Bill Passes in Senate.

[ins.dave]

Got their little bill passed in the senate.
Who cares?
Let them pat each other on the back.
It'll morph a dozen times over before big ears signs it and then it all gets repealed before the "changes" go into effect in 2014.
Heh, heh, heh.

 

[PT202]

Got their little bill passed in the senate.
Who cares?

I, for one look forward to the 15 million new customers.

 

[Winter_123]

There is a feeling among democrats, especially progressives, that some type of bill will pass but they already feel like they will end out saying that the operation was a success but the patient died. How much lower you can turn the burner down on this bill without the light going out remains to be seen. Fortunately many who voted for Obama will get a new skateboard for Christmas and they will be off thinking about that next week instead.

It is a sad day for dems because they were prepared to blame Bush, and they were prepared to blame the Republicans, and they were prepared to blame the insurance lobby. Now they just shake their heads and dont know where to turn. If you can't get the bill you want with a democratic president and a majority in both houses, when will that time come?

Boooo....hoooo.hoooo. It is all so sad to be lib and to have no one to blame but your self.........booo....hoooo...hoooo. Why is God picking on me. How could God give me a problem but not give me anyone to blame it on........boooo.hoooooo......hoooooooo. I am like so totally, like sad. :(
They only voted against a really good bill and gave us this watered down dogpile because they are all racists. Oh wait, it was the dems who wouldnt support a "public option." Oh booo hooo God, why are you doing this to me. It's like so totally unfair and you didnt give me that pony for christmas when I was nine either. Oh boo hoo. hooo.

 

[sman]

However, I remember Medicare in 1963 and the AMA and every doctor in the land said the sky was falling and that socialized medicine for seniors would never work and would totally wreck the health delivery systems.

While it may not have wrecked the health care delivery system (in part because Congress can never follow through on their threats to cut Medicare reimbursement rates to physicians - which would cause some problems with the delivery system). However, it has wrecked the country financially. We have 7 more years, based on current projections, before we can't meet our Medicare obligations.

I have never stated that we wouldn't get health reform passed. I have stated that I hoped it wouldn't pass in its current form. And I still feel the same. I don't trust government projections. They have yet to be accurate for any program.

Al, I realize you are all for taxing the rich and giving to the "less fortunate". But it just doesn't work forever. How are things out there in California from a financial perspective? Has everyone gotten their IOU's cashed yet?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Al, I would think you would hate this bill. The public option is gutted. This is a mandate for almost every American to purchase insurance through a private carrier - the same carriers you have issues with.

Nothing stops policy rescissions - just have to prove fraud. Fine, your policy is rescinded right after you got diagnosed with cancer. Go fight it out in court over the next 5 years.

Nothing caps rate increases. Nothing prevents the carriers for charging whatever they want to charge. Only people making 133% of FPL get a free ride. Everyone else will watch their rates triple.

Nothing prevents a carrier from failing to authorize a procedure. Your doctor says you need surgery? The carrier says no - and that's the end of it. No wording at all to prevent that.

Al, you can't see the carriers collecting TRIPLE the amount in premiums yet still denying care left and right? You don't see the carriers only approving the cheapest course of action? You think little Timmy will get that bone marrow transplant or will that be deemed "experimental?"

The Senate even caved in on annual caps for "certain" plan benefits yet failed to outline what those benefits can be. So again, triple the rate but oooops, you hit your annual limit on therapy. Sorry.

Can we get an idea of the rates? Sure - work 'em up in Mass, NY or any other GI state.

So you're running a small business with 28 employees and operating on a 12% profit margin. Sorry - you're now mandated to either offer coverage or pay an 8% fine. Guess there goes that business huh. Oh wait! Just fire 4 employees. There - fixed.

So I'm actually surprised you're for this.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I think we're on different pages. I'm not discussing this as an agent. I'm discussing it as a husband and father.

I wanted the public option - having something keep the private carriers in check was a good thing. If all we wanted was just GI, we already have 6 states as examples of why that doesn't work. By definition, if it did work in those six GI states they'd be examples to follow.

I don't see anyone in Congress referencing the "glowing" success of the GI states - wonder why that would be.

All that being said, I'll also take this over nothing. Ironically most health insurance agents were worried about their careers if this bill passed. I actually worried about our career if nothing passed. I don't think there's an agent on this board who agrees that it'll be "great" to sell health insurance 5 years from now with $10,000 deductible + $10,000 80/20 with $80 office copays. That's where it's all heading.

3 months ago Aetna changed every plan in MD to a "value plan" - $50 copays with a 5 visit max. No one can see the "Aetna UltraFlex Value" in 5 years? $100 copay for 2 visits?

 

[GreenSky]

No one likes this bill but it is all we could get and I'm willing to give it a try. If it doesn't work, well you will have the last laugh and will be able to easily elect your sainted conservative Republicans to office. I would think you would LOVE this bill!

You are correct Al. No one likes this bill. It is a trillion dollar expense that really does little to correct problems in health care.

Once it's law, it will remain law. The public will be paying for this forever (except where prohibited by law such as NE, FL, CT). We screwing business big time, increasing cost, and reducing services. Physicians are being screwed and we will have shortages worse than the wagon wheel shortage when you were young.

This is leading to a takeover of the healthcare system and further turning this country into a socialist nation.

We are all so screwed by all the assholes who voted for Obama because he's not Bush. You guys are getting what you deserve and you're taking the rest of us along for the ride.

Rick

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

How can we have shortages? When...say, 5,000 more people in my locality all of a sudden have GI health insurance won't everything just stay the same?

Oh...that's right - when you increase demand but don't increase supply there's a shortage.

 

[Winter_123]

How can we have shortages? When...say, 5,000 more people in my locality all of a sudden have GI health insurance won't everything just stay the same?

Oh...that's right - when you increase demand but don't increase supply there's a shortage.

Right but the plan is to pull the plug on grandma to hold some of that demand down.

Plus once you get on the UK or Canadian model there is accelerated immigration for doctors and nurses from Pakistan to take care of the illegal immigrants so it is actually a holistic system. (libs love that word "holistic" so when you have a crappy plan just throw that in a bit along with a couple "preventives" and they start purring.)

We are going to have a holistic plan that focuses on preventive care for people of diversity who have been previously denited by a health care system based on the disease model and financial contraints. Ooooh man, feel the love.

Change you can believe in.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I'm fully prepared to meet our new family doctor fresh out of the University of Islamabad.

Of course, medicine now for (I'm guessing) 85% of all ailments is a drug slide chart: "Lets see......high cholesterol? Lipitor. Now get out."

There is no more treatment. Just medication. We can replace doctor's offices with drug vending machines. You punch in your condition and it shoots out your meds; "E5" is depression.

Of course the X factor in all of this is the legalization of marijuana. Then no one will give a ****.