Obama Care

When do the death panels start like Fox News and Palin promised? That should make for good reality TV

When do the death panels start like Fox News and Palin promised? That should make for good reality TV

They will come in some form or the other. I'm not totally against some sort of reform as to when to stop treatment because we do spend a ton of money on people who are going to die no matter what we do. The good news for me is that most people in my family live a good long life then just kind of keel over one day without much warning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/health/policy/01insure.html?_r=1&ref=business

Insurer Cuts Health Plans as New Law Takes Hold

By REED ABELSON (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/reed_abelson/index.html?inline=nyt-per)

Published: September 30, 2010

"The Principal Financial Group (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/principal_financial_group/index.html?inline=nyt-org) announced on Thursday that it planned to stop selling health insurance (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), another sign of upheaval emerging among insurers as the new federal health law starts to take effect.
The company, based in Iowa, provides coverage to about 840,000 people who receive their insurance through an employer...."

Looks like the free market working.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/health/policy/01insure.html?_r=1&ref=business

Insurer Cuts Health Plans as New Law Takes Hold

By REED ABELSON (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/reed_abelson/index.html?inline=nyt-per)

Published: September 30, 2010

"The Principal Financial Group (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/principal_financial_group/index.html?inline=nyt-org) announced on Thursday that it planned to stop selling health insurance (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), another sign of upheaval emerging among insurers as the new federal health law starts to take effect.
The company, based in Iowa, provides coverage to about 840,000 people who receive their insurance through an employer...."

They insure 840,000 people which is not allot and they probably would have made this move at some point to concentrate their efforts on retirement saving and other products.

On another note I read today that the mad rush of people who have no health ins. because of health issues is not happening. I guess until its free to them most will just not get coverage.New Plans For Uninsured Off To Slow Start - Kaiser Health News (http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/August/19/high-risk-pools-health-insurance.aspx)

The stuff health insurance companies get away with is amazing. I'm not eligible for a group plan so I tried to upgrade my crappy insurance so I didn't have to pay $600 to have a specialist investigate a possible ear infection (seriously that was the price I was quoted at). Everything was all set up they were confirming my information and asking me questions. One of the questions was have you ever been turned down for health insurance. I told them yes so they went on to the next question asking about obesity, heart attacks, AID's all of which I answered no.

After the medical history question the lady told me I was ineligible for the plan. When I asked why she said because I had been turned down or coverage in the past, even though it was a different company. Why even go on to the next question if the one before it made me ineligible?

Last week while being fed up with my insurance I was referred to a high risk pool for Georgia. They told me I was ineligible because I had insurance and even if I didn't have insurance I would have had to be uninsured for 6 months (it's been about 3 months for me without good insurance). The part about having insurance is great because they don't even cover my pre-existing condition which I thought would have been the point of a high risk pool.

At the very least the pre-existing condition crap has to go, of course after that you have to make sure they don't go overboard with the premiums. Still one step at a time.

On a personal experience note i went to Atlantic City for the first time this weekend. If you ever wanted to convince someone that you shouldnt enable people to become reliant on free stuff take them to Atlantic City and show them all the people gambling away their Obama checks. Ive never seen so many people in wheel chairs all in one place before. It was the most amount of just generally flat out unhealthy people ive ever seen in my life. There are so many overweight/joint issues/lung issues/poor nourishment/old/disease ridden people that go to Atlantic City that renting Rascal Scooters is a legitimate business opportunity up there, you can even get one that holds your oxygen tank for you. A company is making money renting scooters to unhealthy people who use them to drive to casinos to gamble “their” money away. It was one of the saddest environments I have ever been in. The entire area is very economically depressed and yet the only businesses that seem to prosper are casinos, fortune tellers, tshirt shops, massage paroles, and scooter rental shops.

Rascal Rentals is the free market at work…..

