It’s too early to know whether Florida’s plan to limit Medicaid spending and benefits — approved last week by the Bush administration — will be successful, and what all the societal cost might be. Under the plan, Florida will pay monthly premiums on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries to private insurers, and it will set a ceiling on spending. But states must find ways to curb Medicaid costs, as a Kansas legislative committee has been working to do this fall. Medicaid is the biggest budget challenge facing states, and its growth rate is unsustainable.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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14 Comments
Yes something needs to be done, but it is hard to pay insurance premiums of $6000 to $12000 anually when your income is $8000 per year.
Why are we so sick?
Joe,Because that’s what poverty does to people!
Justa,Paying that much is hard on most average people, and impossible for the poor and the Wal-Mart employees. The only real solution is a Canadian style national health plan. Some years ago, I talked to Mennonite nurses who volunteered to come to Kansas to help out, and their universal question was “How can you Americans live with this medical ’system’ you have?” My answer was “Just barely, and slipping fast,” and we’ve slipped a lot since then!
Medicade is the only health care program available for most of the disabled, it took a huge hit a few years ago and the results were catastrophic for many of it’s clients. I don’t think it could take another hit, but cutting back on services for the ones who can’t advocate for themselves seems to be how the state and federal governments do business nowadays.
Forcing the retired middle class to pay for medicade in Jeb’s home state is just step one. Next month we will exterminate the middle class by making making it illegal to have an American job unless you are foriegn and make it a crime to afford medical insurance. The rich get richer and ……. no more middle class. One World for the super wealth to enjoy! Bye bye middle class! See you in brazil, America! Whats the difference?
Joe, why are we so sick? Because our health care system isn’t focused on preventative health care. Thanks to many insurance companies that won’t pay a penny toward preventative doctor visits, we have to wait until we get sick. Those with no insurance are forced to wait until they can’t wait any longer, bringing the cost of the care of them even higher.
Someone told me today that their insurance wouldn’t pay for immunizations for their children. Has anyone checked on the price of immunizations lately? And what’s this about there not being enough tetanus vaccine?
Y’know, they keep bragging that the US has the best medical system in the world, and they’re right, assuming you’re filthy rich. If you’re anything less than that, most third world countries got us beat!
Jed, just try to get medical care in a third world country and you’ll come back here and kiss the ground. No health care is the norm in many countries and no one cares about mortality rates. At least we have services available for our poor, it’s the middle class that’s getting shut out (in more areas than health care). When we start doing something to rein in corporate greed, things will start to change, but as long as we have an administration that exists solely for the benefit of big business, the health care crisis won’t improve.
Damoon,Tell that to my 12 year-old grandson, who needs a $75,000 operation by the end of this month to save his vision. We’ve tried every source of funding possible, and have been met with bureaucratic delay at every turn! Of course, after he’s blind, there’ll be all sorts of aid available.
If you lived in India, he’ll be blind for sure. Yes, medical and dental care it is more affordable there, you can get a bad tooth extracted on the street corner for about $5 sans the novacain, but I wouldn’t recommend it.This may be too personal, but if his parents don’t have insurance, does he not qualify for a medical card? Is the surgery considered experimental? Why will he be blind by the end of the month if he doesn’t get the surgery by then? I’ll keep him in my thoughts and I hope that he finds the help he needs.
Sure he qualifies, but to get that operation he needs prior approval, which they tell us we’ll have about three weeks too late. “Too bad” is what they told us.
But if he’s going to be blind before he can get approval, it could be considered an emergency, right? I’ve never heard of anyone with a medical card needing approval from anyone but their doctor to get treatment. I’ve worked in the Medicaid end of medical care for years and this is a new one for me. Whoever told you “too bad” is obviously not doing their job. If you’re waiting for him to qualify for a medical card, then he should be able to have the surgery and the coverage will be retroactive. I’d contact the social worker at the facility where the surgery should take place and let them help you. Keep us posted, I’d really like to know how this turns out for your grandson.
Will do!
Damoon,After finding some aid from private sources, through a social worker I know, and mortgaging my house, His surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. All I can say is that with all the problems he’s been having, the stress of having to scrape up money from anyplace we could has been way too much on all of us!The side effect of the operation that he needs is a high risk of cataracts before long, so maybe the medical card will have come through by the time he needs that. He is one tough kid, to go through all he has and will, and still smile! It didn’t need to be this rough for his mother too!