Agema said:
crimson5pheonix said:
Yes, saying that it's simpler and easier to go through private healthcare enrollment processes than it is to just have Medicare pay for anyone who asks.
Isn't the article pointing out that people might end up getting billed for treatments if they are hospitalised for Coronavirus under the existing plan, which is potentially a bit of a problem?
The measures say it'll pay for anything
directly connected to Coronavirus, but that certainly seems to me to suggest a major grey area around co-morbidities, which could end up with people being hit by a lot of unexpected bills.
People already get billed under the ACA too, even worse, the biggest issue under the ACA is that people have to meet a "deductible" before their services are covered under the ACA so they cannot even afford to have the proper tests to determine what is wrong to be able to receive treatment in the first place due to the high Copay fees. For example, a regular office visit and get a flu test, the patient can pay a $25 copay at the time of visit, then they receive a $200 bill for the flu test with the low income insurance provided under the ACA. To even be able to have a endoscopy, they require a $800 copay before they will even make the appointment. To take a child to the ENT and have an ear test, since insurance does not cover specialists the same way, it will be $200 at the time of visit and you may still receive a bill for any other test that was done that was not paid for by insurance. These are not "hypothetical prices" btw, these are the actual amounts of all of the things that my own family members have had to pay over the last year while being covered by the plans provided under the ACA. You actually get hit with more bills and unexpected expenses under the ACA than you do under medicare.
On the other hand, there is still plenty Medicare doesn't cover and would need to be upgraded as well, but I never had an issue getting my Dad the tests he required for him to receive treatment under Medicare. We did receive hospital bills for my father while he was on medicare and his long term benefits did run out. However, Medicare told my mother not to pay some of those bills and dealt with the hospital on her behalf. Medicare also comes with an option to report some issues to them and have them handle some issues as they arise with the hospital for you if they feel the charges were unjustified, or that they feel the hospital is doing something they believe is illegal, a service you do not receive with regular insurance.
All in all, Medicare for all is better for the end user, not as beneficial for providers, but this can be remedied with the proper changes made to better serve both providers and patients and provide adequate funding. This is much more difficult to obtain through for profit private insurance companies as they only exist to make a profit to investors, not exist as a service to the public to maintain the general welfare of the people. For profit insurers will always put their bottom line above the health and lives of the people they are providing insurance for, especially when a patient is costing them more than the patient is paying at the time. It matters not to them that you paid into their insurance company for 25 years without needing medication, when you become ill, they only care about what you are paying that month compared to what you are costing them. That is why they place so many obstacles to receiving actual care, it costs them less to let you die while going through the red tape than to make it easy for you to receive tests and treatment. That is exactly what happens when people are not able to obtain the $800 copay needed to receive the tests to save their lives in the first place.
