US Health Care Bill

[lighthouse33]

Here is a hyperlink to a Fred Thompson radio interview with Betsy McCaughey (former Lt. Gov. of NY).  She has read the Health Care Bill and according to her anyone who has an incurable or irreversible disease will not get treatment.  Of course, she mentioned things like dementia, Alzheimers,  Cerebral Palsy.  I'm sure this will also apply to all AI diseases.  No cures for them either.  And, no one will be able to pay for their own treatment, no private health insurance, no cash payment.  Everyone will have the same government plan.  Scary stuff!

http://fredthompsonshow.com/premiumstream?dispid=320&headerDest=L3BnL2pzcC9tZWRpYS9mbGFzaHdlbGNvbWUuanNwP3BpZD03MzUxJnBsYXlsaXN0PXRydWUmY2hhcnR0eXBlPWNoYXJ0JmNoYXJ0SUQ9MzIwJnBsYXlsaXN0U2l6ZT01

[Epson]

Wrong, wrong and wrong again.  Maybe you should ask our members from countries that have Nation Healthcare wheather or not they receive healthcare for their Sjogren's or any other incurable health issues.

The two people that you mentioned have never liked any public option for heathcare, going back to the Clinton era, infact they don't believe in Social Security, do you want to give that up and have all your money invested in Wall Street?

These people all have an agenda and it's all about the God all mighty dollar, not your health or mine.  My insurance company tells my doctor how to practice medicine.  They tell him what meds and what tests I can have.  Why would Medicare, a socialist program, pay for incurable and irreversible diseases, but not a National Healthcare Bill?

[Scottietottie]

Hi

Coming from a country which has a national healthcare system, I guess maybe I shouldn't be commenting. How would having a national health care system stop private medicine from happening?  If people want to pay into private healthcare here - they can. Some employers pay for it in with employees conditions. My daughter has private healthcare through work but has never found the need to use it. She's always found the NHS fine.

I agree with Epson that looking at people's hidden agendas is worth doing.

Take care - Scottie 

[Billydude]

I agree with Epson.   

[lcm]

hi, I work in a hospital and we are preparing for huge government cuts in funding but the hospitals will still beheld accountable for the same level of care given today. So where will the hospitals make cuts? Some might just close their doors. Ours is looking for areas where we can cut costs. I don't see government involvement as a good thing. I think free enterprise is the only way to go, competition is a great motivator. I think we are headed for disaster and the same kind of mess the national budget is in. Some people will gain helathcare at some level that they are not getting now and others will pay the price for that.
Soon doctors will be under the same kind of control and they won't like that.
I just think the government makes a mess of things. My opinion.
Now they need to control how much the supply companies charge the doctors and hospitals for their supplies and medical equipment. Those costs are some of the costs that drive the cost of medical care.
Everyone just needs to know that you can't cut funding and get good care, even if you try to keep things the same, without funding there will be a deficit somewhere that will end up affecting the patient.  Thanks.

[Epson]

Icm,

You can't have it both ways, if competition is a great motovator, why do you want to controll what a supplier can charge the doctors and hospitals for their products?  I thought you believed in the free enterprise system, what happened?  Wouldn't an optional government plan add competition?  The government would do such a horrible job that no one would sign up for it, you know like Medicare, no one wants that.

I have an idea, how about we all pay a little bit more in taxes, like on say the junk food that's killing us or pair down to fighting one war instead of two or close 500 overseas military bases, that would leave us with another 500 and save billions of dollars that are spent outside of our country.

[Epson]

News Flash!!  United Healthcare just posted a $859 million profit for the 2nd quarter of the year, not bad in a down market, so much for free enterprise and competition in the insurance market.

[navydad]

UPMC has bought up probably 90% of the hospitals in my area, so its not hard to get a health care provider, but the level of care has stayed the same, some good hospitals and some you wouildnt even want to die in, Heres the bottom line,, anytime Govt gets involved in anything, they screw it up,, there motto is,, even if its broke,, we can fix it by throwing mre useles money at it,, like said above,, cut some of our budget,, expec the military,, we have the biggest military in the world next to north korea or china, but neither of those would even dream of going up against us,, we could matain our level of security with half of the military budget,,
  We are headinf for a diaster with this health care plan,, I aee one year waits for  a MRI, maybe 6 months for simple bloodwork,,

[Epson]

Wow, if the government is that bad, maybe we should dismantle our military and hire private industry to protect us, oh yah, we did that in Iraq and everything cost us 10 times as much and they didn't do such a good job.  Well, I guess no one wants dissability or Social Security or Medicare and I thought Medicare was great when my dad lived with me, they paid all the bills and he had a lot of them.

