to the group about health plan

[Guest guest]

Dear Amma friends ~ normally I would not discuss a non-Amma issue, but as I

believe she has shown through her own actions and projects like the AIMS

Hospital, that she believes everyone should have good quality healthcare...I

have my own experience to share.

 

I receive traditional medicare ... run by the government, and it's great.

Recently, though, when I was facing the knee replacement surgery, I decided

to get a Medicare Supplement, which is run by United Health Care (one of

the " bad " guys) via AARP. It's $200 off the top of my meager SSDI income, but

without o it I would have been snowed under by co-pays.

 

When Medicare Part D, the prescription drug plan was begun, I participated

in that also. The big difference is that even though it is called Medicare

Part D, it is farmed out to insurance companies to manage. Mine is, again,

through United Health Care. Let me say that my Medicare premium has never

gone up. My Medicare Part D, however, has gone up every year. This year the

increase is from 34.00 to $40.00! Now I am asking myself, as I am also in

the " Donut Hole " and will be for the rest of the year, when is it more cost

effective to not participate. Beware of lions in sheep clothing.

 

If we get a public option, and I pray we do, I also pray it IS run by the

government and not farmed out to insurance companies.

 

Shanti ~ Linda

 

 

In a message dated 11/7/2009 5:54:43 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

Ammachi writes:

 

The way I think about your point #1 is that the involvement of private

insurance companies doesn't add ANYTHING to our health care financing system.

Why do we even HAVE a " PRIVATE option " for financing health care?

 

But on the other hand, vis-a-vis " PREVENTION " (if we're serious about

that) maybe private insurance companies WOULD need to have a role IF we ALLOWED

them to give people a MONETARY INCENTIVE to become healthy (i.e. the sort

of thing Don Stewart, donandpat, would suggest). That is, to cover very

expensive care, an insurance company might set premiums by one's waistline in

relation to height. (That sort of idea generally sits quite badly with

those of us favoring publicly provided health care). The thing is, it would be

a political nightmare to suggest that the government would prescribe such a

health/premium standard -- it just wouldn't ever happen. And so the

" prevention " idea wouldn't be much more than lip service. OR, what do you think

would work?