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All of these problems and this who is who is going to be looking after your health care. Run Forest run.
I wonder how people are trying actively to bring down the Kaiser system? What makes you think they did not consult with the Kaiser people?
They should consult with the people that set up the system at Kaiser. I've been a Kaiser patient for 30 years and they have set up a great computer system. You can do everything, almost, via computer and no glitches. Doctors have computers in consult rooms and write down what orders they prescribe and print it out for you. Getting prescriptions, making appointments, asking your doctor via email are all a part of a pretty darn good system.
As Jon Stewart pointed out recently ... the people who are complaining are probably the same people who will wait patiently in line overnight for the latest phone. It's unfortunate that the software had to be tested live, but it will eventually be debugged. The loudest naysayers only fear that the ACA will be successful. If it weren't for these same misanthropes, we might actually have had a single-payer system.
Apropos to #7 ~ I've just done a websearch on the Heritage foundation and Free Trade. All I've found is complete support for Free Trade. With all due respect to gwiech, I would suggest no one register in the link he/she provided until he/she can verify this claim.
gwiech ~ Your link takes one to a registration page. Surely such a big story is covered on public access sites. Do you have any free links to the story?
Thank you Marc, for sharing your stories. How "uniquely American"! I rest my case. (QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!)
Comrades, friends, one and all... pump weights! Drink more water, watch your waistlines, throw out the cigarettes and the sodas, eat your veggies, avoid transfats and high-fructose corn syrup as if your lives - and wallets - depend on it! And pray. - AIW
Finally someone notices this. The right wing has spend millions, if not billions of dollars over the pass year, bragged, almost jumping up and down like little childern about going to do whatever it takes to bring down the ACA, shut down the goverment, signed packs, lied and mislead countless millions about what they refer to as a trainwreck. Is it so hard to believe they might be behind the program's problems. Here's a "little problem" I've had with signing up (I've tried to post this before and don't know if it worked, not very good at this stuff) anyway I've tried three times to sign up, I site works fine, I enter my information then it tells me to wait for a phone call to help with quotes, a few minutes later I recieve a phone call, but because they are so busy I will need to hold for a few minutes, I listen to the music for a few moments, then "click click" I'm disconnected and have just recieved an e-mail telling me NOT to sign up with ACA! You do the math.
I think Thom should repeat what he said on the air on Friday, Oct 18, 2013. A key contributor to the problems with the software is that ACA software was designed as a portal to the states software. With 26 states not signing up the federal software had to become much more than a portal.
I was asking you for links to the Nation or Guardian; that is, organizations less likely to controlled by the 1%.
Kend -- I think the thing the US is really good at is PR. We have a $600 billion (annual) industry to prove it. I think when you talk about quality of care, you are repeating what the ad agencies are saying. I remember the studies back from a couple of years ago when healthcare was being ranked on outcomes, the US was the 3rd or 4th from the bottom of the OECD nations.
Is anyone hearing about attempts to intentionally block or sabotage the on line registration process? These idealogues who were willing to trash the entire US economy certainly would have no qualms about sabotaging the ACA registration process. I over hear groups of people,that support killing Obama Care, tell their friends to go on line to the ACA internet site even if they are not looking for health care. Clog up the works is their message. I would put no despicable act out of the realm of possibility with these right wing Cruz fanatics.
Thom, off topic reply but there's an interesting article about Heritage and the effects of the NSA scandal. At the bottom of the article John Feehery says he's afraid that Heritage is going to change their stance on many of their traditional stances including on free trade. You've always said that the party who changes position on free trade is going to win a lot of elections and it seems the far right is headed in that direction.
Check it out at: http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/16/now_the_nsa_scandal_is_roiling_the_heritage_foundation?wp_login_redirect=0
Hey Thom, I just wanted to respond to David Selig, but am unable to call in at my job. I just wanted to say that I'm 24, married, and cannot understand how the ACA is bad for us young people. The choice is between paying a fine, and potentially going completely broke/bankrupt, or, paying a decent rate and staying healthy and not broke. It is not a tough choice for me at all.
