Between You and Your Doctor: The Bureaucracy of Private Health Insurance Day 2, Part 1
September 4, 2010 - 10:26 am
Archive for the ‘private health insurance’ Category
9-17-09: OGR Domestic Policy SubcommitteeKucinich vs. Private Insurance Companies
August 29, 2010 - 2:10 pm
“Health care for all” is one of America’s highest national priorities. Private health insurance companies make their money by not providing health care. This system must change and Kucinich is ready to lead that change.
Duration : 0:5:37
Medicare Australia and Seeing a Doctor: nib Health Insurance Explained
August 29, 2010 - 2:03 pm
http://www.nib.com.au nib Health Insurance Explained: Medicare Australia and Seeing a Doctor.
Medicare is run by the Australian Government and is funded by Australian tax payers. Medicare provides Australians with access to public healthcare and the ability to claim some medical expenses.
Who is covered by Medicare?
Medicare covers people residing in Australia who are Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens or holders of permanent visas.
Some visitors and temporary residents, from countries with which Australia has made reciprocal health care agreements, are eligible for Medicare with some restrictions – visit the Medicare Australia website for more information.
What funds do I contribute to Medicare?
Australian taxpayers contribute a Medicare Levy of 1.5% of their taxable income.
The Medicare Levy Surcharge is an additional 1% in tax that you may have to pay if your annual taxable income is above the Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds and you do not have an appropriate level of private hospital cover.
What is covered by Medicare?
Benefits covered by Medicare include:
- A stay in a public hospital as a public patient
- Part of the cost of pharmaceutical prescriptions, through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
- Part of the cost of GP and specialist consultants through the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
- Part or whole consultation fees for doctors, including specialists.
- Part or the whole cost of tests and examinations by doctors needed to treat illnesses, including X-rays and pathology tests.
- Part or the whole cost of eye tests undertaken by optometrists.
- Part or the whole cost of psychology services – you must be referred by your GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician to receive the benefits.
What is not usually covered by Medicare?
Items not usually covered by Medicare include:
- Private patient hospital costs (for example, theatre fees or accommodation)
- Dental examinations and treatment
- Ambulance services
- Home nursing
- Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry
- Psychology services (unless as part of an agreed procedure referred by your GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician)
- Acupuncture (unless part of a doctor’s consultation)
- Glasses and contact lenses
What is the Medicare Benefits Schedule?
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a list of medical procedures, consultations and tests that are recognised by Medicare for a benefit. Each item on the MBS has its own Schedule Fee.
What is the MBS Fee?
An MBS fee is like a ‘recommended retail price’ that has been determined by the Australian Government for every item listed in the MBS.
Does Medicare reimburse all expenses?
No, Medicare does not reimburse all expenses.
When you are treated as a public patient in a public hospital, under Medicare you are not charged for the treatment.
When you visit a doctor outside a hospital, Medicare will reimburse:
- 100% of the MBS fee for a general practitioner
- 85% of the MBS fee for a specialist
So if your general practitioner charges the MBS fee you won’t need to pay anything. And if your specialist charges the MBS fee then your contribution will be 15% of the cost, this is called the ‘gap’ (the difference between the MBS fee and what Medicare pays).
What is the gap?
The gap is the difference between the percentage of Medicare benefit you are entitled to and the MBS fee.
What is the out-of-pocket cost?
Doctors and specialists can choose to charge more than the MBS fee. When this happens you will need to pay the ‘gap’ plus the difference between what the doctor or specialist charges and the MBS fee. This is referred to as your out-of-pocket cost.
For more information visit http://www.nib.com.au/home/newtonib/whynib/Pages/Medicare.aspx
Duration : 0:4:0
Fight Back – 7 Families Stand up to the Health Insurance Lobby
August 29, 2010 - 1:56 pm
Seven families from around the country appeared at the same hotel as the health insurance lobbys annual State Issues conference in downtown D.C. today to recount the mistreatment they and their loved ones have endured at the hands of the private health insurance industry. Outside the Capital Hilton, 600 hundred supporters gathered in solidarity, holding large signs with messages like ITS A CRIME TO DENY CARE and BIG INSURANCE: SICK OF IT.
Duration : 0:2:40
Dennis Kucinich Confronts MD Who Claimed Canadian Health Care Was Worse That The US’s
August 29, 2010 - 1:50 pm
CORPORATE CRIME REPORTER – The majority of the American people want a single-payer health care system – Medicare for all. The majority of doctors want it. A good chunk of hospital CEOs want it. But what they want doesn’t appear to matter. Why?
Because a single-payer health care plan would mean the death of the private health insurance industry and reduced profits for the pharmaceutical industry.
Presidential candidates John Edwards, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mitt Romney and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger talk a lot about universal health care. But not one of them advocates for single-payer – because single-payer too directly confronts the big corporate interests profiting off the miserable health care system we are currently saddled with.
