[Defenestrated]

They are different, brown, speak a funny language, and illegal, they are a perfect political scapegoat!

 

[Toshi]

Well, finding that info took all of .6 seconds for folks actually interested in finding it...

http://www.hrsa.gov/help/default.htm

http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=18

yeah, that's actually not what i asked for. i'm interested in a list of these supposed "universal" (as in every state has one) cheap health insurance plans. oh, make sure they don't have horrible preexisting condition rules, too.

i saw those links when i searched and they are no substitute. they mention you can get charity care -- not a good option for many reasons, not the least of which is that it leads to horribly inflated prices for insured as pointed out just a few posts later. (also, what happens if you make just enough to not qualify for charity care? then you get stuck with a bill that may well bankrupt you.) they mention that there are federally funded health clinics -- again, not an option that can accommodate 45 million uninsured. finally, they mention special programs if you have AIDS, black lung, are pregnant, etc. -- not relevant to the majority.

 

[Toshi]

massachussetts' experiment in universal healthcare should be an example to the whole country:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/us/01insure.html?hp

[...] “The American economy is in turmoil and the future is uncertain, but even in tough times we cannot afford to abandon our commitment to affordable, accessible, high-quality health care for every man, woman and child in the commonwealth.”

[...]

Only 5 percent of the state’s residents were uninsured in 2007, compared with 15 percent nationally, according to the Census Bureau.

The original waiver, granted when Massachusetts enacted its plan in 2006, allowed the state to take federal money intended to compensate hospitals for charity care and use it to subsidize coverage for low-income uninsured residents.

To reach its goal of covering everyone, the state has offered subsidies on a sliding scale to anyone earning less than three times the federal poverty level, meaning less than $63,600 for a family of four.

[...]

The law prohibits insurers from denying coverage because of a consumer’s age or health status, and it requires businesses to either contribute toward their employees’ health benefits or pay penalties into a fund to support the insurance subsidies.

The state reported in August that 439,000 of its estimated 650,000 uninsured had gained coverage. About 44 percent had bought private insurance, while 40 percent had enrolled in the new subsidized public plan and 16 percent had joined the state’s Medicaid program. As more people gained insurance, the state’s payments for uncompensated care dropped by 40 percent.

[...]

 

[$tinkle]

but i wonder: is a bill a bill? that is: once coverage status is established, are charges added and/or manipulated? hospitals work in a free market, too.

 

[Toshi]

but i wonder: is a bill a bill? that is: once coverage status is established, are charges added and/or manipulated? hospitals work in a free market, too.

hospitals (and doctors!) have been busted for medicare fraud. the problem extends beyond the hospital, too: see the huge scams recently prosecuted for durable medical goods (eg, walkers, oxygen tanks) and medicare.

like any system it needs policing so that the unscrupulous don't profit unjustly.

 

[blue]

She got the bills yesterday...grand total is about $7k for a concussion.

I don't understand the status of ambulances. Why are they allowed to scoop people off the street and then bill them $2k?

 

[Squeak]

She got the bills yesterday...grand total is about $7k for a concussion.

I don't understand the status of ambulances. Why are they allowed to scoop people off the street and then bill them $2k?

Don't ask the EMT on that ambulance as he or she makes about minimum wage.

 

[jimmydean]

I just got a check the other day for $140 for overpaying my last knee surgery. That's the first time I've ever gotten a check from a doctor.

I would have let him keep it and consider it a tip for the awesome job he did, but that was against policy or something.