Why aren’t teabaggers fired up about socialized finances? Why do bankers keep getting more taxpayer protection?
A top White House economic adviser says the Obama administration’s proposed overhaul of financial rules preserves the policy of “too big to fail,” and could lead to future bailouts. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said Thursday that by designating some companies as critical to the broader financial system, the plans create an expectation that those firms enjoy government backing in tough times. That implies those financial companies “will be sheltered by access to a federal safety net,” he said. From HuffPost
I wonder if it has anything to do with the revolving door between these institutions and major governmental policy positions?
This is not a democratic or republican issue. This smacks of the corporate takeover of our republic.
“As a nation, we first need to answer the question as to whether health care is a right or a privilege before we jump into the details of fixing it. If health care is a privilege, then we need to decide unapologetically who should die unnecessarily (certainly letting the old, poor, and sick die would be the most financially advantageous) . If that seems a bit harsh and we can’t determine who we should discriminate against, then perhaps we feel health care is a right. If it is a right, then by definition it has to be universal. So then all we need to do is figure out the most cost effective way to provide universal coverage. Interestingly, by simply getting to this point in the conversation, the us vs. them begins to go away and it is just an us—how do we cover everyone and what is that coverage going to be? Heck, that is almost a simple conversation compared to where we are now.”
John Brady MD writing about conversations he has been having with some of his patients about the need to step back from rhetoric and dogma to address the real underlying issues in health care in the US.
“Are health insurance companies generally being fair and honest when they reject claims from policy holders?”
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In Health Care, Number Of Claims Denied Remains A Mystery
Lemme take a crack at this. Um, I seem to recall some recent posts from colleagues that tell a pretty grim tale regarding rejections.
OK, not all claim rejections are such horror stories. I had claims rejected because I forgot to fill in a box on the form correctly. I found the number of the insurer, waited on hold, had to provide a bunch of codes to prove who I was, then the clerk would look up the claim in question and tell me why it was rejected “You didn’t put a modifier on the procedure code.”
“Oh. What modifier should I have used?”
“We’re not permitted to tell you that.”
That kind of thing is an every day occurrence. It is why doctors have to hire more and more staff to deal with with the minutia that makes the difference between being paid & not being paid.
The rules change every year. They are different for each insurer. They differ for each benefit plan the insurer offers.
“Oh, you have Blue Million with the preferred rider from employer X? That means you have only a $5 co-pay if this is a sick child visit first visit without a procedure and not on an emergency basis or after hours.”
I asked an insurance guy about what seemed like a systematic delay or denial of payment:
“Oh, we make a lot of money through short term investing of the pool of money we take in before we send it out. It’s called the ‘float.’ The longer we hold on to the float the more we make.”
All I can think of in reply is how messed up this system is where they do better financially by screwing me.
The shocking depths to which some insurers will stoop
From a colleague :
I did see a rather ruthless preexisting condition denial today.
A [bleeped] y/o male came to see me as a new pt. He had a plate and screws put in his jaw 9 years ago after a mugging and jaw fracture. He developed a non-healing fistula in the floor of his mouth from infected hardware. [Major Insurer], with whom he’s been insured for 5 years denied a removal proceedure for infected hardware several years ago and again this year. The guy has been living with a hole in the floor of his mouth for 5+ years. Going to work every day, not living off welfare. Two screws have spontaneously come out of the hole along with pus. Several more screws remain along with a metal plate. The company keeps taking his premium but won’t cover the main health issue that he has.
B
I hear stories like this almost every day.
This is wrong.
We can do better.
“Yes, we invent disease, we invent new therapies to treat invented disease…and then we mandate that all people should be forced to pay into this system that’s fundamentally designed to increase costs as much as possible.”
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Tumblr - Jay Parkinson
And a “mwah-hah-hah-hah-haaaa!” to all!
Just picture me standing over you with a big syringe: “Go ahead. Make my (pay)day!”
The incentives in health care are so freaking sick!
