Comments on: Health Care Reform

By: Mitch

Mitch — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:53:42 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, Tim. Yeah, it’s like people forget where they came from or what they’ve been through, and want to deny it for everyone else. Kind of the Clarence Thomas effect (did I say that?), who went to college on an affirmative action grant and now is totally against it. It’s something that needs a lot of discussion, and, let’s face it, how can we go around the world going after all these countries for human rights violations, and we’re barely in the top 50 for healthcare for our citizens; that’s a shame.

By: Tim Manni

Tim Manni — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:02:21 +0000

It really burns me up when people say “health care is a privilege” — I believe that’s an ignorant statement. Being able to join a country club is a privilege of the wealthy, health care is a necessity. Unfortunately the ability to receive quality medical treatment in this country has always a “privilege” b/c you have to pay (a lot) for it.

You make a great point, just b/c indiv. don’t have health care, doesn’t mean they don’t want it. I’ve turned down COBRA coverage before b/c it was entirely too expensive. A friend of mine worked construction for a small operation (no benefits). He got into a car accident, had extraordinary medical bills, and will likely be in debt for the rest of his life. There doesn’t seem anything American about that (or wait…maybe it does).

I can understand the criticisms for tackling another expensive reform despite a soaring deficit, by obviously some market observers (like Mitch) feel the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Really enjoying the blog,
Tim

By: Mitch

Mitch — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:11:08 +0000

Good point, JM, and I was going to put that in, but didn’t think most people would understand it. Hospitals in states such as New Jersey seem to thrive on charity care, but in NY, it’s killer.

Still, hospitals reserve the right to pre-qualify patients to determine if they should apply for Medicaid, and that should be a part of every hospital’s vetting process before just writing off bills.

And, it’s possible that President Obama’s plan would cover at least some portion of emergency room visits from the uninsured; that would help a heck of a lot.

By: notmd

notmd — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:17:33 +0000

CNN reports today that the government and the insurers will be picking up the cost of the uninsured..They left out hospitals..where medicaid used to be the payer of last resort it is now the hospital’s charity care that is exploding. Almost every hospital has seen increase close to 20% over last year with no relief. Patients are flooding the emergency room and not paying their bills. what is even worse is that patients who could get medicaid are getting used to charity care and are not going through the application process(which was diificult to begin with). While money is being pumped into the states to support the uninsured it is not clear whether that money will reach the intended recipients. the states have their own problems. short term hospitals need to get relief directly to support their services..