Health Insurance- I want to poke my eyeball out

[ItsMainelyYou]

We're not even in the top 10 for healthcare systems according to our own insurance industries and multiple world metrics.
We are only number one in cost.
It would surprise the average American to know just how bad they have it.
They don't know by design.
The US is only number one in brainwashing it's children in believing in American exceptionalism in all things. Even our educational curriculum surrounds it.
It's a lie.

 

[LilAlex]

nd no, I do not have it backwards but thanks for sharing your thoughts Alex. And Kaiser and the VA system suc*...I know too many instances where others were denied the proper care and given poor choices instead.

As always, you make some excellent points in your post, @missy. And you also attack a lot of straw men that I don't think relate to my post in any way (one of those being actual men).

But in the quote above, you are proving my point. Kaiser and VA are among the biggest systems there are. To say "I know plenty of horror stories" is like those folks who say New York or Chicago or LA or [any big city] really sucks because my friend had their bike stolen from right outside a coffee shop! Yeah, that's not what defines a "big city that doesn't suck." And health care consumers are among the least knowledgeable about what they are buying as opposed to how they feel about what they are buying. The internet has made it so much worse -- lots of folks think they can come in and get any organ transplanted like it's a muffler shop. Or get that new pill from TV.

You say you are in health care and you bolded that you want nothing to come between you and your doctor yet you must know the enormous number of layers that already come between you and your doctor before any insurer ever touches anything. Their care of you and their prescribing patterns are scrutinized by in-house formal peer review, documentation/coding review, credentialing panels and medical staff committees, anonymous peer review, etc. There are no secrets. If your doc does twice as many C-sections as her peers and with a case mix of similar complexity, that care will be scrutinized -- as it should be. Some (and early) guideline-driven care was terrible and failed to capture case-mix or account for selection bias (academic medical centers tend to get the stuff nobody else can easily monetize, for example, like low-compensating diagnostic head-scratchers) -- but it is getting better.

Whether your insurer decides to pay or not is a separate matter. This is not the case in VA and Kaiser. Do some actual homework about quality of care metrics at VA and Kaiser.

And: if you are at all medically complex (say, diabetes + anything else) and you are not part of a major system where there is near-instantaneous visibility of your entire medical record (see: Kaiser and VA), then you are at a disastrous disadvantage in terms of care quality and safety. You may love all your docs in boutique practices scattered around the metro area but they know next to nothing about you even though they recognize your face and give you a big smile.

 

[LilAlex]

I could go into it further but I doubt I would change anyone who has their mind made up. When people get ahead in the financial industry there will always be critics that label them as unethical or worse.

I did not say that your husband was unethical or engaged in illegal activities. Part of the problem is that he is adhering to the ethical standard of his industry -- which is quite low and, frankly, parasitic. Many industries are like this and maybe it's the rare one that tries to make the world better while enriching themselves instead of making the world only a little worse while enriching themselves. I recognize that it's a fine line.

I'm not sure why you are so defensive of this industry, even down to refuting (?) Flash Boys. As Upton Sinclair famously wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I just need to add generalized rant. It just grinds my gears.

Running to the E.D. for care is not a viable option for quality care and causes hosts of issues. In rural parts of the country they don't even have medical facilities. We have medical and food deserts now. Why? Not profitable.

The creditors just take your house and brand a big symbolic Medical Debt on your forehead.
If your credit is bad you won't be hired many places, can be denied promotion or even fired from your current employment.
Does anyone really think the 'at will' states don't use that against you? They do.
Ever seen it in action? I have.
Many who declare bankruptcy are fully insured. It cripples them financially. Ruins credit scores so borrowing becomes extremely difficult. It used to follow a borrower forever.
*It was only last year that paid medical debt from collections was expunged from credit reports. And it's only for 500.00 or less*
All for something that should be theirs as a citizen of this supposedly developed country.

I think it's also important to highlight that those layers of scrutiny aren't safety or even procedurally based in the vast majority of insurance entities, but fiscal.
Healthcare is first and foremost a for profit corporation.

The examples of decent insurance are the two viable socialized/closed entities the US has. It is not the experience for most.
VA system is Gov't run and subsidized healthcare. Kaiser, for those lucky enough to access it, follows a similar integrated closed system model. Also the socialized approach. It's an outlier in the US.
The biggest downside is only eight states are eligible for Kaiser. Must be nice


Our healthcare system is nowhere near the shining example of the best of anything. 400k die yearly and 1.5 million are injured by it. It only looks decent because 1 in 50 ever pursue a claim.

