Wednesday July 1, 2009, 6:27 am
This is so scary, I have no idea what will happen if the insurance laws change :I

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 6:29 am
Tis sad that medical cover does not cover everything, thus pushing people into financial problems... there should be some pressure brought onto these medical aid schemes to cover 100%, and to bring their prices down... Sherbet the best thing is not to get sick...

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 5:30 pm
Noted with many thanks Dearest Peace.
Love,
Black Dalia:)

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 5:36 pm
Oh yes all to common. Even we are worried about this and will consider leaving the country if either of us needed serious medical work. Totally unjust system for Americans in this country

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 10:17 pm
This awful inflation is very scary to me

Thursday July 2, 2009, 1:36 am
I don't know what will happen.

Thursday July 2, 2009, 8:14 am
Thank you Kat.

Thursday July 2, 2009, 12:18 pm
Dealing with this too,you go for surgery and ask billing if your insurance will be covering everything,and they say,with a serious look,OF COURSE THEY WILL.Well they won't,by the tine the anesthesiologist,therapist and OTHER charges come in ,you end up paying hundreds or thousands beyond what they quote.Is it any wonder that people wait when they know they are ill till its an emergencyand go into the emergency room for care,at least your insurance will cover most of the cost.The sale of the fantasy Health Care Bill is going to only to make things worse,just think who will be making your choices for you,would you trust Joe Biden?

Thursday July 2, 2009, 2:12 pm
As someone who has chronic health problems myself, my biggest fear when it comes to losing my job is not loss of income. It's loss of health coverage. Fortunately, I am not in danger of losing my job right now. But in this economy, who knows?

Health care is a joke in this U.S. because you if you get so sick you can't work anymore, you lose your job, and lose your health insurance. And who can afford COBRA? So basically, when the time comes when you really need your health insurance, you can lose it.

The other problem with health care in this country is that one of the American dreams is to own your own business right? Too bad that dream is only accessible to people who are young and in perfect health. No one else can afford private health insurance. And that' if they can even get insured at all. In most states, private health companies can deny coverage to anyone who they consider to be too big of a risk. So there are states in this country where people are sick can't even get health coverage for any price.

Health care is one of the most important issues that the Obama administration needs to address.

Thursday July 2, 2009, 2:15 pm
Gingrich On Private Health Insurance Companies: ‘They Have It Done Well’


Health Care Reform : New HELP Bill Covers 97 Percent Of Americans, Costs $600 Billion
So health care reform WITH a public option would cost $400 billion less than reform WITHOUT a public option. Seems pretty clear which way we should go.


Update...The incoming president of the American Medical Association, Dr. J. James Rohack, said his organization now supports a public plan, after initially indicating its opposition. The AMA supports an “American model” that includes both “a private system and a public system, working together,” he said.




And what kind of health insurance system does Israel have, Senator Joe Lieberman?

"Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the issue of health care has never left the public agenda. The public debate on reform of the health system has focused on enactment of a national health insurance law. Reform was spurred by recommendations of the Natanyahu Commission (1990). Its recommendations served as a catalyst for the passage of the National Health Insurance Law which came into effect on January 1, 1995." - Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Thursday July 2, 2009, 4:16 pm
Just some info from South Africa. 95% of South Africans cannot afford medical insurance and are dependent upon the government public hospitals, where blood and guts and filth and poor service is the norm. Most of the doctors across South Africa (in the public health service) are currently on strike, asking for a living wage. The medical aid contribtion in South Africa are currently tax deductible, so the government is in fact paying part of the private medical insurance for those who can actually afford it! Therefore the government coffers are empty - insufficient funds for public health issues.

While on holiday in the USA several years ago I became seriously ill and requried surgery. I flew back to South Africa (as ill as I was) because of the prohibitive medical costs. A General practitioner visit here in SA costs about SA Rands R250 (divide by current exchange rate). Just to see the doctor in the USA those years back, cost me SA Rands R750 (divide by current exchange rate). An utter and complete rip-off....

And after reading this article, I realise that companies/hospitals/doctors who become rich on the backs of ill people will have a lot of explaining to do when the individuals involved finally meet their Maker.

Saturday July 4, 2009, 8:39 am

Health Care For All : What If ... We Stripped Away the $13 Billion Insurance Company Profits ...
President Obama's health care plan will get rid of exorbitant corporate profits, bloated CEO bonuses, endless denials, and skyrocketing costs while giving voters more choice and making private insurance companies behave better.



Here is how your Representatives/Senators are voting on the public option.

http://standwithdrdean.com/where_congress_stands?chamber=&party=&state=&hc_status=&commit=Filter

Contact info, included.



