Re: Republican Opposition To
  By: Gerhard Strangar to Allen Prunty on Fri Apr 14 2017 08:37 am

 GS> That's why idea was to get everyone into the system, wasn't it?

In theory that's what was supposed to happen... but those who had jobs with
insurance already were in the system.  What actually happened (at least in my
state) was the Governor lowered the bar on medicaid and everyone who was
unemployed and had no coverage suddenly was eligible for free medical care
through medicaid.

The "free clinics" suddenly closed and thousands of very sick people suddenly
had care and people who had medical conditions that were undiagnosed flooded
the system.  The doctors became overloaded (even today it's harder to get an
appointment.  Most of my specialist appointments were made MONTHS in advance
and I dare not call to cancel or reschedule them).  Once the doctors were
overloaded many of them did the best that they could and the govt is very slow
to pay the doctors for services rendered.  Many doctors who were older and near
bankruptcy because they did not get payment promply for their services said
f--- it and retired.

The ones that remained had to either shut down their private practices or sell
to "congolmerate" practices like the baptist health network or did what my Aunt
did went into concierge practice where they see a limited number or exclusive
patients on retainer and not as a "clinician".

The ones that sold to the practices make a regular salary and are now paid
less... and are dictated to how they are to provide care, like my younger
cousin who is a doctor now has to book appointments every 10 minutes seeing 6
patients an hour and has no time to do actual procedures in the office if
needed... all he can do is evaluate, prescribe, advise and take the next
patient scheduling labs, xrays and diagnostics that he often has to read on his
own time as they don't provide him adequate paid time to chart and follow up.

Then there's the problem in many states like in Kentucky where there were
origionally dozens of insurance carriers that participated in the states health
exchange.  We started at more than 24 insurance providers for those who got a
subsidy or had to buy their plan outright (this does not include the free
medicaid plans which are almost exclusive to the states health care plan called
"passport" which is identical to "Tenova / Tenn-Care" in Tennessee.

Of those 24+ providers ALL HAVE WENT OUT OF BUSINESS or STOPPED PARTICIPATING
because they were flooded by people who needed serious care and they could not
absorb the cost of providing it.  Theoretically, there were HUNDREDS of healthy
young people who were supposed to enter the health care system to absorb this
cost... in actuality those healthy young people DO NOT WORK... most live in Mom
and Dad's basement... are professional students or are unable to find any job
other than restaruant work.  They qualify for the "FREE" medical plans while
most people, like me, who had chronic illnesses worked and make enough income
(even I on disability because I worked good jobs) make too much to get any help
on medical plans.  

Because all the people who should be paying for plans to help offset the cost
get free care people like me have seen their medical plans raised to absorb the
cost.  A bottle of insulin that once cost $12.99 at Wal-Mart pre-Obama now
costs $500+ (Seriously I have had this problem) and Wal-Mart once rebranded
Novolin and sold it for $12.99 as their Reli-On brand.
     
While it all sounds good on theory all they did with health care reform (I
don't attribute it to Obama... it was in the works long before) was rearrange
the deck chairs on the Titanic.  The system is so damaged now the only true way
to fix it is to go single payer and equalize the care / benefits across the
board.  Either we all get good care or we all get marginal care.  As it is now
those that can afford it get good care... and those that don't get marginal
care which is not always acceptable.  The bad doctors can usually make a good
living in the one patient every 10 minutes world... they can easily get lost in
the paper shuffle.

Before Those that could afford it got good care (and there were more that
-could afford it back then) those that couldn't afford the best care would get
marginal care that was acceptable... and for those that couldn't afford that we
did have state sponsored free clinics where the poor could get quality care for
free usually by supervised medical students... and the bad doctors were out
there but they were KNOWN to be bad doctors now they are absorbed in the
system.

Health care reform really hasn't accomplished what some think it has.

Allen

             
                                                                               
                                                                      

... Success usually comes to those too busy to look for it.
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