We have terrible communication between American systems otherwise
(that is also true not only of healthcare, but law enforcement).
The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi.

First- Gussie put down the information you have, get a good nites sleep and begin again to look for your healthcare insurance tomorrow. Take a break. It is actually a good idea to send Hubby out to Home Depot or to a small chain store to get the health insurance until he goes back to work.

I have had the opportunity to engage with two different healthcare systems and have compared the two in my head many times--England and America. For me there was no comparison-America won hands down. But, as the years have passed, I think we are more like the English than in the past. But it started, to me with group practices. This was for efficiency, but really was the start of medicine as a business. Dr.s hated insurance, now they couldn't survive without it. But, I found myself without health insurance when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer that spread to both lungs. The obgyn treated me for free, no bill. Another obgyn in Conn. also treated me for free as I was on my way to England to die with my brother. Disaster in England, had to return home, found a surgeon, who also said he would treat me for free at Cook County Hospital if I could not get medicaid. I owned to properties at the time. My residence I could keep, my rental property I signed over to public aid. The surgeon just happened to be listed as one of the top thoracic surgeons in the country and I had three thoracotomies that year. He performed the miracle of saving me. Public Aid helped save me, my doctors saved me. I was able to keep my house, where I still live.

I have complaints about some doctors, none about insurance. For me the system worked.

I wish people wouldn't be so defensive. Doctors like Daf know its a business. Often we are just numbers. I only have 1 doctor who always reads my chart before he sees me. He impresses me so..
I needed to say this.

Annette

 

[LilAlex]

I just need to add generalized rant. It just grinds my gears.

i don't disagree with anything you write, @ItsMainelyYou.

I am only refuting those who say Kaiser and the VA suck. And I am doubling down on the concept that you can get top-notch care for anything. Stumbling into the ER is not a way to achieve care continuity. But I can not tell you how many homeless drug addicts I have seen roll in with acute bloodstream and heart-valve infections who receive weeks of IV antibiotics as an inpatient, get a shiny new heart valve through open-heart surgery, and leave two months later -- only to shoot up again the very same day.

Our national outcome data are weighed down by our now-permanent underclass and are not necessarily reflective of the care that one can receive in this country but rather of the "average" of the care levels that people actually do receive.

 

[missy]

But in the quote above, you are proving my point. Kaiser and VA are among the biggest systems there are. To say "I know plenty of horror stories" is like those folks who say New York or Chicago or LA or [any big city] really sucks because my friend had their bike stolen from right outside a coffee shop! Yeah, that's not what defines a "big city that doesn't suck." And health care consumers are among the least knowledgeable about what they are buying as opposed to how they feel about what they are buying. The internet has made it so much worse -- lots of folks think they can come in and get any organ transplanted like it's a muffler shop. Or get that new pill from TV.

We will have to agree to disagree Alex.

I agree many health care consumers are not always the best judge. But I moderate a health care group and will say the stories shared about Kaiser and the (lack of good) care is astonishing. Can I say 100% of all the healthcare providers there and the policies they follow suck? No. I couldn't say that about healthcare anywhere. Because there are always good and les than good providers. But I can say too many doctors there do not do their best for their patients. From my perspective.

I just need to add generalized rant. It just grinds my gears.

Running to the E.D. for care is not a viable option for quality care and causes hosts of issues. In rural parts of the country they don't even have medical facilities. We have medical and food deserts now. Why? Not profitable.

The creditors just take your house and brand a big symbolic Medical Debt on your forehead.
If your credit is bad you won't be hired many places, can be denied promotion or even fired from your current employment.
Does anyone really think the 'at will' states don't use that against you? They do.
Ever seen it in action? I have.
Many who declare bankruptcy are fully insured. It cripples them financially. Ruins credit scores so borrowing becomes extremely difficult. It used to follow a borrower forever.
*It was only last year that paid medical debt from collections was expunged from credit reports. And it's only for 500.00 or less*
All for something that should be theirs as a citizen of this supposedly developed country.

I think it's also important to highlight that those layers of scrutiny aren't safety or even procedurally based in the vast majority of insurance entities, but fiscal.
Healthcare is first and foremost a for profit corporation.

