Sparse news coverage of US health care scandal

[SCRawl]

The prevalence of drug ads in America is very hard to imagine for someone from Australia; here, there are ads for common shit like Sudafed or flu crap or herbal nonsense, but I've NEVER seen an ad for ritalin, or any actual prescribed clinical drug. The idea that those sort of ads are common (and with a 'get your doctor to hook you up with this shit' bent) is bizarre to me.

Sometimes they don't even bother telling you want the drug is for, just images of happy smiling people having fun outside on a bright sunny day while the announcer tells you to go ask your doctor if you need [insert drug name].

If they tell you what the drug is for, then they also have to list all of the side effects. If they just advertise something like "Want to know if X is right for you? Ask your doctor." then they don't have to tell you that X also causes anal leakage and narcolepsy in a small but statistically significant proportion of the population.

[Wing Commander MAD]

Well it looks like barring a miracle, I'll probably be emmigrating to Canada in the future, once I get college loans paid off and/or I attend grad school. This seriously sucks. Damn spineless democrats, what happened to the party of FDR? I can't help but wander if the Republitards could have screwed up any worse if they had the majority and presidency, at least then the remaining Demoshits might have opposed their bullshit. All those stormfront ads from awhile back were right in a way. A perfect storm is brewing, too bad the dumb asses thought gay marriage was the problem/cause of what's will undeniably be a huge problem for the American people and destroy the few good aspects of the American way of life and not the all too real boogieman of healthcare. Damnit, why is government competing with the closest thing we probably have to real life evil megacorps of science fiction a bad thing? I seriously think what the insurance companies do may actually qualify as actual evil, and not something we just don't like or is kinda bad evil we normally talk about.

I guess I should start practicing my everyday metric measurements usage. Is it too soon to start qouting Hudson from Aliens?

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Yeah, I'm doubtless going to be looking to take summer French classes on a regular basis while finishing my degree to brush up for my future employment in Montreal or Paris, this pretty much tears it.

[Pablo Sanchez]

For example, they already lowered the ceiling for assistance with insurance payments, and the Republicans still aren't on board - if they force more concessions, the final bill might have the effects of again cementing underemployment of the poor for fear of falling into a healthcare nightmare if they earn too much, except this time that nightmare would not only be a lack of health insurance, but also the threat of fines if you don't buy the insurance that you can supposedly afford

The probable effect of this will be proliferation of "fig-leaf" insurance plans that are cheap and meet the minimum requirement of mandatory health insurance but don't really cover much of anything, with low lifetime payout caps, high copays, no coverage for drugs or specialists, and so on. So the big health-care reform plan will just wipe the uninsured from our ledgers by sleight of hand: take heart, America's poor and unemployed, you're no longer uninsured, you're climbed to the ranks of the UNDERinsured! Is it possible to at least ameliorate this garbage at the state level? Like if state governments organized public plans based on the ones they already have for state employees?

[The Duchess of Zeon]

For example, they already lowered the ceiling for assistance with insurance payments, and the Republicans still aren't on board - if they force more concessions, the final bill might have the effects of again cementing underemployment of the poor for fear of falling into a healthcare nightmare if they earn too much, except this time that nightmare would not only be a lack of health insurance, but also the threat of fines if you don't buy the insurance that you can supposedly afford

The probable effect of this will be proliferation of "fig-leaf" insurance plans that are cheap and meet the minimum requirement of mandatory health insurance but don't really cover much of anything, with low lifetime payout caps, high copays, no coverage for drugs or specialists, and so on. So the big health-care reform plan will just wipe the uninsured from our ledgers by sleight of hand: take heart, America's poor and unemployed, you're no longer uninsured, you're climbed to the ranks of the UNDERinsured! Is it possible to at least ameliorate this garbage at the state level? Like if state governments organized public plans based on the ones they already have for state employees?

We already have public health insurance for the poor (up to 200% of the federal poverty level), though we had to increase rates on it. I think Washington State could and should start offering it to everyone at the break-even level (i.e. with enough cost that poeple over 200% of the poverty level have to pay enough to subsidize their own treatment so that government subsidies aren't required).

Alternatively maybe some big co-operative organizations could form successfully if the House forces the Senate to increase the funding levels for meeting low-income healthcare needs AND turns those loans to non-profit co-operatives into grants to start them up, which at least seems plausible in the compromise process. Those grants could then be used to create sort of healthcare Credit Unions, if that example makes sense.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Oh, good news for those living in Washington State:

The Guaranteed Health Benefit Plan

“... the potential to dramatically increase access to health care coverage
with minimal disruption to the existing marketplace.”
What it is

Commissioner Kreidler’s Guaranteed Health Benefit Plan would provide health care coverage for all Washington residents up to age 65 – and preserve freedom of choice. Our state is long overdue for a health care system that provides peace of mind and ensures high-quality care for all.
How it works

* All residents get catastrophic coverage for health crises over $10,000 a year.
* Limited preventive care is covered, including an annual checkup, immunizations and age-appropriate cancer screenings.
* Consumers choose additional coverage for other routine care.
* All insurance – catastrophic and routine health care – is provided by private insurers.

Basically under the plan a limited number of preventative visits will be free to all Washington residents, and all insurance plans for sell in Washington State will also be required to cover 100% of costs exceeding 10k in one year, with the programme subsidized by the state government.