Posts Tagged Health Care
Why medical costs are so high
Posted by David Hazi in General on September 17th, 2009
Before the advent of Medicare and Medicaid and the HMO Act of 1973, the private sector funded over three quarters of the country’s health care expenditures, individuals paid nearly one-half of total costs out-of-pocket and health care inflation was in-line with the consumer price index (CPI).
The introduction of these government insurance programs in 1967 fundamentally changed the way health care was purchased. As the government began to insert more regulation over the health care market and cover a growing percentage of health care spending, total out-of-pocket expenditures fell. Today, out-of-pocket expenses account for only 1/10 of total health care expenses.
The HMO Act of 1973 provided grants and loans to provide, start, or expand a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO); removed certain state restrictions for federally qualified HMOs; and required employers with 25 or more employees to offer federally certified HMO options. The Act gave HMOs greater access to the employer-based market, providing for the rapid expansion of HMOs and was synergistic with Medicare and Medicaid in decreasing out-of-pocket expenses.
In addition, state regulations have increased and now require health insurance companies to cover a ridiculous range of health care services including but not limited to: acupuncture, breast reduction, contraceptives, dieticians, drug abuse treatment, hair prosthesis, in vitro fertilization, massage therapy, etc. and this has had a profound effect on health care inflation. All these policies have had the net effect of changing the way Americans pay for health care services, by precipitating the change from catastrophic medical insurance to “comprehensive” health care coverage.
Medicare for Dummies
Posted by David Hazi in General on September 12th, 2009
The thing about the bully pulpit is that Presidents can make the most fantastic claims and it takes days to sort the reality from the myths. So as a public service, let’s try to navigate the, er, remarkable Medicare discussion that President Obama delivered on Wednesday. It isn’t easy.
Mr. Obama began by depicting a crisis in the entitlement state, noting that “our health-care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers,” especially Medicare. Unless we find a way to cauterize this fiscal hemorrhage, “we will eventually be spending more on Medicare than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health-care program is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close.”
On this score he’s right. Medicare’s unfunded liability—the gap between revenues and promised benefits—is currently some $37 trillion over the next 75 years. Yet the President uses this insolvency as an argument to justify the creation of another health-care entitlement, this time for most everyone under age 65. It’s like a variation on the old Marx Brothers routine: “The soup is terrible and the portions are too small.”
Click here for the entire article.
You do lie Mr. Obama
Posted by David Hazi in General on September 10th, 2009
In case you didn’t hear. South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “You lie” after Obama said extending health care to all Americans would not mean insuring illegal immigrants.
The chamber groaned and several Republicans looked at Wilson in disgust. Several members of the House and the Senate blasted Wilson after Obama’s speech.
I could point out what Obama did lie about in his speech, but I am going to take the course Joe Wilson did.
I would like to blast the members of Congress who scorned Wilson. While I respect the civility of the chambers and I know its rude to just blurt things out, it is time to stand up for what is right. Obama is standing in front of the entire country lying to them. Take a look at my post on the health-care analysis if you don’t believe me. Anyone who thinks yelling, “You lie.” is actually worse than lying, is just a flat out idiot.
Obama is on a mission to destroy this country under the auspices of trying to take care of the poor. I am sick and tired of this, quite frankly, bullshit argument. Joe Wilson did what was right. He called a spade a spade. There comes a time when enough is enough and being polite MUST take a backseat to securing the freedom and liberty of our country.
Kudos to you, Joe Wilson, for having the balls to stand up for what is right.
Canadian health-care system “imploding”
Posted by David Hazi in General on August 17th, 2009
By Jennifer Graham (CP)
SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country’s health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.
Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country – who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting – recognize that changes must be made.
“We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize,” Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“We know that there must be change,” she said. “We’re all running flat out, we’re all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands.”
To read more about this article, click here.
You Have Awakened the Sleeping Giant!
Posted by David Hazi in Videos on August 11th, 2009
The average American is fed up. We want a restoration of Constitutional law. Despicable how turncoat Specter just stands there smug, without even considering the opinions of his constituents. Sickening. A revolution is coming.
Health-care propaganda from the government?
Posted by David Hazi in Videos on August 11th, 2009
This organization is funded by Obama himself. As a former psychological operations sergeant, I applaud Obama on some good propaganda. As an American citizen, I am disgusted. We oppose government funded health-care not because we don’t care about the poor or uninsured children. We oppose it because it is unconstitutional. Government doesn’t create jobs or money. If it did, who in their right mind would argue against it? Government steals money from you and gives it to another person. Government eliminates real productive jobs that create innovation and discovery and creates unproductive jobs that bolster unemployment statistics so the politicians look good. We simply want people to be in control of their own lives and not be like the ducks at the park who can’t survive without people tossing them bread every day. Is freedom extremist?