The examples of decent insurance are the two viable socialized/closed entities the US has. It is not the experience for most.
VA system is Gov't run and subsidized healthcare. Kaiser, for those lucky enough to access it, follows a similar integrated closed system model. Also the socialized approach. It's an outlier in the US.
The biggest downside is only eight states are eligible for Kaiser. Must be nice


Our healthcare system is nowhere near the shining example of the best of anything. 400k die yearly and 1.5 million are injured by it. It only looks decent because 1 in 50 ever pursue a claim.

We have terrible communication between American systems otherwise
(that is also true not only of healthcare, but law enforcement).
The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

100% agree. The system is broken. Everyone should have access to competent health care.

I have complaints about some doctors, none about insurance. For me the system worked.

Glad it worked for you Annette. Unfortunately I do not think the sole parameters in judging a system should be by the success stories. Rather we should look at who the system fails and try to improve it from there. Or at least that is how it should work. IMO

 

[LilAlex]

But I moderate a health care group and will say the stories shared about Kaiser and the (lack of good) care is astonishing.

Again, and this will be my last post here, there is terrible selection bias in what you see. Do you normalize for plan size in your mental tally of offenses per insurer? I think Kaiser has nearly 10 million members. "I hear stories" may help you eliminate a potential spouse but it is not the way to choose an insurer.

If you hang out on MyDoctorSux.com, you will get what you're there for and meet many like-minded folks and learn their stories. (I made that up so please don't look for it -- but people turning to the internet to vent are frequently displeased with their care.) And if you are on a forum for a niche non-illness popular in some lay press circle (and I hesitate to name names since I caused a firestorm the last time I outed one), you will see only horror stories because there is no good doctor for this in the world.

Even here, you would think that not one of the most talented, most reputable, and most customer-oriented gemstone vendors and jewelry creators in the country can get it right. And how often do we see single-digit-post-count newbies fail to include details of their own role in the bad outcome that led to their very public shaming of a vendor?

You don't buy a Jeep based on what you read on the Jeep forums. (They love their Jeeps!) You avoid buying a Jeep based on the objective data from Consumer Reports, NHTSA, insurance industry, etc. It is this same principle only in reverse.

The angriest and most aggrieved health-care consumers whom I have ever encountered were usually furious at themselves and needed to kick the dog. Folks harmed by the health care system -- a small minority -- have typically been very reasonable, just like the rest of us.

 

[missy]

If you hang out on MyDoctorSux.com

LOL never heard of that site. I would imagine yes, there are biased people posting on that site. Sorry to disappoint but the site I am on is a mainstream one with members experiencing mainstream issues for the most part.

Kaiser has policies in place that choose less expensive treatments over the best treatments. Policies in place that do not prioritize optimal results. Rather just acceptable (which in reality are unacceptable for many). Not unlike many corporations involved in healthcare.

The days of doctor and patient deciding what treatments are best for each individual are (almost) gone. This is not how healthcare should work but it is big business. And big business prioritizes profits over people's well being. I don't know why you are fervently defending them but it is really not my business. You are free to think anything you want and you are free to choose the care you want. As I wrote before we can agree to disagree.


"The US scores poorly on healthcare, including life expectancy, preventable hospital admissions, suicide, and maternal mortality. And for all that expense, satisfaction with our current healthcare sytsem is low in the USA."

Health insurers often discourage the best care in order to hold down costs. Profits above all else.
Many health insurance companies restrict expensive medications, tests, and other services by declining coverage until forms are filled out to justify the service to the insurer. And even then it is deny deny deny in the hopes people will just give up. And unfortunately this plan often works.

I have had physicians (who work for corporations) tell me their hands are tied when it comes to giving what they feel is the best care for each patient. That they get slapped on the wrist so to speak when they order tests. The healthcare corporations want to keep costs down. And they do it at the expense of good care of the patients. This makes for poor decisions. They will approve a less expensive medication that has a low to no chance of working over a more expensive medication with a much greater chance of success. This leads to delays in good care and also leads to people abandoning care. Which is exactly the health insurers plan. And when healthcare is owned by individuals other than the healthcare professionals who should be in charge of these decisions it is a recipe for disaster. At the very least care that is not optimal.

When you are young and healthy I guess this doesn't come into play and perhaps you do not see the forest for the trees. But believe me when one needs good care and one runs into these obstacles your mind quickly changes.

