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Banned
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Originally Posted by pan6467
......The problem with giving the government total control, even in the name of helping, is that you open the door for them to take away choices, personal freedoms and rights (excuse me "privileges" because my eating Dorito's, smoking and sitting around the house on my days off are "privileges" not rights... or so they will be defined someday). The sad thing is the government will take away those "privileges" in a heartbeat if they can sell the people a good reason as to why they are. It's no, not, never government's "right" or "duty" to take away any personal choices, rights or freedoms. But it seems people are becoming more and more okay with them doing so and buying into the reasons why it is okay government does.
<h3>None of those countries have the malpractice suits and liability insurances our medical industry has to pay. </h3>
So instead of truly working on a way to solve the problem, we'll just have government make people pay for a new expense they won't be able to afford.
I have yet to see or hear one person either here or in real life tell me why a sliding scale system won't work. If you have insurance keep it, use it. If you don't or are maxed out, we have a sliding scale so that you can still get the treatment you need.
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pan, several of us put the time and effort in to share what we've found to convince us that the added costs to medical care and treatment in the US, associated with malpractiice litigation is insignificant, as is the "unnecessary medical tests" as an anticipated defense by medical practitioners, attempting tominimize potential liability, in malpractice suits that haven't happened yet.
<h3>It's all bullshit, pan !!!!</h3> ...paid for by the same f*ckers who paid for the "Harry and Louise ads", in reaction toHillary Clinton's attempt to "reform" healthcare, 15 yeara ago.
Read ASU2003's post, preceding yours;specifically the "Investors BS daily" EDITORIAL that he posted a linked excerpt from, and compare what it stated to what we actually know:
Here is the UK healthcare system, a government managed and financed, "single payer" system, the pride of the British people. Investors BS daily's propagandist must have worked OT, to get this to appear as he so negatively wrote about it:
Quote:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/DH_081585
PM's New Year message to NHS staff
Last modified date: 1 January 2008
2008 marks the year of the sixtieth anniversary of the NHS. At the start of this sixtieth anniversary year, I want to pay tribute
to you - the staff of the NHS.
Over the past 10 years we have invested in health services at record levels. There are now 79,000 more nurses, 30,000 more
hospital doctors, 6,000 more GPs. Where we have seen opportunities to improve the management of health resources we have sought to
carry out the reforms which have made this possible - from new roles for nurses and GPs through to new foundation hospitals with
greater freedoms and improved stewardship of the NHS’s resources.
And in 2008 the NHS is as relevant as it was in 1948. For sixty years now Britain has shown the way to health care not as a
privilege to be paid for but as a fundamental human right. The NHS remains our priority not just because it has been fundamental
to our past, but because a renewed NHS will be even more important to our future and that of our children.
You have responded with improved care and a higher standard of service. Over the past ten years waiting times have been sharply
reduced. 99.9% of people with suspected cancer are now seen by a specialist within two weeks of being referred by their GP, which
is up from 63% in 1997. Over 99% of people with suspected cancer receive their first treatment within a maximum of 31 days of
diagnosis. Cancer mortality rates have fallen over the last 10 years, and an estimated 60,000 lives have been saved. Similarly,
death rates from cardiovascular disease in people aged under 75 years are down in the last 10 years, saving 175,000 lives.
These are your achievements and I want to thank you for them.
Whenever I have visited hospitals, GP surgeries, and health centres across the country people tell me of their huge admiration for
our doctors, our nurses and those who work in our health service. The best of NHS care has always depended on its staff for
innovation, for commitment and for professionalism and we will continue to draw on your ideas and look for ways to empower you.
In 2008 we know that working together there is more to do. The Government’s priorities for the coming year will be to do all we
can to support you as you work to bear down on hospital infections and improve access to care. We have committed additional
investment to MRSA screening and deep cleaning of our wards in order to help you. Achievement of the 18 weeks target by the end
of the year will mean the shortest waiting times since the NHS was established - almost unthinkable just a few years ago.
