I think the problems you see in both systems reflect different ways of distributing limited resources. You also see in both systems the law of unintended consequences at work. If you make health care more available, more people will use it. If at the same time, you monopolize the supply side by putting all payment under the government umbrella with a set cost structure, you remove the market forces that give health care providers incentive to do more or improve their service. Those who want to make more for what they do will naturally go where they can receive additional compensation for innovation, which removes providers from the system at the same time that demand for their services is going up.

On the other hand, in the US system, you have people who for years have been deliberately detached from what their healthcare costs. If you only pay $25 per doctor visit and $20 per month for a prescription, no matter what the real cost is, then you have taken a large negative influence on the market prices out of the system. If the customer is no longer choosing providers or making decisions based on price, then there is very little incentive for the providers to keep their prices low. That allows them to do a lot of research and innovative things (and also to play alot of golf), but it also puts costs on an unsustainable trajectory.

I am quite certain that Obamacare is the wrong solution to our problem, because it simply increases demand by putting more people in the system, without changing the market dynamics that don't include price in the decision-making process for most users. But I really don't know what the real solution is to keep the quality of our system intact but make it more widely available. I think there needs to be some direct participation between the provider and the patient in pricing, but I don't know how to do that without gutting our existing insurance driven system.

My insurance company just informed me that they're dropping my insurance. (something about it not being in compliance with ACA)

Told me I could sign up for some new insurance. My old insurance had a $2500 deductible. The premiums were, I think, a couple of hundred dollars every few months.

Now my deductible is HUGE. To the point that I wonder why they're calling it insurance. The premiums went down by a small amount, according to the lady I talked on the phone, but the insurance no longer covers a lot of stuff that my old insurance did. I also lost all my doctors.

The new insurance doesn't kick in until January, but I'm suddenly getting bills from several of my soon-to-be former doctors because my insurance company decided that it didn't want to pay for certain things, and it started telling the doctors offices to send me the bills. That's for things that I had back in the early spring. Things that I thought were all paid for, I'm suddenly getting bills for them.

I'm not happy. I'm losing the doctors that I trust, and I'll have to actually put out a ton more money out of pocket to reach the deductible before the insurance actually kicks in to help pay, and it's not covering a lot of the stuff my old policy covered.

Really hoping that my MS calms down and stops picking on me so much soon, since now I'm going from having halfway decent insurance to the barely-helpful insurance.

My biggest peeve about it, is that I'm losing the doctors that I trust.

My family has a lot of medical people in it. My dad is really glad he retired a year ago. My aunt is going to retire as soon as she can. I'm pretty sure a couple of other relatives might be about to switch jobs to something non-medical. (they're young enough to go back to school)

One of the local trauma centers (the one my dad worked at) is about to close down it's trauma center and it's teaching hospital, and will probably go to "outpatient only", which will leave the poorest part of town without a hospital close by.

I'm terrified of getting sick now, because I don't trust that there will be adequate medical care in my town anymore.

That is so concerning Erin.

I'm confused...
What is ACA?
How can a change of insurance policy cause you to lose your doctors? Isn't it up to you, the patient, which MDs you see?

Can you shop around for another insurance provider? Maybe another one will offer better coverage.

It seems that some insurance companies can and are trying to skirt covering those who have chronic diseases by bringing in new policies.
I'm wondering if obamacare has anything to do with it?

BTW, its good to hear from you again. I was about to post a "Has anyone heard from Erin/Erin are you OK?" thread.

Are you doing OK?

With love, Erika

My doctors are now "out of network". I can technically still use them, but I have to pay (a heck of a lot) out of pocket to do so. I might just do that anyways. Probably cost just as much.

My dad helped look around at insurance, said that the company I have now is probably just as good as the others. I live in Nebraska, and for some reason, Nebraskans, especially women, are getting a really bad, expensive deal on the insurance. I don't know why that is. It's almost enough to make me want to move to a different state. I just can't afford to do that, and I kind of like it here, even with the crummy insurance options.

ACA = Affordable Care Act. (thought that if I call it "Obamacare", it might get my post edited for being "political", something I'm trying to avoid doing. I'm not making this political, just explaining, so please Mods, don't edit me)

I'm ok. I've had kind of a crummy summer. Been sick off and on with MS stuff. Stuck inside the house a lot. I've got an on again/off again optic neuritis thing going on. Mostly just pain, but bright light is causing me issues.

