Re: WTHOT: Left, Right, Whatever

On Jun 22, 12:47 pm, "Annie C" <chern...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Jane" <JaneH...@xxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:1182503367.237961.271850@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
| On Jun 21, 7:41?pm, Alison <ahen...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
| > On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 08:38:58 -0700, Jane <JaneH...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
| > > Second, the health care thing is a hat trick. Ask Americans if
| > >they think there should be universal coverage, and they'll say yes.
| > >Ask them about a SPECIFIC plan for such coverage, and they'll say no.
| > >Americans support universal insurance IF a) it does not result in wait
| > >times; b) it does not result in gatekeepers and rationing; c) iit does
| > >not restrict their choices of doctors, etc, etc, etc.
| >
| > <snip>
| > We are already getting wait times, gatekeepers, rationing, limited
| > choice of doctors - for those of us with an HMO for health insurance.
| > More and more doctors here in NYC are accepting NO insurance. If you
| > have enough money you can see anyone you want; if you have to rely on
| > your health insurance, your choices are definitely limited.
| >
| > Alison
|
| This varies by state--different states have different laws
| regulating what HMOs can and cannot do--but there's far less of this
| here even with HMOs than under any system I've lived with, and I've
| lived with a few comprehensive government ones.
|
| Most people do not have HMOs of this limited kind--they've got
| PPOs, or HMO pluses. I've got an HMO through the state of
| Connecticut. The rule is "any willing provider"--that is, the HMO
| will accept any doctor willing to take what it pays--so my choice of
| PCP is not restricted. I do not have to have a referral to go to a
| specialist. And there are no wait times. When I needed a hernia
| operation, I went in in two days.
|
| My closest friend out here has a similar plan with a different
| company through the place she works--and she's not a CEO. She works
| tech support for a nonprofit organization.
|
| Some of this is undoubtedly the result of state laws regulating
| the industry, but the fact is that in terms of overall choice, you're
| still better off with most CEOs here than you would be in, say, the
| British National Health.
|
| And most Americans have that figured out, which is why they
| tend not to support the specific universal health system plans that
| come out.
|
| Jane Haddam
|http://www.janehaddam.com

Here's a reality check for you all. My wish for is that for the many of us,
those 'retired involuntarily' and who will not be hired at this age, (mostly
ages 60-64), who are 'trapped' without any, none, nada affordable coverages
available, those of us 'hanging' on and treading oh so cautiously til our
65th birthday eligibility gets here, to have some option for a group health
insurance plan we could buy into to. Believe me, it does NOT exist. Unless,
of course, unless you want something individual with a $10 thou deductible,
and two year exclusions on just about everything that could possibly go
wrong with an aging body. Is it just me? Oh, no. There are a lot of us out
here but no one's counting. Fortunately, some of us have our former PPO
physicians, individuals with a big heart, who will let us pay out of pocket
now at our old 'negotiated' rates, the rates from the good old days when we
did have comprehensive health ins coverage and the peace of mind that came
with that.. Find out you have a serious illness? Better not. It will wipe
you out financially. And you will have only debt for the rest of your
supposedly golden years..

Do I suppport universal coverage? Hell, yes.

Annie
trying to stay healthy

Yup. I remember how terrified my mother was for about 2 years,
between 63 and 65, that she would get sick and get wiped out
financially. We celebrated her 65th birthday with great joy and
relief. Health insurance would have cost her $800/month - and this is
someone with no "preexisting conditions" and nothing serious going
on. (my father, who has a heart condition, was offered an even more
expensive option for health insurance before he turned 65)

Incidentally, for all the yammering about "privacy" and "freedom to
choose" - what privacy? What freedom? My parents had no choices when
it came to health care coverage - and no, $800/month is not a choice.
I have no choices when it comes to health care coverage - my only
choices are paying for no coverage, or not paying for no coverage, and
still paying astronomical amounts whenever I need medical care.

For all the horrible things about the former USSR, medical care was
free and pretty good - when one got sick, one didn't worry about how
much it was all going to cost. And doctors made house calls.

LM

.

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