Mandatory Health Insurance part 3

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by Steved1998

Freeloaders describes these people perfectly. Why retire it? While we're at it, we should also reexamine all the freeloaders who are suckling at the government teat once they hit 65. I have to pay for their health insurance too? I think not. A day of reckoning is coming.


Kids get too much now a days because parents provide too much. We need to lower the age that you can start working down to at least 10, although I'd be happy at 13. When I was 11 I got a job off the books sweeping floors in a factory. It will teach them responsibility.

Is this your one note mambo? Faux conservatism cum cynicism.

[Steved1998]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Is this your one note mambo? Faux conservatism cum cynicism.

Faux conservative? Hold on there Mr. FrenchieMc French! This is how I was raised! This is what I believe in my heart. These values are the driving force of my existence. Without the cum, of course.

It's time to take back this country from NObama!

[BoMac]

Question: let's say some of those injured victims in the Aurora theatre shooting are also unlucky enough not to have medical insurance. What happens to them now? They were admitted to hospital, so are they on the hook to make payments once they are released?

[Irvine511]

If they'd had concealed weapons on them we couldda taken down this sumabitch before he got as far as he did.

[BVS]

Originally Posted by BoMac

Question: let's say some of those injured victims in the Aurora theatre shooting are also unlucky enough not to have medical insurance. What happens to them now? They were admitted to hospital, so are they on the hook to make payments once they are released?

If they had prayed before this godless movie maybe this wouldn't have happened.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Probably no help for them. But at least the killer got a govt grant to study neuroscience.

[MrsSpringsteen]

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press
DENVER July 26, 2012

Some of the victims fighting for their lives after being wounded in the movie-theater shooting rampage may face another challenge when they get out of the hospital: enormous medical bills without the benefit of health insurance.

Members of the public, along with Warner Bros., the studio that released the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," have contributed nearly $2 million to help victims, though it's not clear how much of that will cover medical expenses. One family is raising money on its own online.

And three of the five hospitals treating victims said Wednesday they will limit or completely wipe out medical bills.

Some of the victims, however, still face a long recovery ahead and the associated medical costs — without health insurance. There's no exact count of how many of them don't have insurance but statistics suggest many of them might not be covered.

Nearly one in three Coloradans, or about 1.5 million, either have no health insurance or have coverage that is inadequate, according to a 2011 report by The Colorado Trust, a health care advocacy group.

The highest uninsured rate was among adults between 18 and 34 and many of those injured in the shootings are in that age group.

State officials said they are not sure whether any of the victims qualify for emergency Medicaid assistance available to needy patients. Victims could also get financial assistance from a state program that helps people hurt during crimes, including lost wages and counseling.

Among the uninsured victims of the movie-theater attack is a 23-year-old aspiring comic, Caleb Medley, who is in critical condition with a head wound and whose wife, Katie, gave birth to their first child, Hugo, on Tuesday.

His family and friends said they have set a goal of raising $500,000 to cover his hospital bills and other expenses and were over halfway there on Wednesday.

"All the money that is donated is going straight to Caleb, Katie and Hugo to help them with medical bills, getting back on their feet, help with the baby items," friend Michael West said. "Anything and everything that they need."

Children's Hospital Colorado announced it would use donations and its charity care fund to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured. For those who do have insurance, the hospital says it will waive all co-pays.

"We are committed to supporting these families as they heal," according to a statement from the hospital, which treated six shooting victims.

HealthOne, which owns the Medical Center of Aurora and Swedish Medical Center, also says it will limit or eliminate charges based on the individual circumstances of the patients. Those hospitals have treated 22 shooting victims. However, the company cautioned its policy may not apply to all doctors working in its hospitals.

The other two hospitals, Denver Health Medical Center and University of Colorado Hospital, where Medley is, wouldn't directly say whether they would assist shooting victims. However, they are the state's top two safety net hospitals and provided combined $750 million in free care in 2011.

Hospitals are required by federal law to stabilize patients during emergencies without regard to their ability to pay.

"The issue most probably facing the hospitals and patients in a situation like Aurora is what comes after 'stabilization,'" said Dr. Howard Brody, director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and a frequent critic of excessive medical costs.

"Many of these people I assume will need prolonged and expensive rehabilitation after their immediate injuries are dealt with, and that seems precisely what hospitals today are less and less willing to cover out of their own funds, and no law requires that they do so, as far as I am aware," he said.

Medley is in a medically induced coma, but West said he has been showing signs of improvement, relying less on a ventilator to breathe. Medley's wife, 21-year-old Katie Medley, gave birth on Tuesday, one floor above his room at University of Colorado Hospital.

Standup comedian Gabriel Iglesias, who has appeared on Comedy Central, planned to headline a Denver fundraiser for Medley next week.

The fundraising might actually make Medley ineligible for some income-related assistance. His family and all other victims are already meeting with victim advocates, the case workers who deal with people hurt during crimes. The advocates determine what services they need and what assistance they qualify for.

"We have individuals who will need a lifetime of care, or a lifetime of accommodation, and our job is to make sure those needs are met," said Karla Maraccini, deputy director for community partnerships in the office of Gov. John Hickenlooper.

[BoMac]

As if going through what they just did wasn't enough, families now have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover medical expenses.

