Opinions Regarding Medical Insurance

miamimike says on Aug 10, 2009, 14:08:

Now with Obamacare coming, I am afraid that the BC/BS insurance that I have now is going to be more expensive and will have more restrictions.
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Why do you say that? I an curious, exactly what is this "Obamacare" you speak of? BTW, the expensive rates for BC/BS for retired Fed Employees were in place(the rates) way way before Obama came into office. I know this for fact as I'm also in the same dilemma you are in but instead, I have Mail Handler's High Option and its every bit as good as BC/BS for 1/3 the price I have to pay. I even used it in Colombia for Dental work. Coverage is the same or better (mailhandlers has better dental coverage then BS/BS)-I don't know why people think BC/BS is the best value for the money without throughly checking out what the Insurance companies have to offer first.

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chingon says on Aug 10, 2009, 16:07:

With Medical insurance as you know it is not one size fits all.. Best advice i can give is to shop around and see what fits you the best.....

And that is what Obama does not get in my opinion....everyone has different needs even with health care, if he wants to cover everyone.. give them a tax break but please God i hope he does not create a gov't run health care... When medicare was created they estimate the 1990 cost of it would be 9 Billion... It was 66 Billion... please no more

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Rikito says on Aug 10, 2009, 17:10:

miamimike, my apologies. I am very quick to critisize others who do not clarify what they state. For me it's more of a personal opinion. I know that the Feds have around 8 or 9 insurance policies to choose from. I have read that Obama feels this is too much and need to be pared down. Also, it has been reported that private insurance rates will increase significantly because people will opt out of the new Nationalized Health Care system. One thing I do know is that private insurance will be made more difficult to force people into the national system. This is part of the plan as I have read in the news. I know this and have seen educated articles state that if (when) Obamacare is voted in people who have private insurance will pay a lot more than they do now and the government will make the private side more cumbersome. Mike, it’s logic, the government has to to make nationalize insurance cost and plan effective.

The Colombia insurance plans are very similar to the US plans. A couple like EPS are owned by US carriers. But at 50% or more of the cost I have a difficult time justifying this additional cost. I do not have a ton of money and an extra $250 per month means a lot to me and my wife.

Show me how I am wrong here? I like BC/BS, it has been good for me, but I also like to drive a Mercedes car which I can’t because I do not have that kind of money to justify that kind of car given how much I drive.

...and so it goes

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kramer says on Aug 10, 2009, 18:31:

Rikito, How much time do you spend in Colombia and the USA, respectively? Does your current BC/BS cover you in Colombia? Where is your official residence?

I would not rush into anything. But spend time becoming informed about your alternatives.

Yes, almost any version of Health Care overhaul (or even only Health Insurance overhaul, which is what may be the end result) currently under proposal will cause existing private insurance rates to increase signficantly in the mid-term, particularly if there is a public option available. That is because they all prevent new customers to enter existing insurance risk pools. Insurance can only be sold under the terms of the new system, although that would probably be a few years out. As healthy people leave the existing insurance pools and no new healthy people can be signed up, the existing pool goes into a death spiral. As far as I know, there is little disagreement on this issue.

Also, if there is no public option but health insurance companies are forced to take all comers, costs to private insurers will skyrocket. Although how much rates go up may depend on the level of government subsidies. But again, nothing is sure, please don't rush into anything.

Some things you will need to research besides Colombian insurance, are your options for short term insurance during your visits to the USA. Also, if you maintain some kind of official residence in the USA (e.g., your official residence is not Colombia, or you spend more than, say, 30 days per year in the USA), you may be penalized on your taxes for not having USA health insurance, under certain proposals (making basing your insurance in Colombia less appetizing, or forcing you to modify your official residence solely for health insurance reasons). However, no one knows what is going to happen, so I think you should just proceed real slowly and become informed at this point.