But 2008 should be more than this as well. I intend for this also to be the year in which we demonstrate beyond a doubt that the
NHS is as vital for our next 60 years as it was for our last - more relevant to our future and the challenges that we face than
ever before. That is why one of my first acts as Prime Minister was to ask the eminent surgeon, Professor Ara Darzi, to conduct a
fundamental review of the NHS,...
...We will describe how we will achieve our shared ambition of an NHS which is more personal and responsive to individual needs.
Personalised not just because patients can get the treatment that they need when and where they want, but because from an early
stage we are all given the information and advice to take greater responsibility for our own health.
We will talk to you about the changes we need to make together to create an NHS which is as good at prevention and keeping us
healthy as it is at the care and the cures we know are there when we need them. An NHS which is able to offer the help and support
that we all need to make healthy choices for ourselves and our families.
We will set out how we can give all those patients who want it, or would benefit from it, far greater control and choice over
their own health and their own healthcare. We need an NHS that gives all of those with long-term or chronic conditions the choice
of greater support, information and advice, <h3>allowing them to play a far more active role in managing their own condition in
partnership with their clinicians.</h3> And even when healthy, we know all of us will benefit from earlier information about
potential health risks and advice on how we can keep ourselves fit and well.....
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Quote:
http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article3298374.ece
19 January 2008 01:47 Home > News > Health
NHS 'constitution' urges good health
By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent
Published: 01 January 2008
The nation will be urged to keep itself in trim and avoid getting too fat under a list of patients' responsibilities to be drawn
up as part of the first "constitution" for the National Health Service.
The document being considered by Gordon Brown will urge people to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing as well
as listing what they can expect from the NHS.
The constitution, heralded by the Prime Minister today in an open letter to NHS staff, will reinforce the Government's commitment
to patient choice, and reiterate pledges on waiting times and access to family doctors and mark a significant shift toward
preventative health care.....
....Mr Brown stressed a new emphasis on preventing health problems, and pledged to give patients "far greater control and choice
over their own health and their health care." He said: "We need an NHS that gives all of those with long-term or chronic
conditions the choice of greater support, information and advice, allowing them to play a far more active role in managing their
own condition in partnership with their clinicians."....
.....But patients will be urged to take control of their own health, with the document stressing the importance of staying
healthy, and avoiding smoking and obesity.
However, senior Government sources insisted the responsibilities in the document would not override the fundamental role of the
NHS in providing care to all on the basis of need.
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Quote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/s...189028,00.html
Brown plans constitution for NHS
Press Association
Tuesday January 1, 2008 3:03 AM
....It now looks very likely to form a centrepiece of the review of the NHS currently being carried out by eminent surgeon and
health minister Lord Darzi, due to report later this year, <h3>which has so far focused on plans to extend GP surgeries' opening
hours.</h3>
Making clear that he will not abandon the New Labour programme of health service reform, Mr Brown said that 2008 will see Health
Secretary Alan Johnson <h3>set out a programme of change to deliver "far greater control and choice" for NHS patients over their
own healthcare......</h3>
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Quote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7166429.stm
Tuesday, 1 January 2008, 14:09 GMT
PM signals first NHS constitution
Gordon Brown said patients admired NHS doctors and nurses
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has signalled his intention to press ahead with a constitution for the NHS.
It would set out for the first time the rights and responsibilities linked to entitlement to NHS care.
Mr Brown's comments came in a New Year message to NHS staff ahead of the 60th anniversary of the health service.
SEE ALSO
Hospital hygiene 'top priority'
28 Dec 07 | England
Hospital 'fines' for patient harm
13 Dec 07 | Health
Plan to boost cancer patient care
03 Dec 07 | Health
NHS bugs 'due to poor leadership'
25 Oct 07 | Health
NHS review targets GPs and bugs
04 Oct 07 | Health
...He said a constitution - which was first suggested by former PM Tony Blair - would help secure its future for another 60 years.