ABC’s John Stossel Destroys/Pulverizes/Crushes Obama’s anti-American ‘Health Care’ Plan
Posted by David Hazi in Videos on August 10th, 2009
Rand Paul on price controls
Posted by David Hazi in General on June 8th, 2009
Rand Paul discusses why price controls do not work. Should government set the price of bread? How about setting the prices of healthcare?
Taking away your right to choose health care
Posted by David Hazi in General on April 6th, 2009
Increasingly, the new administration is taking away the rights of the individual and giving them to the folks in Washington. Obama promised a change from the same old Washington politics, but instead he is creating a polarized society. I believe the American people are smart enough to choose for themselves, not have a nanny state making all the choices for them. Everyone realizes that the health care industry is broken. Insurance costs too much and so does medicines. Nobody seriously wants people to go without health care, the battle is between how and who you get it from.
So what solutions do politicians like Barack Obama, Senator Max Baucus, Tom Daschle, and groups like the AARP, Families USA, big insurance and big business propose? They want to mandate that everyone buy the same expensive insurance that many can’t afford (with a tax if you don’t buy) – a plan that is failing in Massachusetts. They would create a “Health Care Fed” that would create cookbook medicine and rationing protocols and force your doctor to follow them under the threat of lower pay or a phony report card score that has nothing to do with quality and has everything to do with how much third-party money was being “wasted” on actual patient care. This would be enforced through a mandate to enter your health data into a computer that would be forward to the government where it would be subject to loss or accidental exposure of private health information. They would expand the Medicare program, which is scheduled to bankrupt its own trust fund next decade, to people who are 55 years old. They would put more children in government health programs even though such a plan failed in Hawaii after only 7 months — leaving many children previously insured privately without coverage!
Why are we debating over a system that has proven not to work? Would you buy a microwave oven that has been proven to blow up in your face only after a few months? Better yet, would you spend $10,000 a year for that defective microwave? Of course not. Why then, aren’t we encouraging competition in the private sector of health care? Doctors and clinics should be competing for your services as a patient. The health care plan should be what is right for you and your family. Some families are extremely healthy and rarely have to see a doctor, why should they be forced to pay for services they do not need? Other families have histories of health problems and need more extensive coverage, why aren’t we creating a free market so these people can buy cheaper coverage?
You are not stupid America. This country was built by the hands and minds of you and your ancestors. You know the best what it is that you need. Not the government and not Obama.
Health Plan Could Feed Your Gun-related Data Into A National Database
Posted by David Hazi in General on April 2nd, 2009
The Gun Owners of America, who was dubbed by Ron Paul as, “The only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington.” has released a truly stunning article regarding a health plan going through the Congress, that would extremely threaten your wallet, privacy, and the Second Amendment.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE
The health care plan would FORCE every American to pay out of pocket for government insurance, costing around $10,000 annually.
Here is an exert from this article:
Put another way: If you do not have health insurance — or, potentially, if you do not have the TYPE of health insurance the government wants you to have — the government will force you to purchase what it regards as “acceptable” health insurance. And, in most cases, you will have to pay for it out of your own pocket.
What would all this cost? Based on comparable insurance currently on the market, it could cost $10,000 a year — or more.
If you were jobless, the socialists would probably spot you the ten grand. But if you are middle class and can’t pay $10,000 because of your mortgage payments, your small business, or your kids’ college education, you would be fined (over $1,000 a year currently in Massachusetts). And, if you couldn’t pay the confiscatory fine, you could ultimately be imprisoned.
Outrageous isn’t it? GOA has a pre-written letter for you to send to your Senator.
Obama: Founding Father of the United Socialist States of America
Posted by David Hazi in General on March 23rd, 2009
Obama to make veterans pay for own treatment
Posted by David Hazi in General on March 17th, 2009
As a two time veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, this latest bit of news really, really ticks me off. I at times can be extremely critical of the military from top to bottom, but this is something I will fight day and night for, veterans benefits. Obama wants to make veterans pay for their own treatment for service related injuries. Regardless if you served overseas or not, just a basic four year stint in the military can lead to personal injuries. In my unit we would run anywhere from two to eight miles almost daily just for physical training, not including the training for the rest of the day. On top of that doing special things like air assault or airborne take a tremendous toll on your body. If the government is going to send you off to war, the very least they can do is pay for your medical bills related to service; especially in the wake of talks about national health care.
Here is the article about this:
WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.