Healthcare repeal and replace disaster

While I find it humorous that the Republicans can't come up with a replacement to Obamacare (they had 7 years to come up with a plan).  I find it more amazing that they can't get the votes for repeal either (the House voted 62 times to repeal and the Senate said if they had the majority it would be repealed).  Then the President blames the Democrats.  No Mr. President you are responsible for this, the Democrats are powerless to stop what you want.  You lost the support of Republican who believed you when you said that you would repeal Obamacare and replace it with something that give all Americans affordable access to healthcare.  Sadly the House and Senate bills would not provide affordable access to healthcare for all Americans.  The bills before Congress were going to leave millions without insurance and millions more priced out of the market and still millions who would be denied coverage.  As one analyst said the only people this plan would work for is a 27 year old male, with a good income, and no health problems.  It only works until they sick and dropped from their insurance or go bankrupt because they bought the cheap no coverage plan.

Physcians Plus

I'll admit to being a little (okay a lot) upset about the pending Physicians Plus and UW Hospital divorce.  While I was thinking about my denial to continue to see a specialist it occurred to me that Physicians Plus has a brilliant strategy.  They are denying referrals, hiring a few specialists, out sourcing the rest to doctors that 90+ miles away so that they will piss off the people seeking specialty care.  And here's why, those patients are certainly big users of the system, they also have pre-existing conditions so they are your most expensive patients.  I would probably be safe to say that even with the high premium prices they are probably making very little or negative money on these patients.  So, those who work for an employer that offers a choice of plans will leave for Unity, Dean (have to change doctors as well), or some other insurance and overnight Physicians Plus becomes profitable because they just got rid of their high cost patients.

Healthcare at the Pres Debate

You knew that healthcare would take center stage at the debate.  Healthcare being the signature plan of both candidates (same plan in fact).  Mitt has staked the position of repeal, now repeal and replace.  I guess the flat out repeal wasn't poling well.  I thought that he had some amazing comments on the topic.  First he said that he believes in the private sector.  But, then he said if you don't like your company you can just switch.  This is simply not true if you fall into any one of the following categories, pre-existing conditions, undergoing current treatment, or need a specific treatment.  There is not an insurance company that is going to take people with those conditions.  If your insurance is provided by an employer you can change once per year assuming that your company offers more than one plan (not that common).  He also stated that he doesn't want an unelected panel making healthcare decisions for him.  The problem with this statement is that it is not true, but lets assume that it is.  How would that be different from an insurance company panel that we pay directly for?  This is not uncommon, if you need a procedure that is not covered in your statement of benefits or is deemed experimental you can ask for it to be covered.  A panel will decide if you need that procedure.  Then they will decide if they will pay for it.  You want to see a specialist that is outside the plan, the same system applies.  A real example is right here in Dane county.  I had spine surgery this spring.  The surgeon follows up for 2 years.  The problem my surgeon works for UW hospital, my insurance company is Physicians Plus.  They no longer cover this.  So I asked for a referral, I was granted 1 follow-up visit where no diagnostics can take place and I was directed to a list of orthopedic surgeons.  The problem is that none of them specialize in spine surgery.  Not a problem, I'll ask for a name.  That was 2 weeks ago and I still haven't heard back.  I'm so glad that the private sector is showing the way on healthcare!  If you have to interact with the system you know that it is broken and you dislike it more than your cell phone company.  Apparently if you are wealthy like Mitt Romney and you have a pre-existing condition like Ann Romney the system works but for the rest of us it sucks and it is getting worse every year as the insurers try to maximize profit.

Stunning

Stunning is all that I can say about the decision on healthcare.  What got into Judge Roberts?  Could it be that he watched Letterman's top ten on the court?  Could it be that he is looking at the polls and only 40% approve of the court and a majority have no faith in it at all?  They say that Roberts doesn't want to see the court's decisions viewed as political and that is why he voted to uphold the ACA.  If that is the reason, good.  The reality is that since he took over as Chief Justice the majority of the decisions have been political and have overturned settled law (some of these laws a hundred years old).  So it is a start but he has a long way to go.

Healthcare and Privledge

Ron Johnson explaining why healthcare reform was so bad brought up the health issues that his daughter has.  It was a fabulous story which showed how great medical care and technology are in this country.  Unfortunately he doesn't seem to understand one simple fact, he's rich!  The procedure that she had done was almost assuredly experimental.  Many policies won't cover experimental treatment.  What happens to those people?  They self ration and don't get it done.  His daughter now has a pre-existing condition.  Has she gone out on the open market to get insurance?  How much did it cost?  Most people with pre-existing conditions can get insurance but they can't afford it.  Ron Johnson would repeal a law that allows people with pre-existing conditions to buy insurance at only 3 times the rate of an average person.  Yes, we have the best system in the world if you're rich.