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posts about #legislativesausage more → 
How Will Health Care Get Screwed Up?
New York, 4:42 AM
Tue Nov 24
46 posts in the last 24 hours
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How Will Health Care Get Screwed Up? |
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07/15/09
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How about some emphasis on getting taking personal responsibility for reducing the need for healthcare?
07/15/09
In short, we're fucked.
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how about some emphasis on preventative care and better access to healthier food, day cares, education, etc in the poor communities that are disproportionately affected by these health epidemics?
oh wait, that costs money too. "personal responsibility" is free! like the smiles.
07/15/09
07/15/09
Might I add something: I'm in a track club where I live, and I can tell you that no one has more health problems than long-distance runners do, which is for some counter-intuitive. There's always something, be it arthritis, torn ligaments/tendons, stress fractures, knee problems. Also, the most well-trained marathon runners have weaker immune systems than normal people. They're always coming down with something. They're also the first people to run to a doctor about something minor because they take their health seriously. But maybe long-term-wise their health is better because of all of this prevention but I haven't seen any numbers on it.
07/15/09
I'm 100% for preventative care et al. But until people get it through their thick skulls (and fat asses) that you can't eat 7000 calories a day and that walking to the fridge isn't exercise this is going to be a tremendous drain on the healthcare system.
07/15/09
I'm only half kidding here. This will always be my argument in the face of the "let's tax fast food" crowd.
07/15/09
07/15/09
1. kill the private insurance plans, as they do nothing but deny care and pay themselves a lot of money
2. insure everyone and offer serious preventive care
3. by doing (1) and (2) there will be billions saved, everyone will be healthier, small business will be freed of the burden of choosing between outrageous (insurance company profiting) premiums and denying coverage, and we will start looking a lot more like a civilized country
insuarance companies maybe once upon a time offered insurance, which involves hedging and managing risk. for some time now, they have eliminated risk by denying coverage to people who might, you know, need it, and kept a disproportionately large share of the money in the system for doing so
kill the insurers: they are parasites
offer more better care to more people
watch everyone's rates go down, and see wellness increase
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But we won't, because we're sheep.
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07/15/09
Health insurance on the individual market does not work.
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07/15/09
And as for the government bureaucracy? Medicare which has administrative costs that are just a fraction of the cost of private insurance.
07/15/09
it actually amazes me that people keep up this "oh if you think health insurance bueracracy is bad, wait til the gov't takes over, dmv lol!" thing. it's easy to research the admin costs of medicare v a private insurer, and it's also easy to do some research into how these systems work in other countries.
07/15/09
Insurance is merely a hedge against a larger loss. For a guaranteed monetary loss in premium, you are protecting yourself from much larger monetary loss over a host of medical issues.
For instance, if you had that policy when your wife had your child, I guaranteed your insurance company spent more than $3k that year. Assuming you live in NYC, average birth runs $7-10k, much more if C section. Well baby visits the first two years are about $200 a pop and there are 9 the first year.
07/15/09
07/15/09
[American Journal of Medicine Study]
It is a sad state of affairs when this is the reality in the richest, most powerful, and most technologically advanced country in the world.
07/15/09
It's 80 cents on the dollar. And it's the fee-for-service nature of medicare, and the inclusion of private coverages through a public entity (Medicare part B plans) that are making costs skyrocket. Too much choice, not enough coverage, and over-treatment.
This could all be fixed (in fact there are provisions in both the house and senate bills) by bundling payments and regulating private medicare plans, but pubs don't even want that. Let's keep those seniors sick, their care uncoordinated, and the federal government scrambling for answers! Yep, that's the way to do it!
07/15/09
There is a fear that Medicare will go bankrupt and it has nothing to do with Medicare administration. It is because people live longer than they did when the program was designed. And now I will stop responding to you because you clearly don't know what you are talking about.
07/15/09
And as I said earlier, that was purely bankruptcy insurance.
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Hell. That compromise is in hell.
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