Lula wrote:
we won't agree on this. i don't have a problem helping those less fortunate than myself.
The problem with that is that many of those 'less fortunate' ones drive better cars, have bigger TVs/cell phones/you name it, because they are so 'less fortunate' that they sponge off the government that is so eager to give money away that they don't make them accountable for what they have
vs what they need.
My problem isn't about helping those that really need it. It's about those that only want to suck the system dry. So what will wind up happening is that those that are truly 'less fortunate' will wind up still out in the cold because they aren't as wise/manipulative/dishonest as those that don't deserve what they're stealing from the government.
Lula, I was thinking about you on my way to work today. As you know, I'm a nurse. I work in a skilled nursing facility, and I work closely with patients using their Medicare benefits. I want you (and everyone else) to know how
that 'government-run health care system' works. Patients can use their Medicare benefits for rehab or skilled nursing care only if they meet certain qualifications (rationing). The first and biggest qualification is that they spend 3 midnights in the hospital. If someone has a stroke, or a heart attack, or falls down a flight of stairs and breaks a hip, they can't access their benefits if the hospital chooses not to keep them over 3 nights. I can't tell you how many times our residents who live in the facility have had to go to the hospital for an acute health change, and have not been able to use those benefits that they are paying for each month, because of that one specific qualification. It sucks.
Now, if someone is so lucky to spend 3 nights in the hospital, then they become eligible to utilize their Medicare Part A benefits. Medicare Part A pays 100% of the Medicare allowed charge (based on resource utilization groups - RUGs) for 20 days. Sounds pretty decent, right? After 20 days, there is a co-payment of about 138 dollars PER DAY that the patient is responsible for. That can be paid for by a secondary insurance (which is usually highly expensive - the government plan alone doesn't get it done), Medicaid, or out of pocket. Now, imagine you have had a massive stroke and need to learn to walk, talk and eat all over again, do you think 20 days is enough time to get it done? Those $138/day fees add up pretty quickly... I can't tell you how many patients we've discharged home because they couldn't afford the co-pay, people who were not remotely ready to be on their own, but the idea of being that far in debt scares them more than being on their own. We don't make them leave if they can't pay, we work it out to make payments, etc. There are facilities that will discharge patients for that very reason though. Sad. You can't pay? Too bad. More rationing.
OK, just suppose you're fortunate enough to have a secondary co-insurance to cover that $138/day. Medicare Part A only allows you a maximum of 100 days per benefit period that they will pay...period! That massive stroke I mentioned earlier - it might take as much as 6 months to realize the full benefit of therapy to regain function. What happens then? You guessed it. They go home and don't get the services they need. Either that, or they become Medicaid recipients and are now fully dependent on the government for their care. You have too much money in the bank (in Virginia, I think 'too much' is about $2000) or happen to be fortunate enough to own your own home? Sorry, not eligible for Medicaid. Cya!
People are getting the shaft even WITH government-run health care. And what's worse, it's the people that really do deserve it! People who've worked hard all their adult lives, paying into the government thinking they might get some return on their investment. Those people that eat canned soup day after day because they have to make the choice between decent food and their monthly medicine. They make one 'meals on wheels' supper last them 3 meals because that's all they have. THESE are the people that deserve our support. Not some sorry ass 20 year old who sits on his ass all day and is too lazy to work, so that he could have health insurance, or the skank-ho "cum dumpster" who has 6 kids by 5 men and the only thing on her mind is the first of the month so she can get that welfare check. Fuck those people. They can do without as far as I'm concerned. (Not those 6 kids, BTW, but their ho-bag mother).
I think this bill is gonna be a cluster, and I think it's going to lead to further decay in our society, because once again we're telling people that they can get something for nothing, as long as there's someone else out there who can foot the bill. It's not about 'helping' those who need it, I think we'd all be willing to do that. It's about deserving what you get. For me, anyway.
Actually, I'm not shocked. 