Aliceinwonderland/Kend ~ Here is a little true story about my best friend's health care here in the good 'ol USA. He originally had been diagnosed with Diverticulitis. A minor bleeding of the Colon. Something you probably have Kend. Most older people have it to some extent or the other. He had a rare version of the condition where a fracture opened up over a vein in his colon. The bleeding wouldn't stop. He went into emergency at Kaiser. (He had full coverage at Kaiser--considered the Cadillac of Health Care coverage where we lived at the time.) He was seen and made to wait on a gurney in a hallway. A pan was placed under his bed to catch the blood while he waited for emergency surgery. Meanwhile, through complete incompetence or a deliberate attempt at murder by the head Doctor on duty at the time--possibly to avoid an expensive surgery--he was placed on liquid restriction. No water. As you might have guessed without water, or a transfusion, a person who is bleeding to death will die quickly. You are right. Fortunately for him, his sister and a good friend who was a EMT (Paramedic) showed up shortly in the emergency room with him. When they learned the situation they called the nurse to complain. The nurse agreed and questioned the Doctor. The Doctor got mad and refused to put my friend on any liquid. That is when his friend, the EMT, and his sister, started to raise hell and threaten legal action. The nurses also joined in to gang up against the Doctor. Only then did the Doctor comply and save my friends life.
But wait! There's much more! During the surgery, the team determined that stopping the bleeding alone would be too involved and simply removed the entire large colon. That's right, they removed the colon. They attached the small colon to the rectum and sewed him back up. Now you might think that is the beginning of a lengthy hospital stay and recuperation, right? Wrong! Two days later he was released, disregarding the natural concerns of the patient and the family. Bye Bye. That's nothing new with "for profit" insurance. Kaiser did the same thing to my 76 year old mother after open heart surgery. Back on her feet in a week. You're on your own. She, like my friend, didn't stay away for long. In my friends case, within a few short hours, several of the stitches began to burst and he found himself right back into the emergency room waiting for yet another emergency surgery. His second brush with death due to "quality care." This time, they had to remove fecal matter from his bowels as well as repair two hernias that popped up. At the end of the surgery it was learned that he had acquired a so called "super bug". An infection you can only catch in a hospital. That caused a massive internal infection and pneumonia. To treat the infection the Doctors had to put my friend in a drug induced coma for a month to save his life. His third brush with death due to "quality care."
As a result of the coma the "super bugs" were cured. However the coma left my friend with permanent Kidney damage and nerve damage in his leg. He then spent a year in rehab before they could schedule his final surgery before he could go home for good. Fortunately, the last Doctor he got was the best Kaiser had to offer. It was the tireless work of his sister on the outside that arranged for that little miracle. No thanks to Kaiser. In all honesty, the final Doctor he got was a God send. A fantastically talented professional that confidently promised him from the beginning that she would put him back on his feet. She delivered too. The cost, he had to do a year in rehab to wait for her. And, just look at all he had to go through before he got any quality care. Since then, he has been on permanent disability; though, for the most part has recovered.
My mother? She ended up back in emergency too within 24 hours. After that she held on for about 6 more months with weekly ambulance rides to emergency before she finally lost her fight to her botched surgery and general incompetence provided through "for profit" quality health care.. The hospital insisted on releasing her before she completely stabilized, right up to the end.
Not to knock Kaiser in general. Three that I know of have a terrible reputation. One that is also near by has a wonderful reputation. I personally had two surgeries at the good one myself and can attest that it is a wonderful Kaiser. It is the experience of my mother and best friend that made me seek out that other hospital. Nevertheless, 1 out of 4 sucks. That ain't good. And keep in mind at the time we had the best Corporate insurance money can buy. My friend was a Federal employee and his Kaiser was funded through his job.
Well that is it in a nutshell, Kend. My miserable experiences with the "for profit" health care system. Still envy our system? You're more than welcome to try it out anytime if you get a chance.
