POLL - are you happy with your healthcare insurance

[spidey07]

Most polls say Americans are happy with their healthcare insurance.

Are you?

 

[Engineer]

My insurance probably would not be so bad if they actually paid anything within a decent timeframe and without me having to bash the living shit out of them to get them to do so. My insurance isn't the real problem, it's the insane costs and the rate at which it is rising of care in general.

 

[Vic]

I'm always happy with something I get that someone else pays for.

 

[TruePaige]

I like how your poll is completely biased towards your own leanings. Great way to not have a productive thread!

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: TruePaige
I like how your poll is completely biased towards your own leanings. Great way to not have a productive thread!

Yes, the second poll is totally biased... I openly admit that and went a little overboard on it.. The first is the key.

 

[nageov3t]

I've never had an issue with my health insurance.

copays are reasonable and I've only ever run into one thing that they wouldn't cover (I was looking into having my varicose veins treated because they're super super obvious now that I've lost a lot of weight... insurance will only cover it if you've had 2 blood clots; I've only had one)

 

[mugs]

I don't have any complaints yet, but I do wonder what will happen if my wife or I ever have an expensive, chronic illness.

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: TruePaige
I like how your poll is completely biased towards your own leanings. Great way to not have a productive thread!

Yes, the second poll is totally biased... I openly admit that and went a little overboard on it.. The first is the key.

Since you admit that, I am willing to say the first poll is fine.

Noticed that you edited the second one out! Good. More constructive that way at least.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: TruePaige
I like how your poll is completely biased towards your own leanings. Great way to not have a productive thread!

Yes, the second poll is totally biased... I openly admit that and went a little overboard on it.. The first is the key.

Since you admit that, I am willing to say the first poll is fine.

Noticed that you edited the second one out! Good. More constructive that way at least.

Yes, edited.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Most polls say Americans are happy with their healthcare insurance.

Are you?

Don't have any.

 

[Sacrilege]

I was thinking about voting that I am not happy with my health insurance, but then remembered how cheap it is through my employer. Sure it is sometimes difficult to get them to pay for treatments they are obligated to pay for, but it is cheap.

Healthcare insurance is nearly a necessity with modern medicine. It is the same principle as auto or life insurance. 100 years ago people didn't need insurance for medical costs because there were no advanced treatments which cost a fortune. Any treatments that did cost a fortune were tailored to the rich and of dubious medical utility. Today, imaging, chemotherapy, surgery, artificial hearts, transplants, etc. are all accessible to anyone who can pay. The problem is they are very expensive, yet unneeded by most people. An insurance policy provides a practical way to provide people with these expensive procedures in an affordable way. Just as auto insurance provides the average person a means of paying for that Bentley they just hit.

 

[VinylxScratches]

I don't have health insurance.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
I don't have health insurance.

That means you answered NO to the healthcare = healthcare insurance question.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Vic
I'm always happy with something I get that someone else pays for.

:laugh: :thumbsup:

Exactly, Vic, people don't really know how much they are paying for their health care.

 

[bamacre]

I've been biting my tongue about this, and since we all know who the OP is around here, it's a good time to open up.

We do need health care reform. It's too damn expensive. Too many people can't afford it. And the Democrats are going to do what they feel is best, even though it's the wrong path IMO.

But most of you Republicans that have been bitching the loudest about Obama Care, well, it's your fucking fault. And you have no one to else to be mad at except yourselves.

Why? Because your own damn party is so fucking lost. They held the Oval Office and owned Congress for six years. Did they try to use free market ideas to help bring the costs down? Nope. Because they wouldn't know a free market from a flea market. No instead they passed Medicare D, described as by then GAO head, "probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s."

What the hell did you expect the Democrats to do?

If you want problems to be fixed correctly, then fix your own damn party first. Get your own house in order.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: bamacre
I've been biting my tongue about this, and since we all know who the OP is around here, it's a good time to open up.

We do need health care reform. It's too damn expensive. Too many people can't afford it. And the Democrats are going to do what they feel is best, even though it's the wrong path IMO.

But most of you Republicans that have been bitching the loudest about Obama Care, well, it's your fucking fault. And you have no one to else to be mad at except yourselves.

