I'm loving this article.
It's interesting to note that it's Emergency Department doctors who favor universal healthcare the most. After all, those are the doctors that see the effects of lack of insurance daily. No, hourly.
Here's another a great website that provides even more information. Check it out. And pay extra special attention to the FAQs. The next time you see your doctor, ask what his or her position is on universal healthcare.
YES WE DID!
AND WE DID THIS TOO!
12 comments:
I already did and she immediately started in on the Socialized Medicine rant. I think she is afraid it will take too much money out of her purse. She is young though and may find that insurance companies aren't paying like they used to either. She seems like a good person and a good doctor, just not very tuned into the financial burden her occupation places on people.
What is health insurance, anyway? People still have this? I am 'self-insured'. :(
She may end up with more money, who knows, Michael. She just won't be working for a "for profit" insurance company that tells her how much time to spend with each patient.
GA, I thought of you as I wrote this. I can't imagine living without health insurance, but there are way more people doing it than we can imagine.
rixblix: I agree. She seems to think we would automatically have a worse health care system when we really don't have one in the first place. It was getting awkward so I dropped it but I would love to have a captive audience of health care people and really tell them something!
My health insurance has gotten drastically limited and more expensive in the past 5 years but at least I have something. I really worry that my children will be without when they reach age 19 which is just a few years away.
I single payer system would make the decisions for us. They would determine what a medically neccessary service is. Remember when Homecare wasn't the norm and we had to go to the hospital for factor treatments? Canada has a single payer system and they come to the US to get treatment for things that are not "medically neccessary" bu their standards.
I would still be free to choose my doctor but where is the choice in that, if there is only one choice in treatment?
Pulley, you need to disclose that you work in homecare before you rail against reform, you have a vested interest in the status quo. I personally know a physician whose child also has hemophilia and they MOVED to Canada so that he'll have a better shot when he's older. It's an old homecare myth that things will be worse with universal healthcare.
I met a family from Germany who's son was put on prophylaxis almost a birth...the family does not pay for factor, the gov't sent them to a hospital for a week where a port was placed and training was given so the parents would know how to use the port.
I don't know how old your child with hemophilia is, but I'm guessing he/she is young based on an earlier comment. Give it a few years. You've bought into the myth that homecare as fed you.
I'm all for R and D at the industry level, but homecare (home pharmacy) is not ALWAYS a friend to the bleeding disorder community. I've seen too much gouging and other shady practices to make me think otherwise.
And, I'd also bet that you're very anti-340b, right? That program did more to save money on our cap than any other program out there. That is, when it was a GOOD 340b. We're part of a bad one now that we can't get out of, but that's another story.
Just don't be fooled by homecare. Good people, doing good things for HUGE amounts of money.
I'm not anti 340b. You have my curiosity about what the difference between a good 340b and a bad 340b. What is the difference?
I don't see a difference between a 340b and homecare? They both dispense factor, 340b programs just get factor cheaper than homecare. I think it's all what the companies, 340b and homecare, do with our money, we give them. Do they give us programs, do they fund camp, holiday parties, etc? Just because 340b's compete with homecare doesn't make them the enemy of me. I guess I'm still too new in the community and in homecare to believe we can’t exist together.
I support universal care, but lets be honest about what it is. Dont want the insurance companies to decide what care you get? We will let the government make the choice. Dont like the cost? We will shift the cost to higher taxes. What about quality care? Just visit the post office or DMV for a picture of what to expect.
Universal health care will be good for those with no insurance, poor quality insurance, and the medical staff like nurses (I am one). For staff the ability to form a large union like the teachers will result in huge pay raises and improved work conditions.
For those who have quality health care now, universal coverage will be a huge step down.
Again, Anon, all of those things are possible but not preordained. Medicare has less overhead in administrative costs than ANY health system in America. The overwhelming majority of those on Medicare are receiving adequate care. A universal application could actually reduce costs for all recipients. One example is the Canadian prices for the exact same drugs we use are significantly lower. The only way universal healthcare is a step down is if we allow the corporations to set the terms as they have been doing.
My blog entry on health insurance
And a couple CATO articles on the subject:
The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World
The Freedom to Spend Your Own Money on Medical Care: A Common Casualty of Universal Coverage
CATO is hardly an objective source of info on the subject.
I'd just like to know that my kids' will have some sort of healthcare coverage as adults.
I didn't say CATO was objective, just a different perspective from the articles you referenced.
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