Don't miss the health care sign up deadline.

by FlyingHighNow 55 Replies latest jw friends

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  MeanMrMustard

  @FlyingHighNow:

  "MeanMM, I don't think you asked me that for the reason of not knowing the answer."

  Most likely true. But, I don't see anything inherently wrong with being "big". How one becomes "big", on the other hand, does matter. I am not sure if you are picking on being "big" in general. Not all companies get "big" through government favors. If you get there through the free market, then I don't see anything wrong with it.

  I suggest reading this book:

  Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business--and Bad Medicine

  http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Condition-America-Business-Medicine-ebook/dp/B000FC2IQM

  Here is part of the Prologue:

  

  Agreed - the system is rigged, but the problem is not with the market. The type of shenanigans described in this open paragraph isn't produced by a true market. The very fact that the author claims patients 'do not have a choice' should clue you in that something is wrong - after all, the very definition of a market is competition among a multitude of vendors. Now if that is what you mean by "big business", then I can stand with you. What you really mean, then, is business that has a competitive edge through lobbying, legislation, and state intervention into the market. ACA is more the same.

  MMM
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  FlyingHighNow

  No one said there is anything inherently wrong with big business. There are a lot of different types of big business groups. In this particular case we are speaking of health care insurance and the health care industry and those who've turned them into big business. You asked why it costs so much in the first place. Read that book. It was written well before the ACA came to be, by two investigative reporters.

  This thread topic is for the purpose of spreading the word about healthcare sign up deadline, which is tomorrow. If you've never been into many thousands of dollars worth of medical debt, or had had to choose between your health and literally having a roof over your head, then you may not understand why it is vital, in the truest sense of the word, for every citizen to have access to affordable health care. This should not be about huge profits for greedy people, but rather for the health and well being of every citizen. It is individual citizens who make up our nation. We are the building blocks of our society. If we truly want a strong country, we have to value the mental and physical health of every single person.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  Read the book. The entire book. It's a place to begin to understand how health care costs have risen to impossible heights. After that, continue to educate yourself. Everyone should understand what has happened.
• 

  factfinder

  FlyingHighNow- I live in NJ.
• 

  Rattigan350

  the real question should be "Why is it so expensive in the first place?"

  Boats, vacations, cars, etc.

  Doctors fees are so expensive because of student loans and malpractice insurance.

  The government should do something about that to lower the fees.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  Doctors fees are so expensive because of student loans and malpractice insurance.

  The government should do something about that to lower the fees.

  It isn't just the doctors fees. There are hospitals, too. Heatlh care was allowed to become big business. Profit is the goal. You are the commodity. It isn't just the doctors getting filthy, stinkin' rich off this, not that all of the doctors are.
• 

  MeanMrMustard

  @FlyingHighNow:

  Read the book. The entire book. It's a place to begin to understand how health care costs have risen to impossible heights. After that, continue to educate yourself. Everyone should understand what has happened.

  I understand you don't want me to derail the thread's purpose. Fair enough. I'll have to get ahold of the book. Truthfully, I am more interested in the chapters titled "Curing the Ills" and "Crisis and Opportunity" - near the end. These chapters will most likely reveal whether the author(s) favors more governement programs to correct the wrongs that government programs caused.

  It isn't just the doctors fees. There are hospitals, too. Heatlh care was allowed to become big business. Profit is the goal. You are the commodity. It isn't just the doctors getting filthy, stinkin' rich off this, not that all of the doctors are.

  Do you see profit in the health care industry as wrong? How about in the food industry? Or perhaps the housing industry?

  More importantly: what sort of mechanisms would bring the cost down? Would price controls work? (even though they caused the employer based insurance during WWII).

  MMM
• 

  EndofMysteries

  to mrmeans question, yes the healthcare industry is very wrong and corrupt. The profit is by unethical means and by hurting people than by helping people.

  For example, our bodies are like machines, they require a certain amount of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, etc to function properly. A zinc deficiency can give you bad sexual side effects. A vitamin D deficiency will make you fatigue, etc. Almost all health problems are due to a deficiency or bad balance of nutrients.

  If you go to a doctor with a bunch of issues, logic would dictate that they would first run a complete nutrient panel to see if the symptoms may be due to deficiencies or overdoses in what your body needs just to function properly. But NOOO, not only will you have a hard time finding that, your insurance won't cover it either.

  Also many people are allergic to foods and additives, etc, so logic would dictate having a food allergy test as well. Again, NO, insurance, etc, won't cover that.

  Why is that? Because the doctors will treat the SYMPTOMS NOT the cause. Why? Because if you identify the cause as a deficiency in a certain vitamin, you change your eating habits or get some cheap over the counter vitamins and you get better. The pharmacy companies would lose out on the pills they would prescribe for that.

  But it gets even better, the doctor then prescribes a pill instead of identifying the cause, and the pill has side effects, so you start off on one pill and end up on 10 pills to manage the side effects of the other pills.

  It still gets even better,,,,if you are taking psychological drugs, many of them will change your body and it will become dependent on them, trying to stop can be near impossible. Some take years to stop and suffer life long side effects.

  Why is there no cure for cancer? Because they make billions a year, they dont' want to cut off their money supply.

  If the healthcare industry was moral and not corrupt, then tests of vitamins and nutrients would be the starting point. If everything was checking out well there, then it would look into other matters.

  Also the FDA has allowed and continues to allow many foods, preservatives, additives, methods that are bad and dangerous and have bad long term side effects.

  So yes, the profit in the healthcare industry is wrong, the profit is tempting them to hinder and keep people sick to keep milking them for money. If the healthcare industry has their way, you will be reliant and live your whole life hooked on their pills.
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  EndofMysteries

  How to bring prices down? Eliminate insurance. If insurance was eliminated then people would find that the copays people pay for doctors visits and tests would likely be what the costs would continue to be. Insurance is a big scam w/ the medical industry. If anything have only catastrophic insurance for major medical procedures then a cash pay for doctors visits and basic services. My cash only payment is $10 above what my copay was when I had insurance for my doctor. However they informed me if my insurance copay happened to be higher, they would HAVE to charge me higher. (some special copays are $75 to $90 a visit on some insurance, my copay was $40, but no insurance the visit is $50, but if I had insurance w/ a $70 copay, they would be charging me $70 even though without insurance they accept $50).
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  wearewatchingyouman

  oops... Looks like you couldn't sign up for half the day if you tried. Website failed again. http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/31/obamacare-site-in-meltdown-on-obamacare-enrollment-day/