Kramer

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miamimike says on Aug 10, 2009, 22:54:

Rikito--to correct a couple misnomers on the Federal Health Employment Benefits plan you write about; for starters, there are over 200 programs(big difference from 8-9 plans) in the Federal Health Employees Benefit program and availability varies in each state. Here in Florida, we have around 30 different plans to choose from. In some cases, not all, you can use your US based health insurance in foreign countries. You need to check with your insurance first as coverage varies with each company. US Embassy Personnel and their families have been using US based Health Insurance Policies for decades in many countries. No one should think that every time a Federal Employee(and there are 1000s) needs healthcare outside the USA where his/her job is located(such as US embassy of DoD personnel) he/she travels back to the USA. They do not, they receive treatment in the country their Job is in, if they decide that is what they want. Currently there are some hospitals that are in the process of getting US Hospital Level Accredidation(JCOH) but none are in Colombia. I believe they are in Mexico and Brazil for the time being. JCOH= Joint Commission On Hospital Accredidation.

On Obamacare, no concise plan has been released in its entirety to the Public so much of what has been in the NEWS is pure BS. Its being promoted by many large Insurance companies who stand to loose revenue and who might actually have to compete for a change. They have been sending these Agitators out to dispute many of these town hall meetings, they do not represent any majority. They are Harry and Louise Types on Steroids(harry and louise from the Clinton era healthcare reform era) As it is now, these large Insurance companies decide who they want and don't want to insure. They would love to cherry-pick young healthy 20 year olds as these types hardly ever need Medical care so nice profit margins can be earned from this group of insurees. Lose you Job as many 45+ year olds have recently and If you have pre-existing conditions like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure ect you are out of Luck. Go in to any of their offices and try to buy a Non Group Private policy, if you have pre-existing conditions(which may not be any fault of yours, maybe genetic) You are SOL( Shit out of luck). Hopefully this would not happen with Obama's plan. They say under his plan, this coverage refusal would not be allowed. Bad for the Insurance Companies bottom line but great for the Policy seeker, also an end to discrimination. I would think most Americans would be happy to see changes such as this,,,God knows we need change and a functioning health care system as we sure do not have a system now. Unless you count Medicare for the over 65 age group,we have a mismash of private/goverment and self pay depending on what state you are in. And if you have the misfortune not to have Insurance and you have to self pay at the Hospiatl, you may pay up to 3-5 times as much as someone with Insurance. Penalized because you pay cash,,,WTF

In my Opinion, if we have a Public Option it would lower rates as the Private Insurance giants who have been overcharging the Public for decades would finally have to compete. They would love to get rid of Medicare, boy would their Cash Registers sing the Ka-Ching Song then as new Billions would roll in by the shiploads. With some Health Insurance Companies raising their rates by 10 % per year, how much worse could it get. Those right-wingers who adore the insurance companies never want to talk about this fact,,,Why NO complaints about this? Rikito, let me ask you, how much has your portion of what you have to pay for your Federal Health Insurance risen in the past 10 years? Mine has went up over 4 times Monthly in this time period,,,

http://www.opm.gov/INSURE/HEALTH/

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kramer says on Aug 10, 2009, 23:37:

Mike, a concise plan has been released to the public although almost no one has actually read it, including those that voted on it. It passed the House Commerce and Energy Committee a few days ago and the summary has been widely circulated -- you can google it for yourself -- it is the only bill that has made it through committee in either house. It contains everything that I mentioned in my post, including a tax penalty for most US residents above an as-yet-undetermined-income who would choose to go without insurance. It also makes absolutely no mention of malpractice reform, the major cost in the system that could be decreased. Insurance company profits are a small fraction of health care spending (in fact, 56% of all current health care spending is government spending). The US states that have systems similar to what is in the bill, Massachussetts and New Jersey, have much higher health care costs than the rest of the nation since they put those laws in place -- health care cost increases have actually accelerated under those systems.

The choice is not between scrapping the system and no reform, as many seem to imply. There are plenty of changes that could be made. Like, for instance, greatly increased funding of state high risk pools (the main safety net for those that don't qualify for regular insurance and an absolutely essential part of the system) and malpractice reform (and associated defensive medicine, perhaps 15-20% of all costs) and reforming the outrageous charges that health care providers make to cash payers (which you also mentioned). Malpractice reform is not on the table because they are the major supporters of the democratic party (no one denies this) so there is absolutely no pretense of bipartisanship. So the current bill, IMO, does not address cost or quality issues, just access. These three issues form a tripod and I think all three need to be addressed.

Let's try to address the original poster's concerns about his insurance as they relate to his situation.

