Health Insurance

[dutchboy]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5517492&page=1

Reminds me of what happened in a movie. What a great country we now live in.

[BenDiesel26]

What an odd article. The article begins trying to demonize the "insurance companies" and identifies the Oregon Health Plan, but not until page 2 does it make it clear that the plan is state run.

[GameTheory]

What an odd article. The article begins trying to demonize the "insurance companies" and identifies the Oregon Health Plan, but not until page 2 does it make it clear that the plan is state run.That's not odd.

[DRIVEWAY]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5517492&page=1

Reminds me of what happened in a movie. What a great country we now live in.

Health Insurance Math. 5% survival rate for 5yrs to be approved for drug treatment.

$4000-$6000 a month for an increase of average life expectancy of 2-4 months.

WOW. What a dilema. Who makes these decisions? These are terminal diseases and big Pharma has drug treatment that will extend life for a couple of months for $30,000 to $50,000. That's 500-1000 per day.

WOW.

[NJ Stinks]

What an odd article. The article begins trying to demonize the "insurance companies" and identifies the Oregon Health Plan, but not until page 2 does it make it clear that the plan is state run.

The paragraph below is from the article. It appears on the first page of my 15 inch monitor even at the biggest font setting. Must have been a misstep by MSM. :p

__________________________________________________ ___________

A lifelong smoker, she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005 and quit. The state-run Oregon Health Plan generously paid for thousands of dollars worth of chemotherapy, radiation, a special bed and a wheelchair, according to Wagner.
__________________________________________________ ______________

[PaceAdvantage]

Didn't Hitler want to do away with the drags on society too? Or was it just the drag queens he wanted to off? I get confused....

This is my toetoe moment of the day....

[mostpost]

Didn't Hitler want to do away with the drags on society too? Or was it just the drag queens he wanted to off? I get confused....

This is my toetoe moment of the day....
Don't we know it. The phrase is "Dregs on Society."

[PaceAdvantage]

Actually, it's "Dregs OF society."

I said drags on society.

I stand correct, not corrected.

Anyone else want to take a shot and miss?

[Steve 'StatMan']

Very sad case. Made all the more painful by the letter, be it computerized form letter or from an actual worker, about the rejection but willing to pay for the suicide drug.

This to me is one of the biggest challenges of the whole healthcare issue. To what financial extent are 'we the people' willing to pay to keep each other alive? What quality of life are will willing to pay to help maintain and extend. These are unanswered questions, and might very well be unanswerable to enough of the general public to quell signficant dissent.

Whether it's the 'Big Bad Pharma Companies', the 'Big Bad Insurance Companies', or, in the future 'Big Bad Government - which is actually Us' the line has to be drawn somewhere, somehow.

As for myself, I'm glad I don't fear dying - I fear lingering. Admittedly easier to say when I'm not dying (well, more rapidly than we all technically are each and every day.) But what level, if any, can the vast majority agree on? And shouldn't we really decide on that first before before finalizing any publicly funded health care plans? And how much are we willing to spend on foreign visitors, legal and illegal, and how much are we willing to pay other countries for the same treatment of our citizens when outside our boarders (legally, or hard to imagine in similar numbers -illegally.)

[Steve 'StatMan']

Actually, it's "Dregs OF society."

I said drags on society.

I stand correct, not corrected.

Anyone else want to take a shot and miss?

I thought the term Dregs of Socitey meant the lowest of the low - dregs being a term describing, for example, the difference between the first sip of beer from the can, vs the last sip, with all the spit and backwash in it. The worst of the worst, the vilest of the vile, the scummiest of the scummy, etc.

Drags on Society to me would imply what is said - anyone or thing that pulls society down in significant ways.

But I understand where all are coming from here.

[mostpost]

Actually, it's "Dregs OF society."

I said drags on society.

I stand correct, not corrected.

Anyone else want to take a shot and miss?
I get confused.....

