We All Pay For Uninsured, Those Who Can’t Pay
My wife recently had a visit to a doctor, where she was diagnosed as having a pinched nerve. He charged her $892 for the visit, including shots (two at $300 each), x-rays and the office visit. She told him up front that her insurance wouldn’t pay any on this visit.
He then wrote her a prescription for a controlled-release form of naproxen, a pain killer and anti-inflammatory. The prescription would have cost $242 – a coupon brought it down to “only” $192. At the pharmacy, the pharmacist called and asked the doctor to change the order to regular naproxen, which would cost $4. He refused. Needless to say, we didn’t get the prescription filled.
Victory Pharma, the pharmaceutical company that makes the higher cost medication, has a patent for this drug, so there is no generic available. They take a common drug like naproxen and change it slightly and get patent protection for several more years.
I only have a high deductible insurance policy for my wife because Anthem Blue Cross of Virginia kept increasing her premiums, which now top $5,000 per year. Whatever is the “adjusted” portion of the $892 office visit will come out of my pocket.
To some of you, this may not sound like much money. But try telling that to the guy making $12 to $15 per hour, which is pretty good wages for this area, and who doesn’t have health insurance. And that guy doesn’t get an “adjusted” bill. He is in for the whole charge.
The attitude of those opposing health care reform seems to be “too bad about, you, I’ve got mine and that’s all that matters.” They don’t seem to realize that they are going to pay for the uninsured indirectly in the form of rate increases to cover those who can’t afford to pay.
Democrats have the Presidency and both houses of Congress; they need to go back and write a real health care bill and forget the “just say no” Republicans!!
Charles Cartmell
Bristol, Va.
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Rawbleed,
Grassley’s amendment is very perplexing. First of all, if you accept the amendments sincerity, then you obviously understand that all the health care reform proposals being debated in Congress, prohibit illegal aliens from accessing the services in these bills. Grassley’s amendment is an enforcement measure, therefore, Grassley and any who support this amendment are readily admitting that health care reform, as it is written, will not give illegal aliens free health care. No bill indicates that. You can’t prove otherwise. So it was really Joe Wilson doing the lying a few weeks ago. Secondly, The democrats voted down that amendment because they favored an enforcement action which required persons to validate name, DOB, and place of birth, before accessing the health plan. Which is better? A phot ID which we know can be falsified quite easily or three pieces of documentation??? Now, of course you could support Grassley’s amendment, which logically would lead one to believe that the only viable enforcement measure along the lines he is proposing is a national ID card. Isn’t if funny how “small government” Constitution loving Republicans are essentially calling for a national ID card for everyone just to keep Illegal immigrants from getting health care? The bottom line rawbleed, is this: all the legislation being debated in Congress has language which PROHIBITS illegal immigrants from accessing a public option. The Republicans say this isn’t true because they see problems with enforcement. Do you see how they are lying? Do you see how they are distorting this issue and misinforming their followers? Prove me wrong. Show me where, in the health care bills before the house and Senate, does it indicate illegal’s will be able to access a public option. Conversely, I can show you where it explicitly states they cannot.
Lastly, it is too easy to objectively research that amendment. You either didnt’ do that or you disingeniously portrayed the voting down of that amendment and as such produced a fallacious example of Democrats wanting to give free health care to illegal immigrants. Nothing is further from the truth, I hope you know it. I hope you are more informed than your post indicates.
Because despite what it may seem, the debate is far from over. The statists can be very patient. They will outwait public opinion. They know that soon you will refocus on Jennifer Anniston and college football. Oh yeah .. the Republicans managed to defeat two amendments to include the government option in the Senate healthcare bill. That doesn’t mean that it is dead, folks.
NO BAD IDEA FOR AMERICA
IS EVER A DEAD IDEA IN OUR CONGRESS
Now, when it comes to this healthcare debate, we have heard Barack Obama say time and time again, “But where are the Republicans’ plans?“ Essentially the Democrats are trying to paint the Republicans as bumps on a log with no real ideas of their own. Well that turns out to be far from the truth.