Kramer

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miamimike says on Aug 10, 2009, 23:50:

Kramer I did that and more(address the OP's dilemma). Did you not read the first paragraph of my above post? I advised him to check and see if there are not some Hospitals/Doctors who would accept his US based Insurance. He could also check with the US Embassy to see if they have list of Providers who they send their Employees out to when Medical Care is needed. I used my US based Insurance in Bogota, No problem. I checked with Mailhandler's(my insurance carrier) first. Its a misinformed assumption that All based Medical Insurance will not be accepted out of the USA. It (insurance) may or may not be but until you check, you will never know,,,

I would appreciate a link of that concise plan as many of us who work in Healthcare have not been able to obtain it. We have contacted our Congress Reps(in my case Congressman Kendrick Meeks, Florida ) and his office stated "no copies in the office to read or hand out to districts constituents". How can we then review it indepth? BTW, on malpractice reform, I read figures where at best it accounts for less then 1% of total healthcare cost increases, at least in Florida(with some of the highest healthcare costs in the USA). Jeb Bush, then Governor here in Florida passed Malpractice reform several years ago in Florida and he Stated "rates would slow or decrease afterwards" . Fact: they went up yearly afterwards, in some cases by over 10% and still rising . And that was after Malpractice reform was passed. Moral of the Story: Don't trust what some of these lying Politicians tell you,,,See how much of their Re-Election contributions come from Big Insurance and/or other vested interest groups then you will get an idea of what will and won't be accomplished legislation wise.

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kramer says on Aug 11, 2009, 00:30:

Mike, I read your first paragraph, but I meant that we are not helping the OP by going into a diatribe about Health Care Reform. That is why I tried to limit my first post to only those issues that were of concern to the OP.

The draft summary I have seen is here (although it reads like a commercial for the bill and is not entirely up to date):
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090714/hr3200_summary.pdf

When I googled, I came up with this page, which seems to have a full page of links:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=...

I think they might have only released the summary and not the final text of the bill.

On malpractice reform, the problem is the defensive medicine that is practiced to avoid lawsuits, not the actual settlement payments. It dominates American medicine, as any doctor will tell you. My ex-brother-in-law is a socialist (and medical school teacher) who supports single payer health care but he believes that the threat of malpractice has ruined the current system. My current brother-in-law is a surgeon and this affects his daily practice of medicine. He even had to pay $76000 of his own money when switching jobs (which was not even tax deductible), just to cover himself for any future lawsuits that might arise on surgeries he did as an employee for his former company (known as the "tail"). Quite frankly, if someone really wrote that the threat of malpractice represents 1% of system costs they don't know what they are talking about. No one on any side of the issue seriously believes that.

Kramer

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miamimike says on Aug 11, 2009, 07:52:

Kramer, Well if you research that fact you wll see that 1 % figure still is out there. That figure, even at 1% is still huge when you consider the numbers, billions we are talking about. As I say, here in Florida in early 2000, when Malpractice Reform was pushed by Jeb Bush and crew here in Florida with the end goal to slow down Health care costs costs incredible raises, the opposite happened after reform passed. Health Insurance rates as well as healthcare costs in general actually went up after Reform was passed. Really they soared here in Florida, some years going up by 10%. Goes to backup my statement that one needs to look at what $$$ vested interest groups were donating to specific Politicians writing the langauge into the bill. The Insurance lobby is very potent here in the USA and in my opinion, is responsible for much of what is wrong in health care reform battle. And soaring healthcare costs! Look at the past President of United healthcare Group who earned a Multi Million Dollar Salary(McGuire). His severence pay was like $1.4 Billion. Think Outrageous Salaries like this does not affect Health Insurance rates for the average policyholder? Or what is covered? His agency is famously noted for denying claims as well.

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On malpractice reform, the problem is the defensive medicine that is practiced to avoid lawsuits, not the actual settlement payments. It dominates American medicine, as any doctor will tell you

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In some states, not all. Florida is one state where your comment is valid. At any rate, Healthcare reform(lawsuits included) did not lower runaway soaring healthcare costs in Florida. BTW, I have worked in Healthcare myself for over 20+ years(boots of the ground, direct care provider) so I also have an idea of what the problem is and the contributing factors. One big factor locally is the huge amount of Medicare fraud, which until recently, was unbridled. The Federal Attorney General for our area stated "Florida is Ground Zero" nationally for Medicare fraud. Losts of health insurance fraud exits as well. Think these factors don't affect soaring Healthcare costs? The Obama administration to its credit, is coming down hard on this fraud but it was something that for the past 6-8 years, went unchallenged. Why is the question.

