Albeit the current version of the ‘reform’ has reduced the penalties to levels that would make it advantages for a healthy young person not to partake of any insurance, until he or she would gets really sick …
it certainly isn’t socialism, stop with the red herrings. But I can’t support mandating health insurance if there isn’t a public option in the bill. We’d be force feeding even more minnows to the sharks. No thanks.
Medicare administered by a third-party administrator and funded by federal govt operates on a three percent overhead, compared to a 20 to 30 percent overhead by private insurers.
And Part D, the prescription benefit, is the biggest boondoggle around, it doesn’t work for the taxpayer because the govt is prohibited from negotiating for lower prices (thanks Bush & GOP), and it’s complex structure of throwing people into the “doughnut hole” is budget busting for too many people whose meds are costlier. (Diabetes is a good example.)
By the design of the program, the federal government is not permitted to negotiate prices of drugs with the drug companies, as federal agencies do in other programs. The Veterans Administration, which is allowed to negotiate drug prices and establish a formulary, pays 58% less for drugs, on average, than Medicare Part D. For example, Medicare pays $785 for a year’s supply of Lipitor (atorvastatin), while the VA pays $520. Medicare pays $1,485 for Zocor, while the VA pays $127.
The plan requires Medicare beneficiaries whose total drug costs reach $2,700 to pay 100% of prescription costs until $4,350 is spent out of pocket. (The actual threshold amounts will change year-to-year and plan-by-plan.) This coverage gap is known as the “Donut Hole.”
I would support some sort of public insurance system that would deal only with catastrophic cases - as a safety net.
The only problem with such is that the term ‘catastrophic’ would eventually get redefined, so that eventually a scraped knee would become the liability of us all.
this is so much BS and BCS….if congress is not on the plan its a scheme not a plan…..if there is no tort reform…its not a plan its a scam…they’ve managed to take our eyes off the ball….hope and change….”float like a butterfly mode and rope a dope as phasr one…the bee sting is coming….I liked it better when Ali wasw the pretty one
I doubt it would ever come to that. I got hurt at work, but didn’t want to go the workman’s comp route because it doesn’t cover chiropractic care (it happened at 1AM and none are available then, hence not seeking immediate medical care waived them of liability; got care later that morning). Having my employer pay the hospital for x-rays, blood work, etc. and ER costs would have been rediculous when they couldn’t have helped me in the way that only chiropractors can. The whole bill was only $148 (which included consultation, x-rays, and vertebrae adjustments), which my medical will cover some of. I’ll admit though, the healthcare insurance industry has too many loopholes to get caught in.
petergrt over 14 years ago
This is a great cartoon!
Albeit the current version of the ‘reform’ has reduced the penalties to levels that would make it advantages for a healthy young person not to partake of any insurance, until he or she would gets really sick …
NoFearPup over 14 years ago
Debtor’s prison…If we were forced to pay for our own health-care.
JoyceBV65 over 14 years ago
Isn’t Socialism fun?
petergrt over 14 years ago
It’s not Socialism - its worse!
It is a fundamental transformation of America - into just another member of ‘community of nations’, not unlike, say, Zimbabwe.
nomad2112 over 14 years ago
Yep it’s the public option “or else” …
believecommonsense over 14 years ago
it certainly isn’t socialism, stop with the red herrings. But I can’t support mandating health insurance if there isn’t a public option in the bill. We’d be force feeding even more minnows to the sharks. No thanks.
cdward over 14 years ago
bcs, agreed. Public option is the only way forward. Because the private option has left too many out in the cold.
Charles Brobst Premium Member over 14 years ago
So do congressmen. Let’s all run for congress. I’ll vote for you, you vote for me. We’ll call it Democracy.
believecommonsense over 14 years ago
Medicare administered by a third-party administrator and funded by federal govt operates on a three percent overhead, compared to a 20 to 30 percent overhead by private insurers.
And Part D, the prescription benefit, is the biggest boondoggle around, it doesn’t work for the taxpayer because the govt is prohibited from negotiating for lower prices (thanks Bush & GOP), and it’s complex structure of throwing people into the “doughnut hole” is budget busting for too many people whose meds are costlier. (Diabetes is a good example.)
petergrt over 14 years ago
“And Part D, the prescription benefit, is the biggest boondoggle around, …”
The only government administered program that is costing us less than originally projected - 40% less.
I didn’t support it then and I am still opposed to it, on a principle, but as boondoggles go, this one is almost acceptable.
believecommonsense over 14 years ago
Medicare Part D was a nice gift to big pharma:
By the design of the program, the federal government is not permitted to negotiate prices of drugs with the drug companies, as federal agencies do in other programs. The Veterans Administration, which is allowed to negotiate drug prices and establish a formulary, pays 58% less for drugs, on average, than Medicare Part D. For example, Medicare pays $785 for a year’s supply of Lipitor (atorvastatin), while the VA pays $520. Medicare pays $1,485 for Zocor, while the VA pays $127.
The plan requires Medicare beneficiaries whose total drug costs reach $2,700 to pay 100% of prescription costs until $4,350 is spent out of pocket. (The actual threshold amounts will change year-to-year and plan-by-plan.) This coverage gap is known as the “Donut Hole.”
petergrt over 14 years ago
I would support some sort of public insurance system that would deal only with catastrophic cases - as a safety net.
The only problem with such is that the term ‘catastrophic’ would eventually get redefined, so that eventually a scraped knee would become the liability of us all.
Magnaut over 14 years ago
this is so much BS and BCS….if congress is not on the plan its a scheme not a plan…..if there is no tort reform…its not a plan its a scam…they’ve managed to take our eyes off the ball….hope and change….”float like a butterfly mode and rope a dope as phasr one…the bee sting is coming….I liked it better when Ali wasw the pretty one
Michigander over 14 years ago
I doubt it would ever come to that. I got hurt at work, but didn’t want to go the workman’s comp route because it doesn’t cover chiropractic care (it happened at 1AM and none are available then, hence not seeking immediate medical care waived them of liability; got care later that morning). Having my employer pay the hospital for x-rays, blood work, etc. and ER costs would have been rediculous when they couldn’t have helped me in the way that only chiropractors can. The whole bill was only $148 (which included consultation, x-rays, and vertebrae adjustments), which my medical will cover some of. I’ll admit though, the healthcare insurance industry has too many loopholes to get caught in.