alexey Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 62% of US bankruptcies are health care related, and out of those 80% are people who have health insurance (under-insured) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helptheSKINS Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 62% of US bankruptcies are health care related, and out of those 80% are people who have health insurance (under-insured) That is sad and something needs to be done. I don't think bankrupting the country is going to help them. There are plenty of options available to try to fix the system instead of going to the gov't option. There is no way the country can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 62% of US bankruptcies are health care related, and out of those 80% are people who have health insurance (under-insured) The system is fine damnit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 62% of US bankruptcies are health care related, and out of those 80% are people who have health insurance (under-insured) I wonder how old that statistic is. Didn't Bush change the bankrupcy law making it much harder to seek releaf from bills by declairing bankrupcy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexey Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 Listening to Rep. Steny Hoyer's conference call here: http://c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/08/21/HP/A/22384/Rep+Steny+Hoyer+DMD+Health+Care+Conference+Call.aspx They have some small business owners there describing their situation. Talking about the problem of small businesses not having the leverage to negotiate coverage and thus having pre-existing conditions come into play. One guy is saying that he cannot hire well-qualified people because it currently costs him about $14,000 more a year to hire a 55-60 year old person vs a 33 year old person due to costs of providing health insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Are we talking related as in smoking causes cancer related or a direct cause and effect? How is the public plan gonna change the effect a major illness has on family finances? We still will have ded and co pays We still will be off work The bills will continue to pile up Pretty sure we will even still have to pay for health ins,but perhaps they will give a credit for that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexey Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 Are we talking related as in smoking causes cancer related or a direct cause and effect?How is the public plan gonna change the effect a major illness has on family finances? We still will have ded and co pays We still will be off work The bills will continue to pile up Pretty sure we will even still have to pay for health ins,but perhaps they will give a credit for that Found the study: 62.1% of bankruptcies in 2007 were due to "medical bills". Out of those 78% had health insurance. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/05/bankruptcy.medical.bills/ As far as I understand these are some things that should help, and those are are found in all proposed bills: 1) Mandate minimum coverage (no fine-printing people out of meaningful coverage). 2) Disallow dropping of people and the whole "preexisting condition" thing. 3) Give small businesses and individuals the kind of leverage that big businesses use to negotiate better terms (co-ops, public option, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Are we talking related as in smoking causes cancer related or a direct cause and effect?How is the public plan gonna change the effect a major illness has on family finances? We still will have ded and co pays We still will be off work The bills will continue to pile up Pretty sure we will even still have to pay for health ins,but perhaps they will give a credit for that You left out medical bills that result from being underinsured that no one outside the top single digit percentages even have a chance of being able to afford.... which is what we are actually talking about. It's amazing how deflecting has become such a common tactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 You left out medical bills that result from being underinsured that no one outside the top single digit percentages even have a chance of being able to afford.... I don't think you should even say under insured. I had a preapproved procedure, by a preapproved physician in a preapproved hospital and still came away with thousands of dollars worth of uncovered expenses. Not covering costs is a game the insurance companies pay. They routinely deny coverage for a percentage of claims knowing only a certain percentage of those claims will get refiled.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Walnuts Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Didn't Bush change the bankrupcy law making it much harder to seek releaf from bills by declairing bankrupcy? Yes he did. And he was kind enough to let Citibank write the entire bill themselves. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoCommiesGo Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I don't think you should even say under insured. I had a preapproved procedure, by a preapproved physician in a preapproved hospital and still came away with thousands of dollars worth of uncovered expenses.Not covering costs is a game the insurance companies pay. They routinely deny coverage for a percentage of claims knowing only a certain percentage of those claims will get refiled.. Same thing I ruptured my ACL approved doctor, procedure and hospital. Still got a 6k bill in the mail from the hospital. I've been arguing with my insurer for almost 6 months now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacase Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 62% of US bankruptcies are health care related, and out of those 80% are people who have health insurance (under-insured) 1) How is that my problem? 2) The current bill does nothing to address the costs. All it does is shift the costs from the individual to the American tax payer. When you are serious about reduce costs, let me know when you want to talk about tort reform. 3) How is this my problem? Health care is not a right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zguy28 Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Found the study: 62.1% of bankruptcies in 2007 were due to "medical bills". Out of those 78% had health insurance.http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/05/bankruptcy.medical.bills/ As far as I understand these are some things that should help, and those are are found in all proposed bills: 1) Mandate minimum coverage (no fine-printing people out of meaningful coverage). 2) Disallow dropping of people and the whole "preexisting condition" thing. 3) Give small businesses and individuals the kind of leverage that big businesses use to negotiate better terms (co-ops, public option, etc). Have to wonder how many were living beyond their means already and when health problems came it put them over the edge. