Supreme Court and the Individual Mandate

LSAT wrote:
I have always been lucky...I am a member of a very large medical group...I have had the same primary care doctor for 15 years. If I call in the AM, I will most likely get an appointment the same day or definitely the next day. If I need a specialist ...depending on the specialty...the wait can be a week to 3-4 weeks. I somewhat agree with the wait times. I try to get my appointments early as possible ...before they start falling behind. My doctor's company has them book appointments 10 minutes apart and most appointments with him last longer than that. By noon he is probably at least 30 minutes behind.

Not to take this OFF Topic but just a slight diversion...

This is my 2nd lesson in irony today bc I see my friend lsat participating in an OT discussion which is NOT marked OT. Not that I mind but do find it ironic and think he must be afraid of So Well?

Someone may have to read this to lsat as he won't read anything that is OT.

And now back to the regularly scheduled programming

I was NOT happy about spending over 7 hrs waiting at a VA hospital ER in West Haven, CT on a Fri. ALL of the employees going home and nothing to eat. When was the last time you went 7 hrs w/o eating? Think about it.

Gumby, due to the Crohn's and to a lesser degree the COPD I'm supposed to eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 "normal" size meals. And usually I do as that is easiest on me tho hard to maintain a balanced diet that way.

I had a bad night some time ago and "snacked" at 4 AM. Back to bed some time later. Up again about 8 AM and whoosh! A toilet bowl full of old blood and off to ER about 10 AM. Was sent for abdominal xray and ultrasound relatively quickly. Was told I would be going down for an abdominal CT scan to check the kidneys, ureters, etc. About 1 PM I "really" had to urinate, my eyeballs were turning yellow , and asked if it was okay and if they wanted a "specimen" since I was given permission to "go" but no mention was made of collecting a specimen. I was told to collect one "just in case".

2 PM I asked if I could have a sandwich or something to snack on as I was quite ravenous by this time. I was told it was ordered. 4 PM I asked about the snack and was told it had been ordered and should be delivered shortly. 6 PM I really couldn't hold "it" anymore and NEEDED to urinate again . I turned my light on and waited .... a nurse walking by, NOT assigned to me, was kind enough to step in and ask if he could help. I was a bit cranky by this time and told him I would like to know what the h*ll was going on, what was my status and could I go to the restroom and should I collect another specimen since I had no idea if they had collected the other sample I had provided or not.

He was kind enough to take the time to go check on my status and came back w/printed reports from xray and ultrasound and told me I would be taken to the CT scan w/in the next few minutes, that the delay was needing 6 hours from last meal before they could administer the dye. There would be a sandwich waiting for me when I returned from the CT scan. Say what???

Don't tell me I didn't just get lost in the shuffle! I wasn't aware of any real emergencies, ambulance delivery, etc. thru out the time I was there but who knows for sure. Certainly I was not critical and wouldn't begrudge serious cases for receiving treatment first but really ..... !!!

My mother worked at this hospital all the while I was growing up. I played in the excavation for the first additon to the building. I've never known anyone to experience being lost in ER there but I'm pretty sure that I was!! There's a first time for everything, right??

Best part of it all is that I did survive! Obviously.

Ironically, congresspersons that pass all these laws about health care insurance are exempt because they get the best health insurance available in the country. Oh, and Obama will NEVER need health insurance as his health care will be provided for free the rest of his life.

LSAT wrote:

Slinky wrote:

pats wrote:... What is the typical waiting time for non-emergency treatment for someone unemployed in the USA who does not qualify for medicaid?

I have always been lucky...I am a member of a very large medical group...I have had the same primary care doctor for 15 years. If I call in the AM, I will most likely get an appointment the same day or definitely the next day. If I need a specialist ...depending on the specialty...the wait can be a week to 3-4 weeks. I somewhat agree with the wait times. I try to get my appointments early as possible ...before they start falling behind. My doctor's company has them book appointments 10 minutes apart and most appointments with him last longer than that. By noon he is probably at least 30 minutes behind.

My regular doctor has her own practice. I have always been able to call and get an appointment for today or tomorrow if something comes up. I have also found that appointments at 2pm usually result in me getting in early as she takes lunch from 1-2pm, making me first in line. Recently, I had an appointment at noon, and she was behind. But I have to admit, even when she fits me in, I feel like she is giving me enough attention and not rushing through it.

