Kristof: Existing Health Care System Kills More Than An Army Of "Death Panels" Working 24/7

nytimes.com:

Critics fret that health care reform would undermine American family values, not least by convening somber death panels to wheel away Grandma as if she were Old Yeller.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[getsit]

Thank you Mr Kristof. I always read your editorials & appreciate your point of view. Many families have had to cut their income in some way in order to qualify for Medicaid for a family member. Families with a disabled child have had to keep their income low to continue to qualify for SSI & Medicaid. These children will not qualify for any insurance program (unless a parent works for a large group like a government). Many families lost their insurance when an injury/illness occurred to a family member.

An organ transplant recipient paid for by Medicaid cannot go to work fulltime because he risks making too much income. He would lose his Medicaid and he wouldn't be eligible for insurance because he's high risk. If he has no insurance or Medicaid funding he cannot pay for the anti-rejection medications and followup care which is extremely expensive. Without the care he will die. THIS IS RATIONED HEALTHCARE.

There are thousands of examples of why our healthcare system if broken. We need a public plan & regulations requiring the health insurance companies to stop discriminating. Insurance needs to be comprehensive to include dental, vision, & medical care & NEEDS TO BE AFFORDABLE. Insuring everyone spreads the cost across a huge pool, makes sure everyone gets wellcare and prevention services through a medical home, & keeps people out of the emergency room and the hospital (raises the cost of care for everyone).

[justoverit333]

And the Party of No New Ideas think we have the best
medical care system in the world? Give me a break.
That poor woman had to divorce her husband so she
didn't go totally bankrupt. That's a real intelligent system
we have in place. What a joke.

[brooklyncitizen]

What is surprising is how long it took for someone in the media to point this out.

Medicaid is more and more becoming an option. When I was a direct caregiver for my mom, who has Alzheimer's and needs 24/7 care, I went through my savings to private pay for her care : adult day care and home aides, until I was able to get her on Medicaid.T­his took several months in NY. By the time that happenned I had to leave my job and became a consultant since her illness became more demanding and I was getting emergency calls all too often. After 3 years of sporadic self-employment while caring for her in my home I placed her in a nursing home. I consider it a blessing to even have that. There is a shortage of beds and people with Alzheimers live for ever (so it seems ).

I remember having qualms about going on Medicaid and meeting with an elder care attorney who summed it up this way:
"(then Republican Governor) Pataki's father is living in a nursing home financed by Medicaid. If Medicaid is good enough for the Governor of New York's father then it is good enough for your Mom".

It revealed that given our current system at any moment anyone's safety and security can be jeopardized due to illness; even illness of a loved one. As a society we have forfeited our morality and decency; it's inhumane.

[MimiGardner]

The republicans love to distract people with wedge issues. Mythical "death panels" are just one more such issue.

[sandiegoconservative]

I find it interesting that hardly any of these "stories" appeared before all the healthcare reform talk surfaced a few months ago.

If all of you are so against private insurance, than why do you have it? Simply cancel your plan and go beg for free healthcare from those evil, corporate hospitals, or better yet, go to the free government paid clinics. There is at least one in every town. Let the government pay for you.

I have been in the insurance field for 7 years now. I have worked both for and against insurance companies in the legal field. I have seen insurance companies make plenty of mistakes and realize no system is perfect and the current system needs change. But I have seen the government funded healthcare do much worse almost every time. The federal government cannot keep a budget or offer efficient services in any area they are involved in and most State services are not much better. So why do you think they can be efficient here?

People talk about the VA system as a prime example of efficiency. When I defended cost reimbursement claims for VA, they were almost always twice the amount and I did not prevail most of the time. When I made claims against the government, I prevailed most of the time. A 4k carpal tunnel syndrome surgery costs 9-10k under the VA system. How is that efficient?

Make changes to the system, but don't completely scrap an overall decent system.

[rsaillant1]

It's not healthcare reform that needs an update through reform.

It's Insurance reform that needs the major adjustment. That's the
industry you so proudly serve. It needs a wake-up call, one so loud that
the industry gets itself surgically removed from the medical profession.

Distanced so that they no longer tell the medical professionals how to do
their jobs. Cover those expenses, as good little insureers should, and then
go away and be quiet.

Oh, and one more thing, charge according to the actual services you provide,
which as most of us observe, is writing checks. Let's also limit that check writing
to Medical professionals involved with actual patient care, not on your Board of Directors.
...and no more checks to Congressmen, we didn't agree to cover those costs.

[jolebo]

HR676...ch­eck it out.

[josephebacon]

All I can post is the truth about how beancounters denied care my mother needed and wound up bankrupting our family. When Dad died, he had borrowed so much money on credit cards and mortgages that Wells Fargo seized our house.

Nobody should have to go broke to pay for medical care. Nobody should have to go homeless to pay for medical care. It's a disgrace

[Ventura Co Ca]

Here's a few people you're paying for that don't belong here.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/immigrationnaturalizatio/a/caillegals.htm

[janehenry]

You are really a nasty piece of work. Instead of offering comfort or empathy to someone who obviously had suffered due to a health care system that is broken, you offer your political garbage. Is it any wonder so many people thing the conservatives are circlejerks?

[CTtransplant]

Folks, we need to keep up the pressure and press forward with the fight!

Senator Kennedy said, “This is the cause of my life – new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American – north, south, east, west, young, old – will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.­”

Kennedy was one of our greatest champions of health care reform. He carried the torch for a long time...and now it is up to us to continue to carry it for him!

We cannot let the scare tactics dissuade us from reaching our goal!

While many of us are struggling to afford medical insurance/medical bills.
While Congress people try to stop healthcare reform.
While Congress people accept large contributions from lobbyists to prevent health care reform.

