SilverDollar
Well-Known Member
I am fortunate in that I have excellent health insurance. We pay around $100 per month for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage. It covers all the "alternative" therapies, too. It is the main reason I stay at my corporate job even though I'd love to start my own business. In time I will. I can only imagine how scary it must be not to have health insurance, and for that reason I stay with my company.
I heard a woman interviewed on a financial show I listen to (Bob Brinker--Jill, you probably have heard of him? BobBrinker.com). She is a Harvard Business School professor and her name is Regina Herzlinger. She has a book out called Who Killed Health Care? that is on my to-read list. IMHO, she has the most sane proposal for health reform in this country that I have heard to date. It sounds middle-of-the-road and like it might actually be a feasible place to start. Here's a little about her and the book:
"One of the nation's most respected health care analysts, Regina Herzlinger exposes the motives and methods of those who have crippled America's health care system-figures in the insurance, hospital, employment, governmental, and academic sectors. She proves how our current system, which is organized around payers and providers rather than the needs of its users, is dangerously eroding patient welfare and is pushing costs out of the reach of millions."
"Who Killed Health Care? then outlines Herzlinger's bold new plan for a consumer-driven system that will deliver affordable, high-quality care to everyone. By putting insurance money in the hands of patients, removing the middleman in the doctor-patient relationship, and giving employers cost relief, consumers and physicians will be empowered to make the system work the way it should. Herzlinger describes in precise detail how her innovative program will provide:
-Smaller, disease-focused medical facilities that provide complete care for patients
-A national system of medical records that provides privacy with confidential access by approved practitioners
-Mandatory performance evaluations of all hospitals and all other medical organizations
-Mandatory health insurance with subsidies for those who cannot afford it
I have ordered the book and am anxious to read what else she says. Things definitely have to change in this country. One really good place to start would be securing our borders. Living near Los Angeles we see the severe effects of illegals clogging our emergency rooms and forcing closure of numerous hospitals, all at the expense of legal citizens. I would much rather see our country taking care of law-abiding citizens before felons (yes, it's a felony to come here illegally). Nothing is free. We currently pay in the form of taxes and outrageous insurance premiums. The people who go to the emergency room and can't pay are being paid for by those of us with insurance--whether we pay the premium or our company does.
FoRebel, why would your insurance company not pay for your maternity/delivery? Have you gone through an appeals process? Sounds like you have 30,000 reasons to try that route. That does not seem correct. Insurance companies always try to get anyone else to pay before they will. (Has anyone ever heard of the Rawlings Company? They send a letter any time we have treatment for something they think could be an injury that is someone else's fault. Ridiculous!)
I heard a woman interviewed on a financial show I listen to (Bob Brinker--Jill, you probably have heard of him? BobBrinker.com). She is a Harvard Business School professor and her name is Regina Herzlinger. She has a book out called Who Killed Health Care? that is on my to-read list. IMHO, she has the most sane proposal for health reform in this country that I have heard to date. It sounds middle-of-the-road and like it might actually be a feasible place to start. Here's a little about her and the book:
"One of the nation's most respected health care analysts, Regina Herzlinger exposes the motives and methods of those who have crippled America's health care system-figures in the insurance, hospital, employment, governmental, and academic sectors. She proves how our current system, which is organized around payers and providers rather than the needs of its users, is dangerously eroding patient welfare and is pushing costs out of the reach of millions."
"Who Killed Health Care? then outlines Herzlinger's bold new plan for a consumer-driven system that will deliver affordable, high-quality care to everyone. By putting insurance money in the hands of patients, removing the middleman in the doctor-patient relationship, and giving employers cost relief, consumers and physicians will be empowered to make the system work the way it should. Herzlinger describes in precise detail how her innovative program will provide:
-Smaller, disease-focused medical facilities that provide complete care for patients
-A national system of medical records that provides privacy with confidential access by approved practitioners
-Mandatory performance evaluations of all hospitals and all other medical organizations
-Mandatory health insurance with subsidies for those who cannot afford it
I have ordered the book and am anxious to read what else she says. Things definitely have to change in this country. One really good place to start would be securing our borders. Living near Los Angeles we see the severe effects of illegals clogging our emergency rooms and forcing closure of numerous hospitals, all at the expense of legal citizens. I would much rather see our country taking care of law-abiding citizens before felons (yes, it's a felony to come here illegally). Nothing is free. We currently pay in the form of taxes and outrageous insurance premiums. The people who go to the emergency room and can't pay are being paid for by those of us with insurance--whether we pay the premium or our company does.
FoRebel, why would your insurance company not pay for your maternity/delivery? Have you gone through an appeals process? Sounds like you have 30,000 reasons to try that route. That does not seem correct. Insurance companies always try to get anyone else to pay before they will. (Has anyone ever heard of the Rawlings Company? They send a letter any time we have treatment for something they think could be an injury that is someone else's fault. Ridiculous!)
