This is (Literally) Why We Can't Afford Nice Things

[Grumblenuts]

Right, we have to figure out why the Trump cult are so stupid.

December 12,2019
By a 230-192 vote, H.R.3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, passed on a largely party line vote. Every Democrat supported the legislation, joined by only 2 Republicans, with the lone House independent, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, voting no. The bill was named after the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who passed away earlier this year.

According to NPR, the legislation would allow the federal government to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare, limit out-of-pocket costs for Medicare participants, and prevent drug price hikes. The Trump administration vowed to veto the legislation if it ever comes to his desk.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell determines which legislation is allowed to come up for a vote. The House has passed roughly 400 bills in 2019, many of which have been blocked by McConnell and his Republican allies.

By design, tit for tat partisanship accomplishes nothing very well. One proposes, the other opposes while the grease keeps flowing fine.

 

[Smokin' OP]

By design, tit for tat partisanship accomplishes nothing very well. One proposes, the other opposes while the grease keeps flowing fine.

I just don't understand republicans opposing everything that helps middle class, working Americans.

 

[Gabe Lackmann]

For most families, the average is more like $1200/month.

That can't be correct. Really?

 

[Grumblenuts]

I just don't understand republicans opposing everything that helps middle class, working Americans.

Why keep voting for McConnell? To maximize their party's power. What middle class? What's a working class?

 

[Smokin' OP]

Why keep voting for McConnell? To maximize their party's power. What middle class? What's a working class?

The new middle class is white collar.
A two week family vacation every year, a new car every other year.

The new working class is blue collar.
A one week family vacation every other year, a new car every 5 years.

 

[marvin martian]

That can't be correct. Really?

That's what I paid for our family of four when I was self employed.

 

[Gabe Lackmann]

That's what I paid for our family of four when I was self employed.

Holy shit. That's crazy man. My God, no wonder no one can get ahead in the US anymore. Salaries have moved up in the single digits over the past 30 years. Meanwhile...

 

[Polishprince]

This is a good explanation of the healthcare insurance nightmare that looms one accident away for every American. While my provider is pretty good with my insurance (such as Max. Out Of Pocket capped at $2500) what happens if I'm traveling and need care in a dreaded "out of network" hospital?

This is what Republicans continue to DEFEND, this is what they are fighting FOR. It's mind boggling these rubes have been convinced this is what works best, when countries all around the world have something far BETTER.


The patient: Phil Gaimon, 35, a former professional cyclist, a YouTuber and blogger who earns most of his income through sponsorships. He paid about $500 a month for his insurance policy with Health Net through Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange. He also had a secondary health insurance policy with USA Cycling.

Total bills: $151,804 from Lehigh Valley Health Network and $49,526 from the Hospital for Special Surgery. He had additional bills from various physicians. Health Net has paid approximately $27,000 to Lehigh Valley, according to Gaimon. His secondary insurance, with USA Cycling, paid $25,000 to the Hospital for Special Surgery and his surgeon there.

Service providers: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., part of the nonprofit Lehigh Valley Health Network; and the Hospital for Special Surgery, an academic medical center, in Manhattan, New York.

Medical procedure: surgery for a fractured collarbone at Lehigh Valley Hospital and surgery for a broken scapula at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

What gives: Gaimon collided with three health system dangers in this physically and financially painful crash: an out-of-state emergency, out-of-network care and gold-plated prices from both hospitals that treated him. Gaimon said he could sell his house and pay these bills, "but I shouldn't have to. I have insurance."

His situation is a scenario that many patients have encountered when they need emergency care outside their provider's network. It's known in medical jargon as "balance billing." Hospitals and insurance companies without mutual contracts often don't agree on the price of services, and the patient is left to pay the difference.

Cyclist's Olympic Dream Becomes $200,000 Medical Bill Nightmare

Cyclist Phil Gaimon was competing in a race that could have won him a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a crash landed him in two hospitals where his out-of-network surgeries garnered huge bills.

www.npr.org

The fact that Mr. Gaimon didn't have an insurance company that met his needs isn't the fault of anyone but him.

If he had read his policy before coming to Pennsylvania to engage in the hazardous sport of cycling, he'd would have understood the risks he was assuming.

 

[Grumblenuts]

The new middle class is white collar.
A two week family vacation every year, a new car every other year.

The new working class is blue collar.
A one week family vacation every other year, a new car every 5 years.

I wasn't really asking, but OK. I was just suggesting that class, since Reagan at least, is no longer discussed broadly -- by design. That's the last thing the owners want people dwelling upon.

That in response to why people so often act at odds with their best interests. Because they're kept in the dark and desperate to be among the latest cool kids on the block.

 

[odanny]

The fact that Mr. Gaimon didn't have an insurance company that met his needs isn't the fault of anyone but him.

If he had read his policy before coming to Pennsylvania to engage in the hazardous sport of cycling, he'd would have understood the risks he was assuming.

You are truly a moron, and the very reason our healthcare system remains broken.

 

[Smokin' OP]

I wasn't really asking, but OK. I was just suggesting that class, since Reagan at least, is no longer discussed broadly -- by design. That's the last thing the owners want people dwelling upon.

That in response to why people so often act at odds with their best interests. Because they're kept in the dark and desperate to be among the latest cool kids on the block.

That's because the Reagan era was the beginning of the end of the middle class.

 

[Polishprince]

That's because the Reagan era was the beginning of the end of the middle class.

That's just a load of crapola, you know.

I was around pre-Reagan and saw what Far Left wingers like Jimmy Carter did to the middle class. The inflation under Mr. Peanut was horrific, the gas lines terrible, the unemployment rate in the tremendous Mahoning Valley was a disgrace.

 

[Smokin' OP]

That's just a load of crapola, you know.

I was around pre-Reagan and saw what Far Left wingers like Jimmy Carter did to the middle class. The inflation under Mr. Peanut was horrific, the gas lines terrible, the unemployment rate in the tremendous Mahoning Valley was a disgrace.

BS, Carters highest unemployment rate was 7.5%.
Reagan's turned the US into a debtor nation.
Reagan almost tripled the debt.
The most corrupt president until Trump came along.
BOTH, a disaster.

 

[TNHarley]

I disagree.
High population should mean more doctors and nurses.
Population has nothing to do with it.
Poverty is the main problem in India, but Cuba has shown you can have good health care even in a very poor nation, if you prioritize it.
No, it is my opinion that greed is the main problem harming health care on the whole planet.

I am sure your statist ass would disregard an important variable for your authoritarian agenda.

 

[Donald H]

Holy shit. That's crazy man. My God, no wonder no one can get ahead in the US anymore. Salaries have moved up in the single digits over the past 30 years. Meanwhile...

Every thread on HC brings out the true facts on the American ripoff.
But it also brings out more opposition to fixing the mess it's in.

Americans are fighting each other against their better interests.

There obviously can't be any hope when lobbyists are paying off politicians on both sides.

 

[Donald H]

Every thread on HC brings out the true facts on the American ripoff.
But it also brings out more opposition to fixing the mess it's in.

Americans are fighting each other against their better interests.

There obviously can't be any hope when lobbyists are paying off polititions on both sides.