Horrible. Just horrible.

Our system is far from perfect, but I'm glad I live in Canada and don't have to worry about this.

[MrsSpringsteen]

It's their fault. You should never go to a movie without health insurance.

Oh well, at least the state of Colorado and the US govt will spend lots of money on feeding, housing, caring for, and trying the killer. Maybe we can buy him hair dye too, arrange for a private screening of TDKR-since he asked how it ends.

I wonder if any gun companies will donate to the victims

[tim722]

Originally Posted by BoMac

Question: let's say some of those injured victims in the Aurora theatre shooting are also unlucky enough not to have medical insurance. What happens to them now? They were admitted to hospital, so are they on the hook to make payments once they are released?

Ummm. Yes usually when you use a service you are responsible to pay for it. Do you really think differently?

[BVS]

Originally Posted by tim722

Ummm. Yes usually when you use a service you are responsible to pay for it. Do you really think differently?

You really did miss his point didn't you?

[BoMac]

Originally Posted by tim722

Ummm. Yes usually when you use a service you are responsible to pay for it. Do you really think differently?

My comment was more tongue-in-cheek, but I was also wondering if there is some sort of "catastrophic" clause, for lack of a better term, that allows those who are uninsured and injured in tragic circumstances such as this to have their medical bills waived.

Also, I don't see health care as a service, but as a right that's good for society. Moreover, I take exception with your use of the phrase "use a service", as if these victims had a choice in the matter.

Thankfully, Denver-area hospitals are doing the right thing so the victims and their families can focus on healing and not get distracted by fundraising.

More hospitals adjust bills for shooting victims unable to pay - The Denver Post

[digitize]

Obviously the victims had a choice to use the service. They could have walked into the theater wearing bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles themselves with which to fight off Holmes. If everyone did that, society would be grand. But no. They took the risk of not fortifying themselves when going in public. They should have to pay the damages.

[anitram]

^

I think the problem with saying that the victims didn't choose their fate probably won't be convincing to a person who views healthcare as a service because people also don't choose to get cancer or a genetic default, etc.

And while it is commendable of the hospitals to be helping with reducing the costs, keep in mind that many of these individuals will require long-term if not life-long healthcare services as they enter the rehab process. I doubt that in 5 years you'll see the same charitable approach from the hospitals, doctors, physiotherapists, etc.

[INDY500]

I guess we can celebrate socialized medicine now too the next time the U.S. hosts the Olympics.

Is that the Minister of Rationing in black?

[digitize]

I think it's at least a little ironic that J.K. Rowling is a noted leftie.

[Steved1998]

Originally Posted by anitram

^

I think the problem with saying that the victims didn't choose their fate probably won't be convincing to a person who views healthcare as a service because people also don't choose to get cancer or a genetic default, etc.

And while it is commendable of the hospitals to be helping with reducing the costs, keep in mind that many of these individuals will require long-term if not life-long healthcare services as they enter the rehab process. I doubt that in 5 years you'll see the same charitable approach from the hospitals, doctors, physiotherapists, etc.

The free market will help them out. NObamacare won't.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Wow, can't believe this is real but it is. It isn't April Fools Day. Maybe just Fools Day

nbcnews.com

Republican likens contraceptive mandate to Pearl Harbor, 9/11


A House Republican lawmaker likened the implementation of a new mandate that insurers offer coverage for contraceptive services to Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.

Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly (R), an ardent opponent of abortion rights, said that today's date would live in infamy alongside those two other historic occasions. Wednesday marked the day on which a controversial new requirement by the Department of Health and Human Services, which requires health insurance companies to cover contraceptive services for women, goes into effect.

"I know in your mind you can think of times when America was attacked. One is December 7th, that's Pearl Harbor day. The other is September 11th, and that's the day of the terrorist attack," Kelly said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "I want you to remember August the 1st, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates.

Republicans cried foul when the Obama administration first announced the new rule, reasoning that it would force employers with a religious affiliation to act in a way that contradicts their beliefs. The outcry included criticism from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and President Obama subsequently announced a compromise in which employers wouldn't be forced to offer insurance plans that cover contraception, but insurance companies would be required to offer coverage to women who wish to purchase it.

Republicans rejected the compromise, and subsequently attempted several times to advance legislation to reverse the mandate. The imbroglio contributed to Democratic charges of a GOP-led "war on women."

"This is a right that every American should be outraged, outraged about what this administration and Secretary Sibelius has set forth here on August the 1st," New York Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R) said at the same press conference as Kelly. "And as Mike said, August the 1st is a day that we as American will look at as the largest assault on our First Amendment rights."

*UPDATE* Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, a veteran of World War II, condemned Kelly's comments in a statement.

[BVS]

No this can't be true, the war on women is something the left just made up.

[Pearl]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

"I know in your mind you can think of times when America was attacked. One is December 7th, that's Pearl Harbor day. The other is September 11th, and that's the day of the terrorist attack," Kelly said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "I want you to remember August the 1st, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates.

Oh please!

Comparing contraceptive coverage to actual terrorism and the killing of innocents is absolutely exploitive. Unless, of course, you actually see the similarities, but that would also be asinine.

Seriously, the use of contraception does nothing heinous. I have yet to hear a reasonable argument against the contraceptives and why it shouldn't be covered.