Impeding changes to our Health Care system

[TheMercenary]

A great quote by Obama. At least he admits it was a lie afterall...

The last thing I will say, though -- let me say this about health care and the health care debate, because I think it also bears on a whole lot of other issues. If you look at the package that we've presented -- and there's some stray cats and dogs that got in there that we were eliminating, we were in the process of eliminating. For example, we said from the start that it was going to be important for us to be consistent in saying to people if you can have your -- if you want to keep the health insurance you got, you can keep it, that you're not going to have anybody getting in between you and your doctor in your decision making. And I think that some of the provisions that got snuck in might have violated that pledge.

http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time....ing-admission/

[classicman]

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States.

Deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale confirmed the treatment at a news conference Tuesday, but would not reveal the location of the operation or how it would be paid for.

"He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done," said Ms. Dunderdale, who will become acting premier while Mr. Williams is away for three to 12 weeks.

"In consultation with his own doctors, he's decided to go that route."

Mr. Williams' decision to leave Canada for the surgery has raised eyebrows over his apparent shunning of Canada's health-care system.

"It was never an option offered to him to have this procedure done in this province," said Ms. Dunderdale, refusing to answer whether the procedure could be done elsewhere in Canada.

Mr. Williams, 59, has said nothing of his health in the media.
today.

Link
Why?

[glatt]

Pure speculation on my part, but he's probably going to a world renowned doctor that most Americans wouldn't be able to afford. Someone who treats only the uber rich and world leaders because insurance probably only covers a fraction of what he charges, and the remainder is so high that most can't afford it. And that person is probably better than any doctors near him. That person probably works in the US because the system here allows him to charge what he will.

[TheMercenary]

What you say is pretty true glatt. We have a ton of doctors who trained in Canada practicing here because of the living they can make.

[classicman]

Health Care for Dummies: What You Need to Know
How Will Health Care Bill Affect You? Here's What You Should Know

Democratic leaders have gone behind closed doors to hash out the final details of their health care reform proposals. No matter how they resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions, the final bil will, if passed, affect nearly every American to some degree, depending on how much money you make and how you currently get your health insurance.

The bill aspires to insure nearly every American. But citizens will have to buy insurance themselves.

The average health insurance plan for a family of four cost more than $13,000 in 2009 for a family, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The foundation has also created a handy calculator, taking into account age and income to determine what that a person's government subsidy would be. You can find it HERE.

[piercehawkeye45]

Looks like there will be some bi-partisan effort with the health bill. Could just be for show...

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Sunday that he would convene a half-day bipartisan health care session at the White House to be televised live this month, a high-profile gambit that will allow Americans to watch as Democrats and Republicans try to break their political impasse.

Mr. Obama made the announcement in an interview on CBS during the Super Bowl pre-game show, capitalizing on a vast television audience. He set out a plan that would put Republicans on the spot to offer their own ideas on health care and show whether both sides are willing to work together.

“I want to come back and have a large meeting, Republicans and Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward,” Mr. Obama said in the interview from the White House Library.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/us...l?ref=politics

WASHINGTON — When Republicans take President Obama up on his invitation to hash out their differences over health care this month, they will carry with them a fairly well-developed set of ideas intended to make health insurance more widely available and affordable, by emphasizing tax incentives and state innovations, with no new federal mandates and only a modest expansion of the federal safety net.

It is not clear that Republicans and the White House are willing to negotiate seriously with each other, and Mr. Obama has rejected Republican demands that he start from scratch in developing health care legislation.

But Congressional Republicans have laid out principles and alternatives that provide a road map to what a Republican health care bill would look like if they had the power to decide the outcome.

The different approaches will be on display Feb. 25, when lawmakers from both parties are scheduled to go to Blair House, across the street from the White House, for a televised clash of health policy ideas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/he...l?ref=politics

[classicman]

Yeh I think the R's will have to come to the table now. However I think both sides are gonna come out pointing fingers. . . we'll see.

[piercehawkeye45]

It's Reagan's fault.

[classicman]

HA HA HA HA HA HA - very good PH!

[TheMercenary]

Well it looks like Anthem is taking a pre-emptive strike at the potential loopholes of the the single party healthcare reform bill now in Congress. Imagine that...

Anthem Blue Cross dramatically raising rates for Californians with individual health policies

California's largest for-profit health insurer is moving to dramatically raise rates for customers with individual policies, setting off a furor among policyholders and prompting state insurance regulators to investigate.

Anthem Blue Cross is telling many of its approximately 800,000 customers who buy individual coverage -- people not covered by group rates -- that its prices will go up March 1 and may be adjusted "more frequently" than its typical yearly increases.

The insurer declined to say how high it is increasing rates. But brokers who sell these policies say they are fielding numerous calls from customers incensed over premium increases of 30% to 39%, saying they come on the heels of similar jumps last year.

continues:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...tory?track=rss

[xoxoxoBruce]

.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Well it looks like Anthem is taking a pre-emptive strike at the potential loopholes of the the single party healthcare reform bill now in Congress. Imagine that...

continues:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...tory?track=rss

I'm curious how you can explain it as a pre-emptive strike.

Given that these dramatic increases are on individual policies, not group policies.....and under the proposed Exchanges, those individuals would not only have more choice of providers, but the company in question would almost certainly not qualify for the Exchange at that premium/admin cost ratio?

These premium increases have everything to do with an unregulated, uncompetitive market and nothing to do with "loopholes" in the proposed reform.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Griff

Which one is the more significant threat to American health and welfare based on hype vs. reality?

Healthcare

[SamIam]

Well, I'm glad you finally concede that point, anyway.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

I'm curious how you can explain it as a pre-emptive strike.

Given that these dramatic increases are on individual policies, not group policies.....and under the proposed Exchanges, those individuals would not only have more choice of providers, but the company in question would almost certainly not qualify for the Exchange at that premium/admin cost ratio?

These premium increases have everything to do with an unregulated, uncompetitive market and nothing to do with "loopholes" in the proposed reform.

Nothing in the Demoncratic Healthcare Reform Bills would protect anyone from these kinds of increases. That is the point I have been bringing up for months. This increase is how the insurance companies will recoup any cost increases they incur with the proposed plans. The fact that they are unregulated is not addressed in the proposed plans; the fact that they are in an uncompetitive market is not addressed in the proposed plans, although I do recall the Republickins introducing a proposal for there to be greater competition in a free market across state lines. Nothing in the proposed plans on the table would prevent an insurance company from doing this in the future.