Healthcare Reform Alters Insurance Choices for 2011

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Unfortunately this system is not going to work. It's obvious that handing over human values and rights to the people who are only interested in profit is a defeated issue. The government response that it will "regulate and oversee" these health care companies when it can't even manage a budget just won't hold any weight. Mixing human rights/social values and money just doesn't work as the Europeans so justly point out. Plus it creates two problems: both government regulation and health care company performance when a public option (medicare for everyone) would have concentrated on just one problem. Government reform. Plus since Medicare premiums are based on income this would have been the correct choice for a country in the middle of a deep economic crisis (i.e. people have more money to spend in a graduated premium system.) Which is it easier for an individual to do: Manage his own financial well being or manage his neighbors finances who lives down the street. Obviously, it is easier to manage your own life. Futhermore, the government has decided by making the old and poor criminals (obvious Human Rights Violation when you penalize people for their existence if they don't buy into this poor health care system), that they know more about how to manage our finances than we the citizen do. I spend many hundreds of dollars a month of my limited income on very effective alternative medical treatments which I will have to give up when I'm forced to pay these outrageous premiums in 2014 and get limited benefits (these HMOs are not going to give away their money for the sick and go broke themselves.) So now I guess I'll become sicker as I cut back on my effective alternative medical treatments not covered by big healthco/pharma because I'm not going to have the money. STUPID AMERICA.
Quick story: I worked for state government and retired several years ago without health insurance. The other day I called up one of the health insurance companies to find out about benefits and possible enrollment. I was coming to the end of my enrollment period for 2011. Guess what! The company couldn't even tell me what my benefits would be. They hadn't gotten around to putting my plan in the computer. So they want me to buy a plan blindly! Then I asked what the previous year's plan covered on vision care especially sight-saving eye surgery. Nothing but exam visits! Gee, you can have all the preventive analysis in the world but if you can't afford to fix the problem then what good is preventive diagnostics. Do I want to entrust my health to such an incompetent industry that is going to attempt to find any way that they can to avoid paying bills and maximize profits.
Another quick story: I've gone to two hospitals in the last year for simple blood tests and guess what;They can't even tell me the price for these blood tests. Now I know that I should "shop" around but when you're very sick that just doesn't make it.
Shame on You Mr Obama.

David of CO 6:28PM October 29, 2010

Understand what the health care reform is offering so you'll know all your options. Who knows it might just answer you and your family's medical concerns. But make sure you understand what's part of the coverage you're applying for. If you have a dependent below 26, check if they're better off to be under your plan or to just apply for a plan on their own.
Anne C
NY Health Insurer

Anne of NY 6:11PM October 29, 2010

Prices were rising at this rate since the 1990's. At least now we are getting lots more - preventive care, no ceiling on benefits, no refusal based on pre-existing conditions, more people covered, eventually more choices on insurers, etc...
I LIKE IT!
The health insurers have gotten fat and rich off us - collecting high premiums and limiting services covered....Time to reverse that trend. Our competitors in the industrialized world all offer much more extensive plans at 60% of the cost. They do not focus on bubbling fountains, soaring reception lobbies with coordinated furniture, duplicate equipment that is not used fully to support the cost. Medication pricing is NOT a profit center, home care and house calls are standard,and people are not stressed when they get sick by anything other than being sick. No paperwork. No bills.
Medicine overseas is not an opportunity to get rich. It's a system that cares for its people as a first priority.
Albert-Francois - I agree. Ensuring the system provides good healthcare should be a responsibility of the state, that is why it's called "public health". This country has a bad habit of reducing everything to consider profit before the good of society. We have empowered business to make decisions regarding our health based on what is profitable, not what is healthy. You seem to be from somewhere else. I lived in Europe for a while, and really enjoyed the superior care I received without paperwork, deductibles and did not have to refuse options based on cost. Too bad others who oppose don't know more about that....They have decided to oppose based on concepts instead of reality....

DeeToo of SC 11:03AM October 29, 2010

La salud es una cosa de estado.Por eso se llama :Salud Publica.
Por eso exijimos que los gobiernos tengan en su programa para ameliorar la salud de los ciudanos.

ALBERT-FRANCOIS NYECK 5:42PM October 28, 2010