(yes, a little lengthy, but relevant anyway. Stay with me. I wrote this with a 3 year old on my lap playing bouncy baby
. I think it's completely understandable, but then again, I'm also singing the Barney song in nauseating repetition while editing)
Just a few thoughts on Health Care
When my daughter died years ago after 7 long months in the hospital, I consequently lost everything. My home, car, job, etc etc. I went belly up financially speaking. I only mention that because this is the premise often used for support of government run health care. "Why should you go bankrupt for sickness?" Well, I agree, it stinks that this happens in life, but then again I chalk it up to it being part of LIFE. But I digress.
After it was all said and done, I was forced to apply for food stamps and medical coverage aka... medicaid. What I found out pretty quickly was that it was a good thing that I didn't own a home, or a car, or a savings account anymore. I couldn't have jewelry worth very much, no christmas account, no life insurance etc...no, I couldn't have any of those things if I needed government help. The government would not help me if I owned, or possessed those items of value. In fact, the only reason I was able to receive medical coverage was because I was a woman w/o a job and with children.
Typically, unless you are pregnant, a parent who is financially broken, an Indian or handicapped, you can't receive medicaid aka...government run health coverage. Then, I had to face finding another job with 4 kids at home to care for. My only income was child support. And while the average sane person wouldn't consider child support "income", the government however, does. Because I received 800.00 a month from my ex husband to support our kids (court ordered) the government said I "made" too much money to receive financial assistance.
SO, this is the reality I was facing :
I had to figure out how to pay for all my utilities and rent inside of 800 bucks. Not to mention my childrens clothing, school supplies, tampons, toiletries and household detergents--gotta wash those clothes you know and still have money to put inside of those coin operated machines. Then I had to find a job, which was made extremely difficult because I couldn't buy a car. If I did, it would be allowed, but it would have to be worth nothing and basically a heap of junk to be considered appropriate by the government to receive their help (they use blue book values to to decide for you what you can and cannot drive). So I walked. When I finally found a job, I discovered (to my dismay) that if I stayed there longer than ten days (the time the govt gives you to report changes in your income) than I would be making "too much" money and the government would reduce my food stamps to equalize the help I was getting with the work I was doing. Needless to say, that it was an easy choice between making a little head way monetarily and feeding my children. So I left that job almost as soon as I was hired, and found another working at a little convenience store making minimum wage. Minimum wage is acceptable to the government, as long as it's part time --can't make too much money to actually buy clothes with you know.
Aside from that,
I got automated phone calls telling ME when to take my children to the doctor.Who knows better than I, when my babies need to see the physician? The catch is, if you don't stay up to par with medical visits, then you can be charged with neglect under government welfare statutes and have your children taken. The other catch--we didn't any longer have a car, so the government provided me with "car pooling" or medical transport services to get there.
I couldn't see the gynecologist when I needed to. I had to be approved first. Oops--if I'm not pregnant--then my family doctor could deal with whatever female problem I was having.(seriously) I couldn't see my childrens MD, who wasn't even a pediatrician, because we weren't in the same payment group. No, my doctor was 22 miles away from home, and the only way I could change that was to first seek government approval, then wait for the approval, and possibly wait for an opening for a doctor who would accept medicaid.
So here's my thing. I don't like welfare of any sort, because while it seems that it helps the needy, it is, in actuality, a place that's sole purpose is keep you down, to keep you stuck and to keep you dependent. Your actions and lifestyle are to a large degree controlled. You are even lawfully required to open your home to social services without a warrant if you receive government assistance, so that they may inspect your home, and evaluate your children.
For all of you who think that govt run health care is a good thing...you might want to know a few things. Do you know that you will have to disclose your income changes to the government for health care purposes (pg 260)- Each time your income changes? Yikes! Nothing different from receiving "welfare" on that point.
Do you know that every single person in the US and it's territories will have to prove "acceptable" (as defined by the govt) health care coverage to the government, or you will face an extra tax and penalties if you don't pay that tax? (sec. 501 pg 296- line 16) Collectible of course by IRS codes, revamped for Health Care.
The words "cost containment measures" are all over the bill when it refers to providing health care--Cost containment is the same thing as "rationing". Do you know that the premiums on (pg 22 & 23) are up to 5 k for an individual and 10 k for a family (cost sharing), your annual deductible will not exceed 1500$, and the Secretary (govt appointed) will determine what treatment or benefits are covered?
OH, did you think it would be free?? No. It's not free. And you won't have a choice. If government competition drives cost, and makes it virtually impossible for employers to cover their employees, then those employers will be fined 100.00 a day until they do cover their workers, or 500 thousand dollars maximum (sec 501--pgs291 starting at line 19 thru pg 294). Knowing that, could you not agree that this bill is a Trojan horse to eliminate all private coverage paving the way for a single payer system?
