Death by Obamacare: ACA "reform" reams cancer patients

[Little-Acorn]

Obamacare's one-size-fits-all approach, deprives many seriously-ill patients of the specialist doctors they need to survive. Specialists they had full access to before Obama decided to "help" them with this new scheme - and penalize them if they didn't obey.

In the meantime, the plans those patients used to have, that provided the specialists they needed, have been cancelled since the Obama administration ruled they didn't meet Obamacare's mandatory "standards".

As Obama administration officials have said, "Sometimes when you want to make an omelet, you have to crack a few eggs."

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Death by Obamacare: ?Reform? reams cancer patients | New York Post

Death by Obamacare: ACA "reform" reams cancer patients

By Robert Goldberg
November 12, 2013 | 12:44am

ObamaCare is supposed to be a huge boon for anyone with a pre-existing condition. Count that another promise broken: It’s actually denying care because of pre-existing conditions. Millions of Americans with cancer and other chronic illnesses will wind up paying more for lifesaving care, if they can get it all.

To keep costs down, the White House designed ObamaCare plans as cut-rate HMOs. The low profit margins have forced insurers to downsize the number of doctors and hospitals in their networks — and to slash what they cover for out-of-network treatment.

So most ObamaCare plans don’t include the vast majority of the best cancer doctors and cancer centers. That’s a huge problem for these patients. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Medicare official, writes: “Cancer patients often need the help of specialized doctors and cancer institutions that won’t make it into many of these cheapened networks.”

All across the country, leading cancer centers — including New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering — are excluded by the largest plans. In Washington state, the largest exchange plans exclude world-class cancer care for kids such as the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. California’s state-of-the-art Cedars-Sinai cancer center isn’t in any ObamaCare plan. Only a few plans include the Mayo Clinic.

And if you want a doctor outside such networks, you’ll generally have to pay the full cost of care.

 

[Mr. H.]

Last year, his treatment bill was more than $350,000, but thanks to insurance his out-of-pocket was only $4,500. Now, to keep his doctor, the one who has kept him alive for seven years, Cerpok will have to pay $26,000 out-of-pocket.

Obama said he could keep his doctor. Nothing to see here folks... move along.

 

[Rozman]

Last year, his treatment bill was more than $350,000, but thanks to insurance his out-of-pocket was only $4,500. Now, to keep his doctor, the one who has kept him alive for seven years, Cerpok will have to pay $26,000 out-of-pocket.

Obama said he could keep his doctor. Nothing to see here folks... move along.

Well Obama did say If you like your plan you can keep your plan...and your Doctor...

 

[boedicca]

Remember when Obama ran campaign ads accusing Romney of killing a woman with cancer?

Hopenchange!

 

[Mr. H.]

Obamacare's one-size-fits-all approach, deprives many seriously-ill patients of the specialist doctors they need to survive. Specialists they had full access to before Obama decided to "help" them with this new scheme - and penalize them if they didn't obey.

In the meantime, the plans those patients used to have, that provided the specialists they needed, have been cancelled since the Obama administration ruled they didn't meet Obamacare's mandatory "standards".

As Obama administration officials have said, "Sometimes when you want to make an omelet, you have to crack a few eggs."

--------------------------------------------

Death by Obamacare: ?Reform? reams cancer patients | New York Post

Death by Obamacare: ACA "reform" reams cancer patients

By Robert Goldberg
November 12, 2013 | 12:44am

ObamaCare is supposed to be a huge boon for anyone with a pre-existing condition. Count that another promise broken: It’s actually denying care because of pre-existing conditions. Millions of Americans with cancer and other chronic illnesses will wind up paying more for lifesaving care, if they can get it all.

To keep costs down, the White House designed ObamaCare plans as cut-rate HMOs. The low profit margins have forced insurers to downsize the number of doctors and hospitals in their networks — and to slash what they cover for out-of-network treatment.

So most ObamaCare plans don’t include the vast majority of the best cancer doctors and cancer centers. That’s a huge problem for these patients. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Medicare official, writes: “Cancer patients often need the help of specialized doctors and cancer institutions that won’t make it into many of these cheapened networks.”

All across the country, leading cancer centers — including New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering — are excluded by the largest plans. In Washington state, the largest exchange plans exclude world-class cancer care for kids such as the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. California’s state-of-the-art Cedars-Sinai cancer center isn’t in any ObamaCare plan. Only a few plans include the Mayo Clinic.

And if you want a doctor outside such networks, you’ll generally have to pay the full cost of care.

Ironically, tonight's PBS broadcast featured a cancer patient who swore the ACA was going to save her life. They used that as a lead-in for their statements on the merits of the ACA.