Our elected officials in Congress receive health care mostly paid for by us tax payers, yet many are trying to make it impossible for us to purchase an affordable plan of our own.

Please sign these petitions - and by all means, spread the word! Thank you!

http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html
http://www.democrats.com/honor-ted-kennedy?cid=ZGVtczQ0MTA5OGRlbXM=
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4922/content.jsp?content_KEY=2763&tag=hk1_typ-e1

[rinpochet]

I like Bill Moyers statement that Obama should fight for single payer with everything he has, even if it means being a one-term president. Some things are important enough to fight for and this is one of them.

The progressives cannot let Obama get away with giving our health care away to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. If he does, he deserves to be a one-term president anyway. Might as well let his legacy be that he fought for the people with everything he had.

[Ventura Co Ca]

Callyson - I want to say talking to you and debating this very serious issue is the best conversation I've had on here in over two months. It's nice to actually talk about it instead of arguing and throwing around names and ridiculing.

[johnie2xs]

If only your plea at the end was being made to a rational lot.

[Callyson]

Another excellent Kristof column. It is simply outrageous that a loving couple had to get a divorce due to the burden of forthcoming health care costs. I would *love* to hear one of the trolls defend that situation.­..(no, I'm not holding my breath for that one...)

[Ventura Co Ca]

I'm still waiting for someone to explain (in detail) how this government health care will be paid for.

[Callyson]

First of all, to reply to one of your posts below:
"Abortions, illegals
Fact: if it's not specifically stated one way or the other in the bill it leaves it open for interpretation after the bill is passed."
This is speculation, not fact.
"Government needs to do the jobs it already has like taking care of the illegal immigration problem first and I don't mean amnesty like Reagan did,."
I'd be interested to see the evidence (not speculation) that illegal immigration costs Americans more than our dysfunctional health care system.
As for how to pay for health care reforms, I'll direct you to the source:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Fresh-Reality-Check-We-Can-Afford-Reform-We-Cant-Afford-the-Status-Quo/

[zundra]

To be honest no one can and you know it. If that were possible this "debate" would be over. The only thing we can do at this point is give you a very educated guess on the theory of how it is possible to pay for if all the chips fall in line. Of course there will be bumps along the way and there may have to be some course correction along the way.

What I can tell you for certain is every minute that something isn't done another uninsured person dies because of the lack of health care. To be honest I don't really care how it will be paid for. As long as we start saving lives from both death and financial ruin it can be the most expensive gov program ever created for all I care.

Where were you "conservatives" when it came to paying for Bush's war? The price of his little pet project could have paid for health care reform several times over.

It's sweet of you to be so concerned with protecting health insurance company's profits and bully tactics but I'm sure you'll change your tune if bad luck strikes you or you are wronged by those you so eagerly defend. For the record I have a good job with great health benefits so my concern in this has nothing to do with me. I'm concerned about my fellow man (as well as me and my family if the unthinkable happens)

[dadw5boys]

$910 Billion a year saved in just cleaning up the paper work.

Another $460 Billion by ended the kick backs like Referal Fees and ending Profit sharing to Doctors for each test they order.

That is the starting point

[dadw5boys]

Now who is assuming you know where my arguement is comming from ?????

Did mention Republican or Democrate ? No

But you have mentioned it in several post.

assume -- check the spelling.

[dadw5boys]

My Uncles wife had mental breaks after a car accident Doctor numbed her for the most part with drugs then stopped aftert the 1 year limit past for legal actions. My Uncle lost over a million dollars a year business keeping tractors and trailors, dump trucks and contracts for state/city heavey truck work.

He was finally forced to put her in a state mental hospital. He just worked till he was exhausted and had a heart attack trying to pay for her care. The told him to divorce her but he would not. Within 4 years he sold his home and was living in the back of his business. After the heart attack he was forced to take a partner and when that money was gone he sold the rest of the business.

Within 9 years time he went from millionaire truck mechanic to welfare. He was able to buy a littlr house in hope his wife would be able to come home one day. Then the state put a lien on the house.

The next year he won the lottery over $20 million Dollars. The State took all of it but took the lein off his little house.
They were so kind.

[SaulBloodworth]

I don't want to be too cynical, but here is the reason Europe has - and needs - health care and America doesn't. Europe is made up of indigenous people. If, say, many Swiss, or French, or German, or Swedish people die during a disease, they are gone. It takes a long time to replace them.

If America experiences a disease, and millions of Americans would die, all the government needs to do is open up the border to Mexico and millions of new Americans would move in the next day.

Of course this is harsh for the actual sick people, but from the viewpoint of society it's a lot cheaper to replace white trash than to have health care - except, of course, if precious people are concerned who have had expensive education in Harvard and such. But these people have coverage anyway.

[rsaillant1]

....and you get your "weed" where?

[burnsun]

No one would help us but the doctor (he only charged me what the insurance company would have reimbursed him) the rest full price for all cause we made too much money.

paying all the medical bills almost broke us emotionally and financially.

We discussed divorce. But we could not bring ourselves to ...... then grandma dies & we decided it was her spirit and our love that made it through with a LOT OF LUCK!!!!!!

I opted for natural childbirth cause I was in fear of an epidural error always being a preexisting condition!

Example of the idiocy ...... I paid $400 for blood tests the insurance comapny reimbursed 10 to 12$ on my covered subsequent pregnancies (no more grandmothers to count on)

Had my grandmother not died and left me a little money we would never have gotten out from under that!

So every time my six yo asks now about college. I tell her about how much she cost to be born...and how much that could have been had I banked that like the original plan had been! and all the places she will not be going w/o a scholarshi­p........ I thank heaven everyday that all went well......­cause had she been early like my last child (over 50K on my part of the bill and 175 k on my sons) we would never have recovered with out a powerball win!