Medicare Buy-In

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/9/812526/-We-Can-Do-Both

I will be watching this new turn of events with interest

My wife and I are in our 60;s and self employed.
Right now Our Blue Shield premiums are $920 each month.
Our deductible is $8000 per year.
So when we need to see a doctor, we always have to think long and hard about it . That's because our yearly deductible is so high it only covers major medical costs.
To save on costs we've been going to Thailand for the last few years for our medical needs. The costs there are so low, and the quality of care so good that it just made sense for us.
We would love to just cancel our Health Insurance but we need our Blue Shield plan just in case we got in a bad accident and needed emergency care. Essentially though, we've been paying $11,000 a month and haven't been stepped foot in a US hospital for 4 years now (except for one emergency room visit that cost us $3000 for half an hour consultation and 4 x rays)

If we could qualify for a Medicare type program…that would be wonderful. Of course I'm sure we would be paying higher Medicare premiums since there will be no subsidies until 2014 (and by then we'll 65.) We might even have to pay as much as $920 a month!!!
But I'm assuming under Medicare our deductible could come way down…so that we could at least use the US health care system whenever we need it.. and not have to make the long trip to Thailand which we can only do once a year.

To be sure there are still a lot of problems with the US health care system as it is…too many uninsured, costly doctor fees, skyrocketing hospital fees, expensive brand name drugs.

We still would have a long way to go to match the type of care and low costs they have in many of the Private hospitals in Bangkok.

But the new proposal has something Republicans like…no public option. And something the Democrats like expands Medicare .
And something the Insurance companies like…being able to jettison the 55-64 year olds.
Doctors and Hospitals won't be too happy, because Medicare pays them a lot less than they would like to be getting.

But , hey, have you ever known a doctor to file for unemployment or welfare?

Jeff…my answer always remains the same. The answer is non-profit, single payer, government run health coverage for all Americans.

Jacquie…turn that frown upside down…don't be sad….it's always been a freakin' mess.

Andrea..I understand Dean's excitement over expanding Medicare to 55 year olds. But as I included in the post, I don't think that's what the final bill will contain. We're being sold out….not by all the Democrats…but just enough. As far as Republicans go…..well….they keep sinking further and further into irrelevancy.

Norris…quite a personal story you have there. Thanks for sharing it. I found this line the most interesting….

"We still would have a long way to go to match the type of care and low costs they have in many of the Private hospitals in Bangkok."

That's quite a statement.

The bill includes making available to all the insurance coverage that Federal employees and Congress have. This could be a tiny step to the public option and will provide competition to private insurance companies.

Rev,
Obama loves the new Senate deal on health care reform:

"Let me just end by — by saying a little bit about this broader effort. I know it's been a long road. (Laughter.) I know it's been a tough fight. But I also know the reason we've taken up this cause is the very same reason why so many members from both parties are here today — because no matter what our politics are, we know that when it comes to health care, the people we serve deserve better. The legislation in Congress today contains both Democratic ideas and Republican ideas, and plenty of compromises in between. The Senate made critical progress last night with a creative new framework that I believe will help pave the way for final passage and a historic achievement on behalf of the American people.

I support this effort, especially since it's aimed at increasing choice and competition, and lowering cost. So I want to thank all of you for sticking with it — for all those late nights, all the long weekends that you — you guys have put in. With so much at stake, this is well worth all of our efforts." – Barack Obama

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/12/obama_backs_senate_health_care.html

Funny how Obama is pretending this is somehow a bipartisan effort, when it's all coming from the Democrats. Obama will approve of literally anything that he can call health care reform, no matter how bad it is, just so he can claim victory. He keeps mouthing his same old talking points, all of which are false ("increasing choice and competition, and lowering cost"). Starting all over is sounding better and better all the time, especially since the "reform" benefits don't start until 2014 (which makes absolutely no sense, other than to use the issue as a political football down the road, the public be damned). This is a mess, and Congress keeps making things progressively worse.

CAV,
The federal employee health plan IS a private insurance plan.

And the Medicare Buy-In isn't any help. It's far more expensive than Medicare for those over age 65. Here's a little cost analysis, courtesy of NPR and the CBO:

"the analysts over at the Congressional Budget Office even took a look at what a buy-in would cost folks almost old enough to qualify for Medicare, those ages 62 to 64, and presumably the most expensive to insure. The price tag: $7,600 a year, including drug coverage, for individuals in 2011. (The details start on page 51 of the PDF.)

That's pretty steep compared with the recent average premium of $4,722 for 55- to 64-year-olds in the non-group market, according to a figure cited in a May report on Medicare buy-in by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/12/how_a_medicare_buyin_would_wor.html

Obama is congratulating all the Senate warriors for finishing up an insurance and big pharma-friendly piece of legislation. This is America. America is controlled in the modern era by very large corporate interests. Health reform legislation which actually helped the people more than our corporate controllers would not be, you know, truly American.

