Health Care

My medicare supplement will pay up to fifty percent of charges for pyschiatric care up to a maximimum of $3000 lifetime

I was lucky that when I got divorced, they couldn't use the pre-existing conditions rider on me, that doesn't mean they didn't try to (that was 1st problem of many). I have Sjogren's Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Mylogenous Leukemia. 2 of which are very rare. I take a very expensive chemo pill everyday. But when I want to visit a specialty hospital that is considered "Institutions of excellence" you can go there with pre-approval. Well I was denied. I wanted to go to OHSU in Oregon to the Dr. who developed my drug. I went anyway and fought my denial and won. But I am single, have 2 teenagers and I have 3 diseases, I have to be my own advocate every second. You have to watch and fight every bill. They always try to sneak something by me. I really feel like throwing my hands up and just not giving a damn, but then they win. But the stress and aggravation sometimes isn't worth it. I can't imagine how really ill people deal with it or the elderly. I am so frustrated. I could never work for an insurance company and deny people I know really need the help. It's a money game. Some people don't have anyone to fight for them.

Blue Cross raised their rates 33% all indivdual policies as of March 1 '09. Are we to beleive that health care cost have risen by that amount from March '08/ I think that they need to become a nonprofit as they where in the early 80's.

Blue Cross raised their rates 33% all indivdual policies as of March 1 '09. Are we to beleive that health care cost have risen by that amount from March '08/ I think that they need to become a nonprofit as they where in the early 80's.

why should i pay for your special needs child.....would you pay for my special needs

Another serious issue that drives up healthcare costs causing physicians to order extra tests is the threat of lawsuits.  The state I live in is bad in that regard.  Lawyers advertise on TV as soon as there is mention of something that might be happening with a drug to pray on the person who will get scared and worried about the drug they are taking.  Don't get me wrong.  This kind of suits are a necessary thing - checks and balances - but as anything when greed gets involved, it spoils the whole thing.  Many of our good doctors moved to a neighboring state for this very reason.  As a consequence also, when patients come into the emergency room or hospital, extra tests may be ordered - just to insure that nothing gets missed even when they are sure there is nothing.   There for a while I was considering moving to a different state.  We need to put a cap on these lawsuits.  You see what I mean when I say healthcare costs is a multifaceted issue?   It overlaps in so many other areas in life.  People working around the rules, hiding income, to get on Medicaid and get food stamps - another issue entirely but overlapping.  This is not easily fixed. 

In Canada. Lousy socialized health care

It was easy to agree with a meaningless campaign promise such as "Affordable Health Care for All". It takes effort to research the topic and understand economic reasoning and history.

Once I questioned the sound bites, I realized that government intervention in the market (e.g., Medicare, FDA regulations, physician licensing, insurance regulations) is the reason for artificially high health care prices.

So-called Universal Healthcare amplifies all problems:

1) Reduces patient incentives to find the best possible prices for the best possible services/products available.
Patients in the U.S. who receive "free" (taxpayer-funded) health care have no incentive to conserve their health care dollars. Care is "free" so they visit the doctor's office several times a month or request "free" prescriptions for over-the-counter medication such as Tylenol.

2) Reduces physician incentives to provide competitive care and reduces drug companies' incentives to provide new drugs and treatments.
With no incentive to provide quality care, physicians and nurses leave the government-monopolized area for better opportunities in a freer country. Shortages result. Drug companies are hindered by price controls and regulations and soon cease research and development of new medication. In the U.S., start-up drug companies cannot afford to run the FDA gauntlet, so the market is dominated by a few established corporations.

3) Steals from your wallet to pay for my health care.
Yes, you do have a right to health care, just as you have a right to food, shelter and property. However, you have no "right" to force others to provide these things for you - All "free" medical care is subsidized through taxes stolen from other people.

4) The quality of "free" health care will deteriorate and the average citizen will get sicker.
As the poor and middle-class wait in agony for simple procedures, those with resources can travel to other countries for treatment.

5) Destroys your privacy.
Suddenly your problems are mine and mine are yours. If you eat unhealthy foods or drive a motorcycle without a helmet, I have a direct interest in your business - you are going to see a provider on my tax dollars. Your neighbors might support government bans on smoking, "unsafe" sex or other "risky" behaviors to reduce costs. Politicians will use the federal bureaucracy to force you and your family to comply with programs such as the "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health".

6) Destroys your liberty.
When you blindly support a system that bestows power on politicians and bureaucrats, they will receive their orders from those with the most money - and this will not be you, your friends or your family. The power of government will be used against you as you are forced to use medicines or accept treatments from well-connected health care companies.

A quick search shows that pharmaceutical companies donated $152,437,727 to political campaigns since 1990. Who do you think has the ear of those elected politicians?

Conversely, if government power is eliminated (e.g., abolish the FDA - whose restrictions benefit the most powerful companies by eliminating most competition), those same companies would have to use their funds and resources to sell their drugs to the most people in the least expensive, most reliable and safest way. They would need to outperform their competitors to get your money - otherwise they lose business.

In Canada. Lousy socialized health care

It was easy to agree with a meaningless campaign promise such as "Affordable Health Care for All". It takes effort to research the topic and understand economic reasoning and history.

Once I questioned the sound bites, I realized that government intervention in the market (e.g., Medicare, FDA regulations, physician licensing, insurance regulations) is the reason for artificially high health care prices.

So-called Universal Healthcare amplifies all problems:

1) Reduces patient incentives to find the best possible prices for the best possible services/products available.
Patients in the U.S. who receive "free" (taxpayer-funded) health care have no incentive to conserve their health care dollars. Care is "free" so they visit the doctor's office several times a month or request "free" prescriptions for over-the-counter medication such as Tylenol.

2) Reduces physician incentives to provide competitive care and reduces drug companies' incentives to provide new drugs and treatments.
With no incentive to provide quality care, physicians and nurses leave the government-monopolized area for better opportunities in a freer country. Shortages result. Drug companies are hindered by price controls and regulations and soon cease research and development of new medication. In the U.S., start-up drug companies cannot afford to run the FDA gauntlet, so the market is dominated by a few established corporations.

3) Steals from your wallet to pay for my health care.
Yes, you do have a right to health care, just as you have a right to food, shelter and property. However, you have no "right" to force others to provide these things for you - All "free" medical care is subsidized through taxes stolen from other people.

4) The quality of "free" health care will deteriorate and the average citizen will get sicker.
As the poor and middle-class wait in agony for simple procedures, those with resources can travel to other countries for treatment.

5) Destroys your privacy.
Suddenly your problems are mine and mine are yours. If you eat unhealthy foods or drive a motorcycle without a helmet, I have a direct interest in your business - you are going to see a provider on my tax dollars. Your neighbors might support government bans on smoking, "unsafe" sex or other "risky" behaviors to reduce costs. Politicians will use the federal bureaucracy to force you and your family to comply with programs such as the "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health".

6) Destroys your liberty.
When you blindly support a system that bestows power on politicians and bureaucrats, they will receive their orders from those with the most money - and this will not be you, your friends or your family. The power of government will be used against you as you are forced to use medicines or accept treatments from well-connected health care companies.

A quick search shows that pharmaceutical companies donated $152,437,727 to political campaigns since 1990. Who do you think has the ear of those elected politicians?

Conversely, if government power is eliminated (e.g., abolish the FDA - whose restrictions benefit the most powerful companies by eliminating most competition), those same companies would have to use their funds and resources to sell their drugs to the most people in the least expensive, most reliable and safest way. They would need to outperform their competitors to get your money - otherwise they lose business.