“Currently, we are spending almost a third of every health care dollar on administration and paperwork generated by the private health insurance industry,” said Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. “Countries like Canada spend about half that much on the billing and paperwork side of medicine. If we go to a single-payer system and are able to cut the billing and paperwork costs of health care, that frees up about $300 billion per year. That’s the money we need to cover the uninsured and then improve the coverage for those who have private insurance but are under-insured.”
“The idea behind single-payer is you don’t have to increase total health care spending,” Woolhandler said in an interview with Corporate Crime Reporter. “You take the money we are now spending but cut the administrative fat and use that money to cover people.”
None of the declared Presidential candidates – with the exception of Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) – is supporting single-payer. Last year, Kucinich and Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), introduced a single-payer bill, HR 676, which garnered support of more than 75 members of the House. Woolhandler expects that number to grow substantially this year.
Duration : 0:2:26
Backroom Deals: Rep. Barton rails against Democrats “private” health care plan
August 29, 2010 - 1:44 pm
Rep. Joe Barton spoke on the House Floor Thursday night exclaiming “Rationed Health Care is Coming!” He was ripping the Democrats $1.5 trillion health care plan. The bill still isn’t written, but it is schuedled to be marked in less than four days.
Duration : 0:8:48
6th Annual Health Insurance Summit – Kevin Rudd MP
August 29, 2010 - 1:38 pm
Leader of the opposition, Australian Labor Party, talks about private health insurance and 21st century health.
Duration : 0:2:8
OFA L.A. Event – Teacher and Mother Without Health Insurance for Children Tells of Need
August 29, 2010 - 1:32 pm
Odetta Moore, a teacher in the private sector, has no health benefits for her husband, an independent contractor; and they cannot afford benefits for their children, at a time when public benefits for children, such as the 70,000 in California on the Healthy Families waiting list, are being cut. Hard-working, a former combat military medical specialist, with two degrees, she feels she should not have to beg for her children’s health. Video clip is one of a series of the Sept. 3, 2009 Organizing for America ( http://barackobama.com ) event in Los Angeles shot by Doug Drenkow ( http://douglasdrenkow.com ), reporting for OpEdNews ( http://opednews.com ).
Duration : 0:3:52
Ron Paul: Introducing the Private Option Health Care Act
August 29, 2010 - 1:26 pm
http://www.RonPaul.com
05/31/2010
Introducing the Private Option Health Care Act
by Ron Paul
Most everyone agrees that health care in the United stated has major problems, the biggest problems relating to skyrocketing costs. No one doubts the system is in need of reform. However, too many in Washington see tighter government controls as the solution. In fact, the problems are rooted in past government controls that created more problems than they solved.
Ironically, laws and policies in the 1970s promoting health maintenance organizations, resulted from desperate attempts to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs took far too much control away from patients and physicians and gave it to the insurers. This excessive reliance on third-party payers instead removed incentives for insured patients to economize on health care costs, and allowed the problem to snowball. Furthermore, the third-party payer system created a two-tier health care system where people whose employers could afford to offer Cadillac plans have access to top quality health care, while others face financial obstacles in obtaining quality health care.
For these and other reasons I introduced the Private Option Health Care Act last week. This bill places individuals back in control of health care by replacing the recently passed “tax, spend, and regulate” health care law with reforms designed to restore a free-market health care system.
First, the bill would provide all Americans with a tax credit for 100% of health care expenses. This tax is fully refundable against both income and payroll taxes. It would also allow individuals to roll over unused amounts in cafeteria plans and flexible savings accounts. Next, it would provide a tax credit for premiums for high deductible insurance policies connected with a health savings account and allow seniors to use funds in HSAs to pay for “Medigap” policies. In addition, it would repeal the 7.5% threshold for the deduction of medical expenses and thus make all medical expenses tax-deductible.
The Private Option Health Care Act allows Congress to correct the mistake it made last month by replacing the new health care law with health care measures that give control to individuals instead of the federal government and corporations. Our health is too vital to allow for the typical government interference and fixes.
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Ron Paul is America’s leading voice for limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies.
For more information visit the following sites:
http://www.RonPaul.com
http://www.CampaignForLiberty.com
http://www.house.gov/paul
http://www.YALiberty.org
http://www.DailyPaul.com
http://www.RonPaulForums.com
Duration : 0:2:56
3 differt ways the private IRS banks exploit Health Insurance Bill
August 29, 2010 - 1:21 pm
This video is about the Health Insurance Fraud they are Dipping and Dragging American around with!
Its all to tax and control you enjoy.
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Remember there is no Health Care, Its only Health Insurance.
We Pay $500.00 a month out of each check. We lost our van because we have to buy health insurance.
Duration : 0:9:56