politic on the board

Mike,

I write this sitting on the tenth floor of the fanciest hospital in our town, where I have worked as an ICU nurse for 11 years. Your post was sobering.

It's not necessary to spend an obscene amount on a building like this. The only reason we have this big shiny building is because it satisfied the ego of our former CEO, who ran us nearly into bakruptcy in order to sell us out to a major healthcare conglomerate. His reward for mismanaging us into a fire sale was a comfy high paying pretend job with the company that bought us. That company then turned around and tried to take away our sick time and slash our vacation time. We came within days of a strike to stave it off.

IV tubing "costs" $25 a set. A bag of IV fluid (sterile salt water mainly) "costs" nearly $1000. A rectal tube (basically a flexible rubber tube attached to a bag that gets shoved up someone's butt, keeps uncoscious people with diarrhea from pooping everywhere) "costs" $800. None of these items could possibly be more than $5 to manufacture, but they can demand these prices because the FDA has become a firewall against innovation and a protection racket for those on the inside to prevent competition from lowering prices and tapping the brakes on the gravy train.

A nurse I'm working with tonight hurt her back performing CPR on a patient- literally saving someone's life- and the hospital has fought paying even a dime of her associated costs. She had to lawyer up in order to get anything. CEO sure gets his $50K bonus every Christmas, though! She's in her twenties and has what will probably become a career ending disability and all the hosptal can say is "don't look at us." Insurance is a CONTRACT, but they will wiggle and squirm and lie and create hurdles and roadblocks and flaming hoops in order to keep from paying what they owe, hoping that people will just give up. Less for you=more for them.

A system has been created here, not just in healthcare but throughout every aspect of our lives, where the cards are stacked in favor of the people with the cash to buy a legislator or two. Used to be that if you wanted to get ahead, you might start a business, offer a better service, some new product or a better value and if you kept at it and worked hard, and were smart you might get ahead or even with a little good luck get rich. The new business plan is bald-faced theft. Find or create a legalized way of stealing. Grab that cash with both hands and stuff your pockets full while the getting is good. As long as you're willing to throw a few bucks at the right authorities, you'll get away with it. Healthcare, student loans, retirement benefits (remember pensions? now it's the 401K which means more suckers at the table for the sharp traders to fleece)- all have become ways to hoover the cash out of ordinary American's pockets and funnel it to a couple hundred ultra wealthy individuals.

I might get into politics once my dad and mom are no longer needing so much of my time and care. Several local and state political operatives have asked me to and my state union has offered support (nurses are apparently great candidates). Don't think I could stomach running for either party though.

Getting money out of politics would be the best thing. Make it so real people- and not just glad-handing whores in suits- can afford to run without selling their soul. Pass STRICT anticorruption laws and enforce the crap out of them. Unfortunately, the people who would need to pass these laws are the ones who are now getting filthy rich in their absense. Time to clean house.

[quote="OhioBoy"]Mike,



[I might get into politics once my dad and mom are no longer neeeding so much of my time and care. Several local and state political operatives have asked me to and my state union has offered support (nurses are apparently great candidates). Don't think I could stomach running for either party though.

Getting money out of politics would be the best thing. Make it so real people- and not just glad-handing whores in suits- can afford to run without selling their soul. Pass STRICT anticorruption laws and enforce the crap out of them. Unfortunately, the people who would need to pass these laws are the ones who are now getting filthy rich in their absense. Time to clean house.]



After reading your post I would sure as hell vote for you. It's so sad that a person can work all their life and be one medical emergency away from financial disaster in a country like ours. We need to drain the current swamp of the hybrids that back Donny boy and get people who understand (like you) to fix our health care system. It's not like we don't have existing models (Canada, etc.) to copy from. Who knew it would be so hard?

What you don't like Dumpster fire's beautiful new the best believe me health plan: Rich-you live,, poor-you die,

Excuse me Jon, we are still under the ACA, so far. I had it better before that by a mile, and I am by no means rich. Once that passed, I had NO insurance, and could not get any help to get it, because I was a business owner, even though I took NO income from the business. I only got insurance, once I officially reached retirement age for National Guard. When, IF a new plan is actually passed completely through all the congress, Then please, by all means beat it to death if it is not any better than what is here now.

interesting, Apparently you didn't talk to anyone, my wife and I were both self employed (for years) I've been buying insurance privately for over 25 years, kept going up up up, When ACA first implemented our insurance went down from $1700 a month to $400,

If you were making no money as you say, then we certainly were making more than you and we qualified, sounds like you didn't know what you were doing when applying,

AND I was referring to temp 45's beautiful new PLAN, the one his own party says is too mean, if you think ACA sucks, you are really gonna love the dumpster fire that they are trying to push, and Yes as proposed, it does punish the poor And make people with major medical or preexisting conditions suffer,

But like his proposed tax plan your tax bill will go up due to eliminated deductions that offset the slight drop in rate,, so you will pay more and think you are paying less,
interestingly the top 1 percent are not losing their deductions, just us, MAGA

