Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Health insurance existed long before WWII existed in the United States. It was in response to FDR's wage freezes that companies started adding health insurance as a fringe benefit. And when they did add it, it was a major medical policy. The HMO concept didn't come around until sometime later, and didn't really take off until the late 70's or early 80's. Once the HMO model became popular, that's when prices began to rise at a dramatic rate.

And boy has it been the greatest thing for employers ever. They get to depress wages by feeding you the only affordable Health Care Insurance option you have as a consumer. Another windfall created by a stupid Fed. Government Policy that was circumvented by CEO's and businesses. There either needed to be no loophole in the wage freeze law, or no law at all.

John Stewart just came.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

And boy has it been the greatest thing for employers ever. They get to depress wages by feeding you the only affordable Health Care Insurance option you have as a consumer. Another windfall created by a stupid Fed. Government Policy that was circumvented by CEO's and businesses. There either needed to be no loophole in the wage freeze law, or no law at all.

Bad application of logic, Scooby. Wages continued to grow long after the health insurance benefits were adopted by corporations because health insurance pricing was still under control. Wages were impacted in any meaningful way only after the HMO push some 35-40 years ago, and then exacerbated by piling free trade agreements on top of the HMO issue.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

And boy has it been the greatest thing for employers ever. They get to depress wages by feeding you the only affordable Health Care Insurance option you have as a consumer. Another windfall created by a stupid Fed. Government Policy that was circumvented by CEO's and businesses. There either needed to be no loophole in the wage freeze law, or no law at all.

At the time, it was probably a decent idea, especially when the country was heavily rationing in order to control the population of the boom from the roaring 20's. Once the war was over, though, instead of returning to the status quo, unions and other employee factions likely petitioned their employers to keep that "cost", although many started to pass it on to their employers as a "pre-tax contribution" (not sure when that went into place). Little did they know how the cost would balloon.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Bad application of logic, Scooby. Wages continued to grow long after the health insurance benefits were adopted by corporations because health insurance pricing was still under control. Wages were impacted in any meaningful way only after the HMO push some 35-40 years ago, and then exacerbated by piling free trade agreements on top of the HMO issue.

Don't forget the malpractice lawsuits, and the insurance the doctors and pharmaceuticals needed against that (and business-wisely, passing that cost on to the consumer).

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Bad application of logic, Scooby. Wages continued to grow long after the health insurance benefits were adopted by corporations because health insurance pricing was still under control. Wages were impacted in any meaningful way only after the HMO push some 35-40 years ago, and then exacerbated by piling free trade agreements on top of the HMO issue.

May be. Doesn't change the fact that I'd just rather be paid in cash/check whatever and do my own ****ing consuming. I'm sick and tired of hearing how "wonderful" my benefits package is.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

May be. Doesn't change the fact that I'd just rather be paid in cash/check whatever and do my own ****ing consuming. I'm sick and tired of hearing how "wonderful" my benefits package is.

Well, guess what you're going to get if you get your way with single payer and find your taxes go up in order to pay for it.

 

[joecct]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Does Hillary need a crash couse from Toastmasters? Soaring rhetoric is not her.

 

[Handyman]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

You mean other than almost every other country with an advanced economy in the world?

Oh you and your facts...

 

[unofan]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

The theory behind Obamacare is that if you hit everyone in the face with a baseball bat, the one person who had a broken nose to start with won't feel as bad about it any more. Individual health insurance plans used to have some value, although everyone didn't have them.

The idea behind Obamacare is that since ER's by law cannot turn away people regardless of their ability to pay, it's better to help everyone be able to pay. Especially since if that allows them to go to things like a Primary Care Physician or Urgent Care instead of the ER, it saves everyone time and money.

 

[WisconsinWildcard]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Apparently more people than ever. It has a lot to do with doctors turning away the crappy insurance we've been left with, people don't have any choices left but the ER, thanks to Obamacare.
""It goes to the false promise of the ACA," Roy says, that Medicaid recipients are "given a card that says they have health insurance, but they can't have access to physicians.""
As to the distinction between Emergency Room and Urgent Care (assuming it's relevant in terms of costs and quality) I'm sure it has a lot to do with where you live. Many people live in rural areas with a limited number of facilities and might not be able to travel far, especially when they're sick. You might have a doctor's office or two, and a hospital so if the doctors are turning away Medicaid you're left with the ER.

I would be very careful about using data like that. It is based on a survey asking ER physicians if they believe volume increased which is a very soft metric. I trust it as much as I trust the intra-op blood loss estimates from an orthopedic surgeon (hint...they are always 50 cc http://www.gomerblog.com/2015/02/orthopedic-surgeon-2/). Medicine is designed that you take on more responsibility as you progress, so I suspect few physicians have the impression that their workload is decreasing. I would imagine it would be rare for an average of professionals in any field to have the impression their workload is decreasing.

