Conservatives. What SHOULD health care in America look like?

That's capitalism. It's getting the highest amount you can for your service. If college boards were non-capitalist in their approach to tuition costs, then they wouldn't charge what they could get, they would charge what they need. I'm generally for capitalism. If corporations can charge the military for every last dime available in the budget - why shouldn't colleges be able to do the same?

 

Only trouble is that preventative medicine hasn't turned out to be the holy grail is was supposed to be, has it? We are sicker than we were before and most people run to the doctor constantly, which makes those insurance rates go up for everyone.

 

I would agree with that if the government wasn't involved. Crony capitalism (probably more accurately called Mercantilism) isn't the same thing as free market capitalism. That also applies to the military. What the military industrial complex does isn't capitalism, its two groups from the same gang fleecing the tax payers.

 

Federal student loans are capitalism?

 

It was just fine before Obamacare .....

 

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink it. That’s pretty much why preventive medicine doesn’t work for all. A doctor can only tell a patient so many times that they should quit smoking. A doctor can only tell a patient so many times they need to exercise. If people choose to be stupid it’s their own fault and not the fault of doctors trying to help patients with preventive care. Preventive medicine works for those who actually bother to take advantage of it.

 

That's the part you budget and pay for yourself

 

No, emergency room visits would be covered by insurance, if it's a true emergency. Not if you just decide to visit the ER for an ailment that could wait for a Monday office call.

 

Hi Jack,

My wife has worked in the medical insurance billing business and the authorization business all of her professional career, and I ran this by her. She found this shocking. She doesn't work for Blue Cross, but she works for a major hospital and insurance network. She said that they cover out-of-network emergencies all the time, without question, as long as it's supported by the medical record. The other thing she told me is that in cases like yours, it is very common for the provider (UCLA in your case) to work out a deal with the insurance company. For example, she said, if the bill is $120,000, but the insurance company has a problem with covering it, it is common for them to compromise - like maybe 50-75% - calling it good and moving on. She couldn't believe that UCLA and Blue Cross couldn't just make a deal instead of going after you for the $120,000. The other thing she was surprised by is that UCLA didn't appeal Blue Cross's decision. After all, it was UCLA that was out the money. She says they should have appealed, and they could have leaned on the Insurance Commission to lean on Blue Cross.

She says there were avenues that are routinely taken, such as what I have mentioned above, that should have resolved this, rather than going after you and your wife personally.

So the bottom line is that her company would have paid this claim, as she says they do all the time when there is an out-of-network emergency. And she said it was financially stupid for UCLA to go after you. They should have gone after Blue Cross, she says.

She is presently working exclusively doing authorizations for her company, so she knows what she's talking about.

Seth

 

I was talking about paying for day to day care.
Non emergent care at an ER should be paid for out of pocket.

 

What about the 85-year-old living alone who doesn't have enough income to qualify for paying any taxes? How about the 35-year-old single parent who doesn't pay income taxes for the same reason?

You idea is too convoluted, too complicated, too detailed. When a person needs medical care they just want to be able to go to a doctor without having it break the bank. Your plan reminds me of the idiots who proclaim "get more choices!!! Sign up with XYZ Health Insurance Co. and you'll have 20 different plans to choose from!!!"

People don't want to pore over plans. They want medical care when they need it. Your idea is only somewhat better and yet it still doesn't cover everyone.

 

Seth, I wish it had been your wifehandling the claim. I was shocked when they denied coverage and thought it was just an oversight, but they kept refusing for over a year. That was in ‘88. I’m over it and my son is 31 and doing well. He had to have surgery at 14, then again at 28 and our insurance covered it when he was 14, then Obamacare coveredit when he was on his own at 28.

 

As I wrote, calling your wife' plan anything other than criminal did not jibe with the facts you presented. Certainly not some kinda good health care plan, but rather a garbage plan and your wife's employer lost a good nurse because they have a garbage plan.

 

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe a logical rebuttal might be better than spewing your socialist crap all over the place and hoping that some idiot might agree with it can possibly be considered a better tact?

Next time, try a logical argument,rather than nonsensical questions that don't mean jack dog ****.

Conservatives have long learned to ignore nonsense like this "well what about that guy who can't afford filet mignon?"

If he can't afford to eat, then he dies.

Got it?

 

Haha, she says she wishes she had been handling your claim too.

 

Yeah, day to day care wouldn't be covered by insurance.

 

Well, life goes on. My son was a three time Los Angeles All City Baseball player after his second surgery and got a college scholarship. He now has a new mechanical heart valve which is supposed to last 20+ years and is enjoying life to the fullest. Hopefully, by the time he needs to have that one replaced there will be advances which will make the next surgery less scary. Right after his latest surgery three years ago at Cedars In LA , actor Bill Paxton had the same surgery with thie same doctors and died of complications in the recovery room. My kid was out of the hospital and thriving in 5 days after his first surgery when he was a day old, then at 14 he was playing ball in 4 moths after his second. He is doing great now. He’s a natural healer, I guess......Cheers

 

One can't help but note the irony of a socialist, who thinks the government can micro-manage virtually every aspect of society, suddenly finds a half a page summary of a plan "too convoluted, too complicated, too detailed."

Ha! I love it!

So to your objections:

The 85 year old covered by Medicare isn't impacted.

The 35 year old with no taxable income would be eligible for a tax credit. I hate to ask, but do you even know what a tax credit is?

 

How does a tax credit benefit someone who has no tax obligation anyway?

 

Wow I was right!

I thought you would at least Google it before you replied.

Basically a refundable tax credit pays you even if you don't have a tax obligation, like the EIC. So your hypothetical 35 year old would have a $5,000 tax credit to apply to the purchase of health insurance. This isn't a new idea. Tax credits have been part of almost every GOP health reform plan, but the amounts suggested have been too small IMHO.

 

Wrongo! I was testing you. You said "The 35 year old with no taxable income would be eligible for a tax credit."

Only now do you finally mention "refundable tax credit". There is a difference that you ignored, and I asked about it. But you love any opportunity to insult your opponent. We see that regularly in your posts.

 

No offense, but you sound kind of young. I don't know if you're old enough to remember what it was like pre-Obamacare. If you had a pre-existing condition, insurance companies wouldn't touch you. That's one of the reasons Obama spent so much political capital on reforming the healthcare system.

My dad had a heart attack at 43. No insurance company would insure him after that. You tell me: how was he supposed to get a catastrophic coverage plan?

It's like a lot of you guys were asleep (or kids) prior to 2008 and have no idea just how bad things were.

 

You might say that youth is wasted on the young.

 

You're 23? You're a kid. Don't feel bad, I'm a kid compared to someone who's 65. It's all relative. But you really haven't lived much yet.

 

No. Things can (and should) be illegal, no matter how much money is on the table.