Oprah and "Sicko"

I posted a rant a few days ago about how my insurance was jacking me around. Oprah is on TV right now talking about the movie I referred to. I wonder if something will change now that Oprah has called attention to it. She rules!!

 

QUOTE(2plus2Tasha @ Aug 12 2008, 04:07 PM) [snapback]926876[/snapback]
I posted a rant a few days ago about how my insurance was jacking me around. Oprah is on TV right now talking about the movie I referred to. I wonder if something will change now that Oprah has called attention to it. She rules!!

Oh i hate the movie. we have to watch it, analize it and write an analytical essay for our film and television class.
dont like it at all.. even though we r australian

 

QUOTE(2plus2Tasha @ Aug 12 2008, 04:07 PM) [snapback]926876[/snapback]
I posted a rant a few days ago about how my insurance was jacking me around. Oprah is on TV right now talking about the movie I referred to. I wonder if something will change now that Oprah has called attention to it. She rules!!


I agree there are major problems with our health care systems, and I DO think what you went through is absolutely awful! But IMO I think there are better options than what Michael Moore touts. I don't have the answers, but I am very doubtful that he does.

Disclaimer- I haven't seen the movie, because I do not have any respect at all for Michael Moore. I find what he produces is not a documentory, as there is a lot of fiction and facts that disagree with his main theory are often, IMO his films are more like 'yellow journalism' than the truth. Again, I have not seen the movie, but what I've heard is it talks about the strengths of medical practice in socialized medicine, but ignores the downfalls (like incredibally long wait times for problems, even if you have deadly disease like cancer, or the government refusing to pay for cancer treatments, etc., which has been in the news lately re: countries with socialized medicine). Personally my best medical experiences with doctors and services in the past have been with a PPO where doctors are competing for my business, so they HAVE to treat me like a customer and provide good service and make me happy or I take my money and business elsewhere (quite the opposite if socialized medicine, or even a HMO, which shares some factors...). I am not saying that my experiences are 'right' and others aren't, just stating my own personal experiences.

Sorry, I am not at all belittling what you went though! I thihnk it is awful. I just have a pet peeve for so called 'journalists' and makers of 'documentaries' who do not produce news or the truth. That is one of the reasons I refuse to buy newspapers anymore- I want the facts, not the writer's one-sided opinions which often leave out facts from the side they don't agree with.

 

QUOTE(desolation_anonymous @ Aug 16 2008, 10:29 PM) [snapback]933836[/snapback]
Sorry, I am not at all belittling what you went though! I thihnk it is awful. I just have a pet peeve for so called 'journalists' and makers of 'documentaries' who do not produce news or the truth. That is one of the reasons I refuse to buy newspapers anymore- I want the facts, not the writer's one-sided opinions which often leave out facts from the side they don't agree with.



I understand what you're saying. I too, like to hear both sides of the story, and MM does only give one side, but I can't find anything out there to give me the downside to Universal Healthcare. I hear bits and pieces of long waits for certain treatments, but nothing that really shocks me. I'm not planning on moving out of the country, just really frustrated that I pay over $400 a month in insurance premiums to be treated like I'm wasting someone's time. I should have just saved that money each month and paid cash, skipping the whole insurance bit altogether.

 

QUOTE(2plus2Tasha @ Aug 17 2008, 10:48 AM) [snapback]934159[/snapback]
I understand what you're saying. I too, like to hear both sides of the story, and MM does only give one side, but I can't find anything out there to give me the downside to Universal Healthcare. I hear bits and pieces of long waits for certain treatments, but nothing that really shocks me. I'm not planning on moving out of the country, just really frustrated that I pay over $400 a month in insurance premiums to be treated like I'm wasting someone's time. I should have just saved that money each month and paid cash, skipping the whole insurance bit altogether.



I understand it is frustruating, and no doubt! Especially with the rising health care costs in this country! I am not a doctor or nurse, but when I had to go into an ER a few years ago, one of them told me the reason their bills at that ER are so high is only one out of every three people paid their bills or had insurance! most of the people who didn't pay their bills gave false names, addesses, etc.... so this raised the cost for everyone else. He also told me they change insurance much more because they know they will get paid by the insurance. Not the whole problem and localized, but I found it interesting/kinda depressing....

I wish I had some other sources too, and it is hard... I think our media too often puts their opinion into things instead of the facts... most of what I've heard about the downfall of universal health care is basically problems of HMOS multiplied by a lot- long wait times, being refused life-saving drugs or treatment due to costs, etc.