I just haven't felt much like posting on the MS forums. I've been kind of sticking to a crochet/knitting website where they've got a subforum that's centered mostly on a couple of my favorite tv shows/actors. It was kind of more fun to focus on that than on MS related stuff. My two favorite actors will have their tv show on (in England) after New Years, and they both have movies coming out, one of which they're both in together. (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug). My favorite actor has three other movies coming out within the next couple of months. He had another one earlier this summer. So he's in five movies this year. I'm kind of giddy about that. Can't wait to go to the movies.

Was having a lot of issues with walking this summer. Some of that seems to have been helped by finally getting some new shoes attached to my AFO. I never realized how bad my old shoes were getting. I thought it was the MS causing a lot of the walking issues. I still have issues, but since I got the new shoe put on the brace, I can at least put the cane down a little bit more often.

My parents had a few medical issues this summer. My mom had surgery on her carotids earlier this summer because she was showing signs of an imminent stroke. We think we got that taken care of (no strokes). My dad FINALLY got his pacemaker put in. He's needed that thing for over a year, but he had to deal with my mom and her West Nile virus and recovery from that last summer/fall/winter. Then I just haven't felt good all summer. It's kind of screwed with things I like doing. Just hoping I have a better fall/winter this year. So tired of being sick all the freaking time.

I check the forum here pretty regularly. Almost every day.


I'd like a vacation from my MS. A nice long vacation from it.

Thanks for letting us know what's been going on with you and your family Erin. ON is a drag. Glad that some new footwear is helping with the walking though.

Aslo thanks for letting me know the "official" name for the new USA health care program...from reading the news stories on it, I honestly thought it was officially called "O...care" .
Sorry...guess I'm just another uninformed Canucklehead

I too hope that your fall/winter goes better and that you can do more of the things that you like to do.

Take care.

With love, Erika

Actually, I think it is officially called Obamacare. I read somewhere that the president actually liked the name, so that's why the news channels call it that all the time. Less syllables to say at least.

All the insurance stuff I've been seeing has been calling it the Affordable Care Act, so I guess that's it's actual "official" name. I do not care for it at all, whatever they call it. I was perfectly happy with my insurance the way it was.

I thought they should have gone after the drug companies and medical institutions that seem to enjoy overcharging everyone for everything, and fixing the issues with that before doing the ACA. I think everything that was done to get the bill into a law, was way too political, and both political parties filled it with too many extras to benefit themselves more than the people it's supposed to help.

(and I was not trying to be political, just expressing an opinion. I really hate politicians right now. They all suck equally. The used car salesman that sold me my car earlier this summer was probably more trustworthy than a politician...I'm still waiting for the car guy to send me a check for something they overcharged me for. Not gonna hold my breath for that)

I'm with you Erin, on not having much respect for either side
of the aisle, these days..

I too hope you have a better Fall/Winter..

Hmm...canceling my plans to move to Canada

Part of our problem in the USA is that prices are unregulated...they charge tremendous amounts for a plain old aspirin in the hospital, let alone procedures.

Doctors are paying so much for liability insurance in our lawsuit-happy culture that too much of their profit goes for this as well as the large amount of employees needed to handle all of the insurance beureaucratic BS.

Added to all of this, many hospitals and practices with which physicians are partnered with demand that they order loads of tests to increase profits of the institutions and, well, you have a real mess.

Would price controls help? Not sure...

With the price of unregulated health care costs skyrocketing in our country, many employers are dumping coverage for their retirees and /or their spouses; employees will be next.

Those of us with preexisting conditions are guaranteed not to be rejected by insurance companies under ACA...but we will more than likely pay through the nose. I was rejected twice by insurance companies for long term insurance even before officially being diagnosed with MS. I should have sued the brats...

The penalty for NOT signing up for health care is a joke IMHO...why would a young person pay a couple thousand $$ annually when the penalty for no insurance is in the low hundreds?

The ERs will continue to be utilized as doctor's offices for problems other than true emergencies, which is then spread across the board to all of us in higher costs.

It's a mess. Plain and simple.

The problem with price controls is that the reason the hospital charges people with insurance $30 for an aspirin is that they have to make up the cost of treating a dozen other folks who have no insurance and will never pay the hospitsl a dime. If you take away their ability to charge what they need to operate, they have to cut services or lower their level of care accordingly.

Our economy has built a monster!!