In a letter to NHS staff, Mr Brown warned of major changes in the health service in the year ahead.
These could be enshrined in a formal NHS constitution, setting out the "rights and responsibilities" linked to entitlement to NHS
care, he added.
Patient guarantees
The idea was first floated in a September 2006 pamphlet by then health minister Andy Burnham.
A constitution would effectively be a bill of rights for patients and is seen as a major reform - comparable to Mr Brown giving
the Bank of England control of interest rates when he was chancellor.
It is being considered as part of Lord Darzi's review of the NHS.
A Department of Health spokesman stressed it would be subject to extensive consultation, adding: "The government has no blueprint
for action."
Mr Brown has rejected a totally independent NHS, saying it must be held to account through Parliament and ministers....
....'Personalised care'
He said plans for 2008 involved tackling hospital infections and improving access to care.
And warning of a major shake-up in the coming year, he said, "We will describe how we will achieve our shared ambition of an NHS
which is more personal and responsive to individual needs.
"Personalised not just because patients can get the treatment that they need when and where they want, but because from an early
stage we are all given the information and advice to take greater responsibility for our own health."
He talked of wanting to create an NHS which is "as good at prevention and keeping us healthy as it is at the care and the cures we
know are there when we need them".
The NHS - the world's first completely free healthcare system - was created by Nye Bevan, then minister for health, on 4 July 1948.
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<h3>,,,and, here is anecdotal material about the US system, the "status quo" that Investors BS daily so vigorously defends.It is a system providing government financed healthcare and nursing home care to nearly 90 million people in the US, including almost 8 million veterans and nearly 20 mlllion children, as it OBSESSES over whether the government pays, or whether an auto nsurer, or a workers compensation insurance provider pays,</h3> or maybe former NY state governor Geroge Pataki,
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all
a millionaire who transferrred father's valuable farmland to himself and his brother, a transaction listed as $10, before sending the elderly man to live far away, in a home for indigent former firemen.....
Quote:
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...th/010583.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, AUG. 28, 2007, 10:10 A.M. EDT
Household Income Rises, Poverty Rate Declines,
Number of Uninsured Up
...There were 36.5 million people in poverty in 2006, not statistically different from 2005. The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 44.8 million (15.3 percent) in 2005 to 47 million (15.8 percent) in 2006.
These findings are contained in the Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 report [PDF]. The data were compiled from information collected in the 2007 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC).....
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...ce/011077.html
e-mail: <pio@census.gov>
CB07-178
Broadcast Release [PDF]
Detailed data sets
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13, 2007
Doctors and Dentists Account for
27 Percent of $1.6 Trillion in Health Care Revenue
Physician’s offices accounted for $330 billion in revenue in 2006, while the dental profession made up another $87 billion of the $1.6 trillion in revenue of the health care and social assistance sector, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.
The report, 2006 Service Annual Survey: Health Care and Social Assistance, provides estimates such as revenue and sources of revenue for taxable and tax-exempt offices of physicians, hospitals, nursing care facilities and social assistance services. It covers firms with paid employees.
Health care and social assistance grew 6 percent in 2006, with a 7.1 percent increase the year before.
“The service industries make up about 55 percent of all economic activity in the country,” said Mark Wallace, chief of the Census Bureau’s Service Sector Statistics Division. “At $1.6 trillion in 2006, the health care and social assistance sector continues to play a strong role in the health of the U.S. economy.”
All four subsectors of health care and social services gained revenue from 2005. Revenue in 2006 was $654 billion for hospitals; $647 billion for ambulatory health care services, which includes offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners, such as chiropractors and optometrists; $149 billion for nursing and residential care facilities; and $117 billion for social assistance, which includes child and youth services, services for the elderly and community food services.
Other highlights:
Kidney dialysis centers (11.3 percent) and social assistance services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (12 percent) both grew in 2006.