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Thanks for the links. I'm listening right now to a radio program on Healthcare reform and as I mentioned earlier, there really is not a Specific Obamacare plan out there. There are a lot of blatant lies circulating around out there like the one Palin was pushing like the Granny Bill, where old folks as well as persons with down syndrome would be denied care, would have to get End of Life counseling ect. In reality, this is a lie and created only to defeat any Health care reform of any type.. I think most Americans with half a brain recognize claims like these for the lies&untruths they really are.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16045685

May 2009:
Twenty percent of all federal Medicare fraud prosecutions are filed in South Florida, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Wednesday, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5/29). U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta and the Department of Justice last year established the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami, which comprises federal agents and prosecutors (Weaver, Miami Herald, 5/29).

The strike force has brought 120 criminal and civil cases against more than 200 defendants in South Florida who have been charged with more than $638 million in fraud. Fraud cases involve such things as billing Medicare for medical equipment and prescriptions that beneficiaries do not need, billing Medicare for services never provided, and stealing information from physicians and hospitals and submitting false claims to Medicare (Anderson, AP/Florida Times-Union, 5/28). Mukasey on Wednesday said, "Fighting the fraud and theft committed by these criminals is vital to preserving our health care system -- vital to its financial solvency, as well as its integrity" (Miami Herald, 5/29).

According to the AP/Florida Times-Union, "South Florida has long been described as one of the nation's hotbeds of Medicare fraud, along with the Los Angeles area." Mukasey said the strike force is a model for other cities, adding, "The work you have started here has led the country on this issue" (AP/Florida Times-Union, 5/28). Mukasey said, "All of these cases take criminals out of the system, and save or return much-needed dollars. They also deter others from trying to game the system," but he added, "We cannot prosecute our way out of this problem" (Miami Herald, 5/29).


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/109237.php

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Rikito says on Aug 11, 2009, 10:22:

Kramer, I live here year round. This is my home and I have no possessions in the U.S. BC/BS covers the same for as if I were living in the U.S...no difference except that I may get quicker service here than someone in the U.S. I agree with you on taking it easy and I will not rush. One company I am looking at is CafeSalud. They pay for everything that happens in the U.S. for 90 days.

Kramer and Mike, both of you have made some terrific comments...thanks. One thing I do not understand is how my current BC/BS insurance works next year when I turn 65. How does the Medicare work? Do I keep both Medicare and BC/BS or pick one. Do either of you know how this works? Medicare is less than $100 a month currently.

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The one thing that really pisses me off is that the members of the U.S. Congress basically ignore the U.S. Constitution when it comes to the Healthcare debate. Congress has made up their minds and does not care what the majority of Americans think...the people who control Congress (da Dems) want nationalized Healthcare. Never mind about the dismal failure in Mass. Or Britain or Canada. Look at how Pelosi acts...she is, in my opinion, the great shame of U.S. politics. She wants what she wants and everyone else be dammed. Palin is no better and thankfully will fall in the ocean soon. Even in her own state of Alaska, much of the reform crap she pushed through is now being over turned. Her Republican counterparts are no better. I listened to Spector this morning on Fox and when he is before a big TV camera or Town Hall he sounds like he is knows what is going on and is for the ‘people’ through and through, but then when he gets back to D.C. you will see how he lies through his ass on everything he said he would do. He will sell his soul to get Democratic backing in his reelection regardless of what he has to vote yes on.