For those of you who think that Obama/Pelosi care is reform that's good for the nation, I understand that you are more or less wonderful people-- You love humanity, and you don't want to see anyone suffer needlessly because they can't afford insurance. I completely understand that. I feel the same way. But, I have to submit a question (or 2) for your consideration.
1. What makes you believe that the government will be better able to provide for it's citizens than they can on their own?
2. Why do you think the government isn't interested in reforming themselves in any function of service they provide to it's citizens?
In summary, it makes absolutely
zero sense that if the government can't reform it's own rules and standards for providing health care in it's current form (medicaid) that they should be allowed to reform the health care industry as a whole. If the government is so concerned about providing "adequate" health coverage, then why not change all of
it's own current policies regarding medicaid? As of today, it's still locks out needy Americans. Unless you are pregnant, a mother or a single dad without a job, handicapped, or an Indian, you don't qualify. Where is the government's concern now for those who just need secondary insurance to keep them from going bankrupt to pay for catastrophic illness? Where are they for the single Mom who works 2 jobs yet still can't afford to feed her kids and by insurance?
Some of you think government has your best interest at heart, even though they take most of your money taxing everything you do ; Even though they overspend into the trillions while still giving themselves pay raises. IMO, this bill is another facet of government need to take from your labor, and pass the debt onto your kids, while one day taking more out of theirs. It's also a way for the government to control every aspect of your life in more ways than you've imagined. Unless you've been a parent on welfare, then you can't imagine it.
Reform, needs to happen, but if Congress won't start with the simple programs under their control, then you're kidding yourselves if you think that they will not plunder an impending health care bureaucracy creating more debt and more harm than good. Why don't any of you spend the time looking into the universal health care already provided to the Native American Indians and see for yourselves the horrendous care and lack of money due to "cost containment" measures that's provided for them? Just google it. Hundreds of stories are all there for you to read and judge what governmental standards are for care in this country.
It bothers me greatly, that in an effort to support a President, so many of you will put the blinders on, lose complete sound reasoning and live for emotional pleas instead of logical assessment based on criteria of a tried and proven past. Critical thinking has lost it's way for the bleeding heart emotional American and the few who will stand up are maligned and ostracized as though we're racist or uncaring individuals. It's a pathetic day for America when we don't have the collective wisdom to keep our government from spending our childrens future, while simultaneously wanting them to take care of us. It's rather sickening.
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Comments (34)
I really don't know... I too have been denied medicaid and state assistance because I am not pregnant or a senior. I totally agree that the government should also have to apply to the laws they pass, or bills for that matter. If the health care system is to be reformed, it should be for ALL American citizens. That applies to them! I am absolutely pissed off at this system, but at the same time I feel highly misinformed and ignorant. I'm not sure I have the knowledge to make a complete judgment, so I'm going to click on the link and educate myself... BUT that has to come later, for there are more pressing issues in my life at the moment. This may make me look stupid, but I lost a friend to suicide and I'm going to be there for him, my friends and his family.
Some people get it too easy, others get it too hard. In terms of the gynecologist, you could have just gone to Planned Parenthood for free. They offer free 'women's' insurance that would cover birth control, visits, etc.
You know how we stand on this subject. We have recently been talking about if this goes through, what happens to the for profit medical clinics and hospitals. The payments received by the government dictates won't be enough and the costs to the private sector will rise. When they rise too much, insurance companies will raise their rates and then more people will chose the government option. Eventually the clinics and hospitals will close. Where then are we to be treated? In many communities there is no other place to go. The government would have to buy, support and staff them instead. And how would they be paid for? No matter how you look at it, without good reform first, passing government run health care laws are going to destroy the health care in this country.
I've never been in a situation quite as bad as yours, though for a few years I was at a point wherein to keep my roof and my car on my income, I could not afford food (I was eating between 500 and 1000 calories a week). I looked into government assistance, and realized the same thing you found, that I could get as much as I was getting, but only if I had no job and no car and the like. I had the same thoughts as you, it seems counterproductive to impose these limits. You can't pull yourself out of a rut if any little change to improve your situation removes the aid and puts you in an even deeper rut.
Going tinfoil hat for a moment, I cannot help but wonder if perhaps these limits are placed in order to keep people dependent. Can't bite the hand that feeds.
That's only one of the countless issues I have with the current Health Care Reform Bill. However, thanks to the joys of the binary thinking drilled into us by the gummint and the media, being opposed automatically makes me a corporate, profit loving asshole who hates people.
