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Topic: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance. (Read 1322 times) |
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j.halber
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Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« on: Dec 27th, 2002, 5:02am » |
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I don't know how you all do it! Luckily here in Holland we are insured for all these nasty drugs and o2 and all that but many of you are not! I really don't know how you all manage. Myself i have an Imitrex "habit"that costs around 700.00 a week( for the last 8 yrs.) If I wasn't covered i would have NEVER been able to do it! And without abortives....... Is there nothing we can all do to get your silly rules changed and somehow get you guys covered? At least have it recognised for what it is; a real 'disease'.I have no answers since I have no idea how your insurances work but would be happy to do whatever I could to help.
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Karla
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #1 on: Dec 27th, 2002, 5:14pm » |
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You can join OUCH(www.clusterheadaches.org) and then ask to help out in that organization. They have a section for people to work on insurance inssues. They need the help and your insight I am sure would be deeply appreciated. Thanks and have fun!
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Karla
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jonny
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #2 on: Dec 27th, 2002, 5:24pm » |
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Excellently put, Karla!!!
BRAVO!!!!!
......................jonny
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eyes_afire
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #3 on: Dec 27th, 2002, 6:27pm » |
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Well, some of us Americans have no idea how our insurances work either. The way I understand it: Most of the American health insurance industry is privatized. It is prohibitively expensive for most Americans to purchase thier own medical insurance so many Americans get insurance coverage as a group plan through thier place of employment as a benefit. That means that it is up to the employer to strike a deal with the insurance company. If you're lucky (and/or educated and/or have a specific skill) you work for a wealthy company and therefore get paid well and have good insurance. If you're not as lucky, you may work for a company that is having a difficult time staying afloat (or a company that has greedy owners) and the first thing that gets reduced is the employee benefits (medical insurance). If you work for a struggling company (or a company with no prestige or glamour), you may not only get poorly compensated, but also receive no medical insurance at all. So in some respects, your medical coverage may be dependent upon how good of a job you have. Also, in an effort to minimize cost, some employers make deals with Health Maintainance Organizations. These HMO's are basically controlled by accountants who try to limit thier pay-outs by contracting with certain doctors and then mandating that patients must see doctors they have contracted with in order to receive coverage. That is why it is hard for some of us Americans to simply get another doctor (especially a knowledgeable neurologist). Also, getting a 'better job' can be risky because some insurance companies don't want to cover 'pre-existing medical conditions' for new people on the medical plan.
Please keep in mind that I have made numerous generalizations... each American can be in a unique situation, we all certainly do not have the same type of insurance coverage.
How do we survive?
Either..
1. Pay up.
2. Fight.
3. Beg.
or
4. Suffer.
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Azrael
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #4 on: Dec 27th, 2002, 6:40pm » |
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Ya forgot #5... Fire bomb the HMO's offices (along with any stupid, ignorant, arrogant doctors that stand in the way)
PFDAN........................................... Drk^Angel
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cootie
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #5 on: Dec 27th, 2002, 10:37pm » |
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Did ya's hear the one where insurence co's are tryin ta get credit reports on customers now.....then decide who gets cover'd......isn't that a crock a sheeeit.........Pam 
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Charlie
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #6 on: Dec 28th, 2002, 12:55pm » |
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You’re right about our wonderful health care system. It boils down to greed and non-existent, perceived fear.
As long as they are allowed, insurance companies will do pretty much anything they want. They have zero interest in anyone's welfare but their own. Of course the fear part comes into play when we are told that regulation like national health care, smacks of "socialism." So what? Congress, fire and police departments, the military, and many government employees, are perfect examples of the success of socialized medicine. No one has better deal than the creeps in Congress who tell us: Nope, no way can we let you in on this. America, America.... 
Charlie 
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cootie
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #7 on: Dec 28th, 2002, 1:07pm » |
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America America....home of the free....land of the brave.....long as yer healthy,wealthy and wise.....all we can do is 'wise up' to the shinanigans.....all the leaders take care of themselves......lill pay raise here.....$ 500.00 toilet seat there......lill pay cut for YOU.....lill more taxes for ME.....lill bit more pay raise fer them......and so it goes.....Pam
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catlind
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #8 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 9:06am » |
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Eyes,
You can always try my approach:
When the military HMO wouldn't approve a referral and was giving us the run around I called and told them I was coming to their head office with the most contagious virus/disease I could catch and spread to all of them. LOL
Hubby has handled all insurance issues ever since 
Cat
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j.halber
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #9 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 12:31pm » |
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Hey karla; Thanks for the info! Will see what I can do! however I think that there must be something that we should be able to do as a group, after all there are 2984 members here and together there is way more power than separately!At least to get this "disease"recognised as just that a real sickness!Power to the people and all that!!!!!!!
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jonny
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #10 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 1:06pm » |
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2984?
When you weed through the meegrainers, I'll join any site people, Lonely people, Wannabes, and Oppps-wrong site people 2984 is not 2984.
But I hear what you are saying, there is strength in numbers.
Then again I dont see 3000 people posting here, not even 500
................jonny
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| « Last Edit: Dec 29th, 2002, 1:09pm by jonny » |
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ave
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #11 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 1:22pm » |
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Well, of the 2000 something, at least one member is certified dead. It gave me quite a shock seeing his name still up...
