Forum Post: Health Care Restrictions Cost Thousands of Lives in US
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 30, 2011, 11:29 a.m. EST by chuck1al
(1074)
from Flomaton, AL
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Despite national legislative health reform, health care in the US will remain dismal for many Americans, resulting in continuing deaths and personal tragedies. A recent Harvard research team estimates that 2,266 US military veterans died in 2008 due to lack of health insurance. The figure is more than fourteen times the number of deaths suffered by US troops in Afghanistan in 2008, and more than twice as many as have died since the war began in 2001. Harvard researchers concluded that 1.46 million working-age vets lacked health coverage, increasing their death rate. The American Journal of Public Health published findings demonstrating that being uninsured raises an individual’s odds of dying by 40 percent.
Good post.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/6-health-care-restrictions-cost-thousands-of-lives-in-us/
^^^^Link to original article.
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They didn't die from lack of health insurance. They died from being exposed to toxins when they were in the service which there is no cure.
barb....Where did you receive your medical degree?......And are you privy to the medical histories of the patients?...if the answers are, I don't have one, and no...what do you base your opinion on.
I do my research and it is well known that pesticides were experimented on in the Gulf war, as well as other wars.
barb........So your research indicated that the prognosis for veterans was no medical treatment.
Unfortunately with a majority of the country getting their insurance through their employer there isn't much motivation for a national health insurance. It was a cowardly way to open the door, but the current health care legislation will probably push companies to drop coverage for their workers and increase the demand for a national plan at some point in the future.
MsStacy...you say cowardly plan!...I don't think the 30 million uninsured feel that way.....There is a penalty for company's who drop coverage because of the health plan....You sound like a selfish person who only cares about themselves...I hope you live a good long life, with your conscious it should not be a problem.
Yes cowardly! Instead of taking a stand and demanding a real national health care system, which he has said we should have, the president took a low profile approach to the issue. He accepted this insurance law just to have something passed. An illusion of savings through accounting tricks, requirements that will cost people their current plan, because companies will find it more cost effective not to offer insurance. Instead of making the case now and throwing himself into the fight he sat back and let congress drift along until we got this bill. We got a second rate bill, that may not stand up constitutional review. I'd only have a problem with my conscience if i looked at the garbage we got and accepted it instead of what congress should have done.
Personally, I am uninsured and will continue without insurance.
MsStacy...The CBO report disagrees with your estimation that the Affordable Health Care Plan will cost the tax payers anything....The Act's provisions are intended to be funded by a variety of taxes and offsets. Major sources of new revenue include a much-broadened Medicare tax on incomes over $200,000 and $250,000, for individual and joint filers respectively, an annual fee on insurance providers, and a 40% tax on "Cadillac" insurance policies. There are also taxes on pharmaceuticals, high-cost diagnostic equipment, and a 10% federal sales tax on indoor tanning services. Offsets are from intended cost savings such as improved fairness in the Medicare Advantage program relative to traditional Medicare.
Total new tax revenue from the Act will amount to $409.2 billion over the next 10 years. $78 billion will be realized before the end of fiscal 2014. Summary of revenue sources:
Broaden Medicare tax base for high-income taxpayers: $210.2 billion Annual fee on health insurance providers: $60 billion 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $10,200/$27,500: $32 billion Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of branded drugs: $27 billion Impose 2.3% excise tax on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices: $20 billion Require information reporting on payments to corporations: $17.1 billion Raise 7.5% Adjusted Gross Income floor on medical expenses deduction to 10%: 15.2 billion Limit contributions to flexible spending arrangements in cafeteria plans to $2,500: $13 billion All other revenue sources: $14.9 billion
The CBO only scores for a 10 year time period. The law has government collecting fees and taxes before benefits are being paid out. The CLASS act is a good example of what was done, and made up about half the "savings" of the entire affordable health care act. It would have collected premiums for 5 years before it started paying out any benefits. The HHS Secretary has now said that CLASS will not be going forward as the program is unsustainable. In other words it won't come close to breaking even.
You yourself indirectly point out the flaw in the CBO's assessment method. The law will collect $78 billion before the government starts paying out any subsidies for health insurance. The law has given itself a head start. I've seen figures for US health care expenses of $2.3 to 2.5 trillion for 2009, that's about $8000 per person. We're going to need more money for the next ten year period then what this law provides.
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm in favor of a national health care initiative. I just think this law is a poor substitute for what we need as a nation. It's going to turn into another poorly funded entitlement. It's not the entitlement I oppose, it's the poor funding and the smoke and mirrors way government operates.
In the US we pay about 24-25% of our income to government in one way shape or form. In Europe they pay 34-36%. My position (even though it's only a dream now) is reform the tax codes, raise taxes, and get a real national health program in place.
AFHCP... Its a good start
Have to agree to disagree on Obamacare I guess. It's going to cost more then it brings in once we get into the second decade and premiums are already going up. If the mandate gets declared unconstitutional it will fall apart. The states are dragging their feet on forming exchanges. Businesses are already considering dropping the coverage they provide. I see it as a mess.
I disagree