VikingGnome wrote:Ironically, congresspersons that pass all these laws about health care insurance are exempt because they get the best health insurance available in the country. Oh, and Obama will NEVER need health insurance as his health care will be provided for free the rest of his life.

There was a local congressman who campaigned against Obama care and then threw a fit when he had to wait for his insurance to be effective when he started his term. I don't remember the exact details but I was so angry when I heard about this.

49er

Kudos to Chief Justice Roberts who made it very clear that he was personally opposed to the health care legislation but had to uphold it on constitutional grounds. He did what the court is entrusted to do, by taking his own emotions out and looking solely at the constitution and legal precedents.

*nuff said

Thanks to the last two posts. I was shocked with the posts not acknowledging the obvious fact the we have a major pre-existing condition and could exceed the insurance care lifetime caps. Both of these issues were addressed In our favor in the Affordable Care Act, now upheld by the Robert's court.

Kitatonic wrote:Thanks to the last two posts. I was shocked with the posts not acknowledging the obvious fact the we have a major pre-existing condition and could exceed the insurance care lifetime caps. Both of these issues were addressed In our favor in the Affordable Care Act, now upheld by the Robert's court.

To my knowledge there is nothing in the ACA that prevents insurance companies from demanding a much higher premium for "pre-existing conditions". I suspect your "victory" is nothing more than a red herring.

Wait......I thought Obama said he wouldn't raise taxes on the middle class.........

This just opens the door for the government to tell you what to buy or they'll fine you with a tax. I guess they'll probably start with electric cars or you must buy an American made car or you'll have to pay a tax if you don't. There could be no end to it.

I am so disappointed. My contract is up next May, so my good insurance plan will most likely be dropped. I will then have to pay a lot of money for the government plan that won't be as good as what I have. I have no idea how I will pay for this. I am barely making ends meet as it is. Health insurance was the main reason I kept the job I have now. They pay isn't good, but it has allowed me to work on my small business and still have good insurance. But with the economy, my small business is pretty much dead, and I am depending on the job to be my wages and my insurance. I guess I will be looking for a new job next year.

zoocrewphoto wrote:I am so disappointed. My contract is up next May, so my good insurance plan will most likely be dropped. I will then have to pay a lot of money for the government plan that won't be as good as what I have. I have no idea how I will pay for this. I am barely making ends meet as it is. Health insurance was the main reason I kept the job I have now. They pay isn't good, but it has allowed me to work on my small business and still have good insurance. But with the economy, my small business is pretty much dead, and I am depending on the job to be my wages and my insurance. I guess I will be looking for a new job next year.

My job offers insurance but when you make less than $10 an hour and have $2000 deductible that co-pays do not count toward its rough. If something happens to my job; which is child care; I will have a hard time finding another one. My area is just starting to really get hit by the recession as coal is our major/only industry. How are the 600 poeple that just got laid off last week suppose to pay for health insurance when they can't pay for food?

Scary stuff we're starting to get into now since the law is now a tax on everyone.

VikingGnome wrote:Ironically, congresspersons that pass all these laws about health care insurance are exempt because they get the best health insurance available in the country. Oh, and Obama will NEVER need health insurance as his health care will be provided for free the rest of his life.

That is simply not true. First, members of Congress were never "exempt." The PPACA was written to preserve the existing employer-provided insurance system for those who have it, so no one with insurance through his or her job is eligible to purchase individual insurance on the exchanges established under the act. Congress has the same health insurance as other federal employees, so originally its members could not have participated. However, because of misinformation spread by opponents of the act, many people came to believe the "Congress exempted itself" lie, and so the PPACA in its final form as passed required members of Congress to get their insurance from the exchanges.This is a verifiable fact that can be ascertained by looking up the relevant section of the law:

PPACA SEC. 1312(d)(3)(D):
(D) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE.—
(i) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are—
(I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or
(II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act).

Second, health benefits for former presidents are defined by the Former Presidents Act. They are entitled to treatment in military hospitals, but they are billed for it. They must pay for their own health insurance (until they qualify for Medicare, of course, like the rest of us). All this can be found at http://www.senate.gov/reference/resourc ... 98-249.pdf.