Impeding changes to our Health Care system

[TheMercenary]

Oh Canada...

Canadians visit U.S. to get care

Deal lets many go to Michigan hospitals

BY PATRICIA ANSTETT
FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER

Hospitals in border cities, including Detroit, are forging lucrative arrangements with Canadian health agencies to provide care not widely available across the border.

Agreements between Detroit hospitals and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for heart, imaging tests, bariatric and other services provide access to some services not immediately available in the province, said ministry spokesman David Jensen.


The agreements show how a country with a national care system -- a proposal not part of the health care changes under discussion in Congress -- copes with demand for care with U.S. partnerships, rather than building new facilities.


Michael Vujovich, 61, of Windsor was taken to Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital for an angioplasty procedure after he went to a Windsor hospital in April. Vujovich said the U.S. backup doesn't show a gap in Canada's system, but shows how it works.


"I go to the hospital in Windsor and two hours later, I'm done having angioplasty in Detroit," he said. His $38,000 bill was covered by the Ontario health ministry.

Canada eyed in the health care debate

Dany Mercado, a leukemia patient from Kitchener, Ontario, is cancer-free after getting a bone marrow transplant at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

Told by Canadian doctors in 2007 he couldn't have the procedure there, Mercado's family and doctor appealed to Ontario health officials, who agreed to let him have the transplant in Detroit in January 2008.

The Karmanos Institute is one of several Detroit health facilities that care for Canadians needing services not widely available in Canada.

Canada, for example, has waiting times for bariatric procedures to combat obesity that can stretch to more than five years, according to a June report in the Canadian Journal of Surgery.

As a result, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in April designated 13 U.S. hospitals, including five in Michigan and one more with a tentative designation, to perform bariatric surgery for Canadians.

The agreements provide "more immediate services for patients whose health is at risk," Jensen said.

continues:
http://freep.com/article/20090820/BU...08200420/1319/

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Fighting false health care claims, Obama repeats one of his own

That's a pretty weak point. Employers could switch plans if healthcare is not reformed, in fact they often shop for the lowest price. Maybe he should phrase it "if you want to, you can keep whatever coverage your employer provides for you".

[Happy Monkey]

Yeah, it seems like many of the complaints about the reform are that it will cause things that are already happening. It's a magic reform, reaching back in time, forcing insurance companies to ration care and employers to change insurance plans even before it is enacted!

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

That's a pretty weak point. Employers could switch plans if healthcare is not reformed, in fact they often shop for the lowest price. Maybe he should phrase it "if you want to, you can keep whatever coverage your employer provides for you".

Eh, that might be fair. But the reality is that unless they have a government option nothing much sounds like change for the insurance companies. They must have had some pretty good deal with the White House to be so agreeable.

[Happy Monkey]

They like the mandate. They think that 40-50 million new customers will make up for the costs of the other reforms. And they're working to kill the public option, so they get all of those new customers.

[TheMercenary]

Yea, they are laughing all the way to the bank. WOW, now that is reform! not.

[Happy Monkey]

Actually, the mandate is necessary in order to eliminate the concept of "preexisting conditions", which in itself is a massively good reform. Without a mandate, if the insurance companies couldn't discriminate based on health, you would be stupid to buy insurance until you were sick. Like buying auto insurance after an accident, if auto insurance wasn't mandatory.

[TheMercenary]

No elements of the bill have passed.

[TheMercenary]

PWP

Is the manic rushed appraoch to "reforming healthcare" motivated by something else? Is the unreported information concealed by media groupies who appear to be little more than paid democrat supporters pertinent to tax payers? consider the following:

David Axelrod, who is fond of calling the town hall protestors astroturf mobs, appears to have a few conflict of interests with the health care reform proposals being put forward by his boss, President Obama.

Axelrod headed up AKPD Message and Media - a firm that the Obama presidential campaign paid more than $340 million to place ads for the candidate. He resigned on December 31 to join the administration, and the firm is now run by his son.

The problem is, he is still owed money by the firm. And wouldn't you like to know where that money is coming from?

How about from a coalition of businesses calling themselves "Healthy Economy Now (HEN)" connected to the health care debate?

AXELROD--OBAMA--AKPD--HEN--PHARMA

"Coalitions of interest groups running at least $24 million in pro-overhaul ads hired GMMB, which worked for Obama's 2008 campaign and whose partners include a top Obama campaign strategist. They also hired AKPD Message and Media, which was founded by David Axelrod"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...le/2009/08/19/

ALSO THIS:

HEN's other members, according to its Web site, are the AARP, the biggest advocacy organization for retirees; the Advanced Medical Technology Association; the Business Roundtable; Families USA; the Service Employees International Union, all based in Washington, and the American Medical Association based in Chicago. PhRMA represents 28 drugmakers, including New York-based Pfizer Inc. and London-based GLAXO SMITH KLINE PLC.

AND

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Two firms that received $343.3 million to handle advertising for Barack Obama’s White House run last year have profited from his top priority as president by taking on his push for health-care overhaul.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aV3dLt6wmZH4

So despite the placations about health care costs to Americans or insuring the uninsured maybe the real motivator is simply MONEY?

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

No elements of the bill have passed.

So?

[TheMercenary]

So you have no idea what the final product will be. And from the looks of it the Dems are continuing to make back door deals and the insurance companies will come out on top making a huge profit and decisions about your health care based on income.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

So you have no idea what the final product will be.

OK...

And from the looks of it the Dems are continuing to make back door deals and the insurance companies will come out on top making a huge profit and decisions about your health care based on income.

...but you do?

The elimination of preexisting conditions is in all versions of the bill. If we're talking about what will be enacted, I'll go for that over "from the looks of it".

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

OK... ...but you do?

The elimination of preexisting conditions is in all versions of the bill. If we're talking about what will be enacted, I'll go for that over "from the looks of it".

No. I said I know they are making deals to maintain their profit margin.

[Datalyss]

Did anyone see Jon's discussion with Betsy McCaughey on the new heathcare bill last week on The Daily Show? The extended discussion is available at thedailyshow.com.

Sorry if this was mentioned already. I don't have time to look thru all 10 pages of this thread.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by skysidhe

Interesting Kit and along the same lines I stumbled upon this.

Someone's opinion I may or maynot agree with.http://www.democraticunderground.com...ss=389x6296630

bwahahahahaha