The revenue for taxable employer firms in health care and social assistance sector was almost $779 billion, while tax-exempt employer firms was about $789 billion.
Eighty-eight percent of hospital revenue comes from tax-exempt hospitals, while only 19 percent of the revenue of homes for the elderly comes from tax-exempt firms.
Physician’s offices receive $163 billion of their revenue from health insurance; 34 billion comes directly from the patient.
Medicare makes up 22 percent of physicians’ revenue, and Medicaid another 5 percent.
At hospitals, patient out-of-pocket spending contributes $33 billion as a revenue source, while private health insurance adds $265 billion. Medicare and Medicaid represent $177 billion and $68 billion of revenue, respectively.
Of the $31 billion of revenue for community care facilities for the elderly, $21 billion comes from the patient (equal to $6.77 of every $10), the largest source of revenue in this industry group.
The Service Annual Survey provides data that help measure America's service economy. This particular report focuses on health care and social assistance providers for individuals. Both health care and social assistance are included in this sector because sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the boundaries of these two.
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Quote:
http://www.bryaninjurylawyer.com/faq.aspx
I keep getting these letters from my health insurance company asking me questions about my car accident. What does my health insurance have to do with my pending personal injury case?
If you have governmental program health insurance such as Medicare or Medicaid and you have received medical treatment for personal injuries suffered as a result of another’s negligence, Medicare and/or Medicaid must be reimbursed.
With regard to Medicare, federal law mandates a superior lien (a first priority lien that takes precedence over competing liens and your settlement recovery) over personal injury settlements and judgments for conditional medical payments made on behalf of injured claimants. If you have received payment from a third party for medical expenses, Medicare must be reimbursed within 60 days. Medicare liens apply even to your own car insurance, such as PIP (Personal Injury Protection) and UM (Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Protection) coverage.
If Medicaid has made conditional payment for personal injuries arising out of another’s negligence, Medicaid will have to be reimbursed. The Texas statute regulating Medicaid subrogation (the right of one who has paid an obligation which another should have paid to be indemnified by the other) mandates that by filing, or receiving, medical assistance through the State, the injured person assigns his/her right of recovery from (1) their own personal insurance, (2) other sources, or (3) another person whose negligence or wrongdoing caused the applicant or recipient’s injuries. Like Medicare, Medicaid liens apply to PIP and UM motorist benefits.
If you have private health insurance, such as a plan offered through your employer, your health care insurance carrier will often have subrogation clauses in their contract. These clauses will usually state that the insurer shall be subrogated to all rights of recovery which any insured person may acquire against any negligent person for those injuries in which benefits are provided....
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...on&btnG=Search
Day on Torts: USSC Rules on Medicaid Subrogation CaseUSSC Rules on Medicaid Subrogation Case. The USSC has ruled that a state may not .... North Carolina Workers' Compensation Lawyer & Attorney - Deuterman Law ...
http://www.dayontorts.com/damages-pe...tion-case.html - 46k - Cached - Similar pages
Day on Torts: Medicaid Subrogation Right RestrictedThe Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has limited Medicaid's subrogation .... North Carolina Workers' Compensation Lawyer & Attorney - Deuterman Law Firm ...
http://www.dayontorts.com/damages-me...estricted.html - 44k - Cached - Similar pages
More results from www.dayontorts.com »
Kentucky Law Review: Federal: "USSC Rules on Medicaid Subrogation ...USSC Rules on Medicaid Subrogation Case. The USSC has ruled that a state may not enforce ... US Supreme Court · Web Sites · Web/Tech · Workers Compensation ...
http://www.kentuckylawblog.com/2006/...l_ussc_ru.html - 47k - Cached - Similar pages
NASP:: ConferencesM.2.3, Medicare & Medicaid Subrogation And Reimbursement (Health) ... M.4.7, Workers' Compensation Subrogation In Claims Involving Criminal Acts (Workers' ...
https://www.subrogation.org/conferen...gistration.asp
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Quote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid#Budget
.....Comparisons with Medicare
Although their names are similar, Medicaid and Medicare are very different programs. Medicare is an entitlement program funded entirely at the federal level.[7] It is a social insurance focusing primarily on the older population. As stated in the CMS website,[8] Medicare is a health insurance program for people age 65 or older, people under age 65 with certain disabilities, and people of all ages with end stage renal disease. The Medicare Program provides a Medicare part A which covers hospital bills, Medicare Part B which covers medical insurance coverage, and Medicare Part D which covers prescription drugs.
