"Norma Rae" dies...insurance wouldn't pay for her medication

[Oddball]

no, I don't? How does the government, "take their cut" out of the health care system as a middle man? What am I missing?

What does Medicare take, about 3%? Private insurance takes about 30% to pay those $mutlimillion salaries, private planes, gold plated silverware.

You are forgetting other groups ... there is a lot more people involved in medical care than insurance companies.

True, but then he doesn't get to shriek enviously about $mutlimillion salaries, private planes, gold plated silverware.

 

[AllieBaba]

You have a small but real point here.
But even with that, I don't see many for-profit providers lining up to stop accepting medicare. Which they would do if they were losing money.

the point being some like to claim how the overhead is lower for medicare, well of course
my heating oil would cost me less if i could make you pay part of the cost as well

If you know somebody willing to pay for my heating oil, let me know!

So excactly what costs are passed to private entities and how much does it account for out of total medicare spending? If we're going to add them in to overhead, we need some numbers. Somehow I doubt they come out to the 25% range, but if you can prove me wrong I'll be happy to listen.

There are community organizations that receive federal and state funding to subsidize heating bills for the poor, disabled & elderly. The standard for "poor" is 185% of the federal poverty level. If you meet that standard, you are eligible for $500 on your account...whether it's electric, oil or wood. Paid directly to the vendor.

 

[GHook93]

She went two months without possible life-saving medications because her insurance wouldn't cover it, another example of abusing the working poor, she said.

Alamance Community College : Crystal Sutton Collection : The Real Norma Rae

And we are to fear rationing under the public option or a Single Payor System?

It urks me the rationing attack on Obamacare or Single Payor System, since our current private system has extreme rationing already. They cry experiment life saving treatment won't be available, guess what its not now! Pre-existing rider or dropping of coverage is a form of rationing!

 

[GHook93]

Insurance company did the same thing to my sister, who needed a life saving drug....she ended up putting it on a credit card....was out of intensive care in 2 days after receiving the drug....yet the insurance company refused to cover it, but they were covering her intensive care expense? Talk about ROBOTS running the insurance companies, who do not THINK for themselves.

May God bless her, and may she rest in peace....

People just LOVE their insurance, UNTIL they have a life threatening sickness and they see how they screw you to DEATH.

And you assume that the government will pay for everything inspite of the cost, patient history and possible consequences ? Middlemen will always increase the price of anything you buy.

You will have some type of rationing under any system! Would you prefer a burecrat, who has to answer to voters or a fatcat that needs to answer to stockholders?

I am usually on the side that the government screws up everything they run! But healthcare is an exception. Going to the doctor or hospital can be the equivalent of a druggie going to his/her dealer. Most of the time its not a choice, you go to the doctor because you are sick or injured! You have to go, there is no real choice of the matter. You can boycott it, you can say hell I will live without it, you just have to go!

The reason I am for government healthcare is:
(1) Talk about waste. $0.25 of every premium dollar goes to administration costs. That is high for any industry.
(2) Doctors have to push expenses onto other patients to cover the high cost of addition admins to deal with the insurance companies, unpaid bills, internal collection etc.
(3) The insurance companies post enormous profits. Not that profits are bad, rather its a form of "waste" that the government system wouldn't have
(4) The mass amount of PR money the insurance industry spends!
(5) The fact every other industrialized country has it! Come on that is a fact that can't be tossed away as Well America is Just Better and Smarter!
(6) The fact that we have the highest healthcare cost per capitia!

 

[Douger]

She went two months without possible life-saving medications because her insurance wouldn't cover it, another example of abusing the working poor, she said.

Alamance Community College : Crystal Sutton Collection : The Real Norma Rae

If she woulda stood up on table with a sign that read--" I need help paying my meds", I woulda kicked in a few bucks.

OK. Everybody now !
Gawd Bless Amurkastan and long live capitalizzzm !
Idiocracy.

 

[HUGGY]

She went two months without possible life-saving medications because her insurance wouldn't cover it, another example of abusing the working poor, she said.

