How the Health Crisis was solved 80 years ago.

[Plow]

ah, some good news!

Liberals revolt over public option - Jonathan Martin and Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com

?

[Beckwin]

idk if it's a just as planned moment, but it's good to see at least some members of congress are listening/showing some spine.

[Plow]

It seemed awfully sudden and out of place to be like "meh not going universal is fine" out of the blue like that. People were seeming somewhat complacent sitting on the "oh it's totally going to happen!" status, may have just been a real good idea to get people riled up again.

[Beckwin]

honestly, that premise is a little too tin-foil for me. but I suppose it's a (slim) possibility.

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

I liked the part where Sirrus' bitchtits fell out of his tube top. Did you really have to post "I won naga! >" 47 times? At that point you're just trying to convince yourself, which is really just sad.

[kuronosan]

This just in - taking care of your citizens makes you too much like Europe, so you shouldn't do it.

[eunhye]

Here's a good article about doctors and medicare.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/bu.../02health.html

Some doctors — often internists but also gastroenterologists, gynecologists, psychiatrists and other specialists — are no longer accepting Medicare, either because they have opted out of the insurance system or they are not accepting new patients with Medicare coverage. The doctors’ reasons: reimbursement rates are too low and paperwork too much of a hassle.

Of the 93 internists affiliated with New York-Presbyterian Hospital, for example, only 37 accept Medicare, according to the hospital’s Web site.

I thought doctors like medicare.


And check out this sneaky move

Doctors Oppose Giving Commission Power Over Medicare Payments - WSJ.com

Proposals from the White House and Congress to give an independent commission significant power over Medicare payments are drawing opposition from the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons.

Surgeons would "vigorously oppose" legislation that gave an unelected executive agency power to set Medicare rates, said the American College of Surgeons, which claims more than 74,000 members, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week. Several surgical-specialty societies also signed the letter.

Medicare, great? Nah just average.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

I just read that insurance companies operated on 3% profit margins. What greedy bastards.

[Beckwin]

the top insurance companies are operating at over 5%, and that just compounds the inefficiency of having to spend on advertising and increasingly rigorous denial programs.

[eunhye]

Man if you're gonna talk about profits. How much do Congressman and their 1000s of aides make a year? Give me a break.

[Acturus]

I thought doctors like medicare.

Doctors only "like" Medicare if their population is predominantly Medicare, and even then, most private insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans can still give them better rates if that population buys in.

Medicare is a sub-par system, with poor reimbursement compared to "market", and high utilization due to the population that is covered.

The benefits to Medicare are really that it ends up being steady income, and depending on the population in an area, it can be a sizable chunk of a healthcare provider's income by virtue of necessity.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

Holy hell, advertising, why didn't I think of that. That's where the inefficiencies are, not in stupid regulations.

[eunhye]

YouTube - Obama:Caught Lying Again-Making Back Room Deals with Pharmaceutical Lobbyist

I'm trying to find this bill that a congressmen tried passing that says, if the public option is out there, all congressmen must be enrolled into this public option rather than the current plan that they are under.

[Beckwin]

Man if you're gonna talk about profits. How much do Congressman and their 1000s of aides make a year? Give me a break.

those are numbers you'd compare against what say, United Health's CEO pulled in.

trust me, you don't wanna know what that guy is worth.

[Sirrus_Asura]

Holy shit, you actually go to town hall meetings on health care with an AK, don't you?

Whats wrong with an AK at a town hall meeting again? Wait lemme guess. Racist?

Regardless though, splain.

[Beckwin]

Holy hell, advertising, why didn't I think of that. That's where the inefficiencies are, not in stupid regulations.

advertising does factor into functional inefficiency, as does finding creative ways to deny coverage.

and yes, healthcare is expensive. what better way to combat that than inject competition in the insurance industry so that in turn, doctors/hospitals must lower their prices (of course to that end, a single payer or universal system would be much more effective, but hey, a public option IS the compromise)?

I'd also support the Obama platform on switching to digital records to improve efficiency, and also I would support tort reform to lower individual practitioner liability.

[Dimmauk]

If this Health Care plan doesnt pass, I will totally and completely blame the Republicans.

[Sirrus_Asura]

Holy hell, advertising, why didn't I think of that. That's where the inefficiencies are, not in stupid regulations.

I'm starting an insurance company. I plan on making fat stacks of cash, killing the poor and molesting the young. Wanna be my financial adviser?

[Sirrus_Asura]

If this Health Care plan doesnt pass, I will totally and completely blame the Republicans.

I like you.

[Sirrus_Asura]

Medicare, great? Nah just average.

Don't talk shit about Medicare.
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