Why? Because your own damn party is so fucking lost. They held the Oval Office and owned Congress for six years. Did they try to use free market ideas to help bring the costs down? Nope. Because they wouldn't know a free market from a flea market. No instead they passed Medicare D, described as by then GAO head, "probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s."

What the hell did you expect the Democrats to do?

If you want problems to be fixed correctly, then fix your own damn party first. Get your own house in order.

Thank you! :thumbsup:

 

[TruePaige]

Can someone explain the reasoning behind Medicare D?

Thought about it based on Bamacre's post above...

 

[Phokus]

I'm not happy with my insurance even though nothing has happened to me for 2 reasons:

1) Because costs keep going up way past inflation

and

2) Because i know that insurance companies sometimes will not keep their end of the bargain and will try to kick you off their rolls if you become expensive. What is the point of insurance if they don't even deliver care to those that need it most?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: TruePaige
Can someone explain the reasoning behind Medicare D?

Thought about it based on Bamacre's post above...

It's a huge free gift to Big Pharma from the GOP.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: mugs
I don't have any complaints yet, but I do wonder what will happen if my wife or I ever have an expensive, chronic illness.

Bingo!

At thats whats missing in the poll, the claim history.


It's easy to be happy with insurance if you haven't had a significant illness. If you correlate the amount of claims visa via illnesses you will find that insurance works great for the majority but for those with chronic illnesses and significant claim history it's a nightmare of denials and delays.

The ideal basic insurance priciple of spreading the misfortune of the few through "pooled risk" over the majority of healthy populace, has turned into appease the majority and exploit the few, while increasing profits and admin costs. The very people we seek to protect through insurance are paying the heaviest price for our broken system.

When the sickest people in the country are satisfied with their healthcare insurance then we have a system that works. The system should be judged by the recipients of care, not by the majority that has never had to depend on it.

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: TruePaige
Can someone explain the reasoning behind Medicare D?

Thought about it based on Bamacre's post above...

It's a huge free gift to Big Pharma from the GOP.

Any more info? I don't contest that that may be true..but..still curious!

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: mugs
I don't have any complaints yet, but I do wonder what will happen if my wife or I ever have an expensive, chronic illness.

Bingo!

At thats whats missing in the poll, the claim history.


It's easy to be happy with insurance if you haven't had a significant illness. If you correlate the amount of claims visa via illnesses you will find that insurance works great for the majority but for those with chronic illnesses and significant claim history it's a nightmare of denials and delays.

The ideal basic insurance priciple of spreading the misfortune of the few through "pooled risk" over the majority of healthy populace, has turned into appease the majority and exploit the few, while increasing profits and admin costs. The very people we seek to protect through insurance are paying the heaviest price for our broken system.

When the sickest people in the country are satisfied with their healthcare insurance then we have a system that works. The system should be judged by the recipients of care, not by the majority that has never had to depend on it.

It's fucking wall street, i tell you. Health insurance companies need to show that they can beat projections every quarter or wall street hammers their stock. And the only real way to do that is deny more and more claims (that one insurance insider gave some eye opening stats about how denials have increased over the years)

It's like free market idiots can't see that incentives are completely out of whack when it comes to for-profit care.

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: TruePaige
Can someone explain the reasoning behind Medicare D?

Thought about it based on Bamacre's post above...

It's a huge free gift to Big Pharma from the GOP.

Any more info? I don't contest that that may be true..but..still curious!

Democrats wanted the ability for the federal gov't to negotiate rates on drugs, republicans refused and got their way... a couple of the ones who spearheaded the effort landed cushy jobs (former rep Billy Tauzin makes 2 mil a year representing big pharma companies)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Part_D#Criticisms

fucking outrageous.