Palindromedary/Chuckle8 ~ I tried searching The Nation, The Guardian US, and The Guardian UK websites for "Julia Davis" and all I found was a comedy writer by the same name. Then I tried a Google search of "Julia Davis DHS" and I found this:
Prison Planet - Alex Jones http://www.prisonplanet.com/dhs-whistleblower-censored-by-60-minutes.html
The Examiner - http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-los-angeles/julia-davis
The New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/movies/top-priority-focuses-on-julia-davis.html?_r=0
The Freedom Outpost - http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/05/dhs-whistleblower-says-war-on-terror-is-a-charade-real-targets-are-american-patriots/
Boiling Frogs Post - (Audio Interview w/ Sibel Edmonds and Peter B. Collins) http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/tag/julia-davis/
There are many other links but I think these are the best.
Oh yeah, Kend; we get better healthcare for all that money! Right. That's why nearly fifty thousand of us die each year from preventable causes, while hundreds of thousands more Americans succumb to hospital errors annually! Yep, great system we have! God bless America. - AIW
Kend, it's a helluva lot more than just a "theory". And you don't come across like you're into learning much of anything, pal. Guess we needn't wonder why we keep getting the same old comments and same old rhetorical questions from your posts. If ignorance is bliss, you must be in nirvana! Anyway, I'm done with this part of the discussion. Have a happy week. - AIW
Chuckle8: #68...You got me..what did they say? Got any links?
Kend ~ Health care quality. Now that is something we haven't yet explored. In the long run, that is the most important topic in health care, isn't it? In my opinion, who pays for the health care has no effect on the quality; unless, that payer is the Federal Government. As Thom mentioned an a show not too long ago the surgery his wife had compared to his was dramatically different. The difference was that he went to a "for profit" hospital and his wife went to a "non profit" one. Her operation was a success. He, on the other hand, was rushed, and consequently almost suffered a fatal complication. Personally I know of others who experienced the same life threatening scenarios from "for profit" health providers--including my mother and best friend. I learned the hard way that profit is the enemy of quality health care.
By removing the middle man and replacing it with the Government--an entity also capable of regulating, licensing and negotiating with providers--you remove a major obstacle from quality health care. You also insure that the final result, a healthy patient, takes priority over profit. You insure provider payment and cap health costs at the same time. One of the main reasons recipients of Medicare are so satisfied. I don't believe the ACA will adversely affect quality of care. That is, and always has been, a result of the bureaucracy of the providers. I only foresee improved quality of care as a result.
I agree with Chuckle8. I think that the ACA will lower medical costs across the board and increase the quality of care at the same time. From the perspective of someone who has received medical care in the "for profit" world of the US and the Universal Health Care System world of Mexico I can say I prefer Mexico. I think the critical factor is that the physicians there are paid on a salary basis and make no extra money on a patient basis. Perhaps that is what makes for real quality care. Remove the initiative to see many patients and to provide expensive treatments by paying Doctors a flat salary per day. That frees them up to take their time with each case and do their job right. The final effect of course is a tremendous savings in care cost, and much healthier patients. Just ask Louise or Thom Hartmann.
I sincerely hope your numbers are right Chuck. But Americans paid more but you received better healthcare dont be surprised if the quality of care drops to our level. Which isn't that great.
Kend -- I think I said the wrong thing when I said no one knows what is in the ACA. I think the Heritage Foundation (which originally wrote it) and Faux News knows the ACA very well. They know it very well and the best they can come up with is nobody knows what it will do and it will cost it lot. All the evidence, like in Massachusettes, seems to be that it will cost less. The US is in a unique position (awful but unique) that our healthcare costs are twice more than anywhere else in the world. Something like 200 million people are covered at this high cost. If we add 30 million more and reduce the cost by 15% we will save money. I have already mentioned how the ACA could reduce the cost of healthcare in the US by more than 15%. The unfortunate part is the US will have all this extra money to buy aircraft carriers with.
Kend ~ Your quote, not mine. Although, very true! Good night, buddy!
Kend ~ Great point! It is just a theory, isn't it? Therefore we should ignore it, right?
Guess what? The notion that we can't afford the ACA is also just a theory. Let's just ignore that too.
Palin -- Do you know what the magazine "The Nation" or the newspaper "The Guardian" had to say about these events?