In response to several private communications with people in our e-mail club who have expressed frustration & concern with our healthcare system please click on www.returntoexcellence.blogspot.com & go to the left hand side. I have posted my promised write-up entitled "The Solution To America's Healthcare Problems" directly below "Death Of Democracy."
The write-up on the blog addresses all of the points below from members of our group (who are fighting back) & gives a solution that I encourage everyone to get behind @ townhall meetings & beyond:
---Comment #1---
This is the 21st century & the number one reason for personal bankruptcy is medical bills.
---Comment #2---
Tort reform has to be a big part of it - and that is off the table according to BO. The threat of a suit has caused the doc's to require more involved and more expensive tests. I know mine wanted me to take a stress test. So I did it. It was a 'nuclear' stress test. It cost nearly $3000. It came back normal. I read my doc the riot act. I told him I thought the stress test was jumping on a treadmill and elevating the BP with the electrodes hooked up. He said that was the usual case (and the cost for that was around $400), however he wanted to make sure 'all the bases were covered' and 'my responsibility to you is to provide the best care possible'. I asked him why we didn't start with the $400 one, and then if something came up, then go with the biggie. He kind of hemmed and hawed around. He then said that I should do this every year. I told him to stick it where the sun don't shine. The best I would do is the $400 test every 5 years.
Unfortunately most people will not say that. They will rationalize that the insurance or Medicare or John Q. will pick up the tab.
May be a crash and burn is an option.....
---Comment #3---
I'm on the fence right now. We were just informed by Gary's employer that they are considering cancelling our hospitalization provided to employees due to rising costs. This was after we were notified by the company that they were reviewing our claims to see if they "exceeded normal expectations" for a family of 5. I have not been to the doctor in 4 years, and the only time we use our insurance is for our children and Gary's healthcare which is 1 visit per year. I am not a proponent of socialized medicine, however, somehow we do have to get a grip on the control the insurance companies have over our healthcare. I recently spoke with a friend of mine who is an internist, who stated to me that the insurance company control is going to destroy our healthcare. I am in the process of investigating possibilities for us to secure health insurnace if the company does rescind that benefit, and I must say, the rates I am getting quoted so far will literally make my paycheck evaporate. And I don't work part time, I work full time making quite a modest salary. Right now our healthcare system rewards those who abuse it, rather than encouraging preventive care. Additionally, we are paying ridiculous prices for our prescriptions. My father and a couple of his friends recently went up to Canada to secure their prescription medications at a price they could actually afford.
Oh, and with a family history of colon cancer, in my father who is my poster child for cancer survival (coming up on 25 year colon cancer survivor), I was recently refused for a screening colonoscopy, stating I have to wait until I am over 50 - even though I have a first degree relative who had colon cancer under the age of 50 (45). So, the insurance company would rather pay for a colon resection ($50K+) versus the cost of a colonoscopy (under $5K)?
There has to be help somewhere. We are all paying for the uninsured, in more ways than one.
No comments:
Post a Comment