[Floyd]

She obviously made some bad decisions in life. Why should we collectively bear the responsibility for her bad choices?
Health care is a personal and complex responsibility whereby everyone has different needs. Why should I pay to take care of my family and also help pay to care for someone else's PERSONAL needs? When I assume personal responsibility for my family's care, how does this translate into taking on the responsibility for everyone else's? What have they ever done for me? The "Robin Hood" syndrome, while having a nice romantic ring to it, is highly immoral. This is thievery. Plain and simple. (http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=731576&postcount=105)

[BenDiesel26]

The paragraph below is from the article. It appears on the first page of my 15 inch monitor even at the biggest font setting. Must have been a misstep by MSM. :p

__________________________________________________ ___________

A lifelong smoker, she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005 and quit. The state-run Oregon Health Plan generously paid for thousands of dollars worth of chemotherapy, radiation, a special bed and a wheelchair, according to Wagner.
__________________________________________________ ______________

You are correct it does appear at the bottom of the first page. But you have to agree, that's a far cry from the first sentence of the article is it not? "The news from Barbara Wagner's doctor was bad, but the rejection letter from her insurance company was crushing." I'd say that's a bit misleading, is it not? Do you consider medicaid an insurance company? The author tries to paint a picture of other insurance companies with the failure of the Oregon Health Plan, which utilizes a rationing system and actually had a lottery in 2008 for new enrollees after not allowing anyone to join from 2004 to 2008, since demand exceeded budget. Another great example of why most people are skeptical of the government taking over health care.

A very poorly written article if you ask me. The author is trying to throw all (private) insurance companies into the mix as a bad guy by using a lifelong smoker that is being denied healthcare by a government-run rationing system that is out of money. Talk about spin. This only serves to help confirm many fears people already have.

[NJ Stinks]

You are correct it does appear at the bottom of the first page. But you have to agree, that's a far cry from the first sentence of the article is it not? "The news from Barbara Wagner's doctor was bad, but the rejection letter from her insurance company was crushing." I'd say that's a bit misleading, is it not? Do you consider medicaid an insurance company? The author tries to paint a picture of other insurance companies with the failure of the Oregon Health Plan, which utilizes a rationing system and actually had a lottery in 2008 for new enrollees after not allowing anyone to join from 2004 to 2008, since demand exceeded budget. Another great example of why most people are skeptical of the government taking over health care.

A very poorly written article if you ask me. The author is trying to throw all (private) insurance companies into the mix as a bad guy by using a lifelong smoker that is being denied healthcare by a government-run rationing system that is out of money. Talk about spin. This only serves to help confirm many fears people already have.

I agree that I was surprised when I got to the fact that it was state run health care. And I agree it was not well-written. But after I read the article in full I didn't think the writer was spinning. I thought it succeeded in bashing government-run health care.

I guess it depends on your perspective. :)

[boxcar]

She obviously made some bad decisions in life. Why should we collectively bear the responsibility for her bad choices?
Health care is a personal and complex responsibility whereby everyone has different needs. Why should I pay to take care of my family and also help pay to care for someone else's PERSONAL needs? When I assume personal responsibility for my family's care, how does this translate into taking on the responsibility for everyone else's? What have they ever done for me? The "Robin Hood" syndrome, while having a nice romantic ring to it, is highly immoral. This is thievery. Plain and simple. (http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=731576&postcount=105)

Wow, Floyd! I see we're finally on the same page. Nice to have you aboard. :lol: :lol:

Boxcar -- who is now going outside to hug a tree in place of Floyd.

[Tom]

I thought the term Dregs of Socitey meant the lowest of the low - dregs being a term describing, for example, the difference between the first sip of beer from the can, vs the last sip, with all the spit and backwash in it. The worst of the worst, the vilest of the vile, the scummiest of the scummy, etc.

Drags on Society to me would imply what is said - anyone or thing that pulls society down in significant ways.

But I understand where all are coming from here.

Is that anything like "Anchors away!" :rolleyes:

[jognlope]

Now I'm thinking it should be state-based, cuz north dakota and New York, namely NYC, have whole different sets of health care problems. So there's a national sign up period, each state, and then numbers of people needing insurance and particular health issues are fed into a computer, and out comes an allotment of money for each state, from which the uninsured will pay part of the premium. And gambling is legalized in each state to support that fund. HAHAHA I'm really tired.