Health Buzz: Health Insurers Propose Overhaul and Other Health News
Reader Comments
No Way!
Too Late!! Of course they come crawling back now. Even if they did cover everyone, everything would be pre-existing conditions, or they would apply a "rider" to your insurance to not cover anything likely to happen to you. We need universal healthcare. If we still have a pay system, then we need to have the government form a huge non-profit insurance system. The more people in the insurance pool, the cheaper it will get, and without Insurance companies taking billions in profit, it will be cheap. Also it will provide competition. There is no reason to let Health Insurers that have let people die and randomly refused coverage to insured people, to continue to run the system. They are evil.
I agree
To get real reform, we must get rid of the insurance companies. As a doctor, I rather deal with a buracrat than a greedy insurance company. HMO's are the worst. I rather deal with Medicare and Medicaid/Medi-Cal.
Americans want UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, NOT HEALTH INSURANCE!
The insurance companies are interested only in figuring out how to make a buck off of Americans health problems. They will do this either by denying coverage or raising premiums, or both. America needs to move towards a Universal Health Care system which has providing Health Care as it's primary goal.
Never Trust an Insurance Company
People seem to be in a coma if they think anything good can come from the mind of an insurance company. It's rather like the question of how you can tell if a lawyer is lying: Answer, his mouth is moving.
insurance
real change is only possible when we get the lawyers out of the game. too much medicine and too many costs are being driven by actions taken to avoid problems with 'sue-happy' lawyers. I doubt our next administration will be willing to deal with this core problem in our health care system.
This proposal by the insurance companies is doomed to failure for the simple reason that they would be free to charge whatever they want for premiums. Insurance companies should be forced to charge everybody the same, regardless of age, gender, or pre-existing condition. Still undecided as to whether location should be a consideration. You wanna fix the system? Force our elected representatives to enroll in the same program, instead of the cushy one they've got now. Fixed in a hurry.
Mojo builds around reform
Of course, there are many points of disagreement on healthcare reform and numerous difficult decisions and compromises to be hammered out. But there’s also widespread agreement on at least two critical reform requirements.
-- Electronic health records (EHR). Bringing together the major medical systems has been a priority of current HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, and will likely be backed by his probable successor Tom Daschle. EHR adoption is still low, so the opportunity is real and big.
-- Evidence-based medicine. Stakeholders agree that all efforts and systems should be based on sound medical science and published literature. The new systems need to assure and deliver quality, consistent care, incorporating the best diagnostic and quality care guidelines. These guidelines need to be available at the patient’s bedside as well as throughout payer and provider organizations.
These two concepts give us a starting point for the emerging health reform compromise. I'm looking forward to seeing more points of agreement emerge as the reform conversation gains volume.
Possibilities? www.healthcaretownhall.com
The only way I can see this working for the American public is if the insurance industry is regulated up the yin-yang. We already know that they're only in it for the money, as evidenced by the US health care when compared to other first world nations.
If we're going to do this thing, let's do it right. Start by setting limits on insurance company profits. Rather than direct competition for dollars, encourage cooperative competition for efficiency of care, perhaps by giving the insurance companies bonuses for cost reductions and quality of care improvements.
Making disease prevention a priority will reduce costs across the board, but we need to be patient for those savings to show up. It might take a couple of generations, but I believe we can significantly reduce mid and late life need for chronic care.
Revamp the prescription patent process to discourage copycat medications, streamlining the FDA approval process (with independent oversight to eliminate manipulation of drug trials results) and killing the Patent Medicine industry. That last will save Americans billions every year both in direct spending for ineffective treatments as well as reducing self-diagnosed treatments that delay proper care.
We need more health care clinics where doctors can practice medicine instead of filling out paperwork. Staff them with nurse practitioners to spread the load and manage the less complex cases.
But... giving the insurance companies a blank check while mandating 100% populace compliance is a sure-fire route to even worse health care than we have now. All that will accomplish is feeding corporate greed while offering no discouragement to profiting by denying treatment to patients in need of care.
$700 charge for a dislocated elbow
Back in 2000, it cost about $700 per night stay for mother who were giving birth.
Now in 2008, simply popping back a dislocated elbow will cost $700. This amount was revealed on our health insurance bill on what it would have cost us, if we do not have health insurance... With the bad economy, a lot of us will be out of our jobs, and there goes our insurance. I cannot imagine how someone can afford $700 for a simple doctor visit.
THE ONLY REASON THIS IS HAPPENING, THIS GOVERNMENT ENFORCED INSURANCE, IS TO GAIN CONTROL OF EVERY PERSON IN THE UNITED STATES. FIRST THEY FORCE YOU TO BECOME COVERED, THEN THEY CAN REQUIRE ANY TEST, PROCEDURE, VACCINATION, ETC THEY WANT! IF STUPID AMERICANS DON'T WAKE UP AND SEE THE NWO FORMING ALL AROUND THEM, THEN THEY DESERVE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM! WORLD GOVERNMENT IS COMING, AND THIS INSURANCE PLAN IS ONLY DESIGNED TO CULL THE MASSES!
