Chairman Stupak on Rescission Practices of Health Insurance Companies

[cindiburkey]

Mediare and medicaid are not huge failures. My fiance personally knows many extremely wealthy older people through his job. They all can afford the very best health care (and they go to the Mayo Clinic for it, etc) and they use their medicare option. All of them. It is a good health plan. Everyone should have it.

[hedgehogbooks]

Keep up the good work, Mr. Stupak!

[beancube2010]

No public fund to Stupak!

If patients die because of his killing the health bill, he is a killer.

[Shilohsforbiddencity]

as one of Stupak's constituents, I applaud his efforts. However, the proof will be in the pudding, as will my vote in his re-election. So I say this: Mr. Stupak: support the government option. Its the only check to the balance of power which currently resides with corporate America, not interested in service of their members but profit at all cost. How the Right in this country got sucked into fighting for the corporate heartless bastards in insurance companies is beyond my comprehension.

[TPAUSA]

Kudos Mr. Stupak!

These Vultures are heartless and should go down this year!

[ldycougar]

If the government takes control of health care what is our guarantee that this is going to change, our family depends on state insurance now and if that is how they deal with it then they may as well leave it the same way it is because there is no difference in how it is handled

[RandomMelodies]

Let's recognize that many of these problems exist in an individual market. Until individual coverage is changed across all states; people will continue to be denied or coverage rescinded. Healthcare also does not belong in the employer market. Optimal health of our people should be a priority for our country; as Americans we should demand the best and bolster any way we can. We support other industries that pollute our air and contaminate our land and water without any after-thought.

[a661333]

卍, tells you, anything is, Correct, 卍 !!! 卐 Is the force of gravity electricity generation, d 卍

[nohealthcare62]

I had BCBS @17 yrs @$7500 I used it one time in the 17th yr the OBGYN gave me Vioxx & Liquid narcotics for Female cancer I had to BEG to get the cancer removed, 6 months, After I was told BCBS would no longer cover cancer in me again .

[smalljaw]

Why not let the free market take over police and fire services too? wouldn't it be funny to have your house burn down because the neighbors house went up in flames and they couldn't afford to pay for the fire company or you call the police to report a break in and then get a bill for 2 grand? If healthcare isn't in the same catagory as police and fire protection then I don't know what is!

[malibuhur12]

Fire and police are aid locally by your property taxes.

[onlyrey]

True, still they are not private. Think of all policemen being like "dog the bounty hunter", and asking you for an insurance card before providing their service to you. Would you like that? What about firemen coming to the front of your burning house and just watching it burn down because you had no "coverage".

[RandomMelodies]

We had this system once; a long time ago. We chose to change it. And now it's time to take another step forward.

[armadilloze]

malibu: "911 Emergency, how will you pay?"

Yeah, right.

Chicago privatized parking meters. Price went up 4x, meters are no longer getting maintained, and police still have to enforce at taxpayer expense. In the SE US, some water depts were privatized. Rates also went up 4X, and faucets ran dry in some towns. Is that what you want? If so, why? I don't get it. Are you so rich you don't care?

You MUST look at the record of privatization first, then decide.

[onlyrey]

It'd be pretty interesting, maybe then, all the policemen were like Dog the Bounty Hunter!! Also, policemen would only pursue high value low risk cases... they'd only be kicking people out from their homes and not going after real criminals.

[smalljaw]

All I can say is that I loved my insurance policy until I became sick with cancer, it's funny how those touting how good the free market works when it comes to healthcare change their tune when if they become very sick and the cost of care is so high that the insurance company decides it doesn't want to pay anymore. LISTEN!!! These people were responsible and got and paid for healthcare coverage that was canceled because of something stupid that had nothing to do with their current condition.

[malibuhur12]

If the federal reserve was not devaluing our dollar you would be able to pay any kind of healthcare cost. our dollar is worth just 4 cents of what it was in 1913. It's not that I dont care about people, it's just there are other things causing the skyrocketing prices and its not greedy doctors.

[oscarmikesierra]

It's definitely not greedy doctors. The dollar amounts on my doctor paycheck haven't changed in 15 years. If you count inflation, I make significantly less than I did in the past. The money is in the system somewhere. Your doctor isn't getting it however.

[malibuhur12]

Let the free market decide. Its not your job to tell me what health insurance to have.

[Melpheos1er]

Health coverage is not something that someone can hope make money with it !

Free market have to make money to survive so yes, health insurance will dissapear. Good ridance.

[malibuhur12]

In order to be an economic asset a company needs to make money that is the reason/reward for working. It is not the federal governments job to pay for peoples health insurance. For example I do not want to pay for your health insurance. If government would let the free market function the price would be much lower which most people would be able to afford.

[Melpheos1er]

There is actually a free market for the health insurance if you are not aware and it is expensive and do constant trick to no pay.

A socialized health system is cheaper because you save the cost of advertisment, CEO cost, bonuses, lobbying etc...but needs regulation to prevent specialized doctor to profit from the system.

You do not want to pay for everyone health insurance but you are OK to pay for the fire and police department of your State despite living in a fire proof bunker.

