I find your comment,"And all this time, the Insurance companies have used a surprising percentage of subscribers' payments not directly for healthcare but for their own profit" interesting. If, instead of listening to the political propaganda, you actually investigate the facts you will learn the the 5 largest health insurance companies averaged a 5.2 % profit margin in 2009. When you stop to realize that the average non-insurance company averages 9 to 11% profit margin, then you would realize the insurance companies are being extremely responsible in maintaining their cost vs profit ratios. If you believe the government can operate anywhere near that efficiently, then I would love to see an example of that. I have never seen the government do anything, without going way over budget! As a matter of fact the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arkansas is a "not for profit" corporation. Bet you didn't know that?
Now, do you believe the drugs that keep us alive, would have been developed without the profit principle? Whether you realize it or not, Gleevec and Sprycel are considered orphan drugs. An orphan drug is a drug that has been developed without a sufficient number of people needing it, to justify it's cost of development, unlike Viagra. These development costs are extremely high, to not only develop, but to also get through the FDA approval precess. Now, with so few people needing our drugs (after all CML is considered a rare cancer), how is the drug company to show a profit that would justify it's development? Well, the only way, is to extend the patent an extended of period of time, in order to give the drug company the opportunity to have the time to recover it's expenses. If this is not done, what is the motivation to develop these drugs that are extending our lives. The simple answer is, they wouldn't have been developed! These are the same drug companies the present administration got in bed with, to support the health care bill. Here are the profit numbers for these HORRIBLE insurance companies! The top five health insurance companies did indeed see profit increases of over 55% for 2009. However, the top 5 saw a 34% decrease in profits in 2008 in a particularly bad year. The total profit increase from 2007 to 2009 was only 2.6%. The insurance companies were able to bounce back from a bad year, which lead to huge profit increases for 2009, but hardly obscene or outrageous when compared to average years. If a company or industry has a particularly bad year with a following good year, the profit increases can seem very high. What about the claim that CIGNA had a 346% profit increase in 2009? Well, it is entirely true. However, in 2008, CIGNA had a 74% decrease in profits in a really bad year for the company. The total profit increase from 2007 to 2009 was an outrageous 17%. The media and several special interest groups are working to demonize several groups in order to sway public opinion. Many groups dish out half truths in an attempt to induce outrage and hysterical emotional response from the public. As “profit”, “CEO”, “shareholder” and “Rich” become dirty words, Americans need to educate themselves and seek the truth. Anther website: http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/02/health-insurance-companies-rank-88-by.html The bottom line is, that this country can no longer afford the debt that this bill is going to create. Everyone knows that the government isn't going to cut Medicare $500 million, which was in the health care bill, and was the only way the administration could show the healthcare bill would save money' even when they use 10 years of tax collections to cover 6 years of benefits, even with the additional 16,000 IRS agents created in the healthcare bill. The story of St. Vincent's Hospital is terrible, But it does prove that even those without healthcare insurance, are receiving healthcare at the same level as those that did have insurance. You may ask how I know this? Because I work in the medical field (not a doctor), and know that if the uninsured receive any semblance of lower quality care, they would be exposed to major lawsuits. Now, if you want a two tiered healthcare system, then you will love the new healthcare bill, those with private healthcare insurance vs those with government insurance! If this healthcare bill is so great, why are our representatives not going to be covered by this bill? Now, I am not saying that it can't be done better than it is now, but this healthcare bill is a complete and utter disaster, that will only bankrupt this country much sooner than at the present rate. On Feb 2, 2011, at 9:27 AM, Victoria Reiter wrote: > It is perfectly fine for persons with the finances to support their own > health care to do so. However, there are millions of people in this country > who cannot afford health care. And all this time, the insurance companies > have used a surprising percentage of subscribers' payments not directly for > healthcare but for their own profit. There is something quite wrong about > leaving the poorest of our citizens on their own in a world where healthcare > is so horrendously expensive. As for worries about the "nanny state," the > bill specifies that persons must purchase insurance but also provides both > for restricting the price of that insurance to reasonable levels and also > offering varying modalities of insurance that establish different forms of > coverage. Imagine what would happen if someone in a family just above the > Medicaid-approved line developed CML. How would that family pay for Gleevec > or Sprycel or Tasigna, and the tests that need to be done? We all know how > much those medications cost. We all know how expensive it is to visit the > oncologist and have a PCR done. For most of us, if we didn't have insurance, > we'd be dead. For middle and working class people, the cost of self-pay > health care, or even basic insurance coverage, is far too high and often > unobtainable due to a pre-existing condition or other barriers the insurance > companies put in their way. The health care bill gets rid of the > pre-existing condition problem. It covers children not already covered under > other programs. It finally makes it possible that people do not have to use > the ER as their basic health-care provider. We all know what a burden that > places on hospitals, often