Are you satisfied with the current medical system?

[mykidslovedogs]

Did anyone sit down and take the time to read this whitepaper?

http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume19/Vol19no10.pdf

If so, I am curious about opinions....This woman spoke at a conference I attended, and she seemed very knowledgable. I thought she made a lot of good points.

 

[perinova]

Did anyone sit down and take the time to read this whitepaper?

http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume19/Vol19no10.pdf

If so, I am curious about opinions....This woman spoke at a conference I attended, and she seemed very knowledgable. I thought she made a lot of good points.

That's interesting. There is an expert analysis of the problem. Surely returning to a consumer driven health care is a good idea. I am not sure though that we can achieve that through deregulation. It is not because we have bad regulation that all regulation is bad; so maybe we need "good" regulation instead.
The fact is the state cannot deregulate completely life or death choices and choices which individuals make that can affect the welfare of al the others.

One question (maybe cynical) that would need to be answered is how much the insurance industry lobbied this study? Since it can afford to lobby the states to get what it wants. (as in previous reforms, that' is why we have the current system) The consumer doesnot have this option.

Will the state of Wi. apply some of those findings?

 

[mykidslovedogs]

Perinova,

From speaking with her, I don't think she is in favor of absolute deregulation, but rather, reform of the medicare and medicaid systems (she gave the Colorado example of people being allowed to make more choices with home health care and how that not only saved $$ but also resulted in better service) and using those changes in conjunction with more of a mentality of using health insurance as protection against bankruptcy vs. protection against any and all heathcare costs.

 

[Eagle43]

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, reasons I did 20 years military is healthcare. I am satisfied with TRICARE Prime, and in a little over a year, I shall have Medicare and TRICARE For Life. DW and I are in fairly good shape, and lucky enough seldom to need much care, at 63 years of age. That said, I've seen people destroyed by medical bills. There must be a system better than Canada's or England's because they seem to have long waiting lists. I just don't know what it would be. And guess what, with all our seniors living longer, our medical system is going to cost more and probably be overburdened by the increased demand.

 

[ziggy29]

Not at all. But I'm afraid that any attempt to "treat" the patient will kill it.

 

[tnedator]

I would like to take a poll to find out who is satisfied or isn't.

For the dissatisfied: Can you give a brief idea on what you think should change? If a consensus is possible would you consider writing your congressman and senator with a set of complaints and proposals? Or sending a petition to congress?

I couldn't bring myself to vote that I am satisified, but also I couldn't bring myself to vote that I am not.

Do I think there are problems? Sure. Insurance costs going up every year. Price of procedures and hospital visits are outratgeous. I have a seperate thread where I am trying to figure out how to get private insurance for my wife after my wife and I retire, since she has had cancer.

However, I have also heard some of the horror stories from the coutries with socialized medicine. So, while I think there are problems, to date I have to be pretty happy with the care my family has received on the numerous procedures (multiple cancer surgeries, bypass, valve replacements, etc.) that have been performed over the years.

 

[Alan]

I am conflicted on this question.

On the one hand, I've had excellent service from healhcare providers (including insurance companies) over the past three decades; on the otherhand, I live in fear that I will not be able to find affordable healthcare insurance when I enter the 'no man's' land of no-company-insurance when I finally call it quits next year.

One shouldn't be financially able to retire early but fear doing so because he or she may not be able to pay for health insurance.

ditto - 20 years in the system - (I came from the UK age 32), and while fully employed here I have had plenty of need of health care for my family, and been very pleased indeed with treatment, but often frustrated with lots of paperwork, disputes etc.

Only reason I don't RE now is that I'm afraid of being without the company health plan, which I will retain through age 70 if I retire in 3 years at age 55

 

[ladelfina]

With the debacle of the Walter Reed treatment for out patients what makes anyone think that Universal Medical Care would be any different than that??

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Privatized Walter Reed Workforce Gets Scrutiny
...
Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned the decision to hire IAP Worldwide Services, a contractor with connections to the Bush administration and to KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary.

Last year, IAP won a $120 million contract to maintain and operate Walter Reed facilities. The decision reversed a 2004 finding by the Army that it would be more cost-effective to keep the work in-house. After IAP protested, Army auditors ruled that the cost estimates offered by in-house federal workers were too low. They had to submit a new bid, which added 23 employees and $16 million to their cost, according to the Army.

Yesterday, the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers union, blamed pressure on the Army from the White House's Office of Management and Budget for the decision to privatize its civilian workforce.
...
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http://tinyurl.com/2lcla2
WaPo