There is no simple solution but the fact is corporations don't always work in the best interest of the individual.

I respect many of your views Alex. But I don't agree with this one. And that is OK. Peace.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Health insurance is such a racket. I just have to mention that when I had an eye stroke while 32 weeks pregnant (I think) and was seen at Yale. Yale kept me in triage and ran all kinds of tests, then said they were going to do a dye study, so kept me overnight and into the next day. Next day, there all day long and in the afternoon the nurse comes in and tells me I can go home. I ask about the dye study, “oh we can’t do that when you’re pregnant.”

What followed was nearly a year of bills totaling 20k for my overnight visit at Yale, Blue across (through my husband’s employer) did not want to pay because they said it wasn’t medically necessary. I made hundreds of phone calls back and forth and finally we called H.R. and told them that we were going get an attorney and sue Blue Cross.

She made one phone call to Blue Cross and the bill, I kid you not, disappeared.

 

[whitewave]

I think I read both Lowe’s and Trader Joe’s provide health insurance for part time workers. Not sure if DH would like that but he could get out of the house for a few hours and you won’t have to deal with cobra.

just a thought… my first born gets kicked off our ins this summer, so I’ve been stressed out about it

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
Missy-- I have heard some of the same complaints from my own doctors about insurers deciding on treatments and not the doctors. I have a hard time envisioning what I think is your proposal for insurers. Let Doctors choose the best treatment no matter the cost. Goodbye insurance industry. Even if you think a Gov't run insurer, like medicare, is the solution, i suggest you think about how quickly some services will be cut for all. I think under no system will we reach the utopia that you want. You may have what will be called basic services, and I suspect additional fees if you want more services included. That is exactly the system that developed in England. You have National Health Insurance and Private Insurance. So, often the question that is asked is "do we go private or NH?

The medicare program is great. We still must pay outrageous sums for new medications. This seems to happen when insurers merge. They justify increases by some metric I do not understand.

We want the best healthcare, don't want to pay for it, don't want too much paperwork for anyone, and want Drs to be that god of yesteryear. The country is working toward a National Health plan. Whether or not it is better than what we have remains to be seen.

Annette

 

[missy]

Annette the big difference between our country and the rest of the world is that only in our county is big pharma allowed to charge exorbitant prices for drugs. In other parts of the world the same drugs are pennies on the dollar. This is a travesty. And what I world like to see changed. Big pharma is in bed with our government. Huge corruption.

Healthcare should be between the Drs and patients and treatment should be based on the best outcome for the patient. And if drug prices were reasonable as they are in other countries we’d be in much better shape. IMO

 

[Gussie]

I think that exorbitant pricing on pharmaceuticals is a big problem and I am not disagreeing there. But the majority of new drugs come from the US. They go through a strict approval process that takes years. If drugs don't make it through, the companies are still out all the research money. They have to recoup their costs somehow. They are not non-profits. I think the costs of drugs need to be normalized world-wide. Countries should not be able to pay pennies on the dollar just as Americans are charged crazy prices. It is unfair all around.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Our pharma industry paid @82 billion for research/development in 2019.
The pharma industry profit for 2022 alone: 1.43 TRILLION dollars.

Nah, they could slash all drugs and charge the same price they sell to everyone else and still make 100's of billions in profit a year.
They aren't hurting. No one needs to make that kind of money off the back of you and your children.

Pharmaceutical market worldwide revenue 2001-2022 | Statista

The global pharmaceutical market has experienced significant growth in recent years.

www.statista.com

Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry

At a Glance This report examines research and development (R&D) by the pharmaceutical industry. Spending on R&D and Its Results. Spending on R&D and the introduction of new drugs have both increased in the past two decades.

www.cbo.gov

We would save something like 40 billion with Universal Healthcare and still have the very best of everything in the world. Anything else they try to tell you is a lie.

*If we cut corp/oil/ag subsidies, we could pay for Universal Healthcare without raising our taxes significantly.

