HCCD Report Nebraska 68164

Health Care Community Discussion

12-27-08
6:30 pm
Attending:
Jeff and Melanie
Adults un-insured.
Carol and Christian (secretary)

Employer insurance, currently paying medical bills, have gone months without insurance at times.

Mat (co-host) and Susan (co-host)

Employer coverage for Mat and children. Susan buying private individual insurance ($98 /month) because of lower cost than what is offered by employer plan ($316). Children have been on Kids Connection in previous years. Both adults have lived years without health insurance.

Introduction

We need to get involved now. Keep Obama accountable.

General Discussion on health care

We’re not seeing universal health care on Obama plan. Too much, too soon?

Our own health insurance experience

Jeff: no health care coverage for part-time, the months before which you are eligible.

Mat: had to wait for 90 or 100 days at one place of employment. Probation period before benefits are offered.

Melanie: Target had 3 month waiting period

Two of the families have had kids on Kids Connection, the state’s Medicaid for children

Obama’s talking about offering the same insurance as Congress.

Doing the same as Walmart with generic drugs ($4). Bigger pool, drive down cost.

What happens with gov’t insurance when Obama’s gone?

We talk about the legislative process with regard to health care.

Summary of Responses from Discussion Questions:

Question 1.

Carol: When the kids are sick, we hesitate (even though covered) before calling the doctor for fear of the cost of services. We are afraid of the bill.

Susan: The high cost. The same services are provided in other countries for less.

Carol and Susan: and it’s not the greatest care.

Susan: We have so many people without insurance.

Jeff: Not too worried about not having insurance. I should be more fearful.

Carol: We are apathetic.

All: HAS’s are a joke. Too confusing. Too many rules. A giveaway to the banks.

Jeff: I’ll chance it without health insurance, but not car insurance.

Jeff: I know that I make so little that I won’t have to pay for it.

Carol: now we make too much money to get free or reduced health care, but can’t really afford the doctor bills

Jeff: We seem to say health care is a right by offering it to people without money, but not for people with money.

Christian: The notion of raising money through dinners or bake sales for medical bills is nuts.

Melanie: seeing billboard for hospitals like it is a business. The money should not be for marketing.

Mat: They are supposed to be non-profit yet they operate like a for-profit business.

Carol: They are there for us, a customer-kind of relationship. You wait for 20 minutes or longer even to see people.

Melanie: changing health insurance won’t change that. Doctor are held up on too high a pedestal.

Susan: And then they hardly see you, 10 – 15 minutes, maybe. They don’t tell you the cost. You can’t find out how much something will be.

Carol: It’s impossible to find out how much these illnesses cost.

Christian: Is health care something everyone should have. Is that acceptable?

Jeff: Why do I have to pay for your lung cancer because you were the one that took up smoking?

Christian: Is it a right?

Jeff: Is everyone going to accept this?

Christian: It should not minimize the need for government. We elected somebody that is an activist.

Mat: Money and insurance companies. Insurance companies. The insurance lobby. The issue of money and profit in those industries. There is too little regulation of insurance. Maybe med school should be more affordable.

Susan: Most doctors are still well off. What happened to house calls and doctors of old?

Mat: Doctors have a god complex.

Question 2.

Carol: Word-of-mouth.

Susan: Word-of-mouth.

Mat: Only if they are in your network.

Christian: An Angie’s list for doctors, run by gov’t, then allows you to get anecdotal data from other patients and statistical information collected by gov’t (Question 2, part 2).

Question 3.

Susan: No, because we were on Kids Connection. If a child had gotten sick without that, we’d have no money now. Policy makers: reduce cost. Set up payment plans. Make health care payments have no effect on credit score.

Mat: Should have income-based costs.

Carol: Yes. We’ve had problems, with pregnancies. We add another payment to our monthly bills.

Two Couples: We had problems with our bills with itemized costs, some replicated.

Question 4.

Christian: Yes

Jeff: What’s an “insurance exchange?”

Susan: I don’t know what Congress pays. Is their affordable my affordable?

Jeff: public plan, yes.

Susan: Explain insurance exchange.

Everyone: yes

Question 5.

Susan: It should be gov’t. Not employers.

Christian: What about if the gov’t mandates certain things? Vaccinations.

Susan: There would have to be some exemptions

Everyone: no role in health care . . . as long as gov’t provides it

But we want the care to be as good as or better than now.

Question 6.

Mat: If you have access to health care, you will have access to information to promote a healthier lifestyle.

Susan: In India, there’s no fear of going to the doctor because of low costs. You do screenings.

Christian: Incentives to make preventive care possible, breaks on insurance to have screenings. Or screenings are free. Or some kind of time off from work for these screenings.

Melanie: Stickers for mammograms.

Mat: It has to be money.

Susan: Reward cards.

Jeff: Penalty for not doing it.

Susan: It should be free.

Question 7.

Susan: Canada’s maternity leave. Or paternity leave.

Jeff: Have Obama watch Sicko.

Carol: Go to England. See what they do.

Susan: France’s 30 day vacations.

Summary :

We think the ideal is universal government sponsored health care like in Canada or some European countries. We also realize that many American might not be ready for this level of government involvement. We think that private insurance should be available for those who want it, can afford it or don’t trust the government. But, for the rest of us we would like to see government managed low cost health care.