Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucco
BOOMER..thanks for the link and back to you in a minute 
To those who are always saying that political is like a deep dark hole, this thread is a good example of folks sharing views, hard held....many with personal stories..many from the profession and folks supplying links that can help understand issues that are complex such as this one.
Now BOOMER...fantastic link, at least for me...I became perhaps not informed but at least more than I knew before and found my feelings changing a bit, but a FANTASTIC LINK !!!
I have a question after listening to the link for those who seem to know more about this than I and I hope it is not stupid...
With all the negotiations that goes on today between hospitals and insurance companies to set the rates on certain procedures, AND with the large gap in the low and high that exist..meaning it can cost from $ to $$$$$$$ depending on the hospital....IF there is some semblance of health care offered in the package that was referred to as a compromise OR even as the President campaigned on......WOULD THERE NOT BE A LARGE NUMBER OF HOSPITALS (and Doctors) THAT ARE NOW ON THE TOP END OF THE LIST THAT WOULD EITHER NEED TO CUTBACK ON SERVICES OR JUST CLOSE ?
I hope that question makes sense ? |
Bucco,
I'm glad you liked the link. But I checked it just now and it had changed to the next day's show. You have to go to "past shows" now and bring up Wednesday, March 11, and there you can still find the show about insurance.
The reason I get involved in discussions like this one is not because I want socialized medicine. It is because I want some kind of good plan made available for people to BUY into at an affordable cost. The plan that Congress has comes to mind.
I have friends who continue to work past the time they should because they cannot afford or find health insurance to cover them until Medicare. There are those who may have access to retiree health care under their employer but the cost of covering a spouse becomes so nuts that they just have to keep on working until at least one of the couple gets to Medicare.
And something else that is real killer, figuratively and possibly literally, is that there are so many out there who are paying through the nose for relatively worthless plans that find a way to really mess with them if they should become seriously ill. (An example of that is in the first part of the show I linked.) And then there are those pre-existing conditions that make individual plans pretty impossible to find or afford.
Mr. B and I are covered through our former employers for now. It costs us more each year for our end. But the coverage is there under well-known group plans. But I cannot insulate myself from what I see happening around me.
My guess is that those who so vehemently oppose any discussion of making changes are themselves covered by excellent plans and perhaps have no idea what hard working people around them face when trying to find coverage. Especially those who want to retire but cannot because they cannot risk loss of insurance because they know they may not be able to find coverage they can afford or find coverage--period.
Some friends who own a small business, just two of them, were facing horrendous annual cost for a plan several years ago. And that was a while back. I cannot imagine what it must be now. The cost was based upon one of the owners being diabetic. Without access to big group plans, people are just getting trampled with costs while insurance companies rake it in for their CEO's.
So anyway, I just want to see middle ground. Make a plan (maybe give a choice for catastrophic coverage only) available for people to buy into. One giant group plan. Available. Affordable. Portable. TO BUY INTO. By choice.
We have to solve this or business as usual in health care will hamstring our economy.
Here's the link again to Wednesday's show on NPR.
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundown...Date=3-11-2009
And I am sorry I cannot answer your question, Bucco. But I am glad you saw the light I left on.
Boomer