Supreme Court Ruling on Health Care

[seekerz]

You were looking for a “firm rebuttal” to the interpretation of one candidate’s comments.

An alternative plan is listed on the GOP website.

Uh-uh, that’s not the rebuttal I was referring to.

 

[SamH]

Well I gave you an opportunity to present your knowledge of people who can’t afford a doctor’s visit, and you started on about Cable TV and Internet…

In a recent Rasmussen poll, adults agreed (by a ratio of six to one) that “a family that is adequately fed and living in a house or apartment that is in good repair” is not poor. By that simple test, about 80 percent of the Census Bureau’s “poor” people would not be considered poor by their fellow Americans.

In the same Rasmussen poll, however, 73 percent said poverty was a severe problem. Why the disconnect? The answer: Public perception of poverty in the U.S. is governed by the mainstream media, which invariably depicts the Census Bureau’s tens of millions of poor people as chronically hungry and malnourished, homeless or barely hanging on in overcrowded, dilapidated housing.

Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.

● Fully 92 percent of poor households have a microwave; two-thirds have at least one DVD player and 70 percent have a VCR.

● Nearly 75 percent have a car or truck; 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.

● Four out of five poor adults assert they were never hungry at any time in the prior year due to lack of money for food.

● Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite television.

● Half have a personal computer; one in seven have two or more computers.

● More than half of poor families with children have a video game system such as Xbox or PlayStation.

● Just under half — 43 percent — have Internet access.

● A third have a widescreen plasma or LCD TV.

● One in every four has a digital video recorder such as TiVo.

nationalreview.com/corner/277040/strange-facts-about-america-s-poor-robert-rector

I was surprised to learn many of the poor live better than me.

 

[seekerz]

Oh my I love that you are using a promotional website for a company selling services to doctors to claim that once again IT’S THE DOCTORS FAULT reimbursement is poor. Right…This company is selling its management services.

You are right, there is the possibility of incorrect claims however please indulge me since I’ve been doing this for 25+ years. Everything is based on the ICD9 and CPT Coding systems… We now have computer programs that almost always prevent errors in claims. So for example if a patient is diagnosed with prostate cancer but the procedure coded is for heart surgery the computer will kick it out. The computer confirms the right diagnosis with the applicaable procedure, then sends claims electronically. Claims are paid in a certain number of days from receipt of claim and once again the computer comes to the rescue as it will spit out reports about unpaid claims, those in process, those needing additional info (op report, H&P etc) and resubmit.

IOW yes it’s possible that some doctors are not getting every possible dollar but most of them are using these sophisticated programs and if they aren’t their billing company is doing so. This kind of low hanging fruit is the first thing doctors pick when trying to keep their doors open. It’s a lot easier than doing another surgery!

Lisa

It was just the most handy example. Doctors organizations have been alerting and educating their members on these same problems but unfortunately I cannot link to those because paid subscriptions are required to access the sites.

Unfortunately, computerization (which is BTW, handsomely reimbursed by the oh,so, mean government) is not a cure for poor billing practices. One still needs training and experience or stuff can be missed. It doesn’t help that many doctors misunderstand or resist coding rules. I have also seen billers running their employers into the ground because the claims that are not paid on the first submission NEVER get returned to or simply get resubmitted without the error corrected. Yes, I do know a thing or two of that which I speak and yes, it is a significant source of lost revenue. The whole process is ridiculously complicated and resource-intensive.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

seekerz you are not being honest here. People without insurance do not suffer and die without care in this country except in rare circumstances.

Actually one of the supposed problems that suggested a need for Obamacare was the number of uninsured who use the emergency rooms for care. While this is a reality there are many many options for uninsured including every Catholic hospital and every doctor practicing in a Catholic hospital. There are also free clinics, low cost clinics, etc.

This is not Bangladesh, people are not dying in the streets here. Please quit sensationalizing the issue to make a point.

LIsa

I used to watch a show called “Trauma: Life in the ER.” It was set in different cities all over the US. It showed actual footage from ERs and the people they treated. I saw gang members that had been shot, people who were high on drugs and/or drunk and who had been stabbed, drunk drivers as well as people struck by drunk drivers, all treated EXACTLY the same regardless of their ability to pay. There was no “ER Lite” for people who didn’t have the means to pay, and no “Concierge Floor” for people who had money. EVERYONE is treated exactly the same. People who need emergency surgery, get it, even if they don’t survive and the bill is never paid.

Having worked in the medical field for a number of years, I can also attest to this. It is the propaganda that tells people that the poor are not getting care. It is NOT TRUE.