These people have it worse then me:
Rape Deemed 'Pre-Existing' Condition

In 2002, Chris Turner, a health insurance agent from Tampa, Florida, was drugged and raped during a business trip. A few months later, when Turner was forced to buy new insurance on the individual market, she called a series of insurance underwriters and asked them about a hypothetical client who had been treated for rape. Every insurer she called had the same response: “Nope, we won’t take her.” Her rape, Turner said, had become a pre-existing condition, and she no longer qualified for coverage.

Domestic Violence Victims Denied Coverage

Last fall, Ryan Grim reported that domestic violence qualifies as a pre-existing condition in eight states and the District of Columbia.


Woman Dropped Over Condition She Might Have Had

Blue Cross agreed to insure Wittney Horton and accepted her premium payments -- until she got sick. After Horton sought treatment, Blue Cross opened an investigation into her medical records and found a note from one of her doctors suggesting that she might have polycystic ovaries. Based on the note, which Horton never knew about, Blue Cross rescinded her medical coverage.

Cancer Patient Dropped Because She Didn't Disclose Acne Treatments

Shortly before Robin Beaton was scheduled to undergo a double mastectomy in 2008, her insurance company revoked her policy. Beaton, a breast cancer patient, never disclosed that she'd previously seen a dermatologist for acne, a condition her insurer, Blue Cross, said qualified as a pre-existing condition. "The sad thing is, Blue Cross gladly took my high premiums, and the first time I filed a claim and was suspected of having cancer, they searched high and low for a reason to cancel me," Beaton told a House committee.

Dropped For Undisclosed 'Back Problem'

After Sally Marrari was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, lupus and fluid in her heart, Blue Cross revoked her coverage on the grounds that she had an undisclosed "back problem." Marrari's treatment cost $25,000, and when she was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her bills skyrocketed to more than $200,000.

The stuff health insurance companies get away with is amazing. I'm not eligible for a group plan so I tried to upgrade my crappy insurance so I didn't have to pay $600 to have a specialist investigate a possible ear infection (seriously that was the price I was quoted at). Everything was all set up they were confirming my information and asking me questions. One of the questions was have you ever been turned down for health insurance. I told them yes so they went on to the next question asking about obesity, heart attacks, AID's all of which I answered no.

After the medical history question the lady told me I was ineligible for the plan. When I asked why she said because I had been turned down or coverage in the past, even though it was a different company. Why even go on to the next question if the one before it made me ineligible?

Last week while being fed up with my insurance I was referred to a high risk pool for Georgia. They told me I was ineligible because I had insurance and even if I didn't have insurance I would have had to be uninsured for 6 months (it's been about 3 months for me without good insurance). The part about having insurance is great because they don't even cover my pre-existing condition which I thought would have been the point of a high risk pool.

At the very least the pre-existing condition crap has to go, of course after that you have to make sure they don't go overboard with the premiums. Still one step at a time.

That sucks man. Maybe instead of worrying about Uncle Sam we should worry about shadowy villains such as Medical Information Bureau (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIB_Group,_Inc.)which no one knows about.

On a personal experience note i went to Atlantic City for the first time this weekend. If you ever wanted to convince someone that you shouldnt enable people to become reliant on free stuff take them to Atlantic City and show them all the people gambling away their Obama checks. Ive never seen so many people in wheel chairs all in one place before. It was the most amount of just generally flat out unhealthy people ive ever seen in my life. There are so many overweight/joint issues/lung issues/poor nourishment/old/disease ridden people that go to Atlantic City that renting Rascal Scooters is a legitimate business opportunity up there, you can even get one that holds your oxygen tank for you. A company is making money renting scooters to unhealthy people who use them to drive to casinos to gamble “their” money away. It was one of the saddest environments I have ever been in. The entire area is very economically depressed and yet the only businesses that seem to prosper are casinos, fortune tellers, tshirt shops, massage paroles, and scooter rental shops.

Rascal Rentals is the free market at work…..



Typical crowd at most casinos it seems.