Senator Schumer: Government-run health insurance won't drive private insurers out of business

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I'm still PO'd that I was charged $300 out of pocket for a 5 minute appt with an ENT doctor who put a stick up my nose.

If a doctor in a hospital was of the opinion that patient was terminal and recommended withdrawal of life support, do you think it's reasonable to ask for a second opinion so a second doctor? Or should a family say yes, pull the plug, without a second opinion? Guess what. Insurance thinks that second opinion is 'medically unnecessary'.

Oh, and the second opinion in this case, which consisted of about 30 minutes looking at charts and consulting with existing doctors and a 5 minute visit to the patient... $2,000. The bill even says that the 'negotiated' price with the insurance company (were they to pay, which they won't) is $1,250.

[AlHayatZween 2]

i think it's terrible... how can any of that be right?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'm still PO'd that I was charged $300 out of pocket for a 5 minute appt with an ENT doctor who put a stick up my nose.

If a doctor in a hospital was of the opinion that patient was terminal and recommended withdrawal of life support, do you think it's reasonable to ask for a second opinion so a second doctor? Or should a family say yes, pull the plug, without a second opinion? Guess what. Insurance thinks that second opinion is 'medically unnecessary'.

Oh, and the second opinion in this case, which consisted of about 30 minutes looking at charts and consulting with existing doctors and a 5 minute visit to the patient... $2,000. The bill even says that the 'negotiated' price with the insurance company (were they to pay, which they won't) is $1,250.

I don't doubt it - that's what made me angry about the Terry Schiavo thing. Regardless of the specifics of the case itself it was so obvious that the Bush administration were grandstanding on the issue. Bush in particular had no leg to stand on as he'd previously signed into a law a bill that gave health providers permission to disconnect life support regardless of the wishes of the family.

The bureaucracy of healthcare is a peculiar evil - and in that respect Michael Moore's Sicko (for all its other faults) was fairly accurate in its assessment of the insurance industry's impersonal attitude towards the lives of the people it is supposed to "Service".

Sorry - your life isn't "medically necessary". Outrageous.

i think it's terrible... how can any of that be right?

It isn't right. The health insurance industry isn't about doing what's moral - its about doing what saves the most $$$.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

I have to admit if Obama's plan fits the model described during the campaign, I have to say I'm not a fan.

The system needs bold and radical overhaul, not the little bit of tweaking here and there. McCain's plan was actually more radical than Obama's - even if it was in the wrong direction.

I agree there has to be a complete overhaul of the system, the power has to be taken away from the insurance companies. Little tweaks here and there won't do much, the health care industry will still be in their hands. On Capitol Hill, there are SIXTY health care lobbyists for every member of Congress, they are a disease and must be rid.

Edited May 5, 2009 by JimandChristy

[Peikko 1,575]

It'll never happen. Too many people have their fingers in the health insurance pie.

[Peikko 1,575]

If health care is primarily seen as a way to make money rather than a way to keep the population in good health...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yeah it'll never happen. The health insurance lobby is too powerful and too well-established.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

Yeah it'll never happen. The health insurance lobby is too powerful and too well-established.

Aye, the greedy, corrupt, immoral, unethical b******s!

[Peikko 1,575]

We need a new series of Quincy

[JimandChristy 1,689]

We need a new series of Quincy

Ahhh weekday afternoons on BBC1 when I was off sick from school and also "Just one more thing Ma'am/Sir", takes me back a little bit.

[Heracles 417]

The system needs bold and radical overhaul, not the little bit of tweaking here and there.

Like what? What do you recommend?

[Peikko 1,575]

We need a new series of Quincy

Ahhh weekday afternoons on BBC1 when I was off sick from school and also "Just one more thing Ma'am/Sir", takes me back a little bit.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The system needs bold and radical overhaul, not the little bit of tweaking here and there.

Like what? What do you recommend?

Don't know. Honestly I don't.

[Peikko 1,575]

The prudent thing to do would be to assess a number of different solutions to the problem and create the best solution based on received information. The problem is that anything that smacks of 'taxes' or somehow caring for those who can't care for themselves is sneered at by those who currently make a fortune out of the system that is in place. The fact that they can persuade so many people that they are right...sad is what it is.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The problem is that anything that smacks of 'taxes' or somehow caring for those who can't care for themselves is sneered at by those who currently make a fortune out of the system that is in place. The fact that they can persuade so many people that they are right...sad is what it is.

If we insist on sticking with an insurance model, then there must be a uniform pool of insureds across the country - they can be divided across multiple carriers or a single carrier, as long as in the former case each carriers pool of insureds has the same actuarial attributes. Not identical (that's not possible) but close.