[Babs659]

Epson, you are so right on all counts!

[eyeamdry]

News Flash!!  United Healthcare just posted a $859 million profit for the 2nd quarter of the year, not bad in a down market, so much for free enterprise and competition in the insurance market.

Oh, Epson honey, that is music to my ears.  I hold a little (meaning little) stock in UHC and about 18 months ago it tanked from $80 share to about $20.  I took my eyes off this stock while I was sick with cancer treatment and it just went plunk.  I'm happy now to hear this.  Maybe my stock went from $25 to 26 share.  Think?  I'll go look.  lucy

[Billydude]

I think the doctors and hospitals are ripping us off anyway.    I had an MRI at my local hospital and it cost over 4000.00 and then had another one at another facility that cost 1000.00.   Why the heck is one so much more expensive than the other.   I also had a liver biopsy and just the consultation appointment alone cost 1000.00.    I'm not sure what the biospy will cost but they won't give me my results unless I have a follow up appointment.   Now,  I can't drive and the appointment is a 3 hour drive each way so I have to have my partner take a day off from work just to go through all that the get verbal results.  Something that could easily be given to me over the phone.   So,  that will be another 1000.00 for this guy.   I don't feel sorry at all for the medical field.   Then there are the rip offs from the drug industry.    I think a little government control is fine.

[watoozie]

I agree with Epson!!!

[irish]

I am not going to get emotional over this issue. Money is always a great motivator in the capalist society that we live in. Much of the time that is what motivates people to excel and people to reach beyond the stars with inventions etc.

However, I will be the first to admit that our health care system is broken as well as some other stuff. I am not in favor of this current plan because there are too many things in there that have not been read. Recently, Fred T. , who has seen the 1000 page booklet, I believe, said that there is a provision in there that says that the "old" people and I assume this means those over 65 have to go up before a committee every 5 years to be assessed and approved for any continuing treatment. That scares me!!!

Anyway, I do know that with the new plan and possibly any new plan I will probably not be eligible for my infusions every month. Irks me big time as I just got a letter from my doc telling me that my t-cells are now 843 --- in Aug 2006 they were 448 and in 2007 they were 320. In other words, the infusions are helping me. I have had much less mucus in the past week and figured something was up. I have been wondering if the infusion was helping cause some things have just felt different. Now we will just see how many infections I get. Normal t-cells are 1064-1672 or close to that.Hate to have to lose my infusions now. I am old and not of any intrinsic value anymore!!!! Irish

[Bernice]

Iris,

Wow! This board is really bring out some bad memories for me!

Let me inform you from past experience DOCTORS ARE ALREADY DOING ASSESSMENTS ON OLDER PERSON'S LIFE WORTHINESS!

My father, a man 74 years old very active both physically and mentally, hard working and doing far better than most on this site, including myself went to the doctors found out he had cancer of the lungs, I STOOD A NUMBER OF TIMES HEARING DOCTORS ASKING QUESTIONS SUCH AS- HOW OLD WAS HIS PARENTS WHEN THEY DIED? WHAT DID THEY DID FROM,ETC...? WELL I GUESS THEY DID NOT LIKE THE ANSWERS WE GAVE. TRUTH? I EVEN LIED GIVING A MUCH OLDER AGE WHEN ASKED!

THEY FLAT OUT TOLD US THAT THEY WERE MAKING AN ASESSEMENT TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT WAS WORTH INVESTING TIME AND MONEY IN TREATMENT FOR MY DADDY BECAUSE OF HIS AGE. THE ANSWERE WAS NO! I THOUGHT I WAS FINALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE WITH THEM AFTER BEGGING FOR MY FATHER'S LIFE! THEY TOOK THEIR TIME DURING THE HOLIDAYS BEFORE FINALLY REFERRING TO THE RIGHT DOCTOR!

IRIS DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE A DOCTOR TELL YOU NOT ONCE BUT TWICE THAT IF THEY HAD SENT HIM JUST A LITTLE EARLIER HE COULD HAVE HELPED, NOT ONCE BUT TWICE DID THIS MAN REPEAT THIS TO ME AS I STOOD WITH TEARS IN EYES NOT ABLE TO SAY A WORD. I TRIED TO PUSH AND FIGHT FOR MY DADDY, TAKING HIM TO WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST HOSPITAL MILES AWAY!!!!  I WAS WITH HIM FROM THE VERY BEGINNING TO THE VERY END, ALONE HEARING HIS LAST BREATH! TWO MONTHS LATER!!!

SAME THING HAPPEN WITH AN OLDER COUSIN. DIFFERENT DOCTOR, DIFFERENT STATE!!!


THEY ALREADY MAKE ASSESSMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bernice