Take this for instance. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley proposed an amendment that would require immigrants to prove their identity with photo IDs in order to sign up for government healthcare programs. This seems like a pretty logical amendment right? I mean, consider the fact that Barack Obama himself has promised that no illegal immigrants would have access to the government healthcare system.
Let me give you a hint: they are just blowing smoke. If the Democrats were serious about limiting access to government healthcare to legal immigrants, then an amendment like Grassley’s should be a no-brainer. So, what do you think happened to this amendment? Well, you’re right. It was defeated on a party-line vote.
But this goes back to what I have been telling you for months. This isn’t really about healthcare. This isn’t about your healthcare costs. It isn’t about having better access to doctors or better prescription coverage ..... this is all about politicians and power. Period. End of story.
Hey oldman,
You seem to think a lot like dadw5boys. I wonder how that’s possible?
Who do you think you’re fooling?
commonsence,
You probably didn’t know this but the Health Care Reform Bill isn’t being written by Obama. It’s been written and rewritten by members of the Senate and Congress. That being said I’m not looking to Mr. Obama for answers, I’m looking to the people writting the Bill.
I’ve written, and not just one time, to my State Reps. and have voiced to them my concerns and what I’m expecting to relieve some, not all but some, of my burdens pretaining to mine and my wifes health care insurance cost. And no before you climb on that dead horse you like to ride that doesn’t mean in any way “Free”. What have you done???
I’ll pay my taxes like I have always paid them with a check, how about you.
Your last question doesn’t deserve an answer. If you want to rephrase your question and leave out the usual smart a$$ undertones I might respond.
NEXT-
with that insurance cost, you’ll be taxed under the current Bill- and you really thought Obama would do something for you?
This is no longer health care reform- it’s tax reform. How are you going to pay those taxes?
Are you incapable of earning some money to help relieve her stress?
Do this math. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Trigon health insurance (preminums) cost my wife $8,901.60 last year and is expected to increase approx. 18% next year. Add the $1,000.00 deductable and the 80/20 split along with the $25.00 copay and you can see why it cost her an arm and both legs when she has to go to her doctor.
Outrageous you say, here,s the kicker. She works part time as an educator holding down three part time jobs, non contribute to her health care insurance. She is healthy and has only visited her doctor 3 times in the past 7 years. She doesn’t go get regular check-ups, although I’ve begged her to do so, because she says it cost too much, can’t argue with that. She has only had one female exam in those 7 years and her Health Insurance Provider (that’s a joke isn’t it) would only pay for less than 50% of the cost. That’s right it cost us more than it did her insurance company.
That being only one example among thousands upon thousands is why most poor to middle class working people do not have Health Insurance.
Would anybody want to take a wild shot in the dark and figure the number of people that do not have Life Insurance coverage anymore, did’t thing so.
Force you into a Insurance Plan NO !
But they will put you in Jail if you can not pay your medical bills to serve a BODY ATTACHMENT Claim on your human body.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090928/NEWS01/909270377/Medical+debts+compound+Nashvillians++pain
The Kiser Foundation announced today that the average employer family health care cost will rise to $13,375 for next year. Do the math: that is about equal the take home pay after SS taxes of someone making $10 per hour. How long will employers afford to continue this benefit?
stuckhere wrote “until you can give me 100% unequivocal proof that the government will force each and every person in the country into its plan.“
No, it wont force all of us into the plan. Only the ones of us who can’t afford a private option.
You wrote “The documents comments about allowing people able to make a choice between the government plan and the private plan. This is proof enough, to validate my claim of competitive prices.“
Because the proposed plan states you have a choice then no doubt you do. But if you have two choice and you cant afford one of them, then i guess you only have one. And no, that does not validate your claim of competitive prices.
Stuckhere,
Here is the quote from the house version.
(20) QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN.—
5
The term ‘‘qualified health benefits plan’’ means a
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health benefits plan that meets the requirements for
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such a plan under title I and includes the public
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health insurance option.
Now, the plan must meet the requirements whatever the final version will be. You will also note that includes the public option.
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