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Single-Payer System
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Medicare & Insurance
Single-Payer System
Share Medicare dos and don’ts, including eligibility and supplemental insurance.
Health care decisions should always be made in order to improve the medical health of people not the financial health of for-profits. Somewhere along the line our nation applied the principals governi
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Cat:91a4afbf-9555-4e02-b9d3-9eef604476f6Forum:c79f53c3-fa71-4e76-b517-aef042efd7ff
Cat:91a4afbf-9555-4e02-b9d3-9eef604476f6Forum:c79f53c3-fa71-4e76-b517-aef042efd7ffDiscussion:21d4ac15-e191-44d9-b582-db5032c85a19
Forums » Health » Medicare & Insurance » Single-Payer System
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Single-Payer System
posted at August 5, 2011 5:51 AM EDT
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Posts: 34
First: May 25, 2010 Last: October 24, 2011 |
Health care decisions should always be made in order to improve the medical health of people not the financial health of for-profits. Somewhere along the line our nation applied the principals governing free markets to saving lives. In so doing we created a long list of new concepts to protect corporate profits such as: lifetime maximums, pre-existing conditions, part d coverage gaps, and the 17 year waiting period for generics to be sold in America. Artificial claim filing deadlines as little as 180 days has hurt thousands of patients (many seniors) trying to get their money back from having to pay doctors and hospitals up-front costs. Insulting claim rejection criteria such as: not-medically necessary (for cancer treatment and more), experimental and/or investigational procedures not covered, diagnosis not covered (well-care not-a-benefit), and one of my least favorites: "We terminated your plan because of your non-response to a Verification Of Coverage survey." Even employers are now reacting to increases in insurance premiums as profit margins are manipulated in order to cover only the healthiest populations. Smokers are being fired because they pose a financial risk to health care costs. Older Americans are being passed up for job interviews as we live longer and try to remain in the workforce. It is presumed by actuaries that the older a worker is, the more costly their health needs become. Let's break it down and start all over again. Yes, it will be painful. But we must remove stockholders from being stakeholders. One non-profit per state or region could be set-up to simply process claims much like the Medicare program works today. The free-market economy has not improved our nation's health care system for all Americans. Yes, many have benefited, but until each and every man, woman, and child in this country has equal access to health care, the system isn't working. Let's fix it. A single-payer system is worth trying. Let's get for-profits out of the health insurance business. |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at August 8, 2011 8:22 PM EDT
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Posts: 14591
First: January 28, 2008 Last: May 23, 2013 |
In Response to Single-Payer System: Health care decisions should always be made in order to improve the medical health of people not the financial health of for-profits. Somewhere along the line our nation applied the principals governing free markets to saving lives. In so doing we created a long list of new concepts to protect corporate profits such as: lifetime maximums, pre-existing conditions, part d coverage gaps, and the 17 year waiting period for generics to be sold in America. Artificial claim filing deadlines as little as 180 days has hurt thousands of patients (many seniors) trying to get their money back from having to pay doctors and hospitals up-front costs. Insulting claim rejection criteria such as: not-medically necessary (for cancer treatment and more), experimental and/or investigational procedures not covered, diagnosis not covered (well-care not-a-benefit), and one of my least favorites: "We terminated your plan because of your non-response to a Verification Of Coverage survey." Even employers are now reacting to increases in insurance premiums as profit margins are manipulated in order to cover only the healthiest populations. Smokers are being fired because they pose a financial risk to health care costs. Older Americans are being passed up for job interviews as we live longer and try to remain in the workforce. It is presumed by actuaries that the older a worker is, the more costly their health needs become. Let's break it down and start all over again. Yes, it will be painful. But we must remove stockholders from being stakeholders. One non-profit per state or region could be set-up to simply process claims much like the Medicare program works today. The free-market economy has not improved our nation's health care system for all Americans. Yes, many have benefited, but until each and every man, woman, and child in this country has equal access to health care, the system isn't working. Let's fix it. A single-payer system is worth trying. Let's get for-profits out of the health insurance business. Posted by alharris Basically I disagree with the premise that single payer solves the basic problem of out of control health care prices and cost, but my real reason for replying is that there is another topic where this discussion would be more appropriate,something like health care reform. Karl |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at August 9, 2011 10:39 AM EDT
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Posts: 22944
First: December 1, 2009 Last: May 23, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Single-Payer System: In Response to Single-Payer System : Basically I disagree with the premise that single payer solves the basic problem of out of control health care prices and cost, but my real reason for replying is that there is another topic where this discussion would be more appropriate,something like health care reform. Karl Posted by krlklar No doubt this could be under health care reform, but wouldn't Medicare & Insurance be more applicable? Health care reform would seem to apply more to the provider end rather than insurance.