Ohioboy/Brj/ Lloyd
I Know it is taking a toll on all of us.
Its good to see what an insider to the hospital. and bussiness owners have to say. Its not a pretty picture for the future for anybody reaching the age of needing medical help in their life. My kids in their thirty;s are paying too.
We are becoming insurance poor by buying coverage with high copays.
The costs of medical supplies provided by or to hospitals should have to be justified. I have seen stories of Insurance companies yearly bonuses.
For profit companies managing heathcare Quote ;Cb89
Cb89 said earlier the money we spend would buy a national plan. Im sure the moneys there. Not his exact words. If not there would'nt be 1,000,000 bonus checks for executives.
Any politition caught involved in corruption should get stiff jail time.
They are under a croney net of protection.
I just tried to get a medicare suppliment that would cost me $249.00 monthly. Thats on top of what social security takes. That 249.00 is just to cover the 20% that medicare doesn't. I didnt qualify because of age. Im 62.I do have a hmo now suppliment that has 50 dollar copay for specialist and 350 dollar for cat scan.
So to get a followup to check for a reoccurance of my throat cancer I would see the specialist at least three times and he would have to order a cat scan Or two.so thats a minimum of 500 to 800 out of pocket. They want to do that twice yearly. And they would refer me to two or three specialist.
I think Nikki said his episode with cancer was around $1,000,000.My 1 year treatment was over half of that and I seen so much wasted time and money. They bounced me back and forth between a chemo doctor Radiologist. for two months before doing anything. Lets just milk the patients for copays. I finally went off in the chemotharipy office and said when the f are you going to start. The next morning they started. My primary care says just go and dont worry about the bill. Thats not the world i grew up in.
Congress is writing a 10,000 page book on health care that no one will be able to understand and lawyers will be paid to find loopholes around rules for insurance companys and hospitals. The people with the money.
Get real goverment!
I had an insurance agent tell me he agreed with a problem I was discussung with him. He asked what could make it better. I suggested eliminating all the Insurance agents wages and applying it toward's healthcare. He said why dont you just pay the 20% that medicare doesnt. He hung up.
Im trying not to ramble about this but Im an angry American. I wont let it take any more of my quality of life even if it it shortens life. My quality is not the best. When they do radiation on your throat it fries your slyvia glands. minimal spit. Im not the only one living in my house.I had a hospital customer care person give me information on a mortgage company that gave second' mortages. I said you get paid and I lose my home. [Customer care]
Shriners hospital has some comercials of kids with cancer. It breaks my heart to see those kids. Our goverment should be taking care of those kids. I thank Shriners anyway.
Ohioboy thanks for being a caregiver. What they're doing to you at work is a sin
Thanks Mike

Ohioboy
I as so weak with my chemo theatment I called the chemo office and told them i needed help. they said I was probably dehydrated. I said Ill just go to the local hospital. 6 miles away. Thay insisted the insurance wouldnt pay. I drove 60 miles for a bag of fluids. bp75/85. They cared more about tht dollar than the patient. I should not have been driving. I moved to a closer hospital and told the first hospital why. The administrator called me and apologised.Unluss your on a deathbead everythings outpatient. I was given 2 bags of juice and sent home
Ignorant

Will not address anything Mike has put, this is to Jon. You DO not know me, you do NOT know my situation, I was NOT self employed. I had insurance of $189 per month for Catastrophic care, the Month that the ACA was Official, it took a three time increase. I had No income from my Business, I kept my employees who had Children employed and Payed so that they could survive. Good for you that yours went down, but you are in Washington, I am in Idaho which has some differences. Oh, Trust me, I talked until I was blue in the face, and I talked with all who could supposedly help. Again, YOU do not know my situation, nor do you know what I did or did not do. Again, good for you that your insurance went down, I am glad it worked for you. I was able to at age 60, go on Tri-care insurance, because I retired from the service. If I had not retired, perhaps when I no longer had my business in mid 2012, I might have been able to get insurance. Peace, I will wait to see what gets passed before I condemn stuff, Just as I did when the last Potus was in.

Settle down Lloyd. OMG

Will not address anything Mike has put, this is to Jon. You DO not know me, you do NOT know my situation, I was NOT self employed. I had insurance of $189 per month for Catastrophic care, the Month that the ACA was Official, it took a three time increase. I had No income from my Business, I kept my employees who had Children employed and Payed so that they could survive. Good for you that yours went down, but you are in Washington, I am in Idaho which has some differences. Oh, Trust me, I talked until I was blue in the face, and I talked with all who could supposedly help. Again, YOU do not know my situation, nor do you know what I did or did not do. Again, good for you that your insurance went down, I am glad it worked for you. I was able to at age 60, go on Tri-care insurance, because I retired from the service. If I had not retired, perhaps when I no longer had my business in mid 2012, I might have been able to get insurance. Peace, I will wait to see what gets passed before I condemn stuff, Just as I did when the last Potus was in.

Lloyd, if you have no income, you are not eligible for assistance under the ACA, but ARE eligible for Medicaid. Depending on state and if they took the Medicaid expansion or not, how much you can make and be eligible. In states that did take the expansion if you make 1.5x the poverty line you must go to Medicaid, above that ACA. It sounds like your no income is why your were turned down for ACA help, but should have been directed to Medicaid.