For me, we do not need another Healthcare system...we do not even need to reform the current one other than some kind of system to get insurance or treatment eligibility for the uninsured and who want the insurance. For example, answer this question for me...if you take all of these un-insured people and tell them, "Hey Joe, I am going to give you 'X' amount of money for you to purchase healthcare insurance for you and your family. We are doing this for you because we care about you Joe, and your wife and two kids." What do you think will happen to the money? What do you think Joe will do with the money? Buy Healthcare or buy a beer? Last night my wife had a telephone call from her mom in Bogotá. One of her brothers in law lent a lot of money to his sister to start a business. She had a nice write up and plans how the business will work, what kind of profits she will expect, etc. So what happened to the money he gave her? She gave it to DMG to invest for her...she lost all of the money and the brother in law is now broke. And the sister…”well it’s not my fault, you should not have given me the money.” What I am trying to say in this instance is...has anyone asked the un-insured what they want? Or are we going to force it on them. Look at the illegal’s in the U.S. do they buy healthcare…hell no. That’s why 40% of the hospital closures in California are due to the illegal care in the emergency rooms that they have to keep open because the government says they have to. In California 430 hospitals are currently operating in the red, with several hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy. 20 have close in the last 10 years. This is important because almost 20% of the countries un-insured live in California. And it is only going to get worse and the Obamacare system will not address the problems or even have an answer other than throw more money at it.
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"We do not need another Healthcare system...we do not even need to reform what we have. What needs to done be by Congress and the President is to make the current system (s) work the way it was intended. We are getting ripped off with all of the fraud, mismanagement, misuse, outright theft, and deception. Of course this can be said of most government programs. The Federal government is getting more and more involved with private sector programs that at the end of the day will not work. Everything they touch goes to shit. And Obamacare will not be any different.
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BUT, what I am trying to get a handle on is: a) what can I afford to pay each month? I find that of the Americans who live here some keep their USA insurance and others buy local Colombian insurance. Guys, I am 64 years old and the $400 a month for the family option under BC/BS is just too much for me. If I can save $3000 per year in insurance payments and another $2,500 in prescription meds which will mean a lot to me. I realize that this is a big change and a big chance, but the quality thing doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I have seen several Colombian doctors here in Armenia nd in Bogotá since I have been living in Colombia for arthritis in my kneck and knees/ankles and the loss of most of my large intestine because of shrapnel wounds in Vietnam and the partial loss of my left foot because of the first Gulf War. (I was on contract to the NSA then) I have found that the doctors here are very well qualified and in some aspects provide better care than some of the American doctors I have used. In fact, the doctors here in Armenia can't believe the amount of drugs that U.S. doctors prescribe. My internist here asked me if I had any idea of what taking the drugs I have to take for pain does to my internal organs over many years of use? He told me that it does more harm to my organs than any bullet I have had shot in me.

So with that I ask what Colombian insurance company do you know of that would be your choice if you had to make one?

Thanks for your consideration.

...and so it goes

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kramer says on Aug 11, 2009, 10:41:

Rikito, you will be eligible for medicare next year. If you were just a regular guy on insurance (not a former government employee) who is a resident of the USA, then you would enroll in medicare and probably buy a Medicare supplement to cover the gaps not covered by Medicare (from BC/BS, for instance). And drop your existing BC/BS plan. And then optionally sign up for medicare Part B (physician and outpatient services) and medicare Part D (medication) [it makes sense for almost everyone residing in the USA to sign up for Part B and Part D].

Medicare does not cover you in Colombia. Period. So the choice is between 1) maintaining your existing policy (which may require you to use medicare in the USA -- again, you are a special case being a former government employee so you need to research) or 2) using medicare in the USA and then a Colombian policy in Colombia.

So my question is, what happens with your current coverage when you are 65? Most policies terminate and assume you will sign up for Medicare. However, yours may be (and probably is) different.

In the scenario that it terminates or you choose to go with Colombian insurance and drop the USA insurance, then you would sign up for Medicare in the USA. On each visit back, think about maintaining contact with a doctor. This way you could always get major stuff done back in the USA and you are also covered by Medicare during your time in the country. You will have to make a hard decision about whether to sign up for Part B. If you don't sign up right away, the price quickly escalates if you decide to join in the future, basically meaning that either you sign up initially or never sign up. Many expats who are committed to their new country choose to forgo Part B (but are still covered for hospitalization by Part A, the automatic part).

Kramer

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kramer says on Aug 11, 2009, 10:49:

Mike, the reason there is speculation about the contents of the bills is because the sponsors are rushing the legislation. In fact, the original goal, as stated by the President, was to have the bills out of committee AND voted on by both Senate and House by August recess, which thankfully did not happen. This would have been start to finish of the debate in a couple of months, with only house/senate reconciliation remaining.

