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Displaying all 7 Forum Posts for the Thread:

Obama's Health Care Plan Speech 3/8

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2010-03-08 03:15 PM

Zach F
Denton, TX
Posts: 481

Obama's speech at Arcadia University has me really excited. Many of the Democrats who are up for reelection are concerned that voting 'yes' on a healthcare bill could cost them their seat and may cost the Democrats the majority in congress. Obama encouraged them, rather fervently, that the November elections should not weigh in on voting for this Health Care Plan.

He continued and referenced the people with cancer and other terminal illnesses that need this bill passed ASAP. Hopefully enough congressmen can put aside their politics and get this legislation passed.

I was curious what everyone elses thoughts were on the speech. Do you feel like it will influence the vote or will the political game still hold sway over Washington?

2010-03-09 08:26 AM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 854

All of Obama's speeches are inspiring. I just wish more people could watch them. This one like many others was a mid day speech, where TV viewing audiences tend to be low. And the mainstream media typically takes in only a few seconds of clips of his speeches that are not necessarily relevant. For those that missed it, the transcript and video are available on the Whitehouse.gov website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-health-insurance-reform-arcadia-university.

Obama connects with the people and the more townhalls and other venues this week surely can help. Unfortunately, his biggest problem on this issue is not winning over the American people, but rather Congress, both Senators and Representatives, many of whom are putting their ideologies ahead of an imperfect bill...e.g. Bart Stupak and Dennis Kucinich. But an imperfect bill is better than no bill, and I'm hopeful that Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can eventually win over the "no voters" within their own party without having to buy their votes with concessions that undermine the people's faith in the process...e.g. the Ben Nelson fiscal exemption for Nebraska.

Health care reform like social security before it is a process that will take years. This one bill will not solve all the problems but it's a good start.

2010-03-12 05:14 PM

Lori
Amarillo, TX
Posts: 9

I'm still not on the government health care band wagon.

My elderly mother just spent $2,200.00 (no decimal error !) on an antibotic for a staff infection. I wonder - under government health care could she have purchased the needed medicine at a more reasonable cost, or would she have passed away waiting to be diagnosed...

I wish I had more answers.

2010-03-12 10:04 PM

JasonK
Portland, TX
Posts: 711

Lori Wrote: I'm still not on the government health care band wagon.

My elderly mother just spent $2,200.00 (no decimal error !) on an antibotic for a staff infection. I wonder - under government health care could she have purchased the needed medicine at a more reasonable cost, or would she have passed away waiting to be diagnosed...

I wish I had more answers.

I am not sure if I understand this story. I am assuming if your mother is elderly (older than 65?) and lives in the United States then she is already on "government health care" (Medicare). Did Medicare bill her $2200? Or did she use private insurance instead? Or both maybe? What was the actual total treatment cost and the amount that the insurance paid? How about an annual deductible?

Did you do research on Staph infections? I googled and a couple sources show that it can be an expensive thing to treat.

But treating drug-resistant staph costs even more. Oscherwitz estimated that each hospital-acquired infection can cost $20,000 to $40,000 to beat.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/99739

Medicare has competitive rates and costs and since it is run by the government you don't have to worry about being "screwed" as they are not out to make a profit. It looks like this was just a more expensive treatment than you would have thought.

As a comparison, I would do some research to find out
1.) What health care plan your grandmother is on (Medicare I am assuming)
2.) What the costs and benefits of the program are
3.) How much it would cost for Medicare vs private insurance
4.) How much the treatments cost vs how much the insurance paid

I believe Medicare is very competitive and even the biggest critics of health care reform like their Medicare. So my guess is a comparably priced plan on the private market would result in a higher payment than $2200.

As far as drug\treatment costs, that is a problem that both private and government insurance have to deal with. Large bodies such as the government have greater purchasing power to negotiate lower rates though.

2010-03-16 05:47 PM

Lori
Amarillo, TX
Posts: 9

Thank you for your input. Just an update: My mom is covered by private insurance which ended up reimbursing her about $1,700. Her medicare plan does not cover prescriptions.

2010-03-17 09:19 PM

Magpie
Denver, CO
Posts: 5

For those less familiar with Medicare, there is not a "one size fits all" policy, but rather several options to fit your needs. None of them are manditory. All are optional.

Medicare Part A covers hospital visists and is the basic care provided to seniors 65 and above.

Medicare Part B covers doctor visits and costs extra.

Medicare Part C, also called Medicare Advantage, provides the same coverage as A and B and some extras but through a private health insurance company. Policies can be selected from a menu of options, and extra costs depend on the options chosen. Some include prescription drugs.

Medicare Part D covers prescription drug costs with a range of options on what specific drugs are covered or not covered. Costs will be variable depending on what drugs are included in the plan.

All of this is covered in Wikipedia: Medicare, and the range of choices make for difficult decisons for seniors as they reach the magic age of 65. Those that opt not to pay for the extra costs of Medicare Part C or D plans will not have prescription drug coverage, but will have considerably lower monthly premiums.

2010-03-27 12:24 AM

Listening
Lenexa, KS
Posts: 49

My mother was a medicare hawk. She lived in the community of Sedona, Arizona and used to go over the bills of her friends to see what doctors were charging. Sedona is pretty affluent and it seems the doctors expected to be affluent too as they routinely overcharged the government for all kinds of things.

Even with my mother hawking and reporting, nothing ever really happened.

It is possible that conservatives think we might have the same issues on health care ?

Look at the 20/20 piece on social security fraud.

Displaying all 7 Forum Posts for the Thread:

Obama's Health Care Plan Speech 3/8

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