They would not find health insurance anywhere in the private market. If they were declared disabled, they could get some benefits from our Medicare program.

***************

So what are some of the benefits of the Medicare program in this case? To me it sounds like being left out in the cold. "Some" is a loophole to many other loopholes. As we all know too well, it's the small print that matters the most but conveniently omitted in sales speeches.

I am aware of the list, Bill. Am not surprised that Taiwan isn't listed since it's not recognized as a sovereign state by the United Nations.

Anyway, my apologies for hijacking your thread...sorta...ahum.

Regards

Taike

Generally speaking, if you're declared poor enough or sick (disabled) enough, then you can qualify for Medicare. Medicare isn't anything fancy, but is has been a decent option for the poorest & sickest among us who have no other better options.



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Bill in Dayton

That isnt a movie it is propaganda full of easily disproven lies, James.


--Mac

Okay, I think that the current system is working alright but needs some tweaking.

For example, the same lawmakers trying to institute a total change of the current system also hampered the ability to purchase health insurance plans with more features or lower costs by passing a law limiting the purchase of said health insurance to being in the state you live in at the time.

I think that the currently held meme bantered about by politicians and those in favor of a government run healthcare system, in which they keep stating that up to 54% of the population currently does not have health insurance coverage is a flat out distortion. In my internet searching, I find that number to be MUCH lower, somewhere around the 15% mark.

I think that I do not want a healthcare system that is run by the government because the government has proven itself to be able to screw up every other thing it manages to gain control of to date. The Post Office is running around all those fossil fuel vehicles every day while the majority of business utilize private delivery services such as Fedex or UPS because the prices are lower and the service is better. The Social Security system is very near bankrupt, I doubt if I'll be able to collect anything from it after all these years of putting money into it. Congress was never supposed to touch that Social Security money. Hah! They took it and don't intend to put it back into the fund. Income Tax was supposed to be a "temporary measure" in order to get the nation through World War I. Is the Kaiser dead yet? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government run housing, brought us the current economic crisis by handing out mortgages to people who had no means in which to pay them back. Banks are folding by the tens now. The government FORCED them to issue those housing loans.

Healthcare crisis?

There is no crisis.

There *are* some problems with the current system. They can be fixed. Those fixes do not necessitate a total restructuring of what has worked for a long time, and after last November, I am living proof of that. I had no health insurance, got a deadly infection, yet was admitted immediately to the hospital via the emergency room, had several operations to remove the infection, was in hospital for almost a month -- and had no health insurance after years of paying for same, but was between employers and coverage when the disease struck. My wife told them we were nearly indigent, that did not in any way change nor disallow the treatment I received, I got the very finest anyway.

We must learn to stop letting the few declare a crisis every few months so that they can gain power by expoiting the nonexisting crisis of their own creation.

That's some of what I think about the subject.


--Mac

I disagree.

Insurance companies make money by *investing* the pool of money they receive from subscribers.

Or at least that's the way it is *supposed* to work.


--Mac

In far too many cases, that is exactly what happens.

Which is another reason why I don't want our government running the entire healthcare system. They've had five decades to make Medicaire/Medicaid live up to the politician's promises -- and it has not. It is just another bloated government beaurocracy.


--Mac

But that's exactly why I disagree with the current system. It creates a rift between the have and have-nots. Why should a less well-off person be not entitled to have the same benefits as someone more affluent? In my opinion, a country should be responsible for all of its citizens, not matter what their income or social status. It's good to know that my S20 entitles me to the same health care and benefits as anyone else. "Decent" doesn't do the job.

Regards

Taike

If it's all lies and propaganda then how can he get away with it, or even get on TV Shows like Oprah Winfrey to talk about it.

Surly he has to be telling the truth or he would be locked up for life ?.

Regards
James

In the vast majority of cases, Ins. Co's. are regulated by the States, not the federal gov't. In many cases, there's also Community Ratings Standards, mandated by the states that help provide affordability and coverage to its citizens.



I agree with your numbers...actually, I come up with 16% (From a recent AP Wire story):

The 46 million number (actually 45.7 million) cited by Obama and others comes from the Census Bureau's annual Current Population Survey for 2007. It's the consensus figure, but some researchers believe the CPS overstates the number of uninsured people, partly by undercounting how many people are on Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor.

Another government survey, the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey done by the Department of Health and Human Services, says that about 40 million people were uninsured for all of 2007, and about 70 million were uninsured for part of the year.

All those numbers are out-of-date. Taking into account the effects of the recession, with widespread job losses cutting into employer-provided health care � more than 5 million jobs have been lost since last August � researchers at the Urban Institute and elsewhere estimate that the present-day number of uninsured is closer to 50 million. That's the number used by the Congressional Budget Office.



Social Security is solvent for the next 28 years with no reforms, but the current Administration is looking at ways to help its long term growth...
http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/arti...retire-planning



I'm glad for you and your family that your situation worked out as it did. But as the Devil's Advocate in this thread, who do you suppose DID pay for your treatment?

That takes us in part to one of the reasons HC in the US is so high. Your costs had to go somewhere, Mac. Directly perhaps the Hospital, Doctors, etc. all just wrote your charges off. Indirectly, the costs associated with your care were absorbed in higher premiums and/or fees for others who do pay for hc.

We don't just pay a little more...we pay a LOT more than any Industrialized Country in the world, and yet we don't have the outcomes you'd think that money would buy.

Our healthcare is rationed because not everyone's story ends as well as yours did. Too many people can't gain access to HC so preventable illnesses turn into sometimes fatal ones for no other reason than no insurance.

You're spot on regarding the history lessons about social security. We've seen both Republican and Democratic Administrations pass on the many opportunities to shut down the program.

Your comment about not needing to totally restructure HC jives with what Pres. Obama said last week. If you have insurance-you can keep it....You still choose what Dr. you go to and so on...We're more likely playing with the edges...Presidents since T. Roosevelt have sought HC reforms, with little success. It is a veritable "3rd rail" of US Politics it seems...

Thanks for weighing in...

ps-Checked out your website...Very cool. Maybe someday you can walk me through some recording stuff...


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Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 09-18-2009).]

Let's say he carefully skated on the thin ice on the safe side of libel, James. Mostly, he presented things in a very out of context way. Were there some valid points in the film, sure...but he hurts himself by his approach.

No one really takes him very seriously...



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Bill in Dayton