To put this into perspective, the process to fundamentally change the health market in Massachussets took over 1.5 years, much of which was consensus building and compromise, and the final vote in both houses of the legislature there was almost unanimous.

Kramer

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Rikito says on Aug 11, 2009, 10:52:

Thanks Krammer, I did not know muy insurance would terminate at 65.

...and so it goes

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kramer says on Aug 11, 2009, 11:01:

Rikito, no this is something you need to check on. The federal plans are different than ordinary private plans. I am not informed in this area of how the federal plans work after age 65.

Mike, do you know the answer (or maybe have a good idea of the right answer)?

Kramer

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Rikito says on Aug 11, 2009, 12:41:

I just called OPM and my BC/BS will continue after 65 for as long as I want. With or without Medicare. You are right though in that Medicare does not provide coverage in Colombia. And in Obama's town hall today he did allude to the number of insurance companies and their impact. He said there are too many and they have too much influence, but hey...they are the companies who provide the healthcare right? I think it is called the free market. The Obama people are looking for a scape goat and are afraid to look in a mirror...it might be un-American.

Someone also asked him why the congress and some federal employees have better insurance than the regular people. He said it was because they are in a very large pool which is a blatant or ignorant falsehood. He refused to discuss the matter in detail and left the town hall place. But 8.5 million Feds have 23 plans to choose from in several if not all States. No other organization has that many employees. Due to the sheer number, the Fed employee plans will be a high priority to get cut or consolidated.

...and so it goes

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miamimike says on Aug 11, 2009, 15:05:

Rikito--the Info is already out there! when you turn 65, you simply continue paying your share of Bc/BS. I had this given to me in my exit interview at my last Federal Position. While Medicare may not cover you, did you follow my advice and check out whether Bc/BS is allowed for use in Colombia? I have mentioned this 2 times already. Did you see it or read it?

Rikito--On your other comment "Someone also asked him why the congress and some federal employees have better insurance than the regular people. He said it was because they are in a very large pool which is a blatant or ignorant falsehood."

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What Obama said about why Federal employees and Congressmen/Senators have better Health Insurance and that theyare in a large Pool. Not a blatant lie or falsehood at all. This is in fact the basis of all insurance, a large pool of Insurees which lowers the cost to all, spreads the cost out. A Sound and Basic tenet of Insurance. No lie there, ask any Actuary(insurance underwriter/agent) In all, as I mentioned before, te FEHBP has more then just 23 plans, check the Plan Booklet they send yu a few months before every Open Season that all Federal employees and Retirees receive and you will see it clearly for yourself. 8.5 million Employees such as the Federal employees have a tremendous amount of bargaining power and this is why they get much lower rates. Obama was 100% spot on this statement.

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but hey...they are the companies who provide the healthcare right?
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Rikito--this staement is simply not correct. Health Insurance companies do NOT provide healthcare. They do not diagnose, prescribe or administer care/medicine/sugery to a patient for better health. Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists do this. Health Insurance companies deny claims and medical care so they can report a better bottom line to their shareholders. Case in Point is United Healthcare's CAEO McGuire who was paid $4-$5 Million yearly along with Severence package of close to(at the time) $1.4 Billion. No there was something for Voters to complain about,,,

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Back to your problem, before you automatically dismiss using your BC/BS Policy in Colombia, at least contact them and ask them if its possible. I did with mine(Mailhandlers) and it was OK to use it in Colombia. Worked like a charm.Nothing at all changes in your coverage when you retire, same policy, same limits. Good Luck



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Close to 70% of US Voters said they wanted healthcare reform, that's why its being enacted. Too correct another statement made, Medicare does not currently extend coverage outside the USA and the reason being is they(MEDICARE) want the treatment performed at a JCOH Accredited Hospital Facility. Some Hospitals outside the USA are currently undergoing the process to get JCOH approval but as far as I know, none in Colombia. Last I read, these undergoing the process were in Brazil, Mexico and India. They may have accredidation by now as this was over a year ago I read about it. That's why Medicare is unavailable outside the USA currently.

