Did the public stop gap measures at the City, County, State, and Federal levels cover specialized care? They usually cover basic care and prescriptions from Primary care physicians.
Yes, it covered my visits to an ENT specialist and a sinus surgery, recovery and followup care. I first went to the free clinic in Boise, was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and was referred to a specialist. The specialist worked for the most part pro bono but Ada County picked up a chunk of the bill for Dr. visits and the surgery. The hospital wrote off my bill. The two main hospitals in Boise each get millions of dollars in tax breaks in part for rendering services to the indigent. Funny thing is many Canadians think that if you go into the U.S. without visitors insurance, and you get hurt or sick, that you will just be left to die on the streets. Funny how far misinformation and stereotypes can go. On the reverse many Americans think that the Canadian system is nirvana, where everything is covered... again just factually incorrect.
The only people with a fear of universal healthcare in the USA are Obama, Reid and the drafters of the Affordable Care Act. They want Robin Hood style theft from the middle class through taxation and mandates using unconstitutional bullying tactics. I would say Nancy Pelosi but she confessed to not reading the bill that she voted for so I put her in the Forrest(a) Gump category.
Whenever you subject yourself to x-rays, you increase your chance of cancer by a significant degree. after 5, 10, 20... mammograms, your chance of cancer is increased 100's of times. So don't do it.
My sister is an IRS lawyer there is a way they can get around this, they can get a court order to appear to establish the legitimacy of the debt if someone doens't show up they can get a bench warrant for contempt of court and give the people at that point a choice pay the debt, or go to jail on the contempt charge not the failure to pay taxes. And can use the tax courts to do this. Since its not a criminal charge on the debt but on a refusal to appear in court its lega even if sneaky but complies with the letter of the ACA. I saw the IRS document myself where this is being considered. And requesting a court ruling on the holding of the debt is legal they can do that its allowed in the law that was left open and my sister is the one that proposed this on a meeting of the ACA law. And they can get the money its in the law you get a tax refund it can be taken if your actually getting decent checks back its a viable option and those opting out likely won't get special benefits under the law will they, which means the ones opting out will get those refunds hit. So the garnishment of refunds is not an idle threat.
Thanks for the info. I never get a refund, I always owe at the end of the year. So they can't get me that way.
Ahhh. The argument over UHC. Also the fallacy that the US has the best healthcare system in the world. The fact is the uninsured cost EVERYONE more. Through taxes and increased insurance premiums. Uncompensated care is split between the what the govt costs and the fact that the hospitals will charge $20 for an aspirin, thereby passing costs on to insurance companies, who pass the costs on to the subscribers. The uninsured also cost MUCH more as they do not go in for treatment for problems when they are still minor and easily treatable. They wait until that problem has become a severe medical emergency resulting in more complex, longer, expensive treatment that costs considerably more. They also tend not to be as compliant with their chronic conditions- such as diabetes and hypertension. Noncompliance with these conditons- poor follow up, not taking their medications as prescribed, etc, result in added complications that require, again, much more complex, expensive treatment. All of this ends up costing the rest of us much more than a UHC plan would. This study is from 2005 but it still hasn't really changed much. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/154731/study_uninsured_cost_insured_900_per_year/ As for having the "best" healthcare in the world. That is really debatable. The advancements coming out of Europe actually are ahead of us. Germany was the first to use the Total Artificial Heart. A device that has had incredible outcomes in saving lives for people that need heart transplants desperately and do not have the time to wait. The hospital I work at (I have been a nurse for 20 years) was the second hospital in the US to use it. Even now it is only a bridge to transplant- meaning that it is implanted and the patient still goes on the transplant list to wait for a new heart. In the mean time it actually will work miracles in bringing an extremely sick individual up to a more improved optimum level of health. When the US started using it, Germany was already using it as what is called a "destination" heart. That means the person gets it and that is it. They get a backpack battery they carry around with them and go about their lives. It really is an incredible device. Despite over 6 years of use in the US and documented proof of its effectiveness there are not that many hospitals using it, although more are each year. France did the first face transplant. While the US then caught on, we still didn't do it first. France also invented the DaVinci robot. That robot has revolutionized prostate surgery although it is also used for other surgeries as well. Europe is also leaps and bounds ahead of us in what is called transcatheter replacement of heart valves. Replacing a heart valve through someone's groin. It is less invasive and easier on someone who is already extremely sick who general anesthesia and the invasiveness of having their chest opened up, heart stopped and going on bypass is really risky. While we have started doing it here, it is extremely limited in who it can be done on right now although the hope is because the outcomes are so good, within the next 5 years it will become the standard. Just like a cardiac cath and stent placement are now the standard treatment for heart disease. Healthcare costs are out of control in this country as well. Yes, we are a capitalist society but the amount of money that is charged for drugs and devices that are implanted are insane. One single screw in a lumbar fusion can cost the hospital $800. This is what the device company charges the hospital, not what the hospital will turn around and charge a patient. Those cardiac stents...they can run anywhere from $1000 to $3000 a piece. It goes on and on and on. Companies are getting rich on the backs of sick people.
"Companies are getting rich on the backs of sick people. " .....and now they can get rich on the backs of healthy people too. Healthy people that are smart enough not to get "Health Care" (lol, as if) from the most unhealthy "treatments" (lol, as if) possible. I choose to do everything I can to not participate!
Many of my friends that have been living in CANADA for like 5 years and they say that they love their care system and no matter what ever happened to them the government and the officials are on their way for providing the best care and treatment to the residents... Yesterday a friend of mine told me that he is planning to create an old aged living care center for the oldies.. And i think that contributions like these do really help for making a strong nation.
Yep!! And I have worked with a shed load of US nurses who have come HERE for the better life-style, less societal oppression and of course good pay and conditions............. Sometime we will really compare the two countries and stop a lot of this rubbish about one being inferior to the other BTW Australia is up there when it comes to medical innovation so any time you want to do a point by point comparision...........................
Okay then lets give a simple Scenario Bob works hard and due to being a bit slow ,IQ 90, is a semiskilled laborer earning "full time" and Acme Mart at 28 hours a week (Walmart full-time btw) $9.00 an hour that is $13104 before taxes now he has no insurance and is a good worker, citizen and doing his best. What would the ACA do for him he would be on Medicaid or could get into an exchange at his income based on what the state does providing him health care or it would be fairly inexpensive [4% of income at most $525 a year, he would have to pay 6% of all out of pocket costs) so not a big issue. Now in a Republican approach how would they provide Bob health care he could afford to use remember he has other expenses to? Critics here have alot to say so fine what would you do for the Bobs of the country? >> Acme Mart will have 40 employees for reference so won't have to provide insurance under the ACA, its a local grocery store in a small town.
When people stop comming to America for Healthcare I will believe it. IE: Canadians have a 40% occupancy rate in our hospitals that border Canada. My Canadian relitives from Toronto won't let the family dog be cared for with that system.
Exactly! I just started a thread on this very subject. As an American, it is frustrating for me to see so many of my fellow Americans just wholesale accept without question the merits of UHC. It is like they are a bunch of lemmings willfully oblivious to the negatives of UHC. There are positives and negatives in all health care systems. But some just want to cover their eyes and ears and live in belligerent denial that even their precious UHS has some serious down sides. American you should really be careful what you wish for... because you just may get it and then find out its not all its cracked up to be.
