What you need to know about the Health Reform Bill

[Summy]

So everyone needs to know what is going on with this bill being passed through the senate for many reasons: a) it is the health care system you will be dealing with for the rest of your life (including your kids, and family and b) many of you will be in the feild of health care and need to know whats going on

Now what I am about to post is just from my personal readings of newspapers, op-ed peices and some government hyperbole, but hopefully there is a wholistic representation of what it is

Here we go:

#1) Why did we need reform?

In recent years due to the rising costs, employers have stopped offering health care for their employees. That left something like 45 million plus americans without insurance. In addition to this problem, the US spends more per person (around 8,000$) than any other country in the world...50% more than then the next costly nation... The need for reform was initiated in 1912 by Teddy Roosevelt, and almost 100 years later, something is finally getting done

The US ranks extremely low for a developed nation is areas like infant mortality (44th) and 50th in life expectancy - two general markers for quality of life in a country.

Reform is needed.

#2) Plan now will cover 30 Million plus Americans

WIth this bill, probably the biggest thing is that insurance companies can no longer deny people care on the basis of pre-exisitng conditions, can no longer drop people from their plans when they get sick, and the premiums for nescessary care are droppen dramatically.

Many Americans were forced to stay at jobs, or expect lower wages on the basis that their employer would provide them health care, thats no longer an issue


# 3) The boast in preventative care

There was an interesting Time article on how passing this bill has an underlying, maybe less prominent benefit, but as important as any other part of this bill, which is preventative care. With this bill being passed through the senate, it always for prescriptions and MOST importantly, regualr check ups

There were some stunning facts on how if the availability to patient checkups increased, how there
dramatic decreases in diseases/disorders such as cancer, diabetes, and mental disorders such as depression

With affordability comes diseases being caught a lot earlier (such as in cancer before metastasis) which decreases the load and burden in the hospitals, increasing overall health and therefore increasing the overall effectiveness of health system

It does not come without its problems however. The govenrment plan was taken out which I think was a beneficial move. The reason for that is many employers would shift away from the private insurance plans to the cheaper government plan (something bad for insurance companies and i think the american people as well) .. Would take alot of americans away from their comfortable health insurance they have righ now

Some critisisms are spectulative in nature right now, such as mandates, and the burden on insurance companies, but overall it looks like one of the biggest peices of reform the country has seen in problem 50 plus years will be brought into law very soon...



What do you guys think?

 

[yraparla]

SIDE NOTE: I think harry reid is a damn magician for getting this through, no idea how he pulled it off (but my expectations for him are low since he always looks lost in interviews)

I think it's great that people have coverage, but we have to understand what that coverage entails. The basis of insurance is that people are more likely to be healthy then sick, and therefore the insurance company will make money off the payment of clients in the long run.

This has recently come under review as people are less likely to have really serious bacterial/viral problems (as antibiotics and vaccines have gotten better), but still hvae a host of issues like diabetes, cardiac problems, and cancer. This makes it harder for insurance companies to believe that they'll make money eventually.

That's why they had to refuse people due to pre-exisiting conditions. If you have AIDS for instance, you are more likely to have complications from simple viral infections. If you have had a cardiac episode, you are far more likely to have one in the future. In short, a pre-existing condition changed the odds and became a gamble the companies did not want.

WHAT THIS BILL DOES: it prevents companies from turning away people with a pre-exisiting condition, but it does little to regulate how they deal with them. That means reduced coverage and higher initial costs. There are measures of course that force companies to give discounts on preventative care, etc (which i'm sure they're happy to do in fact, they want you healthy not in the hospital), but we simply won't know what the end result is till the market determines it.

RESULT? People with undetermined healthcare. But because there's a higher initial cost to the company (guaranteed shorter lifespan, increased upfront cost with tests and preventative cared, etc). That means the company will pass on that cost to other clients.

Overall this bill will benefit us since sick people who are sick for a long time without help are bad morally, spiritually, and physically for our society, so I don't see it as an issue, but....it is what it is and people need to understand the process.


ALSO: I tire and tire and tire of hearing arguments that we spend more than other nations on health care. Is it perfect? no, is it expensive? yes. But a lot of these companies cheapen the cost overseas in developing nations, and we are funding that through government and market subsidies. Considering how much R&D comes out of the US, it's not surprising that our cost is more, and that other countries can just jack the result for cheaper, generic products.

Whether the increased cost of things like testing, doctors, etc is worth the money is up for debate (studies are leaning no). But at least in the prescription field, while it may not be fair for us, it is benefiting the rest of the world.

Thanks Summy (I'm also in a very pro-West mood since China ganked the Copenhagen summit and everyone seemed to miss it)