Unfortunately, we will have to wait a few years before we can make any meaningful conclusions. Basing medical policy on polls is a Garbage In/Garbage Out process. The CDC tracks visits so they may be a good site to monitor. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm

Urgent care is hugely relevant to costs and quality. It is a very effective triage with much less overhead of an ER. Less equipment, less maintenance, more focused staff. They also tend to be very good at identifying situations that need elevated care so patient care does not suffer. Driving around Wisconsin, many rural areas have urgent care much more accessible than an ED.

The WSJ would have you believe there is an epidemic of doctors turning away medicare.
http://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2013/07/29/wsj-doctors-turn-away-medicare-patients

However, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates the percentage of doctors accepting new Medicare patients actually rose to 90.7 percent in 2012 from 87.9 percent in 2005.
http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Edu...k-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/se1305.pdf

I also remember reading a report from JAMA (I believe) that states most of those doctors refusing are not PCPs but dermatologists, ophthalmologists etc.

Either way, the number accepting is still very high. 9/10 is hardly an epidemic of lack of access.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

John Stewart just came.

I didn't realize this was literal until I watched the Daily Show last night.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Does Hillary need a crash couse from Toastmasters? Soaring rhetoric is not her.

She's better than last time.

In 2008 I really had trouble listening to Hillary for more than 5 minutes without wanting to pull my own ears off. Her voice had a mewling timbre I associate with the Church Lady, and her delivery always smacked of a grotesque combination of entitlement and pandering.

She hasn't turned into Paul Frees, but her elocution is at least listenable now, and her style is much less tone deaf as well. I'd still prefer she hire a stunt speaker, but a country that elected Dubya does not have a high bar for rhetorical talent.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Her voice had a mewling timbre I associate with the Church Lady

Remember the whole "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" moment? One of the highlights of that election season was when Jon Stewart showed the clip, then cut to him going, *gasp*..."She found his pot!"

 

[geezer]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

However, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates the percentage of doctors accepting new Medicare patients actually rose to 90.7 percent in 2012 from 87.9 percent in 2005.
http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Edu...k-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/se1305.pdf

I also remember reading a report from JAMA (I believe) that states most of those doctors refusing are not PCPs but dermatologists, ophthalmologists etc.

Either way, the number accepting is still very high. 9/10 is hardly an epidemic of lack of access.

This would seem to be contradictory to what's happening unless 1) Medicare acceptance does not track with Medicaid (can they be separated?) or 2) There are huge disparities in acceptance rates geographically or by state in order to get the overall average to go up while many providers are dropping it in small pockets of the country. I don't have any knowledge other than my own experiences.

 

[unofan]

This would seem to be contradictory to what's happening unless 1) Medicare acceptance does not track with Medicaid (can they be separated?) or 2) There are huge disparities in acceptance rates geographically or by state in order to get the overall average to go up while many providers are dropping it in small pockets of the country. I don't have any knowledge other than my own experiences.

Medicare is a federally funded program that covers virtually all Americans over the age of 65. Medicaid is a federal program run by the states to provide insurance to poor people.

They are two completely different things that do not track with each other at all.

 

[geezer]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Medicare is a federally funded program that covers virtually all Americans over the age of 65. Medicaid is a federal program run by the states to provide insurance to poor people.

They are two completely different things that do not track with each other at all.

That explains it then. Medicare is the one for old people only, has nothing to do with Medicaid being turned away.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Remember, there is NO WAR on women. None.

The House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee released a budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016 on Tuesday that zeroes out funding for the Title X family planning program, the only federal grant program that provides contraceptive and other preventive health services to poor and uninsured individuals who would otherwise lack access to that kind of care.

The program subsidizes 4,100 health clinics nationwide and provides no- or low-cost family planning services to individuals who earn less than about $25,000 a year. The largest demographic the program serves is reproductive-aged women between 20 and 29 years old.

We’ve come a long way – which is to say, Republicans have changed quite a bit – since 1970, when Nixon signed Title X into law, saying, “It is my view that no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition.”

Planned Parenthood Action Fund explained in a press statement that the current Title X program – which covers nearly 4.6 million Americans – includes resources that cover family planning services, well-woman exams, lifesaving cancer screenings, birth control, and testing and treatments for sexually transmitted infections.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-republicans-take-aim-key-family-planning-program

 

[LynahFan]

Remember, there is NO WAR on women. None.


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-republicans-take-aim-key-family-planning-program

Good lord. Guess the GOP hates women even more than they hate the poors, seeing as how they want there to be more and more of them.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Good lord. Guess the GOP hates women even more than they hate the poors, seeing as how they want there to be more and more of them.

To be fair, the GOP hates women poors most of all, so they are consistent at least.

 

[Rover]

Re: Campaign 2016 -- Don't Let the Perfect Become the Enemy of the Good

Good lord. Guess the GOP hates women even more than they hate the poors, seeing as how they want there to be more and more of them.

What are you, some kinda librul?