 

[LLJsmom]

First off, I have no solution. Just sharing my experience with Kaiser, PPO and rejections from both.
My daughter (12 at the time) had an unusual situation where she needed oral surgery where she had to be put under general anesthesia to do it but we wanted it done in a hospital with a separate anesthesiologist because too many children have died with the oral surgeon performing both roles at once. It’s a whole thing and we have a good friend who is a doctor and fighting the system to get a law passed about this. Kaiser would not cover the surgery let alone pay for the separate anesthesiologist. We switched over to a PPO and they said as long as it was “medically necessary” as stated in the policies. I read them. The procedure was done after we verified with the doctors that it was medically necessary and then the insurance would not pay. The whole bill was $24k. We fought the insurance company for about 1.5 months years and got denial after denial and complained all the way up to the state department of health insurance and requested that they hear our case. My DH wrote up the case (thank goodness he was an English major) and had written support from the orthodontist and the surgeon saying that it was necessary and the anesthesiologist who explained why a separate anesthesiologist was necessary for children under a certain age. They ruled in our favor. Every thing except $3-4k was covered. What was funny was that while we were waiting for the verdict from state agency we decided to pay a small chunk and were told that the total bill was about $4k-$5k. We thought it was a mistake. Unbeknownst to us the hospital changed our status to uninsured and the charges decreased. Apparently there was a different “menu” for uninsured people? I have had pretty bad feelings about the insurance industry since then, and the prices hospitals charge. I can see it’s expensive to run these institutions while trying to provide a relatively high quality of care (debatable, I know). But the system medical care and insurance industries have just grown into this bloated intertwined monster that has a symbiotic relationship and has sucked us all in. Kaiser was efficient and low cost for regular care (super easy and low to zero cost for preventative care) and some medically necessary surgery (unrelated). Was it great for the unique situation my daughter was in? No. I am grateful that alternative care was available. Sad that the prices are so high (but were they really?). What is this other menu of prices for the uninsured? I do believe that with how much we pay in taxes national healthcare should be provided. I’ve compared international tax structures (for example Germany and US) and we pay a higher rate. Why don’t we have better healthcare care and education? Differing national spending priorities. Separate discussion I know. I think the problem is much bigger. So I guess I’ll stop there.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I used to work for an oral surgeon yrs ago in New York. Even 50,yrs ago you needed to have a qualified Dr. (dentist) who was trained in administering the anesthesia., while the other Dr performed the oral surgery. They performed surgery at hospitals in our area, and I do recall that it was covered under health insurance policies, not dental. Dental insurance was in its infancy back then. I am surprised that Cal. wouldn't have much the same laws. However, many here want to blame the insurance Company, but why not put blame with the plan and what the employer has chosen. After all, the employer chooses your health plan. You want more coverage(general comment) complain to the employer.

Yes, I think the charges to an insured individual are basically predetermined by coverage and amounts the insurers will pay. An uninsured person does have a different payscale. The insured pay for the uninsured. That is how hospitals do it.

I live in an upscale county in Illinois. One of the hospitals located within that county formed under a mission of providing quality healthcare to any resident of the community, whether or not they could pay. This is a for profit hospital that helps any member of the community. It is not a public hospital. It a beautiful facility. At that unfortunate time in my life when I needed care it was there. I paid nothing..

ItsMainly- I'm glad you are still reading. I support National Health Insurance and appreciate your stats. I agree that as the richest country in the world we can and ought to provide healthcare for everyone What I do not agree with is statements that the system is broken or is a mess. There are pockets of problems, such as infant mortality rates, and I suspect you can name others. Our health system has undergone change, and cracks emerge. It is important to fill the cracks, and see where accountability for the problems can be addressed. I really do have my own complaints, but no, we were exceptional. We have lost some of our shine, in many areas, but I will take American Healthcare for me and mine.(exception mental healthcare)
Annette

 

[mom2dolls]

Everyone's experience is so different with insurance and doctors. All of them have flaws, all have successes.

My oldest has SVT, we took her to one of the best pediatric cardiologist's in our area at Loma Linda. You would think they would nail diagnosis and treatment? Nope. Couldn't find a thing in 2 years, all kinds of testing.

First time at Kaiser in the ER during an episode, doctor diagnosed her and gave thorough explanation to us how to manage this condition for the rest of her life. He was wonderful, absolutely no bedside manner but who cares. It gave her confidence she now knew what was happening and how to manage.

Lots of places offer full benefits for part time hours, if that is an option.

Ya'll, be kind to each other.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I'll just leave this here. It's eye opening.

