Health care problems and solutions in politics

[GreatLakes4Ever]

What is wrong with it being an employment benefit? In terms of it being offered as a possible benefit?

It induces people to stay with jobs they hate because they need the insurance. It also discourages small businesses forming since you will be without insurance or paying significantly more for it if you start your own business instead of sticking with your current employer.

 

[GodLovesCats]

Good point, however, Americans with a rash prefer to go straight to a Dermatologist. This is why managed care plans are the policies of last resort, people don't want to wait.

Not always. Rashes can be drug side effects. So can many other symptoms. A patient who knows about a drug's side effect can simply report them to the prescribing doctors if it happens. So this is on the doctors to let patients know what to expect.

 

[Silverback]

These are only my proposals and not based on what would be realistic with a Republican Senate majority. For the purposes of this topic only I am assuming both sides of Congress will be controlled by Democrats. In no particular order of importance:

1. Require all employers with at least 25 employees to include health insurance benefits to part and full time workers.
2. Require private insurance companies to cover all lifesaving exams including colonoscopies no matter how much they cost.
3. Prohibit price changes when patients have to switch from regular pills to the extended release forms of the same drugs.
4. Put a low price cap on brand name drugs for people whose doctors submit forms they can't take the generic drug.
5. Add hearing aids, hearing implants, and audiology appointments to the list of health care plans.

I agree with you on hearing aids, I use them, the price is outrageous.

 

[GodLovesCats]

I agree with you on hearing aids. I use them. The price is outrageous.

AT MINIMUM $3000 per ear. And unless you have a conductive hearing loss, both ears are affected.

It makes no sense at all that the government does not recognize hearing aids as medical devices for health insurance purposes. Don't they reqiure approval from the FDA to exist?

 

[U2seekpeace]

A tricky thing. Do we pay doctors less? If we pay hospitals less then they may close. Docs in the UK are paid very little and they run to the US. and are replaced by 3 rd world docs who may not even speak English well enough to understand the person they are to treat.

 

[dogs4thewin]

Nothing, really, as long as it is a uniform benefit so a person can changes jobs easily with losing anything and if it is also available at reasonable cost to entrepreneurs and the self-employed. Employer-provided health insurance is actually an accident of history unknown before WWII when it was invented by employers competing for a shrinking civilian workforce and prevented by a wage freeze from offering traditional salary inducements. There is certainly nothing inevitable about it.

I have the impression that you want to tie it to employment because you imagine a large pool of people who are able to work but choose not to and you don't want to give them anything for free, but that is largely a conservative myth.

no, actually I find that to be a good benefit to attract good employees. Has nothing to do with me not wanting the unemployed to have insurance.

 

[expos4ever]

because there is no such thing as free, and "free" stuff people tend to abuse.

Do you have any evidence to support this assertion that people will abuse publicly funded healthcare?

 

[expos4ever]

A tricky thing. Do we pay doctors less? If we pay hospitals less then they may close. Docs in the UK are paid very little and they run to the US. and are replaced by 3 rd world docs who may not even speak English well enough to understand the person they are to treat.

Please provide evidence to support this claim. Information like salaries and actual numbers re doctors leaving.

 

[Tanj]

America is a free country. We have the right to choose our lifestyles if our health and money makes doing what we want possible. So why shouldn't we have a choice on health insurance?

That attitude murders your countrymen.

Study: 45,000 Deaths Per Year Due to Lack of Health Insurance

What I want more than anything from the government is universal health care. My opposition is to forcing everyone to have the same health insurance plan because we all have different needs beyond the regular wellness exams and disease testing.

Nice strawman you built there, nicely knocked down too. What the heck is "regular wellness exams and disease testing"? Seriously? My single payer system diagnosed and paid for my kidney cancer. Is that different enough for you?

 

[GreatLakes4Ever]

no, actually I find that to be a good benefit to attract good employees. Has nothing to do with me not wanting the unemployed to have insurance.

I find it a really stupid idea to dangle health insurance to entice employees. It keeps employees who hate their job with your company just because they need the health insurance. And on a national level it deters small business formation because people will stick with jobs with health care rather than creating their own business where they won’t have health care.

 

[GodLovesCats]

That attitude murders your countrymen.

Nice strawman you built there, nicely knocked down too. What the heck is "regular wellness exams and disease testing"? Seriously? My single payer system diagnosed and paid for my kidney cancer. Is that different enough for you?

I don't think you understand what I was saying. Americans should be allowed to choose private insurance if it is good enough for their needs and available through employers. But Americans should be able to get health care from the government regardless of age for all druga, aurgeries, exams, emergencies, hospital stays, and appointments.

 

[Tanj]

I don't think you understand what I was saying.

I sure did.

Americans should be allowed to choose private insurance if it is good enough for their needs and available through employers.

That belief kills 45000 of your countrymen annually. Why on earth would you tie health insurance to employers? It makes no sense whatsoever. Not even a little bit.

But Americans should be able to get health care from the government regardless of age for all druga, aurgeries, exams, emergencies, hospital stays, and appointments.