I wish I had some really good soures for you, but here are a few articles (from what I've heard in the news lately) I've found of cancer drugs being refused to patients in britian because it is not 'cost effective'

http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/...il/article.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/53808bd2-4185-11...?nclick_check=1

And I agree with you altogether. I wish I had some good ideas, answers. There really needs to be a better solution- I just wish I knew what it was!

And I'm glad you mentioned what happened, and brought it up- it is a problem in this country, which appears to be getting worse over time, not better.

 

I haven't seen the movie, but it sounds interesting. Might have to check it out.

I'm not crazy about universal healthcare just from knowing what little I do. Need to do more research.

I can say that after my 7 week stint in the hospital on bedrest, I feel that in some ways, we're already doing universal healthcare in this country. . . folks can't be turned away for treatment. And we were told by the accounts guy when we paid off our bills within two weeks of my being out of the hospital, "Thank you, you have no idea that most of our patients don't ever pay us." Huh? Of course, this means that already those of us who actually pay our medical bills are seeing increased costs to help cover the others. (A few months back, I posted in the bedrest forum about what I was seeing while I was in the hospital. It really is sad. But I don't think socialized healthcare is the answer. . . it will only discourage those who do actually work hard, save their finances for priorities like healthcare instead of "toys" they think they have to have, and it will create an increased feeling of resentment. . . it will also do nothing to motivate those who can work that are simply refusing to work or do the right thing in life. But I am all about helping those who are legit and really need it.)

We have friends from socialized countries who complain about their healthcare and think it's great here (they work for the same company as my DH). They say the waiting times are ridiculous (as someone else stated) AND that the people who can afford it (the REALLY RICH PEOPLE) still go to private doctors.

 

QUOTE
I wish I had some really good soures for you, but here are a few articles (from what I've heard in the news lately) I've found of cancer drugs being refused to patients in britian because it is not 'cost effective'


And private, for-profit insurance companies in the US did the same to my mother and stepfather when they had cancer. Same problem, different insurance system denying treatment.

 

QUOTE(Mellizos @ Aug 17 2008, 03:18 PM) [snapback]934466[/snapback]
And private, for-profit insurance companies in the US did the same to my mother and stepfather when they had cancer. Same problem, different insurance system denying treatment.


You're absolutely right. My father fought lung cancer for several years before he passed away when I was 17. Our family had health insurance through my mother's (a nurse) work, but was still denied treatment from the insurance company. He ended up having to drive over 2 hours to a university hospital in Pittsburgh 3 times a week because they were the only hospital that would treat him without insurance coverage. My mom had to take so much time off work to drive him back and forth, we had very little money coming in and went from middle class to very poor very quickly. The university hospital did treat him, but now my mom will be paying off debt to them for the rest of her life.

Also, hospitals must only perform emergency services for those without insurance or ability to pay. Those requiring long term treatments or having chronic problems can be and are denied coverage for inabililty to pay.

Obviously, no system is perfect, its hard to stand up for a system that allows paying customers to die.

 

QUOTE(Yusra @ Aug 17 2008, 07:02 PM) [snapback]934532[/snapback]
You're absolutely right. My father fought lung cancer for several years before he passed away when I was 17. Our family had health insurance through my mother's (a nurse) work, but was still denied treatment from the insurance company. He ended up having to drive over 2 hours to a university hospital in Pittsburgh 3 times a week because they were the only hospital that would treat him without insurance coverage. My mom had to take so much time off work to drive him back and forth, we had very little money coming in and went from middle class to very poor very quickly. The university hospital did treat him, but now my mom will be paying off debt to them for the rest of her life.

Also, hospitals must only perform emergency services for those without insurance or ability to pay. Those requiring long term treatments or having chronic problems can be and are denied coverage for inabililty to pay.

Obviously, no system is perfect, its hard to stand up for a system that allows paying customers to die.



OMG, that is awful on both accounts! People being denied potentially life-saving or extended treatment due to 'cost' makes me furious. Isn't that why we have insurance, in the first place? To keep us healthy/alive?

Were they HMOs or PPOs? (just curious) I can't afford the PPO I had and loved, but I thought for most PPOS they couldn't refuse treatment (you just have to pay more for services/doctors not referred- i.e. 30% instead of 20%) I've heard of some similar horror stories about HMOs. Both are just AWFUL stories!

Re: Emegency rooms- true- but at least where I live in CA, a lot of people use them like clinics. I've seen people bring their kids in with scraped knees many, many times. It seems the general rule is if someone comes in seeking 'Emergency' treatment, they are not turned away.