Big Dogs House

I Vote For Never

May 29, 2009 Political

Barack Obama warned that if we do not get health care reform done by the end of the year we will not get it done. In keeping with his theme that everything is a crisis and must be done now, he told people that its now or never.

Obama wants to have government run health care along the lines of Medicare and the VA system neither of which is run efficiently. Both programs are top heavy with bureaucrats and are extremely costly. The system of reimbursement cheats physicians and has led some to opt out of accepting Medicare patients.

Given that government does not do anything efficiently or in a cost effective manner, I vote for never. The system needs to be revamped and needs less government regulation and control so the free market can allow insurance companies to be competitive. The requirements placed upon companies add unnecessary items to insurance packages and increase the cost. Additionally, people cannot compete across state lines and that too drives up the cost.

There are things that need to take place but having the government run things is not the answer.

They gave billions of dollars to Chrysler and GM which only delayed the inevitable filing of bankruptcy which left taxpayers high and dry.

We will never see that money again. With government and its slavish union followers running the companies they will surely fail. Government officials have little experience running a business and their actions are politically motivated. Look at how many dealerships where people donated to Republicans were shut down. Failing dealerships that gave lots of money to Democrats and particularly Obama are not being closed.

Business is no place for government. Health care is available for everyone. Sure, some folks will have to pay out of pocket but I am unaware of any provision in our Constitution that says I should be paying for someone else’s health care.

Everyone likes to say Obama is the answer. If Obama is the answer it must have been a stupid question.

Tags: health care, insurance, Obama, socialism

Health Care- Really?

May 11, 2009 Political

It looks like health care reform is the next shoe to drop in Barama’s quest for total control, and the tax hikes he will have to enact will be huge, and not just on the top earners, but on down the line, as there will be such costs that the amount will bleed down to the lower tax levels. This is inevitable, and perhaps it will come about, but it should make us pause and think- think about the past.

When you (and I) were young, we had no insurance- we sat at home, and suffered through myriad colds, sore throats, strep throat, scrapes, bruises, and many mostly minor ailments that today, if we have insurance, we go see the doctor for. In the last twelve years, I have seen the doctors more than I ever had before.

A part of this is the process of getting older and having parts go out on me- just flat wear out from thirty- odd years of hard physical labor, and a part of this was unexpectedly surgical. But about two years ago, I said, “enough!”- I had had cancer surgery, and was clear, and the insurance companies had a deal where you (and I) had to be free of cancer for five years before they would think of insuring us again. After the five years had passed, I applied again, but was told that now the rule was ten years. When ten years had passed, I found that they would cover me, except for cancer, and the cost was way too high for basically no coverage. Enough!

So, in a funk, I began to think back to my youth and my family’s past. My father was not poor- not rich, but not poor. Still, we had life insurance, property insurance, and auto insurance, but we did not have health insurance. Doctor’s visits were considerably cheaper than they are now, and there was an x- ray machine in the office, and the doctor knew how to read said x-ray, all for no additional charge. I know this because I was in construction, and had to be x-rayed for fractures once. The total costs for that visit- $60.

Now, if you go to a doctor, you pay that doc, then get referred to a radiology clinic, where you pay another charge to the clinic for the use of the facility. Then you get at least one bill from any doctor who happened to walk by your x-ray and felt like they should be paid. Then you have to go back to the first doctor, so he can tell you what the x-ray tech said about the x-ray. Now, I don’t know about you, but that is about three steps too many, and at least two too many hands out for your (my) money.

This isn’t streamlining anything, or cutting costs, and a lot of this is the fault of the insurance industry, but let’s not omit the Physicians and their education, or lack thereof.

The insurance industry routinely pays half of what a physician or clinic or hospital charges- they “settle” for half, and the various healthcare industries have learned to charge twice what the visit is worth, which is truly tough on those who have no insurance. Yes, there are some doctors who know this, and when you say you are “self paying”, they drop the amount of charges, in order to accommodate the lack of insurance. Other clinics will charge an uninsured person outrageously. They just do not care.

The fact that there is a two tier system, where doctors charge a real price and an inflated price, means trouble in River City- there should never be a two tier system. The insurance companies are getting soaked by high prices, and they are allowing this. When you add the unnecessary trips- the colds, the minor coughs, the muscle sprains and aches that only time will heal- that add to the insurance costs, well, its only logical that sooner or later we would have a problem with the cost of insurance. The more you use something, the more it will cost.

When you have auto insurance, you do not take your car in for a minor scratch, you either repair it yourself, or you live with it,because that scratch does not impact the use of your car. The same could, and should be said of minor ailments. We are overusing the health insurance option here, and then we wonder at the price.

