Town Hall Meeting

This evening I attended the Town Hall Conference call held my my Congressman Steve Israel on the Health Care plan.

My question to him was "When 54 million uninsured Americans are provided health insurance what provisions are in this plan to support and increase the Health Care infrastructure in the country that currently can't handle currently insured Americans?"

His answer..."We'll have bumps at the start but as hospitals and Doctors hire more people the infrastructure will correct itself and this will help the economy by creating more jobs an more opportunity to Americans." So basically he said there's nothing in the plan currently.

Get ready to wait for that kidney transplant kids...hopefully you won't die before you're seen. We are so busy talking about who going to be covered, we're missing how we are going to provide care for them.

It was interesting to partake in but we are being fed a load of $hit.

I never thought or realized that there was a problem with the amount of care out there, but just that so few had access to it.

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Originally Posted by Phil D.

I never thought or realized that there was a problem with the amount of care out there, but just that so few had access to it.

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there's a huge problem Phil, our hospitals, doctors, clinics...you name it are over burdened. Now just think of adding another 54 million to the system. It just won't be able to handle it. I'm very concerned because this hasn't been discussed.

Example: My doctor's office is in one the richest zip codes in the country (Upper East Side), and they usually run about 1/2 hour behind schedule, sometimes over an hour.

Is that because he is overloaded or doesn't care? In most cases that I've experienced that, it's that the doctors don't care.

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Originally Posted by Phil D.

Is that because he is overloaded or doesn't care? In most cases that I've experienced that, it's that the doctors don't care.

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A lot of Doctors today have to keep you waiting because they overbook with no intent of seeing you at your scheduled time. Its not really that they don't care but the fact that insurance companies are paying less and less for visits and procedures. The Doctor simply has to see more and more patients in order to pay their overhead and to make a profit. Now just think if there's more competition out there driving down costs which means less payouts to the doctors? You'll be waiting forever to see a doctor.

One thing that is popping up in Canada more and more are Doctors who don't take any insurance at all, if you want to see them you pay up front. Because of that you are seen at your appointment time, you spend real time with the Doctor and get a real exam. I have a relative here in the U.S that pays 10K out of their pocket each year to see a Doctor who only see patients who pay a yearly "membership" fee, but they get top notch care.

[quote=T-Bird76]

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Originally Posted by "Phil D.":2qz4m7t5

Is that because he is overloaded or doesn't care? In most cases that I've experienced that, it's that the doctors don't care.

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A lot of Doctors today have to keep you waiting because they overbook with no intent of seeing you at your scheduled time. Its not really that they don't care but the fact that insurance companies are paying less and less for visits and procedures. The Doctor simply has to see more and more patients in order to pay their overhead and to make a profit. Now just think if there's more competition out there driving down costs which means less payouts to the doctors? You'll be waiting forever to see a doctor. [/quote:2qz4m7t5]

I don't believe that, I'm sorry. I see it as doctor greed. If insurance companies are paying less and they need to overbook, why are all of the doctors I visit still driving SL500s?

Are insurance companies guilty of greed? Of course. But doctors are exactly hurting. Insurance companies, doctors, pharms....all greedy, all hurting the American people and preventing us from getting the healthcare we deserve.

I don't care...public or private...I jsut want to go to be able to get x-rays without getting a bill for $300 out of pocket.

There's so much talk about the uninsured, yet so many WITH insurance are also getting some pretty raw deals.

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Originally Posted by T-Bird76

...our hospitals, doctors, clinics...you name it are over burdened. Now just think of adding another 54 million to the system.

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The problem is many of those without insurance go to hospital emergency rooms for treatment of non-emergencies, and often wait until their condition is worse than if they could have seen a doctor earlier, resulting in increased treatment needs at higher costs, which get passed along to those who currently have insurance. I think with more people having coverage, we will actually see more people receiving preventive care, and a reduction in the number of people using hospitals for "routine" needs, resulting in an overall reduction in the stress on the system.

I think Moose has a point, but I don't think it would make that much of a difference.

As is often the case, insurance or not, people don't go to the doctor to prevent. They often don't even go when something is wrong. They only go when it gets worse.

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I don't believe that, I'm sorry. I see it as doctor greed. If insurance companies are paying less and they need to overbook, why are all of the doctors I visit still driving SL500s

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Phil Doctors today don't make as much as you think. Most Pediatricians today that are practicing within a hospital or clinic don't make more then 60K. Until they establish their own practice they don't make the money you would think. Today the real money is in specialty practices and Dentistry, in fact Dentists make the most in the health care industry.

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The problem is many of those without insurance go to hospital emergency rooms for treatment of non-emergencies, and often wait until their condition is worse than if they could have seen a doctor earlier, resulting in increased treatment needs at higher costs, which get passed along to those who currently have insurance. I think with more people having coverage, we will actually see more people receiving preventive care, and a reduction in the number of people using hospitals for "routine" needs, resulting in an overall reduction in the stress on the system.

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John that's only one of the problems and the fact is even the insured wait to see a doctor. Its human psychology and this practice of people waiting to see a doctor or go to the hospital will only be compounded when you increase demand. The health care system isn't ready to accept another 54 million people. I'm not saying we should forget about them but here's a simple analogy. Are you going to move into a new house that's not ready yet? No you aren't, you're going to make it ready to accept you. The politicians are spending all this time on who is going to be insured that nothing has been discussed about how we are going to provide that health care. I think this needs to be addressed and a plan put in place so we can accommodate the population.

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Originally Posted by T-Bird76

John that's only one of the problems and the fact is even the insured wait to see a doctor. Its human psychology and this practice of people waiting to see a doctor or go to the hospital will only be compounded when you increase demand. The health care system isn't ready to accept another 54 million people. I'm not saying we should forget about them but here's a simple analogy. Are you going to move into a new house that's not ready yet? No you aren't, you're going to make it ready to accept you. The politicians are spending all this time on who is going to be insured that nothing has been discussed about how we are going to provide that health care. I think this needs to be addressed and a plan put in place so we can accommodate the population.

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I would like to suggest that increased demand would lead to increased supply.

But I suppose that will all turn on just what extent the increased demand is funded by the govt itself as opposed to forcing people to purchase health insurance. If the Govt finds itself paying an increasing amount it cannot afford, it is easy to imagine there not being the pay for more "supply".

Tom

Tommy....good call: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32829974/ns ... alth_care/