Medicaid is not an entitlement program, and it is not solely funded at the federal level. Medicaid is a needs-based social welfare or social protection program rather than a social insurance program. Eligibility is determined by income. States provide up to half of the funding for the Medicaid program. In some states, counties also contribute funds. The main criterion for Medicaid eligibility is limited income and financial resources, a criterion which plays no role in determining Medicare coverage. Medicaid covers a wider range of health care services than Medicare.
Some individuals are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare (also known as Medicare dual eligibles).[9] <h3>In 2001, about 6.5 million Americans were enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid.</h3>
Eligibility
Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance coverage to certain categories of low-income individuals, including children, pregnant women, parents of eligible children, seniors and people with disabilities. This program has been created in order to help these groups of low-income individuals with any and/or all of their medical bills. [10] Medicaid helps individuals that have no medical insurance or poor health insurance. While Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services set out the main rules under which Medicaid operates, each state runs its own program. As a result, the eligibility rules differ significantly from state to state, although all states must follow the same basic framework.
Both the federal government and state governments have made changes to the eligibility requirements and restrictions over the years. Most recently, the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 (Pub.L. No. 109-171) significantly changed the rules governing the treatment of asset transfers and homes of nursing home residents. [11] The implementation of these changes will proceed state-by-state over the next few years.
One of the primary requirements for Medicaid eligibility is having a limited income. Medicaid does not pay individuals directly; Medicaid sends benefit payments to health care providers. Medicaid helps individuals that have no medical insurance or poor health insurance. In some states Medicaid beneficiaries are required to pay a small fee (co-payment) for medical services. [12] There are a number of different Medicaid eligibility categories; within each category there are requirements other than income that must be met. These other requirements include but are not limited to age, pregnancy, disabled, blind, old age, income and resources, and being a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant. [13] Special rules exist for those living in a nursing home and disabled children living at home. A child may be covered under Medicaid if she or he is a U.S. citizen or a legal immigrant of the U.S. Regardless if their parent is eligible for Medicaid, a child can still be covered based on their individual status, not their parents. Also if a child lives with someone that is not their parent, they may still be eligible because once again their eligibility is based on their individual status. [14]
The DRA now requires that anyone seeking Medicaid must produce documents to prove that he or she is a United States citizen or resident alien.
Budget
Unlike Medicare, which is solely a federal program, Medicaid is a joint federal-state program. Each state operates its own Medicaid system, but this system must conform to federal guidelines in order for the state to receive matching funds and grants. The federal matching formula is different from state to state, depending on each state's poverty level. The wealthiest states only receive a federal match of 50% while poorer states receive a larger match.
Medicaid funding has become a major budgetary issue for many states over the last few years, with the program, on average, taking up 22% of each state's budget.[15] According to CMS, the Medicaid program provided health care services to more than 46.0 million people in 2001.[16] In 2002, Medicaid enrollees numbered 39.9 million Americans, the largest group being children (18.4 million or 46 percent). It is estimated that 42.9 million Americans will be enrolled in 2004 (19.7 million of them children) at a total cost of $295 billion. Medicaid payments assist nearly 60 percent of all nursing home residents and about 37 percent of all childbirths in the United States.
Medicaid is also the program that provides the largest portion of federal money spent for health care on people living with HIV. Typically, poor people who are HIV positive must progress to AIDS before they can qualify under the "disabled" category. More than half of people living with AIDS are estimated to receive Medicaid payments. Two other programs that provide financial assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS are the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income....