U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes

This cross-national comparison of health care systems assesses U.S. health spending, outcomes, status, and service use relative to 12 other high-income countries.

www.commonwealthfund.org

Middle and working class carry the burden. They don't have collateral. They don't have savings, vacation homes or portfolios. All they can afford they already pay for the insurance plan itself. They need to add supplemental to have full coverage and are continually terrified and accept abusive conditions for fear of losing employment benefits.

9% or 30 million don't have insurance at all.
And of those 30 million: 40-50k die every year from lack of healthcare, a situation that doesn't even exist in other developed nations.
I respectfully disagree about the quality of our system for it's own people.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
Thanks for posting this info itsmainly you. Its funny how we can read the same information and see different things. This is not an indictment of the US Health care system as I think about it, but an assessment of the hugh amount of dollars spent to try to improve healthcare for the people. Let me explain further. All the money we spend, cannot make outcomes improve unless you have people who follow healthy guidelines for healthy living. Is Obesity the fault of the Healthcare System?, or gun violence" or Americans who don't exercise enough? Americans don't even visit the Dr often enough. Surely, that can't be the fault of the Healthcare System. We die 3 yrs earlier because we, dare I say it, have become lazy, glutenous, and then want to say, fix me.

This is just one more example of people who don't take personal responsibility for much of anything nowadays. It also shows that throwing money at things is not always the answer.

I do care to know why infant mortality and pregnant women die more often. That may or may not fit your thesis.

I do acknowledge there are some problems in our system. but to blame the system for the stats you showed is not reasonable. I hope everyone reads it. I feel better. Ots not the HealthcareSystem.

England and France(I learned France) has both private and National Health. Money talks sometimes.

Annette

I was dreading reading it.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

My hubby is self employed and I work at a high stress job. I vented to him yesterday while at work (not the first time) and he said "just quit, we can cut back". This would be totally doable if not for my concern regarding health insurance. One bad thing could wipe out our year of emergency savings and more.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Hi,
Thanks for posting this info itsmainly you. Its funny how we can read the same information and see different things. This is not an indictment of the US Health care system as I think about it, but an assessment of the hugh amount of dollars spent to try to improve healthcare for the people. Let me explain further. All the money we spend, cannot make outcomes improve unless you have people who follow healthy guidelines for healthy living. Is Obesity the fault of the Healthcare System?, or gun violence" or Americans who don't exercise enough? Americans don't even visit the Dr often enough. Surely, that can't be the fault of the Healthcare System. We die 3 yrs earlier because we, dare I say it, have become lazy, glutenous, and then want to say, fix me.

This is just one more example of people who don't take personal responsibility for much of anything nowadays. It also shows that throwing money at things is not always the answer.

I do care to know why infant mortality and pregnant women die more often. That may or may not fit your thesis.

I do acknowledge there are some problems in our system. but to blame the system for the stats you showed is not reasonable. I hope everyone reads it. I feel better. Ots not the HealthcareSystem.

England and France(I learned France) has both private and National Health. Money talks sometimes.

Annette

I was dreading reading it.

Respectfully, no. They are connected as part and parcel.
Snip:

• The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates.
• The U.S. has the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions and an obesity rate nearly twice the OECD average.
• Americans see physicians less often than people in most other countries and have among the lowest rate of practicing physicians and hospital beds per 1,000 population.

I don't prescribe to the, let's blame working poor people who have poor outcomes because they deserve it or the sentiment behind it.
People don't go to the doctor or receive consistent care primarily because they can't afford it. Even when they do go there is no guarantee that bias won't negatively effect the outcome. Deciding between medical care and eating(primarily additive laden food because of cost) or keeping your home isn't a matter of personal responsibility.
That's not their fault. It's collectively ours.
For profit unregulated capitalism is to blame for much of our ills and healthcare being another for profit facet is tied into the same. The report is about the outcomes of our healthcare system. It is a multinational comparison.
Everyone should read it, in this we agree.
There isn't enough space to write just how corporatism and corporate healthcare are to blame for the state of health and safety in this country. It is disingenuous to ignore the obvious threading between the two.
I dread reading them as well. It is incredibly shameful how we fail our people in such monumental ways. I love my country, it's why I'm always as honest as I can be to find collective faults and why I will always fight for it's people.

Knowledge is power.
Power is responsibility.