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Have to wonder how many were living beyond their means already and when health problems came it put them over the edge. :2cents: Median income per household in the US is $46,326 (putting net pay at around 38,000 or 3200 a month). Medical bills are thousands of dollars. Not hard to see the outcome. As for those that say how is it my problem? You think you don't carry weight when people default on their bills? Why don't you take a look at the real estate market and get back to me on that theory. You can talk about individualism all day but the bottom line is we are all connected by an economy. Like it or not I really don't give a damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Same thing I ruptured my ACL approved doctor, procedure and hospital. Still got a 6k bill in the mail from the hospital. I've been arguing with my insurer for almost 6 months now. Yep, if the insurance companies can clip six k or more from a percentage of their claims it can really add up... In Virginia the only recourse you have is to go to the state omnibudsman and he is worthless. Under state law he has no authority other than to pleasently request the insurance companies to take another look at the charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 1) How is that my problem? You pay for insurance in order to cover you when you get sick or injured. What good is it if it doesn't do that? 2) The current bill does nothing to address the costs. All it does is shift the costs from the individual to the American tax payer. When you are serious about reduce costs, let me know when you want to talk about tort reform. Wrong, the current bill draws a line under the insurance companies and is going ot make them compete for marketshare for the first time in decades... six decades. That will hold prices down and it will put a negative pressure on spiraling out of control cost growth. 3) How is this my problem? Health care is not a right Neither is clean water, reliable drugs, or food that won't kill you. But the world is certainly a better place because the government stepped in and regulated those and many other givens in our society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zguy28 Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Median income per household in the US is $46,326 (putting net pay at around 38,000 or 3200 a month). Medical bills are thousands of dollars. Not hard to see the outcome. I know. I'm just saying. I've seen both sides of this coin. I've seen one guy who had "good" insurance making around 60k a year, but living like they made 100K get hit with a hip replacement (20K after insurance - (with BCBS)) and go under.I've also seen an old friend with not so good insurance making 45K a year get heart problems and go into 50k of debt and not declare bankruptcy because he lived within his means and is slowly paying it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I've also seen an old friend with not so good insurance making 45K a year get heart problems and go into 50k of debt and not declare bankruptcy because he lived within his means and is slowly paying it back. Not yet. Your friend went from a comfortable financial position to a significantly worse position. Something else goes wrong and he'll be added to the people this thread is talking about. I hope this isn't the case but I've seen the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexey Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 1) How is that my problem?2) The current bill does nothing to address the costs. All it does is shift the costs from the individual to the American tax payer. When you are serious about reduce costs, let me know when you want to talk about tort reform. 3) How is this my problem? Health care is not a right 1) Economic success of our society depends on economic success of it's individual members. 2) I consider tort reform to be a very important part of this. 3) Yes health care, like good education, is a privilege. It is a privilege that will make us more competitive if granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacase Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 1) Economic success of our society depends on economic success of it's individual members.2) I consider tort reform to be a very important part of this. 3) Yes health care, like good education, is a privilege. It is a privilege that will make us more competitive if granted. 1) I agree with this, however, government is not the answer. People need to be more self reliant and take responsibility for their actions. If you don't get your education and have a crappy job, its not the governments job to make you successful. You deserve what you work for. Not everyone can be successful in life. 2) I am fine if the government wanted to actually address the true reasons why health care was so expensive. I would be all for healthcare being affordable. However, I am completly against the government providing health care to people at the tax payer expense. I am also against the government regulating income on executives who are working in the private sector. If the government makes rules to make companies compete with each other for providing a quality service at a low price, I am ok with that. Make then compete, but don't compete with them with the tax payer wallet. 3) The privledge has been granted. You can get affordable healthcare. You just have to put in the work to get a good job with benifits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 1) Economic success of our society depends on economic success of it's individual members.2) I consider tort reform to be a very important part of this. 3) Yes health care, like good education, is a privilege. It is a privilege that will make us more competitive if granted. A good education can't be granted. I'm not sure good healthcare really can be either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 The insurance industry really sucks in America. I think we all know that, even those of us who do not want to see the gov't involved in health care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 62% of US bankruptcies are health care related, and out of those 80% are people who have health insurance (under-insured) Does this mean that "universal health care" would do nothing for almost half of all bankruptcies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboDaMan Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Does this mean that "universal health care" would do nothing for almost half of all bankruptcies?Huh? It means it should help in 62% of all bankruptcies. There's no other way to read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Huh? It means it should help in 62% of all bankruptcies. There's no other way to read it. Why/How? You believe public ins is gonna pay 100% and take care of the lost wages? Are they going to require providers to bill only what the govt pays? How many cannot absorb 5-10K and a loss of income? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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