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Quote:
<a href="http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:SDaep3B7QlAJ ig.hhs.gov/testimony/docs/2007/030807tmy.pdf+cms+testimony+2007&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us">html link</a> or http://oig.hhs.gov/testimony/docs/2007/030807tmy.pdf
Testimony of: Daniel R. Levinson Inspector General U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittees on Health and Oversight Hearing: March 8, 2007
Page 7
Medicare Program Size and Complexity
The Medicare program has grown dramatically since its inception in 1965 and now provides comprehensive health care insurance for more than 43 million persons. More than 1 billion fee-for-service claims are processed annually, and Medicare is the largest purchaser of managed care services in the country. Total Medicare expenditures have grown from $206 billion in FY 1996 to over $382 billion in FY 2006. With Medicare’s expansive network of health care activities comes a tremendous responsibility to protect the program’s integrity. In a program as complex as the Medicare program, incorrect payments to providers will occur. OIG has worked extensively with CMS to develop a process to estimate incorrect fee-for-service payments and institute corrective actions to reduce erroneous payments. In 1996, OIG estimated that over $23 billion (about 14 percent of expenditures) in improper payments had been made by the Medicare fee-for-service program. CMS has reported that the estimate of incorrect Medicare fee-for-service payments was reduced to $10.8 billion (4.4 percent of expenditures) in 2006. Although the Medicare program relies on the provider community to submit accurate and appropriate claims for payment, and the vast majority of providers are honest and trustworthy, provider efforts alone are not sufficient to ensure the integrity of the program. OIG’s oversight responsibility plays a key role in protecting scarce programresources and the health and welfare of beneficiaries...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicar...ited_States%29
Administration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a component of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), administers Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). Along with the Departments of Labor and Treasury, CMS also implements the insurance reform provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The Social Security Administration is responsible for determining Medicare eligibility and processing premium payments for the Medicare program.
The Chief Actuary of CMS is responsible for providing accounting information and cost-projections to the Medicare Board of Trustees to assist them in assessing the financial health of the program. The Board is required by law to issue annual reports on the financial status of the Medicare Trust Funds, and those reports are required to contain a statement of actuarial opinion by the Chief Actuary.[2][3]
Since the beginning of the Medicare program, CMS has contracted to private companies to assist with administration. These contractors are commonly already in the insurance or health care area. Contracted processes include claims and payment processing, call center services, clinician enrollment, and fraud investigation.
Taxes imposed to finance Medicare
Medicare is partially financed by payroll taxes imposed by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Self-Employment Contributions Act of 1954. In the case of employees, the tax is equal to 2.9% (1.45% withheld from the worker and a matching 1.45% paid by the employer) of the wages, salaries and other compensation in connection with employment. Until December 31, 1993, the law provided a maximum amount of wages, etc., on which the Medicare tax could be imposed each year. Beginning January 1, 1994, the compensation limit was removed. In the case of self-employed individuals, the tax is 2.9% of net earnings from self-employment, and the entire amount is paid by the self-employed individual.
Cost
According to the 2004 "Green Book" of the House Ways and Means Committee, Medicare expenditures from the American government were $256.8 billion in fiscal year 2002. Beneficiary premiums are highly subsidized, and net outlays for the program, accounting for the premiums paid by subscribers, were $230.9 billion.
Medicare spending is growing steadily in both absolute terms and as a percentage of the federal budget. Total Medicare spending reached $440 billion for fiscal year 2007, or 16 percent of all federal spending.
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Why do only the French, Germans, British, Canadians, etc., get to enjoy living in societies without the oppression that promoters of a military indiustrial complex, like the one enslaving us, claim, through shrill organs like the editorial page of Investors BS Daily, is so f*cking wonderful for all of us, when it clearly only benefits them, and not us? |