The Diane Rehm Show

The Republicans have used scare tactics to oppose anything that benefits anyone other then their true power base, the wealthiest and most powerful citizens. Their opposition is based on the worst possible reasons which is to gain votes by using lies and terrifying vulnerable people. When President Clinton worked on reform health care in the 1990s, the financially powerful health care insurance industry used similar scare tactics against any reform. Over the last two decades, the health care industry has made HUGE profits through raising health care coverage costs and limited health care access to their subscribers. How many of our doctors orders have been overturned by a health care insurance clerk following guidelines provided to them by their employer. How many of us have been denied coverage for a pre-existing coverage or we have paid out of pocket for mental health services so that our insurance company would not fine out about our diagnosis of depression, anxiety, etc.? How many of us have been diagnosed with a serious medical condition and found out that we have a coverage cap or our insurance was cancelled.

The Republicans have worked AGAINST health care reform not for it. I find it incredulous that they are suddenly going to work for health care reform. What a joke.

It is disturbing when the Republican representative states that the main reason for repealing the Health Care law was because he feels that the law was written in secrecy. It appears that the Republicans do no care about the health care costs and issues that the American people have to deal with. Off course, Republicans members of Congress have a good plan, why should they care?

I worked in government. When I hear that the Republican say that they tried to do too much too soon, I see it as a stalling tactic. And for all of you against universal coverage and you currently have insurance, you are paying more to cover the costs of those uninsured.

My main complaint about the Health Care Reform Bill was that it did not include a public option. A public option would have forced private insurers to lower their insurance costs. It is obscene that people's insurance policies costs are going up because of the high administrative overhead including high salaries and compensation packages for top executives (such as one CEO's salary/compensation package of $100 Million dollars).

My brother was laid off a couple years ago when unemployment in Ohio was over 12%. He has exhausted his COBRA coverage--including the extension. We are unable to get him any coverage. He has heart disease and bi-polar disorder which he maintains with medication. He has been able to get a temp job working 3rd shift with no benefits. When I saw him a month ago it was obvious that he has some health problems---already a thin man he has lost 25 lbs in the last 6 months and has an uncontrolled squint in his eyes. He does not want to see a doctor because of the expense and he knows tests will be ordered that he cannot afford.

I have sent him information on insurance companies that end the conversation when he mentions his preexisting conditions. He does not qualify for the high risk insurance sponsored by the government because it requires him to be without insurance for 6 months. I fear that while he waits for time to pass to qualify the he may be dead.

He lives in rural Ohio.
Where can he go for coverage?
becky in baltimore

I applaud the health care reform but like many believe that it didn't go far enough and that the insurance companies had too much control. People like me are falling through the cracks.

I was employed at a large state university for 20 years and enjoyed great and affordable (thanks to my employer) health coverage. I left voluntarily to accept a new challenge of running a new nonprofit and ended up paying for COBRA coverage for 18 months. That coverage expired at the end of August and now I am uninsured because I can't find affordable health coverage and was actually denied coverage by the same insurer (Anthem) to which I had paid hefty COBRA payments and been insured through for many years through group coverage.

I am a 57 year old female in relatively good health, or so I thought, but learned that asthma is apparently a big no-no. So far my alternatives for which I would have to pay 25% of my net salary are not good. Coverage for those of us with pre-existing conditions doesn't start until 2014 so it appears that companies are dumping as many riskier individuals as possible before that date just like they dumped individual policies for children once coverage for pre-existing conditions kicked in.

Diana
South Bend, IN

You might try calling his county social services office to see if he'll qualify for Medicaid. There is a community based health care clinics in Ohio which might provide him treatment until he's eligible for the high risk pool. Is he far from Columbus, Cleveland, or Cincinnati? Those cities have medical schools that have excellent out-patient clinics that might see him.

