I'm back (sorry to those of you that were glad to see me go)...but I'll be gone again - Page 2

Ellie F · 11-22-2009, 10:27 AM

Laurel
You gave me the BIGGEST laugh of the day. Thank you x

Ellie

Laurel · 11-22-2009, 10:28 AM

Oh, get a sense of humor,silly woman or man, in which case I suppose I would suggest growing a pair rather than hide behind anonymity.

Retract the fangs, sweetie, this isn't a mean-spirited place. It is, however, where topics may be discussed with civility. If this ticks you off, keep alert, I am not finished. A chuckle among all the fear and anxiety never hurts. I realize, perhaps more so than you, what is at stake in this whole health care debate, but it must remain just that: a civil and respectful debate. I was J-O-K-I-N-G. Novel concept for some, apparently, but clearly was trying to lighten the discussion with some brevity. I did write, which you failed to quote (hmmm, wonder why??) that I was not AWOL, nor a deserted from Dr. Love's Army Of Women. I thought that would speak for itself. Clearly, you failed to read my full post, or I am certain you would not have attacked me so viciously and unkindly. Shame on you, but no matter, just settle down and play nice in the sandbox and we will all get along. We are all in this together, aren't we?

11-22-2009, 10:38 AM

I have also found the political bent of some of the discussions here disheartening and motivated by self-interest, I think we need health care reform, our failure to cover everyone and do something about costs is appalling.
Why does it cost $100 to have an MRI in Japan but thousands here? And aren't they healthier than us?
The problems in the US are systemic, a corporate culture driven by greed and the need for profit.
There is a great blog called healthbeatblog which gets into all of this in detail.

Midwest Alice · 11-22-2009, 03:53 PM

rl2,

I agree that health care refom is needed. I would guess we would disagree on how the reform should take place. I think reform needs to happen in the free market. The government is to big and spending money we don't have. I do not want the government to get any more control over health care than they have.

Whats great is in our country our constitution gives us the right to disagree. It doesn't make one of us good and the other one bad. AND that is true ONLY as long as we have our constitution .

Your question about cost of MRI in US vs Japan has to do with the different forms of government. Their health being better than ours has to do with the US diet vs Japan diet.

http://641.members0703.wimp.com/thegovernment/

Here is a link to a video about governments. Its very interesting. I pick our form of government over Japans.

11-22-2009, 04:30 PM

Well, you can have a purportedly democratic government making the decisions about health care (if we can get the right people elected and gain control over it from the special interests) or you can have private, for profit corporations making the decisions about who to cover and what to pay for, which is what we have, which is an abomination both in terms of cost (the extra administrative costs, we would drive down costs and be able to provide more care and more treatments if we had a single payer system and we weren't sinking so much of our money into supporting the insurance companies), now the insurance companies make the decisions about what they will cover, and who they will cover.
We see how well allowing for profit, large corporations running things have done for us - the financial companies have driven us into the ground (which is why we don't have money) - that mess was caused by a lack of government regulation, not too much of it - and you think that is a good model for health care?
In these discussions, some people tend to forget that the government is us, or it should be, if we bother to elect the right people pursuing policies for our common good.
The government is responsible for providing for the common good - without it, we wouldn't have public schools (we could have a more ignorant population than we have now) - should only people with children pay to educate their children? What about roads, public transportation, and our military defense? (another big ticket item no one on the antigovernment side ever seems to complain about).
The government is involved in our food policies, supporting certain agricultural decisions and industries, what we grow, what we eat (meat and dairy in amounts that historically human beings have never eaten), if those policies were less tilted toward the corporate interests, perhaps we too would eat a healthier diet and be less sick as a country.
I think we need more government control - including us having more control over our government, and electing real representatives, not the millionaires who are currently inhabiting Congress.

StephN · 11-22-2009, 04:51 PM

If anyone thinks the government can do such a better job running our healthcare system, just learn a little about the Medicare fraud that is allowed to go on and on and on in this country. These BILLIONS in ANNUAL losses is from a system run by massive computers which spit out the payments within 2 weeks after the claim is filed. Humans do NOT check these claims. It would take an army to even spot check them - and this is what we get:

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/...icopters_.html

I would trade some savings in the Medifraud mess for a few thousand breast screenings or biopsies.

Joan M · 11-22-2009, 04:56 PM

Rhonda,

Please don't leave the board. I'll miss you, and the other board members will also miss you. You've been very supportive to all of us.

Best,

Joan

11-22-2009, 06:05 PM

Regarding the comments on Medicare fraud - so, no Medicare? Is that the solution? You want to give up your Medicare when you turn 65? How about maybe some appropriate oversight? And who is perpetrating the fraud? The government? No, individuals, doctors, and health care providers. I doubt the government is trying to perpetrate Medicare fraud, its the doctors and patients and health care companies who are scamming the system for greed and profits - the notion that health care should be profit driven is at the heart of the problem.

Maybe if the system wasn't rigged with a profit motive, but completely controlled to provide appropriate care without profit, there would be no fraud.

Also, the comments in this thread about Dr. Love are completely inappropriate. She has devoted a lot of her time and effort to fight breast cancer. I am horrified and appalled to be part of a breast cancer support group that would allow the kind of comments to be made about her to be accepted.

StephN · 11-22-2009, 07:41 PM

I mentioned the Medifraud as another example of our BROKEN system, which is run amok. Because it IS full of loopholes; the scammers KNOW they can take advantage of it. Put these people in with the banks, home loans and the rest who have been allowed without restraint to perpetuate their frauds.

These people sucking dry our safety net are lower than low. I do have Medicare NOW, so am acutely aware of the endangerment of our entitlement systems. I get to pay more for my Medicare, without an increase in monthly amount for 2010.

How do we wipe the slate clean? This is bigger than all of us.

11-22-2009, 07:57 PM

You are lucky to be covered by the government. I am younger (not much, 50's), our small business, which has 4 employees and 1 dependent pays close to 60,000 a year for Blue Cross health insurance for us. It is our major expense every year for all of us, and we do it because as far as we are concerned, one of the reasons we are in business is to pay for our health care expenses.

It is absurd. You try covering 60K a year for 4 employees plus 1 dependent. We need government reform. Try being a small business that covers these expenses. We need a government option.

Our money is going to administrative costs, for Anthem, their profits, etc., it is obscene.

I am very aware of this because we pay them, directly.