By the design of the program, the federal government is not permitted to negotiate prices of drugs with the drug companies, as federal agencies do in other programs. The Veterans Administration, which is allowed to negotiate drug prices and establish a formulary, pays 58% less for drugs, on average, than Medicare Part D.[31] For example, Medicare pays $785 for a year's supply of Lipitor (atorvastatin), while the VA pays $520. Medicare pays $1,485 for Zocor, while the VA pays $127. Former Congressman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who steered the bill through the House, retired soon after and took a $2 million a year job as president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the main industry lobbying group. Medicare boss Thomas Scully, who threatened to fire Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster if he reported how much the bill would actually cost, was negotiating for a new job as a pharmaceutical lobbyist as the bill was working through Congress.[32][33]

Republicans are scum of the earth and the democrats who didn't put up a fight are spineless

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: TruePaige
Can someone explain the reasoning behind Medicare D?

Thought about it based on Bamacre's post above...

It's a huge free gift to Big Pharma from the GOP.

Any more info? I don't contest that that may be true..but..still curious!

Democrats wanted the ability for the federal gov't to negotiate rates on drugs, republicans refused and got their way... a couple of the ones who spearheaded the effort landed cushy jobs (former rep Billy Tauzin makes 2 mil a year representing big pharma companies)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Part_D#Criticisms

fucking outrageous.

By the design of the program, the federal government is not permitted to negotiate prices of drugs with the drug companies, as federal agencies do in other programs. The Veterans Administration, which is allowed to negotiate drug prices and establish a formulary, pays 58% less for drugs, on average, than Medicare Part D.[31] For example, Medicare pays $785 for a year's supply of Lipitor (atorvastatin), while the VA pays $520. Medicare pays $1,485 for Zocor, while the VA pays $127. Former Congressman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who steered the bill through the House, retired soon after and took a $2 million a year job as president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the main industry lobbying group. Medicare boss Thomas Scully, who threatened to fire Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster if he reported how much the bill would actually cost, was negotiating for a new job as a pharmaceutical lobbyist as the bill was working through Congress.[32][33]

Republicans are scum of the earth and the democrats who didn't put up a fight are spineless

just an fyi on the current state of medicare part D.

As Medicare?s Part D prescription drug program enters its fourth year, beneficiary satisfaction rates remain high, program costs remain lower than originally expected, and Medicare prescription drug plan bids reflect nationwide drug price trends, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today.

Based on the bids submitted by Part D plans, CMS estimates that the average monthly premium that beneficiaries will pay for standard Part D coverage in 2009 will be $28. This is about 37 percent lower than originally projected when the benefit was established in 2003.

?Measured by enrollment, lower costs than originally expected and persistently high satisfaction rates, the Part D drug benefit program has in a short time become a stable, familiar, and vital part of Medicare? said CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. ?Of course, individual plans? premiums and benefits may change. Given their past record of making smart choices, I expect beneficiaries will continue to compare their plan options in the upcoming enrollment period based on cost, coverage and convenience.?

linkage

Couple this walmarts $4 generics and it is obvious markets work when you let them.

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: TruePaige
Can someone explain the reasoning behind Medicare D?

Thought about it based on Bamacre's post above...

It's a huge free gift to Big Pharma from the GOP.

Any more info? I don't contest that that may be true..but..still curious!

Democrats wanted the ability for the federal gov't to negotiate rates on drugs, republicans refused and got their way... a couple of the ones who spearheaded the effort landed cushy jobs (former rep Billy Tauzin makes 2 mil a year representing big pharma companies)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Part_D#Criticisms

fucking outrageous.

By the design of the program, the federal government is not permitted to negotiate prices of drugs with the drug companies, as federal agencies do in other programs. The Veterans Administration, which is allowed to negotiate drug prices and establish a formulary, pays 58% less for drugs, on average, than Medicare Part D.[31] For example, Medicare pays $785 for a year's supply of Lipitor (atorvastatin), while the VA pays $520. Medicare pays $1,485 for Zocor, while the VA pays $127. Former Congressman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who steered the bill through the House, retired soon after and took a $2 million a year job as president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the main industry lobbying group. Medicare boss Thomas Scully, who threatened to fire Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster if he reported how much the bill would actually cost, was negotiating for a new job as a pharmaceutical lobbyist as the bill was working through Congress.[32][33]

Republicans are scum of the earth and the democrats who didn't put up a fight are spineless

Oh man..I was reading up on this some more and...what a horrible bill.