Some of us need insurance, some need it less, and some need hardly any at all. I went without insurance for thirty years at least, because I was young, I was healthy, and my immune system was something else- I had no colds, no coughs, no really bad infections during that time. I was fortunate, to be sure, but this is true by and large, for most young people, and that’s the way it should be. With the exception of dental insurance, young people need less insurance as a general rule than others.

The fact remains though, that in general, we, as a people are overusing the insurance option, and we need to learn to use it less. Perhaps then, the companies could charge us less, especially if the hospitals would charge real world prices, and the doctors could learn to read x-rays themselves, and cut out the middleman.

By the way, Doctors can score a C- on their finals, and still hold your life in their hands- and they get mad when I ask them what their final grade was- I guess I have no bedside manner.

Tags: double-billing, healthcare, insurance

Barack Obama Sees The Light

Mar 18, 2009 Political

Barack Obama met with a number of veteran’s organizations today and discussed his plan to have their service related disabilities paid for by private insurance. He listened to what they had to say and no doubt he realized that it would be political suicide to do this so he has decided to scrap the plan, at least for now.

A lot of people attacked this early and for good reason. Obama has shown that the way he gets things done is to steamroll the opposition. He bombards us until he gets his way. By the time any opposition can be mounted he has already achieved his goal. It was important to get out in front of him on this issue to ensure he never got any support. Remember, he has a database of 10 million that he can tap into for support.

In any respect, I am happy that he saw the light and did the right thing. I have no doubt in my mlitary mind that his was a political decision but I’ll take it anyway.

There are some who are saying they are finally in agreement with him on an issue. I agree with him on this as well but I also recognize that this should have NEVER been an issue.

We are ending up applauding him for not doing the wrong thing instead of doing the right thing to begin with.

To those who shouted this down, thank you.

Source:
Fox

Tags: health care, insurance, Obama, veterans

Barack Obama Will Screw Our Wounded Troops

Mar 17, 2009 Political

The American Legion is not happy with the community organizer in chief because he has a plan to make soldiers pay for service related injuries though their private insurance. You read that right, the so called leader of the troops wants to try to save 540 million dollars by screwing over the troops.

American Legion Commander David K. Rehbein had a meeting with Obama to discuss this but it looks like his words fell on deaf ears because the plan looks like a go.

“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, “This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘ to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!” Yahoo News [emphasis mine]

I am not sure that pointing out the moral implications would ever have any effect because this guy is amoral. Look at the people he hung around with. He is a left wing dirt bag who does not care about the military. People commented that he was such a wonderful guy when I went after him for what I thought were slights. It is just imagined, they said. Well this is not anyone’s imagination and there is NO WAY anyone can say he cares for the troops. He does not care that the US is obligated to pay for these wounds and he does not care how this might hurt them.

Private insurance could get easily maxed out with one serious injury and the rest of the family would not get care and insurance rates could increase. No matter how you slice it this is a bad plan.

I know there are some veterans out there who voted for this guy. Are you happy now? This is how the jackass will treat you. Keep in mind that while you are putting your butt on the line and will have to pay for your care HE gets his care at Bethesda Navy Hospital. He gets the VIP treatment and he does not put his butt in any danger. Hell, he has a car that is better armored than some of our military vehicles.

Now that I got my dander up I can say that I do not think this will fly. Employers have an obligation to pay for the care of employees who are injured on the job and this would definitely be job related. Of course, the government can change the rules.

I told you folks who are in the military, get out while you can. For those thinking about going in, find something else. The country might be worth fighting for but why put your butt on the line for leaders who do not care about you? Let them send their children into the service. Let that coward in the White House strap on the gear and go into battle.

Maybe a million or so vets surrounding the White House or the Capitol would get their attention.

This should be dead on arrival. If Eric Shinseki allows this to happen he should be ashamed to call himself a soldier. It will call into question his care for soldiers.

In any event, this does not surprise me. Obama would rather spend 900 million dollars rebuilding Gaza, or a couple hundred million building Palestinian training camps than he would on the soldiers who serve THIS country.

My liberal friends remind me that the earmarks are a small portion of the bills presented. I wonder if that small percentage would cover the 540 million Obama is looking for. I am sure that we could find the money in the wasteful spending that has occurred in the last 2 months.

It is a matter of priority and Obama does not feel military members take priority. He would rather spend money paying for abortions overseas than take care of the troops.

All well and good but do the troops a favor. Stay home and don’t visit them in the combat zone. They have enough work fighting the enemy from other countries. They don’t need to be worried about the enemy from within.

Tags: american legion, combat injuries, insurance, Obama, screw the troops