[malibuhur12]

There is not a truly Free Market in health care, government regulation has made health care unaffordable. Look at the Canadian system that is socialized. They have massive wait lines for routine procedures like MRI's (unless you wanna come out of pocket and pay). Then they end up sending a lot of people here to get the treatment. The Federal Government is supposed to be bound by the constitution to the powers that it is expressly given. Read it and you will not find a provision for healthcare.

[Melpheos1er]

can you point me to regulations that made private health care unaffordable ?

Also the reason why some canadian cross the border for specific exam is not related to national health care but to bad managment of ressources(MRI is not a routine exam, it is very costly and should not be ask to be done in all situation)

Also even if some canadian cross the border, much more US citizen go to Canada just to get any treatment (no specific ones)

[malibuhur12]

It was good of you to not comment on the constitution as you would have had an epic fail.

[onlyrey]

mailbuhur12, We ALREADY pay much more than any other country in the world. 19% of GDP; that is direct costs, without counting all the costs related to bankruptcies, lost job mobility, lost time by patients, opportunity cost of patients time who have to spend hours and hours arguing with insurance companies, etc. The only one getting a free lunch are insurance companies, they just take the cash while medicare and medicaide are stuck with the risky patients.

[malibuhur12]

Even with the fact that it is not in the constitution to have "free" national healthcare, We are already broke and in massive debt. Bush put us in more debt than any other president combined and now Obama has already (without healthcare spent more accumulated more debt) than any other president (inc. Bush) COMBINED. The fact is we cannot afford it. Our dollar is worth 4 cents of what it was in 1913. The Federal Reserve (the true culprit of boom bust cycle) is inflating like never before. EVER.

[ldycougar]

these are the facts, most of this debt came from a war that was not entirely ours, so now the U.S. suffers, and the fact is it hits our well being first, health care, food costs sky rocket, and remember the gas prices, the poor are hit the hardest and when you get sick that puts you in the poverty bracket because you just lost the pay you needed, so let's say 100 k is your income you now have cancer your income is now 15k, can you live on that and pay your bills? that is the point and a good one

[ldycougar]

If you want you may repost what I replied to you about I am on your side on this point

[armadilloze]

malibu: "For example I do not want to pay for your health insurance."

For example I do not want to pay for your roads or weather reports. Where in the Constitution does it say anything about weather? Get your travel information at your own expense.

You don't seem to understand insurance. You will still have to pay for insurance, it'll just cost less and someone ins co bureaucrat can't cut it off if you get sick. Google "death panel home to die" to see how the current system works. You likee?

[malibuhur12]

Roads are property taxes. Its not that I don't want to pay LEGAL taxes. Example, the Federal Income tax is not legal, because it is not apportioned. Via constitution all taxes collected by the FEDERAL government must be apportioned. I understand insurance and right now I do not have to pay for insurance unless I choose to. Under Obamacare I would be forced with is not freedom. Instead of an insurance company cutting your benefits it will be a govt bureaucrat. We need a TRUE free market not govt.

[malibuhur12]

If it wasn't for the governments involvement in healthcare the costs would be going down. I can rely on other methods to get information on weather and travel. The private sector must be allowed to function without any government involvement. When you have real competition (not govt) prices go down and quality improves. It is the survival of the fittest. You need to look at free market economics. We cant afford these programs anyway, our debt is growing exponentially and we do not make anything.

[armadilloze]

malibuhur12: "If it wasn't for the governments involvement in healthcare the costs would be going down."

How so? Pretty vague supposition.

"I can rely on other methods to get information on weather and travel."

Then why don't you, so I can stop paying for your information, freeloader? Why should I have to pay for your weather information and other stuff? Give me a date when you're going to stop taking away my money. Not too happy paying for Hallibacon's no-bid contracts, either.

[malibuhur12]

It's just like any other industry as technology gets better and we get more efficient the cost will drop ie. cell phones, computers. unless you have a govt that is intervening and driving costs up. The govt always pays top dollar never a competitive price because the money is not coming from there own pockets but from ours. Medicare/Medicaid are huge failures because of this. I never asked for any of these govt subsides. You can have them all now. There are plenty of local weather stations.

[armadilloze]

mailbu: "unless you have a govt that is intervening and driving costs up."

To repeat: Chicago privatized parking meters. Price went up 4x, meters are no longer getting maintained, and police still have to enforce at taxpayer expense. In the SE US, some water depts were privatized. Rates also went up 4X, and faucets ran dry in some towns. Is that what you want? If so, why? I don't get it. Are you so rich you don't care?

You MUST look at the record of privatization first, then decide.

[malibuhur12]

That's a local matter and market. Im talking about federal govt socialized programs. Your case could be a monopoly, not sure i don't have all the facts about it just your 2 sentences. I care about freedom, thats what i want for you and me. Freedom to make your own important decisions. Explain to me how through a free market from the inception of the country to 1913 we were so prosperous WITHOUT an interventionist federal govt? That's the record of privatization.

[beancube2010]

malibu loves to buy insurance coverage for govt employees like Stupak who won't vote to give him health care insurance.