bringing them to the edge of bankruptcy. St. > Vincent's Hospital, in New York City, one of the mainstays of healthcare in > lower Manhattan, and also known for its cardiac unit, was forced to close > down because it was treating so many of the poor and indigent for nothing: it > was forced to close down, leaving the entire area without a nearby hospital. > This situation can no longer be tolerated, not in good conscience, not > ethically nor morally. If you have the money to pay for health insurance, or > self-pay out of pocket, lucky you. But we cannot, as a moral nation, deny > health care to our citizens who cannot afford it, or can no longer afford it > due to losing their jobs or having reached the "lifetime limits" of their > particular health plan. Please remember that in the 19th and early 20th > centuries, when a farmer's barn burned down, the entire community would > gather to rebuild that barn and restore the family's well-being. Well, the > health insurance barn is burning and we all must do something to rebuild it. > > > On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 5:43 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Today's Topic Summary > Group: http://groups.google.com/group/cmlhope/topics > > Tests came back [3 Updates] > Chat Reminder - Tuesday February 1, 2011 - Using Skype - 10:00 PM Eastern [1 > Update] > Light a candle on behalf of CML patients. [1 Update] > Digest for [email protected] - 4 Messages in 1 Topic [2 Updates] > Topic: Tests came back > Suzieq <[email protected]> Feb 01 07:06AM -0800 ^ > > Greenie & Martin: > > Greenie, Humana only covers people from Rolla (I think it was) on > back towards Springfield. My mother came up here from Florida with > Humana and had to change because it wasn't take anywhere here where we > live. Anthem has been very good to us so far, even though it's > expensive and we've got a very high detuctable. They pay for the > Gleevec right now and my co-pay is just 25$ and I have Co-pay > assistance thru Novartis' My CML Circle. > > > Martin.....I'm already on Zavie's list.....:):) I think I'm like 964 > or something like that. It's good to see/hear from you again, > though. > > Suziq > > Lee <[email protected]> Feb 01 06:37PM -0800 ^ > > Congratulations, Suzieq! So very happy for your EXCELLENT results! > Blessings to you and all CML survivors! > Lee :-) > > > Martin Gartenberg <[email protected]> Feb 01 10:30PM -0500 ^ > > Martin.....I'm already on Zavie's list.....:):) I think I'm like 964 > or something like that. It's good to see/hear from you again, > though. > > Suziq > > Still, I am very happy for you. Just continue having good health. > > Marty > > > Topic: Chat Reminder - Tuesday February 1, 2011 - Using Skype - 10:00 PM > Eastern > Zavie Miller <[email protected]> Feb 01 04:24PM -0500 ^ > > Chat Reminder - Tuesday February 1, 2011 - Using Skype - 10:00 PM Eastern > Photos - Susan Komen Run For The Cure - West Palm Beach - FL > - Just too many photos. Click on the URL to see them all. > > https://picasaweb.google.com/zavie.miller/ChatReminder02?feat=email# > > Topic: Light a candle on behalf of CML patients. > Laquita <[email protected]> Feb 01 09:25AM -0600 ^ > > A request has been made for all of us to light a candle today on behalf of > all CML patients. 2:00 P. M. is the designated time. > > Here is the poem that I have framed and hanging in my room. I read > it quite frequently as it expresses so well what we all feel. > > Hope > is the thing > with feathers > that perches > in the soul > and sings the tune > without words > and never stops > ----at all. > Emily Dickinson-- > Email: [email protected] > > Topic: Digest for [email protected] - 4 Messages in 1 Topic > Victoria Reiter <[email protected]> Feb 01 08:36AM -0500 ^ > > The new health care bill does NOT include the "End of Life" provision so > many people fear. There is NO provision for planned euthanasia or refusal of > services. What was provided for (although after all that kerfuffle in the > media and people thinking they were going to be refused service because they > were too old or sick or something, that proviso was removed from the bill) > was the possibility, on a VOLUNTARY basis, for a patient and doctor to > discuss the patient's desire for how he or she wanted to be treated as death > neared. This was the same as what is known as A Living Will or an Advance > Directive in which a patient says what he/she wants or does not want when in > extremis: a DNR, use of a ventilator, palliative care only or the entire > panoply of available medical processes to keep one alive no matter what. In > any case, each person SHOULD have this conversation with his doctor > and SHOULD have an advance directive in his medical files. The ONLY > THING that part of the health care bill provided was that the doctor would > be paid for taking time to sit down and have a serious conversation with the > patient. Until then, it was a catch-as-catch-can situation, and has > reverted to that ever since the rumor was deliberately spread that there was > something sinister about it. > On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 5:21 AM, > <[email protected]<cmlhope%[email protected]> > > Daniel Brown <[email protected]> Feb 01 08:26AM -0600 ^ > > If you choose to place your healthcare in the hands of politicians and > beauraucrats then go ahead, but don't force your blind faith in government on > me. There is only one way to reduce healthcare costs, reduce the amount of > healthcare delivered, especially at the end of life where the most expensive > care is given. > > Now we can argue semantics all day long about what is in the healthcare bill, > but all I want is for government out of my healthcare. I will take the > responsibility for my own life without the nanny state doing it for me. > On Feb 1, 2011, at 7:36 AM, Victoria Reiter wrote: > > > > -- > [CMLHope] > A support group of http://cmlhope.com > ------------------------------------------------- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CMLHope" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope > > > -- > [CMLHope] > A support group of http://cmlhope.com > ------------------------------------------------- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CMLHope" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -- [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope
