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Post by colormist on Jan 13, 2017 16:58:14 GMT -5
I know not everyone is based in the US, but for those of us who are, I thought we should keep abreast of this issue.
Back before I knew the wily ways of health insurance companies, I went and sought out my HFI diagnosis. My geneticist had to jump through some hoops to get my insurance to pay for the diagnosis--otherwise I'd have to pay out of pocket for a "frivolous" genetic test. I didn't think of how having a confirmed diagnosis would now mean that I had a "preexisting condition" and could now possibly be declined coverage.
Not that it mattered, because a few years later I went and got laid off. I spent a year trying to find a new job and when I finally coerced someone into hiring me, I was informed that I was ineligible for health insurance coverage for a year because I had a preexisting condition called "being a woman".
Amazingly I survived those two years without a medical emergency. Sure, things happened like I tore my Achilles tendon and couldn't walk really well for a few months. I also had severe neck pain and couldn't move my head or right shoulder for about a week or two (no tilting or turning my head). I sprained my ankle, had several illnesses, carpal tunnel flare ups--all things that people normally go to the doctor for to get treatment for.
A year after I got my job (when my medical coverage kicked in), ACA was in full force and insurance providers could no longer deny coverage for preexisting conditions.
So now congress is setting up to repeal ACA/Obamacare. Not just the public insurance market, but the repeal would also allow insurance providers to once more deny coverage base on preexisting conditions. I mean, if you're not a woman, you could lie and say you have no preexisting conditions, but with electronic medical records, it's getting hard to hide your medical history.
I'm just keeping my eye on the developments for now. If you're concerned, please consider contacting your representatives to let them know how you feel.
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Post by tummyache on Jan 13, 2017 18:05:08 GMT -5
Yip, it's really scary times in the USA. Those of us oldies on Medicare are really quaking in our boots because there's talk of privatizing it with all the disadvantages. Those of you lucky enough in a country with a single payer system are so, so lucky...not perfect, but certainly better and cost-effective than what we are going through in the USA. So glad my husband and I are able to spend a lot of the year in Panama where we pay out-of-pocket [usually matches medicare co-pay or less, without any insurance] for care at the John Hopkins International Hospital/Clinic. I had emergency endoscopic surgery in September in Panama for a blocked small intestine and had A#1 care -- probably better than I would have gotten in Texas. Spent 5 days in the hospital, 3 in semi-intensive, 3 surgeons, and all cost less than $ 10,000. That is really CHEAP compared to what it would have cost in the USA --- and our government will not let us use Medicare in a foreign country.
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Post by ukbill on Jan 13, 2017 21:00:10 GMT -5
The problem we have in the UK is the NHS system was set up incorrectly in the 1st place. We had a system that mostly worked based on pay to use and a Huge charity support system for those who could not afford to pay. This was replaced overnight with a new system that relied on instant taxation.. and therefore required a ever increasing working population to fund it. Had the old system been sensibly replaced by reductions in payments that increased over time as the taxation "Sovereign Fund" was built up and re-invested in recovering our country from the devastation of WW2 we would not have sat in financial ruin for 25+ years, and the NHS (and pensions) would not now be in crisis and collapsing as I type. The Pensions system was likewise setup the same way. The Socialist parties we had (and still have) in the UK are financially incontinent and always work the same way, by spending money we do not have and leaving the country in such terrible financial state that subsequent governments have to make painful cuts to the economy. This then gets the voters against this "terrible" government and vote back into power the profligate spenders to ruin the economy yet again.. in a see-saw arrangement.. its been like this for the last 100+ years in the UK. In that 100+ years we have gone from THE world power to a small massively indebted irrelevance and the slide into total devastation continues apace. Coincidence?? I see no way to change this. We live in a very small overcrowded island, and BREXIT (if you have heard about this?) is mostly about xenophobes who dislike "foreigners" and distrust anybody not speaking English.. (although many of our accents are far too strong for anyone other than locals to understand anyway which is ironic) So they (Brexiters) want to stop them (foreigners) coming into our country.. even though 54% of our NHS is now run by overseas workers and almost all the flowers, fruit and vegetables that are grown in the UK are grown by East Europeans. Why?? because most British people are too lazy and will not do hard, dirty work for any amount of money. Well they are all in for a VERY RUDE awakening, Brexit will put us straight into the hands of the IMF for a bail out, in short order, and massive cuts in our Pensions (also incorrectly funded and set up all wrong) and social benefits will take the sort of hammering that no one who lives outside of Greece will currently believe or understand. So 2017 is going to be a "interesting" year.. for many of us, as in the ancient chinese curse " may you live in (historically) interesting times" Interesting times being times of war, famine, Plagues etc. and we all seem to be cursed just now.  However in Russia Putin is having a great year and planning which country to invade next! Ahh only 5 days later the news is out.. Serbia (supported by Russia and Putin) is starting up the Balkans conflict again.. expect Croatia to be in the news again.. massive death and ethnic "cleansing" to follow (again) Don't you just love Politicians? |
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Post by colormist on Jan 16, 2017 9:15:12 GMT -5
Tummyache,
I just had a four hour surgery (scheduled) to remove my gallbladder. It cost me (WITH INSURANCE) $8,000. I was in the hospital for four hours and did not stay. I ended back in the ER two days later because the pain pills they gave me made me vomit (non-sugar related, thankfully). The last thing you want to do is vomit with several holes riddled throughout your stomach. It probably would have been way cheaper to fly to Panama to have it removed!
Bill,
I've been following the BREXIT thing. It's not a very enlightened or encouraging time for either of our countries. :\
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Post by tummyache on Jan 16, 2017 12:32:01 GMT -5
Sorry to hear of your recent surgery colormist. Hope you are feeling great now. Yes, the USA + UK are hurting. We have a sad face on our calendar on the 19th! Really feel for the poorer folks who are going to get hit bad when/if they go through with terminating ACA...and so many of them voted for the R's who have tried 60+ times to repeal it --it's not like they didn't know about it ahead of time! So, sad.
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Post by colormist on Jan 17, 2017 9:52:45 GMT -5
Oh man, my entire family voted for the people that are going to take away their healthcare, their foodstamps--all their government assistance! I do not know how my sister (who is on the brink of being able to support herself financially for the first time in a decade) could not see how her voting was going to effect her financial future. I would say that 90% of my relatives voted straight ticket red and 80% of them are voting against their own interests. I mean, they're mainly voting that way because they hate women, non-whites, non-christians and are xenophobic/racists, but they're really screwing the pooch on this one.
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