Voters have big health-care worries, but not
the ones Democrats are talking about
Washington Post,
by
Amy Goldstein
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
6/24/2019 4:49:10 AM
Medicare-for-all. Medicare for all who want it. Health care as a form of freedom. As they campaign, most of the 23 Democratic candidates for president are trumpeting bold ideas to achieve the party’s long-held dream of ushering in health coverage for every American.
The problem is that many voters are not focused on such lofty goals. They want something simpler — to pay less for their own health care.
Voters have plenty to sort out, with nearly two dozen Democrats running, each offering a raft of proposals on many issues. But in public opinion surveys and interviews, people rank health care as their top concern. And with insurance deductibles,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Sunhan65 6/24/2019 6:16:44 AM (No. 105254)
Over the course of a long and diverse life, I have lived under healthcare systems in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States. My two cents, if it helps:
American health care is the most effective. It is also the most expensive. Wait times, access to latest treatments, and overall quality are excellent. However, costs billed are very high. I recently underwent major surgery. Care was excellent. Despite being fully-covered by an employer healthcare plan, I insisted on seeing the detailed billing. It was absurd. One quick example:
As a type 1 diabetic, I inject 4-5 units of rapid-acting insulin with each meal. The hospital insisted on injecting me themselves. The bill showed 200+ units with each meal. They charged the full price of an entire bottle of insulin with each 4-5 unit injection. I don't know whether they threw the whole bottle out each time or simply quadruple-billed the same bottle. I hope it was the latter because the former is criminally stupid in addition to being fraudulent. (Insulin is hard to make and should not be thrown away by morons.) For an overnight stay, the hospital billed more for insulin than I would spend in a month.
When I called the insurance company to tell them they were being cheated, I got the answer Claude Raines gives in Casablanca: "They put it on my bill; I tear up the bill. It is very convenient." Apparently, the insurance company has agreements in place with in-network providers that massively discount stated costs on the bill. So, problem #1: If you are not an insurance company, you are hooped on cost.
3 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Sunhan65 6/24/2019 6:45:10 AM (No. 105265)
(Cont.) Problem #2: If you are unemployed or self-employed in America, you are also hooped. For historical reasons dating back to World War II government interference, American healthcare now depends primarily on employer-funded plans. This is not true of the other countries listed above. I suspect this distorts costs and pricing in many ways, but the bottom line is no employer, no coverage. Apparently, there are government programs that might cover some care, but many providers refuse to accept them, and they are filled with bureaucratic waste. Meanwhile, hospitals cannot refuse treatment under certain circumstances. So people without jobs get expensive care and people with jobs pay for it, one way or another.
I'm sure there are many other issues and better explanations than mine, but the bottom line for me is this: The best healthcare in the world is over-burdened with cost distortion, free riders, and government waste. Of all the systems I've experienced, American healthcare is the most effective. It is, however, not cost-effective. ACA made all of this worse. However, fixing it will require more than repealing Obamacare. It will require clarity on causes and a willingness to correct decades-old entrenched mistakes.
3 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Daisymay 6/24/2019 8:40:50 AM (No. 105349)
I don't know about everyone else, but I am very happy with my Medicare Advantage Plan. I do NOT want Medicare for all because I know that MY Medicare coverage will change and probably so will my access to my doctors. Seniors are NOT going to vote for anyone who wants Medicare for ALL. Someone on TV said that really means Medicare for NONE! I believe that will happen!
2 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Clinger 6/24/2019 9:20:08 AM (No. 105372)
Government healthcare is just a particularly compelling means of government theft. Politicians will hand out goodies and we will end up paying into "supplemental" plans about the same cost to us as a real free market price would be for the entire package.
Rights define what others can't do to me even under the collective guise of government, and not what what others must to for me.
2 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
padiva 6/24/2019 10:33:29 AM (No. 105447)
I pay for Medicare Part B.
Do the people wanting 'free' Medicare know that there is a monthly fee for Medicare Part B?
2 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
saguni 6/24/2019 11:09:03 AM (No. 105491)
Ask AARP, "what percentage of Medicare recipients buy extra insurance?" Over 95 of people are not satisfied with Medicare.
They have a work/retirement provided plan
They but a "Supplement" plan for co-pays and deductibles
They get a Medicare Advantage plan
If the current Medicare patients can understand it is not enough, why would anyone want it...because they think it is "free!"
3 people like this.
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