A comment from a Canadian citizen: I enjoyed the show, but was very frustrated with the claim that for-profit health insurance in the U.S. cannot change, because of "inertia." I recently read an excellent book on health care by T. R. Reid, who describes the Swiss health care system, among others. The Swiss used to have for-profit insurance, like the U.S. Health care costs were high, and many people could not afford insurance. At some point in the 90s, the Swiss decided that it was unacceptable for their fellow citizens to be excluded from health care, and - long story short - after much struggle, the system was changed to non-profit (but still private) insurance. Now the Swiss pay less for health care as percentage of GDP than they used to, and everyone is covered. So yes, it is possible to change an entrenched system - if enough people want to. Of course the U.S. is unique; so is every country. But if a system works well in another country, Americans ought to look at it closely, and not dismiss it with a broad, meaningless statement such as "We are too different from [other country]" or "Most Americans are happy with the system as is" (does this include the Americans who die every year due to preventable illness, because they could not access or afford health care?).

Thinking people who distrust this "health care reform" law are right to be suspicious notwithstanding all the early activated goodies.

When the president shifted his language to "health insurance reform" from
" health care reform" he shifted towards truthfulness. All the insurance company haters love paying their doctor, nurse, hospital, clinic, pharmacist, drug company, test lab, etc. top dollar so long as someone else's premiums help pay that bill.

However, everyone hates out of pocket expenses or copays or paying higher premiums. It's that old Tragedy of the Commons thingy.

The US spends almost $8000 per person per year on medical services. Other OECD nations spend about half what we spend. The president and his democratic congress' solution was to reward our high cost providers with a bigger pile of premium dollars and to scapegoat insurers and uninsured Americans for the profligate spending by patients of other peoples money.

The Do-nothing-plican party are no better than the dems having offered nothing in the face of a real serious issue.

Zero has been done to rein in unsustainable health care spending inflation which is highest in our single payer Medicare program.

I want to see HONEST-CARING-COMPETENT physicians in practice and not the other way around.
Hippocratic Oath has yet to be practiced, instead hypocritical oath is.
“Show me how much you care, and not how much you know”
The biggest threat is the incompetent medical system, and not AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE TO ALL!
Surgeons leaving you in worst shape after the surgery.
“There are no guarantees!” That’s how they protect themselves.
Have given in to three procedures by different urologists
It took the right surgeon to correct the previous two. I'm stuck with the side effects produced by the previous two.
Make as much money from the insurance companies with no concern to the patient’s well being.
Drugs with dire side effects, creating dependency, and not getting you well.
Good people have died, become permanently disabled, because of the irresponsible medical system’s inadequacy, adamant, apathetic behavior.
Was left waiting 3 hrs in the ER with chronic urine retention. Could have had kidney-liver shutdown, total apathetic behavior.
Have a stent in the LAD because the surgeon did not take the time to find out that chronic stress was causing the 90% arterial blockage. Diet and lifestyle was the answer and not surgery.
Stay overnight at any hospital with pain, and press the nurse call button numerous times, don’t be surprised if no one responds.
Actors, Athletes, Sports spoke persons get paid for endorsing medical institutions and drug companies. Are they being held accountable for complications derived from their endorsements?
And how about Disease Prevention vs. Disease Treatment?
There's no money in Disease Prevention, that’s why it’s not being encouraged.
Has no one heard of the wonders of lemon, apple cider vinegar, flaxseed oil, garlic, onions, asparagus, etc?
The medical system is not designed to make you well, but to extract maximum profit.
We can make our medical system the best in the world, and we’re not.

The republicans offered no alternative to what we have now or to socialized medicine proposed by the democrats.

The proper alternative to our current system ( corpratism AKA fascism ) is not socialism. It is a free market capitalism.
These are the specific reforms needed to implement capitalism, the only moral system, the one based on individual rights. Anyone who frames the debate between socialism vs. Fascism is forcing you to choose from two wrong answers.

1. Do away with mandates.
2. Allow competition across state lines (huge)
3. Make all health care expenses Tax deductible, or equate tax treatment whether through an employer or bought personally, so people don't lose it and there is no preference given.
4. Remove regulations on health care companies
5. Real tort reform, reclassify liability to mean what it used to, true negligence, not unfortunate outcomes.
6. Enforce insurance contracts, hold the company to it's word.

This is the American style, freedom based solution. A free market is where the government protects individual rights. Socialism is not the proper alternative to corporatism aka fascism.