 

[Elizabeth502]

More than half of poor families with children have a video game system such as Xbox or PlayStation.

● Just under half — 43 percent — have Internet access.

● A third have a widescreen plasma or LCD TV.

● One in every four has a digital video recorder such as TiVo.

My young neighbors, while “waiting” to get off the list for local gov’t rental subsidies (and bragging that they were going to get their own apartment, though neither was employed), were renting a room to which they brought all of the above. None of us neighbors have enough disposable income to justify items 1, 3, or 4. We all marveled at how better off these 2 were than the rest of us. (I concede that internet access is almost a staple for anyone seirously looking for jobs & not near a public employment service, such as their State’s, with available computers.)

In any case, these folks brought in a brand new 50" TV screen, and all kinds of video game equipment which they used until all hours of the morning. Also purchased a new pet (which those of us strapped for money consider discretionary if we do not already own the pet prior to financial contraction). And on and on.

If you don’t live in an area with a high quotient of social services, you may not be aware of just how much fraud there is, and how the clever are often serviced while the needy are not.

 

[Keith_W_OR_USA]

I do not agree with it because people should not be forced to buy something they don’t want, in this case health insurance.

I shouldn’t be forced to pay for the health care of others that refuse to buy insurance or have enough cash on hand to pay for their health care. The poor deserve Health Care because Health Care is a human right, just look food & water is.

 

[LisaA]

It was just the most handy example. Doctors organizations have been alerting and educating their members on these same problems but unfortunately I cannot link to those because paid subscriptions are required to access the sites.

Unfortunately, computerization (which is BTW, handsomely reimbursed by the oh,so, mean government) is not a cure for poor billing practices. One still needs training and experience or stuff can be missed. It doesn’t help that many doctors misunderstand or resist coding rules. I have also seen billers running their employers into the ground because the claims that are not paid on the first submission NEVER get returned to or simply get resubmitted without the error corrected. Yes, I do know a thing or two of that which I speak and yes, it is a significant source of lost revenue. The whole process is ridiculously complicated and resource-intensive.

You are dead wrong that the government reimburses hansomely for computers in hospitals and doctors’ offices. Yes there is a small reimbursement for certain medicare cases that are now on EMR but trust me, neither our clinic or this hospital has been given a dime for our billing software or computers. Our hospital just went through a multimillion dollar upgrade to comply with yet more government edicts.

So you think that there are all these foolish doctors and incompetent staff are the reason doctors are seeing drastic cuts in reimbursement? And you know this because? I truly do not understand your overt hostility to doctors who are after all trying to keep people alive, keep their expenses paid and hopefully make a living commensurate with the amount of time and effort it took to become a physician.

I feel like I’m beating my head against a wall. You come up with these outrageous scenarios based on I do not know what and then when someone counters your argument you find yet another failure on the part of the medical profession. Yep it’s all the doctors’ fault! Wonder why Obama hasn’t used that one?

Lisa

 

[Dawnia]

I shouldn’t be forced to pay for the health care of others that refuse to buy insurance or have enough cash on hand to pay for their health care. The poor deserve Health Care because Health Care is a human right, just look food & water is.

So which grocery store or municipality steals your money to give free food & water to someone who can’t afford it? I would really like to avoid those places.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

And what social contract did the Israelites made with the Romans? **As far as I and history is concerned the Romans conquered them and imposed a tax **on them. The Israelites had no say in the social contract and therefore it is bunk.

Yeah that would be the social contract.

 

[iamrefreshed]

We need a life insurance mandate in the US. Too many young people don’t have life insurance and, when the unfortunate happens, they leave behind a family that must lean on SS death benefits. This leaves the family poor and kids without the opportunity to attend college.

 

[Keith_W_OR_USA]

I used to watch a show called “Trauma: Life in the ER.” It was set in different cities all over the US. It showed actual footage from ERs and the people they treated. I saw gang members that had been shot, people who were high on drugs and/or drunk and who had been stabbed, drunk drivers as well as people struck by drunk drivers, all treated EXACTLY the same regardless of their ability to pay. There was no “ER Lite” for people who didn’t have the means to pay, and no “Concierge Floor” for people who had money. EVERYONE is treated exactly the same. People who need emergency surgery, get it, even if they don’t survive and the bill is never paid.

Having worked in the medical field for a number of years, I can also attest to this. It is the propaganda that tells people that the poor are not getting care. It is NOT TRUE.

The Health Care Bill that are not paid for by the patient are paid for by you with higher insurance and health care cost. There is no free health care.