Senate Report Finds Insurers Wrongfully Charged Consumers Billions
24 Jun 2009 Health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions
of dollars in medical bills that the insurers themselves should
have paid, according to a report released today by the staff of
the Senate Commerce Committee. The report was part of a multi-pronged
assault on the credibility of private insurers by Commerce Committee
Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.). It came at a time when
Rockefeller, President Obama and others are seeking to offer a
public alternative to private health plans as part of broad health
reform legislation. Health insurers are doing everything they
can to block the public option.



Public Health Plan Could Save Money Faster: Policy Group
A nationwide health insurance exchange that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said on Wednesday.


Medicare for All (Single-Payer) Reform Would Be Major Stimulus for Economy 2.6 Million New Jobs,$317 Billion in Business Revenue

First-of-Its Kind Study: Medicare for All (Single-Payer) Reform Would Be Major Stimulus for Economy 2.6 Million New Jobs,$317 Billion in Business Revenue, $100 Billion in Wages


TransGriot: 10 busted myths about the Canadian health care system.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 2:28 am
I wonder how many know they charge you more if you have insurance:(
Why do dentists charge more if you have insurance?Don't ask your insurance company, your dentist or the ADA. ... Dentists charge more if you have insurance, they charge about double to the insurance for ...
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/rnr/1241942528.html - Similar

My3cents.com - Aetna Insurance Complaint - Charged more than non ...
Aetna Insurance Consumer Review - Charged more than non-insured person ... do have insurance and you can't elect after-the-fact not to use your insurance. ... If you have Aetna insurance and you go to this emergancy room, you are going ...
www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=40809 - Cached - Similar

Sunday July 5, 2009, 3:29 am
Wanna hear something bizarre regarding healthcare insurance? My hubby's heart surgeon got $3,000 paid him for a triple-bypass. I just found out that a family member's cataract surgery costs $4,000. Does this make any sense at all??? I don't get how a 10-min. surgery costs more than a 3-hr. surgery does. Guess your eyes are more important than your heart!

Sunday July 5, 2009, 1:22 pm
Now I'll blow you away completely: - and I've spent a month at this place in India - so can talk from REAL experience!
==============================
At Dera - on the banks of the Beas River, in the Punjab - India a 'city' exists that very few people know about. And annualy over 6000 (SIX THOUSAND) cataract surgeries are performed each year FREE. You must see this to believe it. And any other ailments are treated too. After surger the patients are hand carried on a strecher (in relays) from the surgery rooms to the large halls - separate for women, men and children. Doctors and specialists, techinicians and nurses from all over the world volunteer. The spirit of love here is something else - gives a new meaning to the words 'love thy neighbour as thyself' and the hippocratic oath. Once the stitches are removed - and the patient is ready to go home, they are supplied with a pair of glasses and eyedrops. For most of these patients the cost of a pair of glasses is equal to a year's income.

There is no link to the Beas on the internet - Radha Soami Satsang Beas is rarely mentioned in the media because the Society does not proselytize or publicize its activities. There is only one official Website:
Dera

Perhaps the rest of the world can learn a lesson or two from Dera and not charge $4000 for cataract surgery! Eeeessshhh.....

Sunday July 5, 2009, 11:11 pm
I am so pleased to hear that people around the world ARE getting cared for, and do not have to pay for their care! I know that the USA has some influence over this, as we have VERY big hearts here...and I hope American doctors share some of their time overseas. I don't believe that any one country should have the smartest & most capable doctors as there are people who are sick and in need of help all around the world.


Oh yes, the insurance companies get THEIR money over here no matter what, you can be sure! And we wouldn't mind paying that amount so much if we knew they took it to help 3rd. world countries, but instead, I'm pretty sure it goes into the pockets of the heads of the insurance companies, VERY wrong!!

Sunday July 12, 2009, 7:40 am
Michael Moore's health care documentary 'Sicko' can be viewed online in its entirety here.(Hat tip to 'citisven' at Daily Kos.)


Bill Moyers Show Reveals Insurance Lobby's Secret Plan to Attack 'Sicko' and Michael Moore
Moyers will expose for the first time the health insurance industry's secret campaign against Michael Moore and his film, "Sicko." It contains a stunning revelation and admission by a top health insurance executiive--former head of publicity for CIGNA...

Sunday July 12, 2009, 9:42 am
Kathy C, Yes, they charge you more if you have insurance. The hospitals prefer to call it an "uninsured discount" though. But a rose by any other name and all that... Or in this case, a thorn by any other name.