1950 hospital maternity bill

[Mike Henderson]

As has been stated earlier, no one is refused emergency medical and everyone is covered by Medicaid/Medicare/SSI if not insured; legal citizen or not.

You make some good points but that statement is not true. Medicare is only for those 65 or older, and those with certain disabilities younger than 65. Medicaid is only for citizens and legal residents and there are definite requirements for qualifying. Medicaid is administered by the states and qualifying is different in different states.

Your statement seems to imply that everyone has access to health care coverage and that is absolutely not correct.

Everyone does have access to emergency medical care, citizen, legal resident, and non-legal resident, but as Larry pointed out, they can be billed for the care. Many don't have any assets so the hospital winds up writing off the treatment.

Mike

[Rick Pinson]

Thank you for the correction Larry, Mike.


You are correct, if someone is below the poverty threshold set by their state, their medical costs are covered by Medicaid. And there are a few exceptions that each state administering the program can set and still receive matching funds from the federal government. Not everyone is covered by Medicaid/Medicare.


And this is one of many reasons why the process to fix our health care system needs to be measured and thorough; there are so many intertwined programs, no one for sure knows entirely what's available and to whom. The same $3,000 restriction that Arkansas is applying in this case isn't applied in Alaska where the cap is $2,000.

[Tim Self]

I honestly am concerned with those who cannot afford insurance. As a retired military member, I consider myself blessed. $300 anual deductable, 20 percent of allowed deductable per visit. and $3000 Cat Cap the time I served was worth every day. I know folks with $500 a month bills and am amazed.

Is our system flawed? Can the nations medical problems be fixed? Not with the current proposed legislation IMO. There are to many variables. Some simply cannot afford it. There are people in my area with less than $18k annual income. How can they afford these prices? And if there is "rationing" then some may as well have a death warrant signed.

[Frank Hagan]

This is absolutely not true! My daughter and her husband were both on Arkansas Medicaid until they started earning more than 3000 dollars a year. (That's right $3000. No one can survive in that!) They got a letter last week stating that as of July 30 they were no longer covered and that they would have to provide their own medical coverage. My SIL is a diabetic requiring daily insulin injections. They do not know what they are going to do! I believe it is true that they cannot be refused emergency treatment, but they will be responsible for paying the bill. And for low income families even a $300 bill is way beyond their budget. In their case, they need something now. I am thinking about helping them out with private insurance. But I am not sure I can afford it either. Neither can get insurance thru their employer.

They are the "working poor" that don't have insurance through work, and are among the estimated 6 million in that situation. They would get emergency medical service to save their lives, but the maintenance care your daughter needs with testing supplies and insulin are not part of that system. They might still qualify for "Medicaid Spend Down" in Arkansas based on the amount of their on-going medical costs (see this link).

The problem they may have is that private insurance can refuse to cover them for diabetes based on the pre-existing condition. AR doesn't limit the exclusion on private insurance (although it does on group insurance). They may qualify for the Arkansas "CHIP" program, a health insurance pool (see This Link for more info on it), or another county or state program. I would contact a local diabetes foundation, or check the following links for programs specifically for diabetics having trouble affording supplies:

Arkansas Private Organizations (including drug maker Pfizer).
Arkansas Governmental Organizations

[Larry Browning]

Thanks for those links Frank. I will pass them along to my daughter.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I honestly am concerned with those who cannot afford insurance. As a retired military member, I consider myself blessed. $300 anual deductable, 20 percent of allowed deductable per visit. and $3000 Cat Cap the time I served was worth every day. I know folks with $500 a month bills and am amazed.

One of the reasons the greatest numbers of volunteers (as a demographic) in the military are from 'poor' families. Unable to afford college, health insurance, Uncle Sam is a way to get a leg up. The one drawback (a term used only for the purposes of this discussion) is that you need to enter the service healthy. Those with 'pre-existing conditions' don't join and clog the works.
.

[Frank Hagan]

One of the reasons the greatest numbers of volunteers (as a demographic) in the military are from 'poor' families. Unable to afford college, health insurance, Uncle Sam is a way to get a leg up. The one drawback (a term used only for the purposes of this discussion) is that you need to enter the service healthy. Those with 'pre-existing conditions' don't join and clog the works.
.

That's a common belief, but its not supported by the numbers from the DOD:

The percentage of recruits from the poorest American neighborhoods (with one-fifth of the U.S. population) declined from 18 percent in 1999 to 14.6 percent in 2003, 14.1 percent in 2004, and 13.7 percent in 2005.

As cited by Heritage Foundation

The average enlistee is more likely to be from a middle class or higher neighborhood, not a poor one. Even back in 1999, the number of enlistees from poor neighborhoods matched the general population.

The problem with the VA has always been a tendency to get squeezed by budget cuts, and they have also been criticized for not updating their drug formulary often enough to take advantage of the newer, albeit costlier, drugs. But many retired military people I know are very happy with their health benefits.

[Greg Peterson]

Frank - You lost me with the Heritage Foundation.

[Mike Henderson]

Here's the DoD report. Chapter 7 is what I think you're interested in. But 1998 data, prior to the current conflicts.

Mike

[Frank Hagan]

Hmmmm. I'm not sure how to respond without violating my personal rules of behavior, so I'll probably just wish you all well, and return to reading threads in the "on topic" portion of SMC.