Rep. Alan Grayson was again under fire from the St. Petersburg Times this week for once more speaking the TRUTH about the sordid state of affairs that is our Health Insurance Industry and the various means of DENYING care in this country which in the end leaves too many people "UN Covered" to the extent that it indeed leads to the hastening of their demise. One comment that says it ALL in defending the congressman comes from a provider of Health Care who has like Rep. Grayson, long been an advocate for Single Payer Health Care in this country. Read this and judge for yourself whether Alan has been wrongly accused or if he has merely been the "Lone Wolf" in Washington with the courage to step outside the constraints of the status quo to stand up for the people. http://blogs.tampabay.com/...
Alan Grayson could not be more correct in his assertions! The INSURANCE INDUSTRY operates profitably despite GROSS STRUCTURAL INEFFICIENCIES by displacing RISK=COST on to the backs of BOTH patients and providers of health care services.
Let's review HOW the INSURANCE Industry accomplishes this task and makes $money$...
FIRST: They DENY insurance COVERAGE to people who might present a risk of a claim even in the most remote sense.
I was denied coverage by Humana for absolutely NO good reason other than the fact that I am a Male who is FIFTY years of age. This Gender/Age cohort is more likely to generate claims which of course would represent a COST to the INSURER.
SECOND: The INSURERS DENY COVERAGE for medically necessary services that should be covered... E.G., the old physician arguing with the claims clerk at the insurance company over a CT Scan for a head injury as a fellow advocate for Single Payer Health Care Reform Dr. Greg Silver pointed out in THIS Video...
http://www.youtube.com/...
THREE: The INSURANCE Industry generates profit for themselves by displacing RISK=COST on to Physicians/Providers by BOTH DENYING and DELAYING payment for medically necessary services that are covered by a given policy/contract.
Make NO mistake, people die quietly every day across this nation because of the industry policies that in a much more convoluted and complicated fashion accomplish what I have quite simply explained here.
The actions as well as in-actions taken by Congress, the Senate and President Obama on health care legislation are likely to strengthen rather than weaken the grip of Corporate America on the way we distribute and pay for health care or not in this country.
Representative Grayson is 100% correct in his heroic statements that really tell little more than the unvarnished TRUTH about what goes on EVERY day in this country.
My question is WHY has no one compared the irrefutable benefit of merely "amending" Medicare to allow us the CHOICE/OPTION of OPEN ENROLLMENT in the program for Americans of ALL ages?
Because such a simple solution IS the BEST solution for our nation's citizens as well as the American Economy!
Medicare for All: The details are not so scary...
Americans who opted to enroll in Medicare for ALL would then pay a premium to Medicare according to their ability to pay with a maximum cap so that e.g., Warren Buffett would not pay a higher premium than Donald Trump were they to choose hypothetically to enroll in the program.
The inherent and well documented efficiencies of Medicare supported by a dramatic influx of new younger enrollees who in general would use much less health care services than the current cohort of Medicare beneficiaries, would BOTH eliminate the fiscal inadequacies of Medicare predicted in the relative near term, while also allowing reimbursement levels to rise for providers... so that nearly ALL physicians would choose to participate in the Medicare program.
Example here for review...
http://www.johnrussellforcongress.co...
FINALLY... to the baseless point of this smear campaign against Rep. Grayson...
Alan is about the ONLY person in the public eye that is actually standing in front of the "Tanks of Tiannemen" arrayed against the American public in this matter so vital to our national well-being.
The Health Care Divide truly is The battle of "The Haves vs The Have NOTS!"
As a citizen as well as a provider of Health Services I feel that is is my duty to support those with the courage to speak THE TRUTH!
THANK YOU ALAN FOR YOUR COURAGE IN PUTTING TO BEST USE THE ESTEEMED POSITION THAT YOU HOLD! Your Friend, John Russell, Dade City, Fl
Posted by: John Russell, MS/ARNP, MBA Health Systems Mgt. | October 22, 2009 at 01:01 AM