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at August 9, 2011 10:42 AM EDT
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Posts: 22944
First: December 1, 2009 Last: May 23, 2013 |
In Response to Single-Payer System: Health care decisions should always be made in order to improve the medical health of people not the financial health of for-profits. Somewhere along the line our nation applied the principals governing free markets to saving lives. In so doing we created a long list of new concepts to protect corporate profits such as: lifetime maximums, pre-existing conditions, part d coverage gaps, and the 17 year waiting period for generics to be sold in America. Artificial claim filing deadlines as little as 180 days has hurt thousands of patients (many seniors) trying to get their money back from having to pay doctors and hospitals up-front costs. Insulting claim rejection criteria such as: not-medically necessary (for cancer treatment and more), experimental and/or investigational procedures not covered, diagnosis not covered (well-care not-a-benefit), and one of my least favorites: "We terminated your plan because of your non-response to a Verification Of Coverage survey." Even employers are now reacting to increases in insurance premiums as profit margins are manipulated in order to cover only the healthiest populations. Smokers are being fired because they pose a financial risk to health care costs. Older Americans are being passed up for job interviews as we live longer and try to remain in the workforce. It is presumed by actuaries that the older a worker is, the more costly their health needs become. Let's break it down and start all over again. Yes, it will be painful. But we must remove stockholders from being stakeholders. One non-profit per state or region could be set-up to simply process claims much like the Medicare program works today. The free-market economy has not improved our nation's health care system for all Americans. Yes, many have benefited, but until each and every man, woman, and child in this country has equal access to health care, the system isn't working. Let's fix it. A single-payer system is worth trying. Let's get for-profits out of the health insurance business. Posted by alharris The ACA was a step in the right direction, but it stopped just short of freeing health care from the insurance profit side. The care a person receives shouldn't be subject to commercial interests.
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at August 9, 2011 11:19 AM EDT
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Posts: 14591
First: January 28, 2008 Last: May 23, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Single-Payer System: In Response to Re: Single-Payer System : No doubt this could be under health care reform, but wouldn't Medicare & Insurance be more applicable? Health care reform would seem to apply more to the provider end rather than insurance. Posted by TxGrandpa2 You may be right,but maybe that other thread here should be in this one. I'm worried that this Message Board winds up with too many threads like the old "new forum. Karl |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at September 8, 2011 12:56 PM EDT
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Posts: 12532
First: February 29, 2008 Last: May 17, 2013 |
NOTHING would have made the difference for healthcare including dental like Universal healthcare that all the other developed industrialized countries have for their folks. The number of U.S. adults who had health insurance all year but were still "underinsured"—that is, they had very high medical expenses relative to their incomes—rose by 80 percent between 2003 and 2010, from 16 million to 29 million, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study published in the September issue of Health Affairs. Nearly half of U.S. adults, 81 million people, were either underinsured or uninsured in 2010, up from 75 million in 2007 and 61 million in 2003. The study found that the underinsured go without needed health care and struggle to pay medical bills or medical debt at rates approaching those for adults who were uninsured during the year. For example, 46 percent of underinsured adults and 63 percent of uninsured adults didn't fill a prescription or see a doctor when sick, or went without a recommended medical test or treatment, compared with 28 percent of people who had adequate health coverage. According to the authors, the Affordable Care Act, in addition to covering the uninsured, will provide significant relief for those who are underinsured. Once the law is fully implemented, the number of underinsured could drop by as much as 70 percent. |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at September 9, 2011 1:08 PM EDT
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Posts: 14591
First: January 28, 2008 Last: May 23, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Single-Payer System: NOTHING would have made the difference for healthcare including dental like Universal healthcare that all the other developed industrialized countries have for their folks. The number of U.S. adults who had health insurance all year but were still "underinsured"—that is, they had very high medical expenses relative to their incomes—rose by 80 percent between 2003 and 2010, from 16 million to 29 million, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study published in the September issue of Health Affairs . Nearly half of U.S. adults, 81 million people, were either underinsured or uninsured in 2010, up from 75 million in 2007 and 61 million in 2003. The study found that the underinsured go without needed health care and struggle to pay medical bills or medical debt at rates approaching those for adults who were uninsured during the year. For example, 46 percent of underinsured adults and 63 percent of uninsured adults didn't fill a prescription or see a doctor when sick, or went without a recommended medical test or treatment, compared with 28 percent of people who had adequate health coverage. According to the authors, the Affordable Care Act, in addition to covering the uninsured, will provide significant relief for those who are underinsured. Once the law is fully implemented, the number of underinsured could drop by as much as 70 percent. Posted by JANMB The number of uninsured as far back as '03 is surprising because we didn't have the unemployment problem we have now. Was health care more affordable without insurance then? The rise in health care prices and cost has been very large since then. How can we expect to cover so many people without a huge increase in government cost or a decrease in health care prices and cost? karl |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at September 16, 2011 1:50 PM EDT
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Posts: 954
First: September 16, 2011 Last: May 24, 2013 |
I have had the great, "we pay it all" insurance, and I have had no insurance, and now I have VA healthcare. The best by far is the VA, since they remind me of my appontments, make certain I have every test I should have, and treat me like a human being , with respect . The insurance companies have surely lost out in recent years, and the doctors , too are losing , but, mostly the patients are losing what used to be regular care at an affordable price. |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at September 16, 2011 2:36 PM EDT
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Posts: 14591
First: January 28, 2008 Last: May 23, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Single-Payer System: I have had the great, "we pay it all" insurance, and I have had no insurance, and now I have VA healthcare. The best by far is the VA, since they remind me of my appontments, make certain I have every test I should have, and treat me like a human being , with respect . The insurance companies have surely lost out in recent years, and the doctors , too are losing , but, mostly the patients are losing what used to be regular care at an affordable price. http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book/benefits_chap01.asp Posted by BettyLaVerne The VA has a wide variation in different areas. NH has no accredited full service hospital for instance and the facility is very busy. I agree that the VA personnel I've dealt with are very good, but somewhat overloaded. Karl |
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Re: Single-Payer System
posted at September 23, 2011 5:15 AM EDT
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Posts: 12532
First: February 29, 2008 Last: May 17, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Single-Payer System: In Response to Re: Single-Payer System : You may be right,but maybe that other thread here should be in this one. I'm worried that this Message Board winds up with too many threads like the old "new forum. Karl Posted by krlklar Why don't you try and become a Community Host and then you could control everyone. |
Forums » Health » Medicare & Insurance » Single-Payer System
