right cares more if your corpses dies than if people who have a chance of recovering die? WTF?!?
What do think the rest of should do if we get sick and don't have crazy money in our bank account? Euthanize yourself with a gun? it's cheaper than paying a doctor to do it and probably faster to, that and it's legal if you use a gun but not if a doctor does it for you.

On a more serious note if you get sick and can't pay you have 2 options...
1. Bankruptcy
If you don't have the money to pay your medical bills you go bankrupt and the bank you got your mortgage or your car loan from, the credit card companies and the hospital all get to argue over who gets your dogs dish, cause that probably all you really have left at that point. As you can imagine none of these organization like this arraignment much.
2. Canada
If you ever get sick in the US, like really sick (something you need more than antibiotics for), get on a plane to Canada - they treat foreigners for free, including Americans. So if you live in the state and you really need medical care and can't pay for it you go for vacation in Canada and pass out in a public place. I think that the Canada thing is kind of fair because they don't pay practically nothing towards their military because they know we have to defend them even if we both left NATO, and the Canadian Prime Minister just cussed out Bush, because we can't defend the border we share with them, and everyone else on the planet knows that. No one would ever dare screw with Canada because it's a threat to US so we'll react like your screwing with the US but Canada never did anything to anybody, we did (I mean our male politicians have a bad habit of making foreign policy decisions with the small head instead of the big one). The Canadians would be a sitting duck with out the US because they put all their money in sane things like parks and health care which us Americans can go use whenever we please. We have great arrangement with them - our taxes go killing people and theirs go to saving things, like endangered wildlife, and people, like dying Americans.

To everyone out of the country reading this the problem with American health care is that public policy regarding it is determined by republican money obsessed religious fundamentalists.

Note to any Trekies out there: Health care in the US is probably the same state than it is on freginar (remember the overly capitalist green creatures that keep showing to scam people and steel stuff).

[peace]

one more option
3. Pass out on the sidewalk with no wallet or id.
They have to treat you if someone finds you unconscious on the side walk, and they can't bill you if they don't know who you are. This is becoming more and more popular.

[nvalleyvee]

Health care in this country has gone from bad to worse in the past 20 years. I blame the HMO's, PPO's and every other managed care company out to make a buck. I realize diagnostics and treatment have improved 1000 percent and have saved many lives - my own included - but the cost is far out of any individuals personal budget without insurance. Now insurance co-pays and deductibles are almost out of reach for the middle income families. BTS and I have had some significant health issues in the past 2 years and have had to make payment arrangements just for our co-pay. Insurance costs for a company are requiring them to go to higher cost co-pays and deductibles. I am beginning to think catastrauphic (sp) insurance is the only way to go if you are under 40. Don't even get me started on dental insurance..........much less the cost of dental care.

I think I read that 5% of the people under a companies insurance plan use 40% of the total company payment.

OHHHH AND, they are finally offering the uninsured a 25% discount for cash.......like that could happen for the average American.

[StupidCowboyTricks]

bump

[Okie]

Originally Posted by Tombstone

This is a big big problem. I cover our family with private medical insurance. Our monthly premiums are over $600.00 per month. And that is with a $7,500 deductible each! Needless to say, this situation hits home.

It's easy to see why many people who are not covered at work don't have insurance. For some people, it is more than their rent or house payments - and they just don't have the money.

And Bush just asked congress to cut Medicaid by $1Billion this budget year and to keep cutting.
Walmart employees cannot afford the health insurance they offer. With the low wages they get $200 per month is too high so they have to rely on DHS. So the taxpayers are subsidizing Walmart which is the biggest employer in the US.

[Okie]

Originally Posted by Paula

it doesn't matter if you need medical care or not, its all a big gamble, if you have real good insurance, you may go through procedures you don't even need. The person who has health insurance, and (IF YOU PAY YOURSELF) you need to make good decisions when it comes to doctors, doctors can make you sick, and cause many problems for you. medications get you sick, then you need more medications and on & on, we are on our own in this world, no-one cares, take control of you own life, no-one else will. health care, just a big game..take care.

We do not need to be on our own. Unite and fight. Use your vote to make those in Washington who work for us do tha right thing.
I just heard Barbra Boxer mention that the doctors in California have united just as they did in Florida to make people buy into a club to get good speedy care. Sort of a strange development. IN Florida it started out as $1500. membership. You have to pay the doctors association so you get fast treatment. This is over and above any insurance. If you dont do that you get pushed around in appointments etc.
She was trying to compare that to what Verizon is trying to do right now. they want to offer better service if you pay more so if you dont pay you get less access like less bandwidth I guess. I dont claim to know much about fiber optics cable. But she said its like a four line haighway if you pay extra and a small footpath is ou dont pay.

[Accountable]

Originally Posted by Okie

And Bush just asked congress to cut Medicaid by $1Billion this budget year and to keep cutting.
Walmart employees cannot afford the health insurance they offer. With the low wages they get $200 per month is too high so they have to rely on DHS. So the taxpayers are subsidizing Walmart which is the biggest employer in the US.

Yes, isn't it wonderful that people don't depend entirely on the government for their sustenance. Even though they may not be qualified to get the best of jobs, they still get their foot in the door. They can then build an experience base to get better work or promotion within Wal-Mart, and thus wean themselves from my tax money tit. I really respect that.