Rev I don't think we can convince enough Americans that single payer will save them money and also provide equal health care for all. We have seen so much fear mongering going on that you just mention the word health care reform and immediately they think it is “socialized medicine” and you get a reaction such as "keep your hands off my health care." They dont understand that it always was the government's involvement that has helped control run away health care costs. As long as we allow these TV ads that lie about reform and allow people like Sarah Palin and Glen Beck and the rest to spew lies it just cant be done. You are also fighting the people in unions , you know the ones who already have good health care on our tax dollars. They were out in full force at the townhall meeting I was at against reform. Their selfish reasoning was I got it good and I don't want to pay for YOURS.
So we either take the best plan they can get passed or nothing. I'll take medicare for those over 55.

This is to add to Noris example of the healthcare industry's exorbitant profits and not looking out for us. I just got notice my health insurance company is refusing to pay for a test I had done in my primary physicians office but by read by another doctor. Reason they gave was I didn't get approval first. I didn't think I had to since I was there seeing my primary doctor when he determined I should have this test. Private insurance companies will try any way they can to not pay your bill.

It is really very smple. RATIONING happens one of two ways.
1. the market decides the price and rationing occures depending on ones willingness and ability to pay.
2. The gov. rations health care by deciding who,how and when.
The ants might prefer no.1 but this is the age of the grasshopper

I disagree angry…slightly.

Rationing happens either way. We can have rationing without the insult of profits, or as the "reform" does, have rationing with the insult of profits.

Andrea…you are quite right. Lots of special interest groups, primarily for-profit ones, are more powerful than any "change" presidency.

Andrea says, "As long as we allow these TV ads that lie about reform and allow people like Sarah Palin and Glen Beck and the rest to spew lies it just cant be done."

Right on, Andrea. Free speech is the problem. We must end that.

Back to the drawing board, comrade.

"the insult of profits."

I love these phrases of yours, Reverend. One question, though. Don't "the insult of profits" lead to better medical equipment, more hospitals, more medical personnel, more medical research and advancements, etc, etc ??? Or do those things happen as a result of the earth revolving around the sun ?

Do they? Do those huge profits lead to breathtaking new medical breakthroughs? Or do those huge profits lead to huge protection rackets, like in the case of proprietary drugs being kept from becoming lower-priced generics? Or how about those Jesus-like medical equipment makers decisions to limit the number of imaging devices, leasing them in most cases…..to support the outrageous prices charged for their use?

I stand behind my "insult of profits" phrase. It's not bad enough that tens of millions of Americans don't have health insurance, it's not bad enough that some 44,000 Americans die prematurely every year because they don't have insurance,…..but we also have to swallow the insult of Wall Street whores pushing for huge profits by those who do the insuring.

Yes, the profits lead to investments in medical research, medical equipment, better trained doctors, etc. That takes money, in case you didn't know. You didn't offer anything to the contrary, because there isn't anything to offer to the contrary.

New drugs are kept from becoming lower-priced generics right away due to patent law and the huge amounts of money it costs pharmaceutical companies to get those drugs passed by the FDA and onto the market. You want to get rid of patents and the FDA too ?

If you don't think American medical technology is one of, if not THE most advanced in the world, you simply aren't paying attention. You're pushing an agenda instead, for some odd reason. You citing a couple examples of "less than perfect" doesn't make American medical care bad. You can't take money out of the equation. If companies don't make profits, they aren't going to develop any new products, end of story. That holds true in medicine the same as it does in every other industry. Take away the profits, and you take away the industry. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that YOU didn't work for free your whole life. Neither does anyone else. How many doctors do you think we'd have if they made minimum wage ? That would sure make medical care cheaper. We just wouldn't have any doctors to provide it. Ditto for insurance companies. If there wasn't any profit, there wouldn't be any insurance companies.

As for 44,000 Americans dying from not having health insurance, that is not proven. LOTS more die that do have insurance. If we really want to cut down on preventable deaths, why don't we ban smoking, which kills around 200,000 per year ? Car crashes kill 40,000 per year in America, why don't we get rid of cars ? Then again, the last time I checked, everyone dies. Maybe people should be free to live their lives as they choose.

When profits are more important than the people who need essential products/services…then a nation is hopelessly lost.

Doctors have never been a bone of contention. Outrageous big pharma prices and parasitical insurers are the problem. Insurers provide NOTHING of value to medical services…NOTHING. They make things worse….that's their job….to not pay for services or procedures.

The imaging device makers are a prime example of our dysfunctional approach to health care. We need many more of those devices in many more hospitals and clinics…..but because our government wants to protect profits rather than people….monopolistic, for-profit makers grant those makers special protected status.

Pharmaceutical drugs are cheaper than ever these days, except for new drugs, which are more expensive due to the reasons I mentioned previously (which you did not address).

Insurance companies provide MEDICAL INSURANCE. If you don't think that is of any value, then DON'T BUY IT. I'm going to guess that you DO buy insurance, however, thereby disproving your theory about those companies providing "nothing of value" with your own actions.

Mouthing slogans like "people over profits" sounds good to the average stupid liberal, but it doesn't accomplish anything in the real world. As I said before, everyone who works wants to get paid for it. Everyone who invests money wants a return. That's what makes the whole business mechanism work. That's why we have the level of health care technology we have, as opposed to say, Cuba, where they can't even get enough toilet paper. You are worrying about having enough high-tech MRI machines here. The non-profit commies are worried about wiping their butts. Perhaps some perspective is called for on your part.