Op-ed: The FDA needs to start protecting us from obesity-promoting food chemicals

New report finds the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not testing food, additives or packaging for chemicals that cause obesity or disrupt our metabolism.

www.ehn.org

What Are We Putting in Our Food That Is Making Us Fat? Food Additives, Contaminants, and Other Putative Contributors to Obesity

The “chemical obesogen” hypothesis conjectures that synthetic, environmental contaminants are contributing to the global epidemic of obesity. In fact, intentional food additives (e.g., artificial sweeteners and colors, emulsifiers) and ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

What do we know about infant mortality in the U.S. and comparable countries? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker

Infant mortality (the death of an infant within the first year of life) is a widely-reported indicator of population health. This chart collection highlights key infant mortality trends and demographic variation within the United States and also explores infant mortality rates in the U.S...

www.healthsystemtracker.org

Medicaid Expansion and Infant Mortality in the United States

Objectives. To explore the effect of Medicaid expansion on US infant mortality rate.Methods. We examined data from 2010 to 2016 and 2014 to 2016 to compare infant mortality rates in states and Washington, DC, that accepted the Affordable Care Act Medicaid ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them

This is an update to our analysis of racial disparities in maternal and infant health and an overview of current efforts to address them.

www.kff.org

Health Equity Among Black Women in the United States

Black women in the United States have experienced substantial improvements in health during the last century, yet health disparities persist. These health disparities are in large part a reflection of the inequalities experienced by Black women on a host ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Implicit Bias and Racial Disparities in Health Care

Health care providers’ implicit biases may help explain racial disparities in health. We ought to take this possibility seriously, and we should not lose sight of structural causes of poor health care outcomes for racial minorities.

www.americanbar.org

Poverty and Health - The Family Medicine Perspective (Position Paper)

Find out the ways in which the American Academy of Family Physicians transforms health care to achieve optimal health for everyone.

www.aafp.org

Financial Condition and Health Care Burdens of People in Deep Poverty

Americans living at the bottom of the income distribution often struggle to meet their basic needs on very limited incomes, even with the added assistance of government programs. The following analyses describe the characteristics of the poor population; available income for those at the deepest...

aspe.hhs.gov

Low income neighborhood

The health of people with low incomes often suffers because they can’t afford adequate housing, food, or child care. Such living conditions, and the stress they cause, can lead to higher rates of tobacco and alcohol use and increase the risk of health problems developing or worsening over time...

www.commonwealthfund.org

In The U.S., A Health Care System Rich In Resources, Poor In Outcomes

The U.S. spends twice as much on medical care per person than other wealthy countries. That has led to a health care system that’s rich in resources, but with health outcomes that are remarkably poor.

www.wfae.org

There are thousands more, but you get the gist.
* I do suggest reading as much as you can to everyone. Always.

 

[jaaron]

my son just turned 26 and is being kicked off my insurance and he is self employed so we went the Affordable Care Act route...I ended up finding an insurance type broker who is doing all the work for him....I actually work in the health insurance industry and the ACA intimated the heck out of me, the broker route made it much easier to navigate....good luck

@diamondringlover

Do you mind sharing how you found the broker? We're in a similar situation with our oldest who has used up the cobra years and is now paying a fortune for an individual policy that's terrible. We need to find a better option when this year is up.

 

[kenny]

Gussie, please don't poke your eyeball out.

Your insurance company will use this thread to deny your insurance claim for a poked out eyeball.
They'll say you've committed, not suicide, or side eye, but eye-cide.

You'll be so mad it will make you want to poke your other eyeball out.

 

[diamondringlover]

@diamondringlover

Do you mind sharing how you found the broker? We're in a similar situation with our oldest who has used up the cobra years and is now paying a fortune for an individual policy that's terrible. We need to find a better option when this year is up.

actually I mentioned to my accountant about my son losing his coverage at 26 and he is the one who told me about the company its a smaller local company, I didn't know this type of assistance existed, but it sure made it much easier, the company looked up all the ACA plans based on the parameters that I gave them and they came up with several options, they did all the leg work and it didn't cost us a dime, they told me they actually get paid by the insurance company that we chose. The company I used helps with all sorts of individual coverages such as Medicare which can also be complicated. I think you could look for a company the assists with individual insurance needs and it would be best to try and to stay with a local company. I made the mistake of signing up for "brokers" I found on the internet and I am still getting texts and emails and its been 6 months ago lol...so be careful and good luck.