Recent Articles of Interest — No Wonder So Many People Are Angry
Link to article
The St Petersburg Times is blessed with a law-degreed, progressive Perspectives page columnist, Robyn Blumner. Here’s the link to her latest: Locked in a job by health insurance:
“[T]his tethering of an employee to his job [in order to retain health insurance for family members with preexisting conditions] reduces job mobility by about 25 percent, says Brigitte Madrian, professor of public policy and corporate management at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. ‘The economic cost of job lock is that individuals do not move to jobs where they could be more productive,” Madrian says. “Job change is part of the engine of economic growth.’”
* * * * *
So you think major medical health insurance covers hospital costs for a “major” illness? Not exactly. Sometimes you have to put pressure on the hospital to reduce the financial pressure on you. The Consumerist comments on a story, “Just Because you Have Health Insurance Doesn’t Mean Your Bill Won’t Be a Million Dollars ,” reported in the Wall Street Journal’s Health blog. Consumerist bloggers’ responses to the story add interest. The WSJ blog article contains a video and reader comments, too.
* * * * *
The news on primary care physicians isn’t happy, either. Smart Money pierces the veil in “10 Things Your Primary-Care Physician Won’t Tell You.” Forget “read it and weep”! Read it, get angry and take action.
December 9th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
If you have to ask how much health care costs you probably can’t afford it.
My son needed a doctor’s signature on a permission form to participate in high school athletics.
I didn’t ask for an estimate upfront like I would for auto repairs. The examination took about ten minutes and the doctor was able to fit me in despite a scheduling error in his office.
The charge for this visit was $160.00 and my Blue Cross won’t cover it even though the plan costs $435.00 every two months.
I feel like I’ve been mugged.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Be sure to rent and watch the movie “Sicko”. Great stuff and a lesson to be learned.
December 17th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Once you finish watching SICKO go to http://www.healthcare-now.org and sign the petition support ing H.R. 676 - Medicare for All.
Write to your state and Federal officials demanding an end to for profit healthcare. Reforming healthcare has been on the backburner of this country’s political agenda for 30 years. Now, it’s become a front burner issue and we MUST keep the pressure on.
We can force a change if as Michale Moore says …we start thinking as WE instead of Me.