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miamimike says on Aug 11, 2009, 15:16:

Rikito says "The one thing that really pisses me off is that the members of the U.S. Congress basically ignore the U.S. Constitution when it comes to the Healthcare debate. Congress has made up their minds and does not care what the majority of Americans think...the people who control Congress (da Dems) want nationalized Healthcare. Never mind about the dismal failure in Mass."
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Rikito, On Massachucetts Healthcare plan, let me remind you, it was NOT a Democrat who instituted this Plan. It was Ex Mass Governor Republican Mitt Romney(past Pres candidate in 2008) who put this plan in place and last I read a few days ago an Article by Romeny himself. Looking at the Statistics on his plan, looks like it is working with the intended results as far as decreasing the large number of Mass Residents without Health Insurance:

*******On April 12, 2006 Governor Mitt Romney signed the health legislation********.[18] He vetoed 8 sections of the health care legislation, including the controversial employer assessment.[19][20] Romney also vetoed provisions providing dental benefits to poor residents on the Medicaid program, and providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid.[21][22] The legislature promptly overrode six of the eight gubernatorial section vetoes, on May 4, 2006, and by mid-June 2006 had overridden the remaining two.[23]

Background
Estimates of the number of Massachusetts residents who were uninsured prior to Heathcare reform in 2006 range from 395,000[7] to 653,000.[8] Due to their lack of health insurance coverage, uninsured residents commonly utilize emergency rooms as a source of primary care.[9]

Outcomes

Composition of Newly Covered as of 1/1/08
Drop in Uninsurance Significant Across Income Strata
Detail of Uninsured TaxpayersFrom 6.4%-10.4% in fall 2006, the number of uninsured Massachusetts residents dropped to 5.4%-5.7% in fall 2007, depending on the methodology used.[39] Approximately 3% of taxpayers were determined by the Commonwealth to have access to affordable insurance but paid an income tax penalty instead. Approximately 2% were determined not to have access to affordable insurance, and a small number opted for a religious exemption to the mandate.[40] As of June 30, 2008, the estimated number of uninsured had dropped to 2.6%.[40] Comparing the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008, spending from the Health Safety Net Fund dropped 38% as more people became insured.[40] The Fund (which replaced the Uncompensated Care Pool or Free Care) pays for medically necessary health care for those who do not have access to health insurance, and the underinsured.[41]

In February 2008 the Boston Globe reported that Commonwealth Care covered 169,000 people and had a projected cost of $618 million for the fiscal year.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_health_care_reform

Bésame, bésame mucho Como si fuera esta noche La última vez Bésame, bésame mucho Que tengo miedo a perderte Perderte después Bésame, bésame mucho Como si fuera esta noche La última vez Bésame, bésame mucho Que tengo miedo a perderte Perderte de

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Rikito says on Aug 12, 2009, 06:22:

It makes no difference who put it in place. Yes it is insuring the un-insured (and why are so many un-insured at their own making), the fact remains that it is costing the state tons of money and it is not as effective as planned. Patients do not see their primary care doctor when they want to. Many private care doctors are no longer accept new patients regardless of who pays. If you earn more than $32k a year you must by law purchase healthcare insurance through a private plan. All of a sudden there are more patients than the doctors can handle. No one thought about what the addition of so many new people would do to the current doctor’s load. Currently, in Massachusetts, 84 percent of patients are privately insured, with another 12 percent on Medicare. Only 3 percent use state-subsidized plans and almost all doctors lose money on every one of them.

According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Universal coverage has resulted in universal price hikes. By some estimates, costs of covering the state's newly insured are rising by almost 10 percent each year, to an estimated $880 million for 2010. Overall healthcare spending on state-sponsored insurance has risen 23 percent since 2006 to $10.2 billion. This has caused 20% of the doctors in Mass to leave the state or practice somewhere else or leave the medical field all together.

This is just one state...a very liberal, socialized state...more than California. What is going to happen when this thing goes national? The government will fail and fail miserably and the tax payer will not only suffer, but will pay to get it fixed. Socialized medicine has not worked in any country so far. Patients do not like it and feel that their freedoms have been eroded. Should I pay for the incompetence of the U.S. government? It didn’t work with Hillarycare and it won’t work with Obamacare. (which is practically the same as Hillary’s plan.)

...and so it goes

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