 

[iamrefreshed]

Well I gave you an opportunity to present your knowledge of people who can’t afford a doctor’s visit, and you started on about Cable TV and Internet…

Actually, I started in on defining what “poor” people have so we could form a baseline from which could ascertain why a “poor” person couldn’t afford $60/ healthcare.

A figure you ignored and spun into how it doesn’t include outpatient visits.

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

Oh, so those Cadillac-owning recipients you describe are not, lowering their expectations to the level of the subsidies they receive (thus remaining stuck in poverty forever), as another poster was schooling me on this morning…Now I’m really confused.

You can’t even see the irony of your position. Most people are broke because they have no clue about how to properly manage money and prioritize their budget. Poverty is not a money problem, it is a thinking problem. ANd in this case, thinking that they deserve an Escalade because they were able to find a way to get section 8 housing and food stamps.

 

[utah_rose]

I disagree with the ruling because it leads the way for government to interfere with every aspect of our life. Also, the conscience clause wasn’t addressed regarding contraception and sterilization required in this mandate. I do think that health insurance should be available to everyone, but there’s got to be a better way than this.

 

[iamrefreshed]

You can’t even see the irony of your position. Most people are broke because they have no clue about how to properly manage money and prioritize their budget. Poverty is not a money problem, it is a thinking problem. ANd in this case, thinking that they deserve an Escalade because they were able to find a way to get section 8 housing and food stamps.

I know a local family with a single mom that went 2 months without power. Now, since my son dated her daughter, I know for a fact that all three have cells phones, a car each and seemingly can afford going to concerts almost weekly.

At least she refuses a government handout.

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

I know a local family with a single mom that went 2 months without power. Now, since my son dated her daughter, I know for a fact that all three have cells phones, a car each and seemingly can afford going to concerts almost weekly.

At least she refuses a government handout.

If she isn’t taking public assistance, I couldn’t care less what she does with her money. Its hers to do what she wants with.

 

[iamrefreshed]

If she isn’t taking public assistance, I couldn’t care less what she does with her money. Its hers to do what she wants with.

Agreed. It’s sad though because those kids are just being taught bad money management and may end up on public assistance eventually.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

The Health Care Bill that are not paid for by the patient are paid for by you with higher insurance and health care cost. There is no free health care.

I know that! I was just responding to seekerz’s continued assertion that the poor are not getting medical treatment or care. Yes, they are. At our expense. Nothing will change with Obamacare.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

Market Forces? Market Forces? Market Forces are telling us that the doctors are not accepting what the government is offering. It is having a negative affect on the overall spending on health care.

Right now, the government is opening his wallet and saying, “Here, this is for that office visit.” The doctor is saying, “Never Mind. And, don’t send any more of your patients here.” Market forces would dictate that the government would offer more to increase the pool of docs taking their payments. Instead, they continue to lower the reimbursement rates. Truly stupid.

A very small minority of Doctors balk at accepting new medicare patients. Something like 14%. factcheck.org/2011/05/sen-barrassos-medicare-mistake/

If you look at the peculiar anti government ranters we see today. It’s probably in line with 14%.

The thing is. They are an extreme, and vocal minority. But, their numbers are small, and they are of little consequence. Worrying about them, is like worrying about billionaires.

ATB

 

[Mickey_Finn]

Well if you can prevent cancer maybe you should go into practice.

Let’s not forget, our government, since passing ObamaCare, has decided prostate and breast cancer screenings are unnecessary.

That has been in the works, for a long time. It has nothing to do with the ACA.

nytimes.com/2011/10/07/health/07prostate.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

*Healthy men should no longer receive a P.S.A. blood test to screen for prostate cancer because the test does not save lives over all and often leads to more tests and treatments that needlessly cause pain, impotence and incontinence in many, a key government health panel has decided.

The draft recommendation, by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and due for official release next week, is based on the results of five well-controlled clinical trials and could substantially change the care given to men 50 and older. There are 44 million such men in the United States, and 33 million of them have already had a P.S.A. test — sometimes without their knowledge — during routine physicals.*

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/when-to-get-screened-for-breast-cancer/?pagewanted=print

*Most women can wait until they’re 50 to have a mammogram, then get screened every other year. That’s the latest recommendation from an influential task force that reviewed dozens of medical studies and determined that routine mammographs in younger women often resulted in unnecessary tests and unneeded treatments.

It’s a big switch from the recommendation the same group, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, made in 2002 when it urged women to begin having annual mammograms at age 40. Other organizations, like the American Cancer Society, still recommend starting mammographs at 40. *

ATB