Apart from that, Halber, do you know what you are doing?
You are talking about a system under which everybody with an income less than the indexed amount is automatically obligatory insured. They cannot be refused, even if they are big insurance risks.
Anybody over this financial border can do as they please.
This a social measure, that our government (in the Netherlands) and a number of other governments in Europe have taken. The social insurance companieies thereafter have to do what the government says, or else...
For us it is a good thing, I quite agree.
But you will have to do more than interest Oprah to change
* the way the US citiziens think about obligatory insurance, which they will have to pay part of,
* the way employers will think of having no choice but to pay the premiums,
and especially :
* the way insurance companies in the united states will think of obligatory acceptance of claims...
It is quite a political bomb you are aiming to let go off there! Mind you don't burn your fingers.
If you want to know more, ask Ted.
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j.halber
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #12 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 3:32pm » |
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Ave you really bug me!!!!And your statement about the Person being dead was very cold.Maybe people are honoring him/her or in rememberance of or whatever but it has NOTHING to do with Oprah you ..... !!!!!!!!!
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cootie
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #13 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 3:40pm » |
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I missed sumthin....who's dead ?? Pam
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Cause and Effect......"Cause is the effect concealed, Effect is the cause revealed"
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ave
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #14 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 4:44pm » |
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No big deal in itself, Pam.
I was just running through a membership page of the MB and came across somebody whose notice of death was posted here. Somebody who was publicly mourned here, too. His name is still up there and it gave me quite a shock.
So not everybody on the list is there, if you get what I mean.
Apart from the one-time visitors etc. that Jonny was talking about.
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catlind
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #15 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 4:59pm » |
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I am from Ontario Canada and now live in the US.
When it comes to health care, it's free in Canada (not prescriptions, just docs and such), and I can say without any hesitation at all:
You get what you pay for!
Yes, insurance in the US can be a financial and frustrating burden for folks, but it sure as hell beats the alternatives to a social system that break downs.
If you live in Ontario, there is a 3 year waiting list for heart bypass surgery, a 1 year waiting list for radiation therapy for cancer, etc. etc.
The only thing I DON'T understand or agree with, is that in Canada, medications are very inexpensive, and they are made by the exact same folks that make em here in the US. It would be nice if scrips cost the same here as they do in Canada.
Cat
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j.halber
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #16 on: Dec 29th, 2002, 8:47pm » |
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Well I still think something could be done! If nothing else but to make it known that it IS!Especially to educate some of those Drs. and maybe get it recognised.There is a ton of info out there and maybe something should be published somewhere that hits a wide audience.Surely there is some good to be accomplished somewhere in this mess!
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Azrael
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #17 on: Dec 30th, 2002, 5:07pm » |
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j... Lay off Ave... What she says is true. At least one member of the board (if not more) is dead. Also, it is very difficult for the states to get a national health insurance system started. It comes down to the fact that people support it, but not if it costs them higher taxes. There are measures in place to help the low income households obtain healthcare coverage, but many of them are controlled by the individual states, and some states make it easier to get, or provides more services than others.
Like in Pennsylvania, where I live, if you qualify for medicaid, you must sign up for a secondary insurance provider paid for by the state. Between the medicaid and the secondary provider, all qualified services are covered 100%, but not everything is a qualified service, sorta like an HMO. The problem is, unless you work only part time, take state sponsered training courses and don't work, or have a fairly large household, you can't qualify, but there are other plans available for those who don't. Unfortunately, most people don't know about these programs that are available, or the state has created too many restrictions on it when they tried to cut out or reduce the public welfare service.
State sponsered healthcare would be great, but at this time is not feasible for the United States... Both financially and politically. The public don't want higher taxes, and the politicians that are against the idea call it step toward socialism (in the states, that's an evil second only to treason). I think the comments that Ave stated were very well posted, and I agree with her views.
PFDAN......................................... Drk^Angel
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Ted
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #18 on: Dec 30th, 2002, 5:30pm » |
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on Dec 29th, 2002, 4:59pm, catlind wrote:You get what you pay for!
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Precisely. And if you can't pay you get nothing.
on Dec 29th, 2002, 4:59pm, catlind wrote:| Yes, insurance in the US can be a financial and frustrating burden for folks, but it sure as hell beats the alternatives to a social system that break downs. |
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Actually, and especially now with the gap between the rich and poor widening in the US and with social services being cut from the budget in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, not to mention a number of other factors, health care and insurance in the US can be a financial and frustrating pipe dream for millions. There are state and federal health programs for some of the poor, but for literally millions more, they fall between the cracks and have no safety net.
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catlind
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Re: Someone call Oprah!You need insurance.
« Reply #19 on: Dec 30th, 2002, 6:42pm » |
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Very good point Ted.
I'm used to a system that is free and always there, but is broken. If a system like the Canadian provinces use could be put in place without abuse it might be different.
But when the system is so broken that you have to wait a year to get radiation therapy for cancer.....
Well, it doesn't matter if it's free or not, you're still dead.
I imagine the key is in finding the right balance between what is free and what isn't.
It's one of those political/social issues that I don't think will ever have an answer that everyone is happy with.
Cat
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A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart
If yer gonna be stupid, ya gotta be tough
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