What do you think about universal health care?

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 8/30/2008 11:34:54 PM
Author: joflier
I just heard a statistic on CNN that Medicare/Medicaid has a 31% fraud rate!

That''s alot of dough!

No joke! It''s crazy how such involved schemes come into play. Making up family members, having birth certificates created for them, making up children, trying to say someone dead is still alive and in the household... if that amount of time and intelligence and thought went into doing something like work, well there wouldn''t be a need to scam the govt. for medicaid.

 

[joflier]

Date: 8/31/2008 11:30:59 AM
Author: fisherofmengirly

Date: 8/30/2008 11:34:54 PM
Author: joflier
I just heard a statistic on CNN that Medicare/Medicaid has a 31% fraud rate!

That''s alot of dough!

No joke! It''s crazy how such involved schemes come into play. Making up family members, having birth certificates created for them, making up children, trying to say someone dead is still alive and in the household... if that amount of time and intelligence and thought went into doing something like work, well there wouldn''t be a need to scam the govt. for medicaid.

That''s true, but the sad part is, if we go to a universal health system, the medicare/medicaid system is going to probably be the basis of it, and the government has shown that they are not willing to put the resources into it, just for the fraud factor. That would save so many millions of dollars!!! If that was any other business, be it insurance, hospitals, etc, many someones would be in prison right now!

 

[innerkitten]

I don''t really like to get into political debates either but I am for universal health care or something similar. I know what it''s like to be w/out insurance.Have you ever been to a public health center for uninsured people. The ones in this city ( San Francisco) are terrible, dirty etc. If your ever here check out the Tom Waddel clinic, ack! Also now that I do have insurance I can''t stand my insurance company, and we''re stuck with them. There are so many things that they don''t cover and it''s a huge pain in the booty dealing with them sometimes. We pay a lot for are insurance too.

 

[icekid]

Date: 9/1/2008 4:58:17 PM
Author: innerkitten
I don''t really like to get into political debates either but I am for universal health care or something similar. I know what it''s like to be w/out insurance.Have you ever been to a public health center for uninsured people. The ones in this city ( San Francisco) are terrible, dirty etc. If your ever here check out the Tom Waddel clinic, ack! Also now that I do have insurance I can''t stand my insurance company, and we''re stuck with them. There are so many things that they don''t cover and it''s a huge pain in the booty dealing with them sometimes. We pay a lot for are insurance too.

so you''re saying that you would prefer to deal with the government then? ever been to the DMV or USPS? I''m not in love with our insurance company either, but if the alternative is run by the same folks who bring me social security, then I will deal!

 

[innerkitten]

Of course I''ve been to the DMV and USPS.

 

[innerkitten]

I don''t find my insurance company easier to deal with than either of them. Lots of waiting, paper work, phone calls etc. Maybe I just have a crappy insurance company. But my reasons for wanting universal type healthcare aren''t just because it would be more convenient for me, it''s because there are sooo many people w/out anything and I''d really want to see them covered too.
Anyway like I said I don''t like to get into political debates on this forum. So that all I have to say.

 

[icekid]

shrug... you posted on a thread re: a very politically-loaded issue.

Anyway, I agree that we need to move toward some sort of coverage for all. Preferably a system that is NOT single payor, thus one that involves a private portion and a universal/public portion. I want that option for my patients. It really doesn't make a huge difference for the health of myself/ my family, because as a physician my family will always receive better/faster care. But I will always want that private option for my patients. Not to mention I have no desire to be a governement employee, even though we're heading that way as more and more patients have medicare/medicaid.

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 8/31/2008 11:41:55 AM
Author: joflier

Date: 8/31/2008 11:30:59 AM
Author: fisherofmengirly

Date: 8/30/2008 11:34:54 PM
Author: joflier
I just heard a statistic on CNN that Medicare/Medicaid has a 31% fraud rate!

That''s alot of dough!

No joke! It''s crazy how such involved schemes come into play. Making up family members, having birth certificates created for them, making up children, trying to say someone dead is still alive and in the household... if that amount of time and intelligence and thought went into doing something like work, well there wouldn''t be a need to scam the govt. for medicaid.

That''s true, but the sad part is, if we go to a universal health system, the medicare/medicaid system is going to probably be the basis of it, and the government has shown that they are not willing to put the resources into it, just for the fraud factor. That would save so many millions of dollars!!! If that was any other business, be it insurance, hospitals, etc, many someones would be in prison right now!

Exactly where did CNN get that number? I haven''t heard that it was that high from CMS (Center for Medicare/Medicaid services).
Also, aside from the obvious fraud you have to understand that they believe anything that their nurses (not doctors) don''t consider "medically necessary" can, and does fall under their definition of fraud. That means providing a second wheelchair to someone that''s had one in the last seven years. They don''t give a crap if the original chair''s been broken so many times it''s beyond repair. If you want to provide the patient with the second, you have to run circles trying to get enough documentation to explain exactly why -and you still you have a slim chance of being paid but a HUGE chance of being audited.
Medicare is a joike. The elderly that are on it are slowly opting out of the traditional program and choosing to go with a Medicare HMO''s. That in itself should tell us something is really wrong. I mean c''mon, dropping it and going with an HMO?! It''s like weighing which is the lesser evil of the two.
I honestly believe that universal is great in theory, but we''re nowhere near it in this country. If the day comes that we are, I''d still want the option of paying for private.

 

[joflier]

Date: 9/2/2008 11:11:45 PM
Author: elle_chris

Date: 8/31/2008 11:41:55 AM
Author: joflier

Date: 8/31/2008 11:30:59 AM
Author: fisherofmengirly

Date: 8/30/2008 11:34:54 PM
Author: joflier
I just heard a statistic on CNN that Medicare/Medicaid has a 31% fraud rate!

That''s alot of dough!

No joke! It''s crazy how such involved schemes come into play. Making up family members, having birth certificates created for them, making up children, trying to say someone dead is still alive and in the household... if that amount of time and intelligence and thought went into doing something like work, well there wouldn''t be a need to scam the govt. for medicaid.

That''s true, but the sad part is, if we go to a universal health system, the medicare/medicaid system is going to probably be the basis of it, and the government has shown that they are not willing to put the resources into it, just for the fraud factor. That would save so many millions of dollars!!! If that was any other business, be it insurance, hospitals, etc, many someones would be in prison right now!

Exactly where did CNN get that number? I haven''t heard that it was that high from CMS (Center for Medicare/Medicaid services).
Also, aside from the obvious fraud you have to understand that they believe anything that their nurses (not doctors) don''t consider ''medically necessary'' can, and does fall under their definition of fraud. That means providing a second wheelchair to someone that''s had one in the last seven years. They don''t give a crap if the original chair''s been broken so many times it''s beyond repair. If you want to provide the patient with the second, you have to run circles trying to get enough documentation to explain exactly why -and you still you have a slim chance of being paid but a HUGE chance of being audited.
Medicare is a joike. The elderly that are on it are slowly opting out of the traditional program and choosing to go with a Medicare HMO''s. That in itself should tell us something is really wrong. I mean c''mon, dropping it and going with an HMO?! It''s like weighing which is the lesser evil of the two.
I honestly believe that universal is great in theory, but we''re nowhere near it in this country. If the day comes that we are, I''d still want the option of paying for private.

I''m looking for some sources online......I''m not finding specifically what I heard, but this is an article from the Miami Herald talking about the medicare audit. The senate estimates the annual fraud cost to be $60 billion.

http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/652782.html

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/88247/medicare_fraud_tops_$60_billion_per_year/