@Dargon - I beleive welfare is exactly that. No one inside this nation who is concerned about this issue should look further than the history and tragedy of Native Americans. They've been reduced to nothing in their dependency. They were made that way by our govt for a reason. They're kept that way for a reason
I agree with all of this and I'm truly sorry that you lost your daughter. I know that had to have been the worst feeling in the world :(
Government fixing health care is pretty much a joke. The cost always exceeds predicted values and it's never efficient enough. There will be people who fall through the crack or may even be fined just for the heck of it. Medical cost will climb and health insurance companies will simply scale back what they do cover. "Oh sure, we won't deny you coverage, but don't come to us when you need an open heart transplant or kidney dialysis." All in all, this bill will pretty much add more problems to the already burdened system. Just waiting for the dominoes to fall. >.>
I can't remember if I showed you the research essay I wrote, but you might be interested: http://ex-adyto-cordis.xanga.com/707938993/america%E2%80%99s-health-care-plans-policies-and-profit/
Hmm. I'm sorry to hear about your child but I don't fully understand your argument. You are saying reforming health care is a bad idea because the modern health care system we had left you bankrupt and forced you into a horrible state. Why are you defending a system that hurt you? As of now we don't know what the final health care bill will be, all of them though does not force people into government health care.
Also I am curious as to what were the years that this occurred.
Again sorry for you loss.
@Modern_Twain - The health care system that hurt me was medicaid--provided from the govt. Read again if you must.
I can attest to everything you said about Medicaid. When my children were younger, the 5yo broke her arm. I had to take her to the doctor, but we had no car and lived outside of town. There was a program that allowed a van to pick up my daughter and myself and give us a ride 12 miles to the doctor. The problem was that they would not allow my 9yo on the van. What was I suppose to do? Leave the 9yo at home? We lived on a farm. There were no convenient neighbors! Too bad, said both the driver and Social Services.
Every three months, I had to gather all the documentation they required and present it to the case worker: SS cards, driver's licenses, birth certificates, shot records, pay stubs, signed papers for proof of employment, bank statements, utility statements, tax receipts, and 12 pages of questions. Any deviation in the amount of pay had to be explained, documented, and recorded. My husband did not work regular hours, so each pay check for two weeks was different. It took three weeks to process every change. One man in the office that recorded the changes told me to quit calling, or I would never get any benefits. That seemed to be the idea.
Finally, in a six-month argument about whether homeschooling was work, I quit filing. The Texas Workforce Commission said, yes, homeschooling counts as having a job, but the agents in charge of my case continually denied me food stamps because I wasn't looking for work. My option was to sue, and who can afford that?
In Texas, another group has priority: illegal aliens. Legal aliens are OK, but illegals? In my little town, someone who cannot speak English is treated much better than those who do.
@AnamcharaConcepts - I wish I could find a way to adopt all of you guys, have you all move up here to Canada. I'm not kidding. There are tons of jobs right near hear in the IT field, they are building a University in my town, and there's talk of a second one. this area is a gold mine of opportunity right now and they're short handed - they need 2000 techies ASAP.
Sorry for the blurt out guys.
@dikdoktor - If it was a simple thing to move and work up there, it would be a boon to many. Unfortunately it's not. But living close to you would be awesome
@ShamelesslyRed - You were not strapped with debt because of Medicaid. You went into debt because of the current health care cost. You then applied to get government assistance. You were denied because it was deemed that you made too much. I am not pointing fingers as to who is to blame for this blatant idiocy (you being denied, if what you say is true, you really needed help) but the truth is that this country has a real problem with the government working for the people. They don't trust it. So what happens is politicians like Reagan are elected by stirring up resentment towards people who need government assistance. Like yourself. We need to wake up and realize that the government works for us, not the big corporations, or the imperial interest of the few.
@Modern_Twain - but that's exactly the point.  Many of us don't trust it, because we know government does NOT work for us, but for the big corporations and the imperial interest of the few.Â
@ordinarybutloud - No that's not the point. By being the pawns of the powerful we the people are being used as the greatest weapon against ourselves. It makes absolutely no sense why someone would write about how they were bankrupt by the current health care system and then defend it. Also the libertarian stance is that what happened to this poor woman was just. She had just lost her child and needed help, instead of helping her the government took the libertarian cop out, and told here to figure it out on her own. I am not proud of this country for doing this. We should have policies in place that protect people from going bankrupt when loved ones become ill, and we should have a government that helps its citizens when they need it. One of the big hurdles preventing us from achieving these goals are the poor souls who are used against themselves.
"Well, I agree, it stinks that this happens in life, but then again I chalk it up to it being part of LIFE. But I digress."
Mam you are a human. You deserve better. No single mother who has just lost a child should be forced into bankruptcy. That is just plain wrong, and you should never chalk it up as part of life.
I agree with you...the way that the government currently runs government health care keeps people down, keeps people dependent. It is folly for us to ignore the treatment of Native Americans in this country. That is what the future holds for us if we pass bills like the current one going through Congress.