Alamance Community College : Crystal Sutton Collection : The Real Norma Rae

This is a pay as you go country. Don't pay...you go. Norma was obviously a commie and deserved her fate. She didn't believe in the hmo's and pharms god given capitalistic right to sqeeze every last drop of blood money from the faking skank with more pre conitions than you could shake a stick at. She was damn lucky she died.

 

[mskafka]

yep, middle men will take their nice comfy CUT for doing nothing...this is why the only way to save money on health care IS TO CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MAN merely shuffling paper....BUT GOD FORBID we have a single payer system without the insurance middle man!

Then why cut out just one of the middlemen? You do realize that the government is one of the biggest middlemen taking a huge cut already, right?

no, I don't? How does the government, "take their cut" out of the health care system as a middle man? What am I missing?

I think that they're referring to the taxes.

 

[DiveCon]

Then why cut out just one of the middlemen? You do realize that the government is one of the biggest middlemen taking a huge cut already, right?

no, I don't? How does the government, "take their cut" out of the health care system as a middle man? What am I missing?

I think that they're referring to the taxes.

you mean income taxes ?
cause last i knew, medical expenses were tax deductible

 

[veritas]

Only if they exceed 7% of your income. Otherwise they are taxed.

 

[DiveCon]

Only if they exceed 7% of your income. Otherwise they are taxed.

meh, medical savings account
money comes out pre tax

 

[veritas]

That's absurd.

 

[DiveCon]

That's absurd.

really?

Health savings account-HSA insurance plans

 

[DiveCon]

The Benny™ Card

 

[rdean]

Insurance company did the same thing to my sister, who needed a life saving drug....she ended up putting it on a credit card....was out of intensive care in 2 days after receiving the drug....yet the insurance company refused to cover it, but they were covering her intensive care expense? Talk about ROBOTS running the insurance companies, who do not THINK for themselves.

May God bless her, and may she rest in peace....

People just LOVE their insurance, UNTIL they have a life threatening sickness and they see how they screw you to DEATH.

And you assume that the government will pay for everything inspite of the cost, patient history and possible consequences ? Middlemen will always increase the price of anything you buy.

Thank you. You are exactly right. Cut out the middle men, meaning the insurance companies. We need a public options. Thanks for pointing that out. Much appreciated.

 

[Oddball]

Yeah....Nothing like supplanting insurance adjusters with politicians and fatassed gubmint bureaucrats for "cutting out the midddleman"!!

 

[toomuchtime_]

She went two months without possible life-saving medications because her insurance wouldn't cover it, another example of abusing the working poor, she said.

Alamance Community College : Crystal Sutton Collection : The Real Norma Rae

She was 68 last June and the first surgery was in 2007, so it sounds like it was Medicare that wouldn't pay for her medications, more accurately, took two months to decide to pay for her medications. Apparently an object lesson about the horrors perpetrated by government run health insurance, right?

 

[Emma]

Only if they exceed 7% of your income. Otherwise they are taxed.

meh, medical savings account
money comes out pre tax

Which I'd lose at the end of the year if not spent.

 

[DiveCon]

Only if they exceed 7% of your income. Otherwise they are taxed.

meh, medical savings account
money comes out pre tax

Which I'd lose at the end of the year if not spent.

not if you dont take out more than you need

 

[Emma]

She went two months without possible life-saving medications because her insurance wouldn't cover it, another example of abusing the working poor, she said.

Alamance Community College : Crystal Sutton Collection : The Real Norma Rae

She was 68 last June and the first surgery was in 2007, so it sounds like it was Medicare that wouldn't pay for her medications, more accurately, took two months to decide to pay for her medications. Apparently an object lesson about the horrors perpetrated by government run health insurance, right?

Her birthday December 31. The fight with the insurance company happened prior to the surgery (January of '07). I haven't found out yet when she was diagnosed; all I've seen so far is "several years" and that the type of tumor is typically slow-growing. I would think if it were Medicare denying her, she would have said 'Medicare', rather than 'health insurance'. I suspect if it were Medicare, the news articles (back then) would have said so too.

 

[Emma]

meh, medical savings account
money comes out pre tax

Which I'd lose at the end of the year if not spent.

not if you dont take out more than you need

The way it is set up by my employer is that I lose anything I haven't spent by the end of the year. So **** that.