Obama - Page 19

Alex · 08-12-2009, 07:57 PM

More personal (and I mean more personal): My coverage at the time meant my total cost for my vasectomy was around $80. Back when I was uninsured in college an unneeded trip to the emergency room to be told I had a bad cold cost $1,200 total for 40 minutes of time.

And yet with what is supposedly very good dental insurance I spent almost $2,000 to get my wisdom teeth removed.

Though in the absence of comprehensive insurance/health care reform there is one law I'd get behind:

1. If you have insurance and use medical services that accept that insurance then all bills and negotiations should go through the insurance company. They can haggle about what will be covered and not and then the insurance company pays the doctor/hospital everything and seeks to collect the remainder from me. Lani needed a small procedure last year and insurance covered most of it but we received about 6,000 separate bills which we dutifully paid and then got refund checks on a third of them because the insurance company also paid them.

flippyshark · 08-12-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

Lani needed a small procedure last year and insurance covered most of it but we received about 6,000 separate bills which we dutifully paid and then got refund checks on a third of them because the insurance company also paid them.

Been there (back when I had insurance) I think I'm still getting various bills for my hernia surgery from over a year ago.

flippyshark · 08-12-2009, 08:26 PM

Does this insurance discussion need its own thread? (It's not that much about Obama for the last few pages.) Don't care either way myself.

innerSpaceman · 08-12-2009, 10:06 PM

[Lucy Van Pelt] THAT'S IT!!!! [/Lucy Van Pelt]

JWBear · 08-13-2009, 03:14 PM

Did you know that Obama is going to close all the banks on September 24th so he can replace all our money with a new "One World" currency? It must be true because a relative of mine got an email form somebody who heard Glenn Beck say so!

Andrew · 08-13-2009, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWBear

Did you know that Obama is going to close all the banks on September 24th so he can replace all our money with a new "One World" currency? It must be true because a relative of mine got an email form somebody who heard Glenn Beck say so!

I heard somebody telling a confused (even more confused) version of that on the train home from the ballgame on Tuesday night. Happily after years of having a Disneyland AP I've completely overcome any temptation to strike up conversation and make corrections to random people near me.

alphabassettgrrl · 08-16-2009, 02:30 PM

Boo. So he spent a lot of energy and public goodwill in order to cave in the end. A public option was the only leverage for making change.

Alex · 08-16-2009, 02:56 PM

Personally, I don't care if there's a publicly managed plan. It much of the other stuff I think is important. But then, unless there is a desire to nationalize the entire health care industry rather than just mandating insurance I'm not particularly keen on government ownership.

That is, the key to me is to have the mandate, the solid floor put under what constitutes the minimal acceptable coverage, and penalties and assistance to meet it. If that's in place and successful then I think it is a relatively easy first step to introduce the idea of a public option again in a few years. And if it doesn't work out well then it wouldn't have any way.

JWBear · 08-16-2009, 04:49 PM

I'm so fvcking pissed at Obama right now... Mr President, it's called a spine. Get one!

flippyshark · 08-16-2009, 05:15 PM

Robert Gibbs says Not so fast.

I'm going to cling to a tiny thread of optimism on this one. Fool's Paradise, that's where I'm living for a little while.

08-12-2009, 07:57 PM	#1
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	More personal (and I mean more personal): My coverage at the time meant my total cost for my vasectomy was around $80. Back when I was uninsured in college an unneeded trip to the emergency room to be told I had a bad cold cost $1,200 total for 40 minutes of time. And yet with what is supposedly very good dental insurance I spent almost $2,000 to get my wisdom teeth removed. Though in the absence of comprehensive insurance/health care reform there is one law I'd get behind: 1. If you have insurance and use medical services that accept that insurance then all bills and negotiations should go through the insurance company. They can haggle about what will be covered and not and then the insurance company pays the doctor/hospital everything and seeks to collect the remainder from me. Lani needed a small procedure last year and insurance covered most of it but we received about 6,000 separate bills which we dutifully paid and then got refund checks on a third of them because the insurance company also paid them.
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08-12-2009, 08:26 PM	#3
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	Does this insurance discussion need its own thread? (It's not that much about Obama for the last few pages.) Don't care either way myself.
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08-12-2009, 10:06 PM	#4
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	[Lucy Van Pelt] THAT'S IT!!!! [/Lucy Van Pelt]
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08-13-2009, 03:14 PM	#5
JWBear Worn Romantic Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Long Beach California Posts: 8,435	Did you know that Obama is going to close all the banks on September 24th so he can replace all our money with a new "One World" currency? It must be true because a relative of mine got an email form somebody who heard Glenn Beck say so! __________________ Unrestrained frivolity will lead to the downfall of modern society.
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08-16-2009, 02:30 PM	#7
alphabassettgrrl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,978	Boo. So he spent a lot of energy and public goodwill in order to cave in the end. A public option was the only leverage for making change. __________________ Why cycling? Anything [sport] that had to do with a ball, I wasn't very good at. -Lance Armstrong
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08-16-2009, 02:56 PM	#8
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Personally, I don't care if there's a publicly managed plan. It much of the other stuff I think is important. But then, unless there is a desire to nationalize the entire health care industry rather than just mandating insurance I'm not particularly keen on government ownership. That is, the key to me is to have the mandate, the solid floor put under what constitutes the minimal acceptable coverage, and penalties and assistance to meet it. If that's in place and successful then I think it is a relatively easy first step to introduce the idea of a public option again in a few years. And if it doesn't work out well then it wouldn't have any way. Last edited by Alex : 08-16-2009 at 03:07 PM.
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08-16-2009, 04:49 PM	#9
JWBear Worn Romantic Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Long Beach California Posts: 8,435	I'm so fvcking pissed at Obama right now... Mr President, it's called a spine. Get one! __________________ Unrestrained frivolity will lead to the downfall of modern society.
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08-16-2009, 05:15 PM	#10
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	Robert Gibbs says Not so fast. I'm going to cling to a tiny thread of optimism on this one. Fool's Paradise, that's where I'm living for a little while.
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