I've been without health insurance since the beginning of this year... I'm one of those "millions" without insurance. But not going to sit here quietly and let Congress use me as an excuse to pass their monstrosity. It is nothing more than a power grab, to control us and take more from us than they already do. I'm responsible for taking care of my own health. I'm paying out of pocket for what health care I need as I need it, until I can get insurance. I don't expect my fellow Americans to be burdened with my care. I don't expect my children and my children's children to be weighed down with the debt of an enormous government run health care system. It's called personal responsibility, and we seem to be lacking in it these days.
For those that are truly in need, there are still state programs and some federal ones that are options to help. But we both know that those options are far from being superior or better care.
WOW!! I have suggested only a temporary assistance program for people who have inability to get insurance to get them through, but if it is this type of welfare and it is this hard (as you described it), then it ain't worth it. I wonder if Mr. Obama understands that slavery is supposed to be against the law, and this plan enslaves us all. It will either tie every one's hands from helping themselves, or it will further build a disparity between the rich (legislators and executive people) and poor (all the rest of us). I DON'T WANT NATIONAL HEALTH CARE.
@Modern_Twain - Hey, partner, during the Reagan years there were women who took hold of responsibility and got out of the welfare mess. Are you advocating for the new Health Care plan?
You're spelling believe wrong and it's bugging me.
Shoot, I never comment on a stranger's blog, but the siren song of the Internet is too strong for me today.
I think the way you posed your first question is misleading: "What makes you beleive that the government will be better able to provide for it's citizens than they can on their own?" To more fairly pose the question, I would rephrase it as "What makes you believe that the government will be better able to provide for its citizens than private health insurers?" Private health insurers do not have the best interests of citizens at large - they have the best interests of their bottom line. And you can't argue that the free market here will eventually drive down costs - there aren't enough private insurance providers competing to create the "perfect competition free market model" where costs go down and the consumer wins. As long as there are only a few insurance companies competing with each other I mean, they can set prices however they want and deny coverage to whoever they want, and there is *no one* keeping them accountable.
For example, you take issue with a public option rationing health care. Private insurance companies ration health care as well, when they choose what to pay for and what not. Isn't private insurance rationing why you went bankrupt, since you had to pay out of pocket for things they would not cover? (Perhaps I should have started with this, but I should say that I'm very sorry you had to go through the loss of a child and the jumping through hoops of being on welfare. It must be a terrible thing to go through.)
Now, I can't say that I know enough detail about the latest incarnation of the reform bill to say whether this particular bill is a good idea or not. But the idea of health care reform, and yes a public option, is important enough to keep working on, and yes, keep arguing about.
@pb49r - Howdy partner! Yes I am advocating for health care reform. I don't call it Obamacare though, because I would support the reform measures (i.e. public option) even if he wasn't president.
Speaking of slavery, Reaganomics is nothing more than American Feudalism.
@Modern_Twain - I wasn't denied medicaid. I was accepted for medicaid and food stamps. I would say that it is wrong to have mounting debt from prolonged hospitalization that eventually will send a person into financial collapse. However, that was many years ago. If I had a chance to get a "do-over", I would never accept the govt's version of "help" again. If it means that I'm obligated to run my life the way a bureaucratic agency see's fit--then no. No way
@niceBrice - I spelled it wrong once according to spell check. I hope you find more pressing things to be "bugged" about
@koosh525-My financial issues had to do with losing my job more than it had to do with anything else. There's a part of this story that I left out, because I don't like discussing it. It still makes my stomach turn. But, before she died, and I was reaching the point of financial meltdown, I had her covered by medicaid.Without a job, I had no choice. Her care was not rationed at all, (at least that I could tell) until the end of her life. She was denied second opinion medical advice that I fought for. She was also doped up with so many drugs that she was a morphine junkie--easy to keep her pain free and comfortable that way, but she was literally addicted. The day before she died, her doctors (2) told her dad and I that we were prolonging her death--not her life, and they wanted us to end her life support. For years and years I struggled between the care she received, and questioning if it was the best available--and I wanted to accept that the doctors knew what they were talking about, and tried to accept that they genuinely provided the best care for her. In the last few years though, I have begun to conclude that the lack of care in the last 2 months of her life was directly attributed to medicaid and their denial of certain procedures due to cost. Around the clock care for an infant as ill as my daughter was, was horribly expensive. 7 months of hospitalization is a massive burden financially, as I 'm sure you can imagine.
I have often thought about telling this story on blog...but I'm not sure blaming medicaid for her lack of care--and the end of her life is something I'm comfortable with. I can't prove it. I may never know what decisions led to deny my request for outside medical advice-- I was just simply told that it was "denied"...or why the treatment she was given consisted of daily dosages of narcotics instead of actual infant therapy appropriate for NICU patients. Medicine has advanced in treating premature infants since then. But I can say with all certainty that she should have had better treatment than what she was given.