President Obama's health care--

[fishbones]

Why do some of you find it so hard to understand that many younger people decline health insurance? I work in a company with mostly young employees and we offer BCBS for ALL full-time workers. Most of our younger employees decline it because they don't think they're going to need it. The money is more important than the security to them. I know this because I have to ask all employees who decline coverage why they are declining. And when I mention younger employees, I mean the group from about 18 to 30 years old. Maybe it's hard for some of you to believe, but there are a lot of people out there willing to roll the dice when it comes to their health. When you were in your early 20's did you lie awake at night thinking you were going to be in a serious accident or get a serious illness? Probably not.

And Bryan, your car accident scenario sounds great, but most car accidents resulting in injury are covered by auto insurance. Check your policy for a PIP clause. And injuries and in some cases, illnesses caused by work are covered by workers compensation.

Keep in mind also that if someone is enrolled in college and take full-time credits, they are covered under their parents health insurance up to age 24 in some states. These people are naturally going to decline insurance from their employer.

[justplugit]

The problem is we don't know what the real # of people who can't afford health care is.

Obama says it's 47 million, but as mentioned above, other estimates make it around 27 million when taking into account the 43% of people
who can afford it but choose not to buy it.

In addition the Congressional Budget Office said today 10% are illegal aliens.

We need a plan under our current system, the best in the world, to cover our citizens that are unemployed and truly disabled.

To change everything and come up with a new government run plan that will afffect everyone is ridiculous to cover 9% of the population.

[Bronko]

Originally Posted by justplugit

The problem is we don't know what the real # of people who can't afford health care is.

Obama says it's 47 million, but as mentioned above, other estimates make it around 27 million when taking into account the 43% of people
who can afford it but choose not to buy it.

In addition the Congressional Budget Office said today 10% are illegal aliens.

We need a plan under our current system, the best in the world, to cover our citizens that are unemployed and truly disabled.

To change everything and come up with a new government run plan that will afffect everyone is ridiculous to cover 9% of the population.

Well said JPI. But in all reality its the government control of the system they are looking for, not improving the current system.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by fishbones

Why do some of you find it so hard to understand that many younger people decline health insurance? I work in a company with mostly young employees and we offer BCBS for ALL full-time workers. Most of our younger employees decline it because they don't think they're going to need it. The money is more important than the security to them. I know this because I have to ask all employees who decline coverage why they are declining. And when I mention younger employees, I mean the group from about 18 to 30 years old. Maybe it's hard for some of you to believe, but there are a lot of people out there willing to roll the dice when it comes to their health. When you were in your early 20's did you lie awake at night thinking you were going to be in a serious accident or get a serious illness? Probably not.

Everything you said is exactly my point. Younger people don't know any better. One major sickness could medically bankrupt a person and screw them over for the next 10+ years.

[Cool Beans]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Everything you said is exactly my point. Younger people don't know any better. One major sickness could medically bankrupt a person and screw them over for the next 10+ years.

So, because the young sometimes make stupid decisions, we should take away there ability to choose?

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Cool Beans

So, because the young sometimes make stupid decisions, we should take away there ability to choose?

Where exactly did I say anything like that?

Are you so used to bitching about and trying to find something wrong with everything I say that you're completely blind to the fact that I'm against the Health Care Reform that's being proposed?

Edit: If you've paid any attention to my posts over the past few months, you'd know I'm against increased social welfare in all aspects and we should be cutting people off for making stupid decisions instead of rewarding them.

[Raven]

close to 100.000 people are dying each year due to staff infections
contracted in the hospital... from non standardized
health practices as reported on the news tonight....

this is costing us 40 BILLION a year

so any health reform has to include provisions to
prevent this from happening.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Raven

close to 100.000 people are dying each year due to staff infections
contracted in the hospital... from non standardized
health practices as reported on the news tonight....

this is costing us 40 BILLION a year

so any health reform has to include provisions to
prevent this from happening.

Good point Rav, and in addition there is more and more nosocomial
resistant staph which won't respond to current antibiotics and is killing people.

Why will Pharma research and develop new antibiotics if they can't make a decent
profit.

Are they addressing non standardized health practices in the HC Bill?
We don't know and chances are your Congressmen don't know either.

[scottw]

it's sooo much better under socialized medicine...



British Hospitals Struggle to Limit ‘Superbug’ Infections

Britain has one of the worst rates of hospital-acquired M.R.S.A. bloodstream infections in Europe, second only to Greece, and the problem is getting worse. The National Audit Office, a government watchdog organization, announced this month that there had been an 8 percent increase in the number of all staphylococcus aureus, or staph, infections in the bloodstream, to 19,311 in 2004 from 17,933 in 2001. Of those, 40 percent were resistant to the antibiotic methicillin.

But that reveals only a slice of the problem because the Department of Health, which began to keep figures on the infections in 2001, does not track the existence of staph infections outside the bloodstream, in wounds or in the urinary tract.

One in 10 patients contracts a staph infection while staying in England’s hospitals, which rank among the oldest and most crowded in Western Europe. Because superbugs multiply easily in unhygienic surroundings, dirty hospital wards and unclean hands contribute to their spread from patient to patient.

[Raven]

standing operating procedures


my wife has to deal with those on a daily basis
because they work with Hospital tubes
that have to be exact sizes and all that

but to learn that hospitals don't have the same
procedures... or s.o.p's blows my mind

[spence]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Why will Pharma research and develop new antibiotics if they can't make a decent profit.

Last time I checked, a few years ago, the average margin on Pharma was around 25%...that's not a bad profit.

Two opposing factors:

1) The current pharma environment drives companies to invest in category killer drugs that will produce massive returns.

2) The potential for litigation will prevent companies from moving on high-risk R&D investments.

So there's a lot more $$$ by producing the next Viagra rather than the staph-killing antibiotic that will rot 1 in 10:000's organs.

-spence