The least effective and most unsustainable form of healthcare known to mankind. Prevention and early detection is a far better option. Also, who's paying for these things all Americans should get?

 

[GodLovesCats]

Health insurance is already tied to employers. Americans who get it that way now are allowed to keep it if they want to.

Prevention is not always possible, you know. Early detectiion is obviously the most important thing health insurance needs to cover. But that ideal is not reality. People need health care plans that cover surgeries, medications, and other expensive treatments for the problems that can't be prevented or detected early - and the list of them is very long.

 

[Silverback]

AT MINIMUM $3000 per ear. And unless you have a conductive hearing loss, both ears are affected.

It makes no sense at all that the government does not recognize hearing aids as medical devices for health insurance purposes. Don't they reqiure approval from the FDA to exist?

I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Audiology for many years, the reason they are so expensive is because 50% of all hearing aids dispensed in the United States are through the VA. They can obtain a pair of the most up to date hearing aids, a remote control, and a streaming device for the TV for around $1000 at the Government Contract price. To privately purchase the same aids, remote, and streamer would cost you $12K to 15K. Of course their is less advanced technology that cost less.

The VA Patient does not pay anything for the aids, or the other devices mentioned.

So, since the Government gets the hearing aids so cheap, the cost of all the R&D, manufacturing, and other operating cost gets dumped on the remaining 50% of users.

It is unfair, and should be corrected.

In my case since I worked for the VA in Audiology, I opted not to pursue a disability rating for hearing loss through the VA. Since I am retired from the military, I was able to purchase a pair of aids, remote, and streamer at the same government contract price, the only drawback was I had to travel to a military hospital to get tested, and return a month later for the fitting, so I did have travel and logging cost.

 

[GodLovesCats]

All I have are hearing aids without a remote. What is a TV streamer?

So the government should lower the cost of hearing aids to $1000 for a pair from any audiologist to make it fair, I guess.

 

[Occams Barber]

Health insurance is already tied to employers. Americans who get it that way now are allowed to keep it if they want to.

Prevention is not always possible, you know. Early detectiion is obviously the most important thing health insurance needs to cover. But that ideal is not reality. People need health care plans that cover surgeries, medications, and other expensive treatments for the problems that can't be prevented or detected early - and the list of them is very long.

People need both preventative healthcare and ongoing treatment. Obviously prevention is not always possible but, by doing what is possible, later health problems can be minimised and the overall cost of healthcare reduced.

Like Tanj I can't see any sense in tying healthcare to employers apart from a general reluctance to face change.
OB

 

[Silverback]

All I have are hearing aids without a remote. What is a TV streamer?

So the government should lower the cost of hearing aids to $1000 for a pair from any audiologist to make it fair, I guess.

Or, get the law changed to force insurance companies to cover them...Medicare pays nothing.

A streamer is a device that is attached to the TV that streams directly to your hearing aids. It makes for a better TV experience, because you can adjust the volume to suit you. This does not affect the actual TV Volume, so the rest of the family can enjoy the TV without being blasted out.

 

[GodLovesCats]

With a single payer system, does Australia give people choices on health plans?

 

[GodLovesCats]

Or, get the law changed to force insurance companies to cover them...Medicare pays nothing.

EXACTLY! There is NO excuse for hearing aids and autdiology appointments not being covered as medical expenses. Now that pre-existing condition coverage is required by law it would be a simple change to add hearing aids to the list of devices and hearing tests to the list of exams that are covered by insurance.

Medicare is limited to certain doctors. You can keep the same private health insurance but not be covered anymore because you also have Medicare. That is one of the problems the government needs to fix when it finally solves the health care issues.

 

[Occams Barber]

With a single payer system, does Australia give people choices on health plans?

We have no individual healthcare plans. Everyone is covered for virtually all needed healthcare treatment.

(note that the term Medicare is the term for the generic, public healthcare system accessed by all Australians).

Medicare provides benefits for:

• consultation fees for doctors, including specialists;
• tests and examinations by doctors needed to treat illnesses, such as x-rays and pathology tests;
• eye tests performed by optometrists;
• most surgical and other therapeutic procedures performed by doctors in public hospitals;
• some surgical procedures performed by approved dentists;
• specific items under the Cleft Lip and Palate Scheme;
• specific items under the Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) program; and
• specific items for allied health services as part of the Chronic Disease Management Plan.

Pharmaceutical

Under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) you pay only part of the cost of most prescription medicines purchased at pharmacies. The rest of the cost is covered by the PBS.

The amount you pay varies, and is dependent on the type of medicine, up to a standard maximum. People with Government-issued concession cards have a lower maximum payment.

Medicare does not provide benefits for the following:

• most dental examinations and treatment;
• most physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry or psychology services;
• acupuncture (unless part of a doctor's consultation);
• glasses and contact lenses;
• hearing aids and other appliances; and
• home nursing.

You can arrange private health insurance to cover many of these services. Most insurers will have limits on how much you can claim per service and per year.
OB
What is covered by Medicare?