Women's preventive health care now easier to afford

[Riot]

Good news for families everywhere. Anything that decreases the number of abortions, increases the health of women and infants, and lowers the cost of healthcare for all by prevention is a good thing. Not to mention healthier women.

Wish they would include colon cancer screenings and prostate exams.

Long detailed article with much explanation, this is an excerpt:

It doesn't make up for the other ridiculous goings-on in Washington this week, but it's still a good thing.

WASHINGTON — Health insurance plans must cover birth control as preventive care for women, with no copays, the Obama administration said Monday in a decision with far-reaching implications for health care as well as social mores.

The requirement is part of a broad expansion of coverage for women's preventive care under President Barack Obama's health care law. Also to be covered without copays are breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual "well-woman" physical, screening for the virus that causes cervical cancer and for diabetes during pregnancy, counseling on domestic violence, and other services.

"These historic guidelines are based on science and existing (medical) literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The new requirements will take effect Jan. 1, 2013, in most cases. Tens of millions of women are expected to gain coverage initially, and that number is likely to grow with time. At first, some plans may be exempt due to a complex provision of the health care law known as the "grandfather" clause. But those even plans could face pressure from their members to include the new benefit.

Sebelius acted after a near-unanimous recommendation last month from a panel of experts convened by the prestigious Institute of Medicine, which advises the government. Panel chairwoman Linda Rosenstock, dean of public health at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that prevention of unintended pregnancies is essential for the psychological, emotional and physical health of women.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_914818.html

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Riot

Good news for families everywhere. Anything that decreases the number of abortions, increases the health of women and infants, and lowers the cost of healthcare for all by prevention is a good thing. Not to mention healthier women.

Wish they would include colon cancer screenings and prostate exams.

Long detailed article with much explanation, this is an excerpt:

It doesn't make up for the other ridiculous goings-on in Washington this week, but it's still a good thing.

No more co-pays equal higher premiums for all!!!

[Riot]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

No more co-pays equal higher premiums for all!!!

Take a deep breath and see how preventive health care means lower premiums for all:

Cost of the pill for 20 years (to insurance company) about $1000 or less

Cost of one baby - prenatal care, delivery, 18 years health care, about $40,000 if they are healthy.

Cost of cervical pap smear: $20
Cost of treating cervical cancer: $80,000

Cost of breast pump $10
Cost of infant formula plus health care for infant not raised on breast milk $thousands

Plus: less abortions, healthier children, healthier women, which lowers costs for all.

PS and this is RIOT posting from my friends computer

Women will still refuse birth control. And this coverage is useless without the day after pill.

[Danzig]

anytime any coverage is expanded, you can bet your ass the price expands along with it.
is it a good thing to have bc, sure...will it cost somewhere else~absolutely...
after all, dont you think that if it was a real cost saver, it wouldnt have happened a lot sooner? ins cos dont make profits by being stupid...

[Riot]

Mostly insurance companies make money by only insuring healthy people, and kicking off people that are not healthy and they have to pay out on. It's like any insurance company.

Insurance companies do not make money by providing healthcare. They make money by not providing healthcare.

Medicare is run by the government. The cost of delivery, as there is no profit taken, is far, far less than the cost of healthcare delivered by every private insurance company in the US.

Preventive health care is ALWAYS less expensive than treating the disease or health problem you are trying to prevent.

If you are in a group of employees sharing insurance costs, what would you rather pay: the lung cancer and emphysema from a smoker, or the cost of his Nicorette? Would you rather pay for mammograms or breast cancer? Colon fecal blood exam or colon cancer? Birth control pills or pre-natal care, delivery, and 20 years of healthcare to a (hopefully) healthy infant?

Cholesterol testing for those over 50 (30 in the US), screening blood tests, colon cancer testing, mammograms, pap smears, prostate cancer exams, annual skin physical exams at a dermatologist, good nutrition counseling, healthy lifestyle - all should be covered for the minimal cost possible because prevention is cheaper for everyone than payment for the illness

That's why it's called the Affordable Care Act. Right now in the US about 1/5 of our economy is healthcare costs. That's beyond absurd. Most other first world countries it's less than 8%.

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Riot

Take a deep breath and see how preventive health care means lower premiums for all:

Cost of the pill for 20 years (to insurance company) about $1000 or less

stop right there and do the math!

20 years equals 240 months. BC pills at $4.17 per/month or 13 cents a day?

And the president thinks that's too much to have a co-pay

How about paying a 34% co-pay of BC pills just to make it fair to everyone! And a lesson to how much the 'rich' are actually paying!

[Riot]

And the president thinks that's too much to have a co-pay

No. The President had nothing to do with it. That's what medical commissions recommended to improve womens health. Much easier to pay .13 a day than pay for an unwanted pregnancy, birth, and 20 years of life, right?

Only you could be making the argument that it is better to not pay preventive care, and rather pay for the disease.

[Danzig]

Although the new women's preventive services will be free of any additional charge to patients, somebody will have to pay. The cost will be spread among other people with health insurance, resulting in slightly higher premiums.


well, no joke. that's as obvious as the statement that medicare is run by the government. who knew?!?!

my bills keep going up, and i haven't done a thing to cause that. most premiums for insurance are based on specific things-your age, your level of risk, your past claims, your bad driving.
health insurance-nope, the hard working and healthy get to carry that burden, and it won't be getting lighter.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Danzig

Although the new women's preventive services will be free of any additional charge to patients, somebody will have to pay. The cost will be spread among other people with health insurance, resulting in slightly higher premiums.

Yes, exactly as it is now. But again: would you rather, as a group paying for the others in your insurance group, pay for a pap smear? Or cervical cancer? Pay for a mammogram? Or treating breast cancer? Pay for birth control pills? Or for a pregnancy, delivery, and 20 years of health care for the child?

Which do you think is gonna lower your premiums over time? Paying for preventive care for everyone, or paying for the diseases?

BTW, birth control pills cost about a dollar a month or less to make. The pharmacist buys them for a couple dollars. The insurance company negotiates a charge to their insured at that pharmacy, and they pocket your "copay".

You guys would be furious if you knew how little it costs to make drugs that you pay hundreds of dollars a month for. But, the drug companies put the money into research and development, so I can't begrudge them their profit. But it is sad to see people die because insurance companies won't pay exaggerated inflated prices to the drug companies for particular drugs. Death panels.

[Riot]

my bills keep going up, and i haven't done a thing to cause that.

And, that is exactly why the ACA exists. It's mostly consumer protections. To stop insurance companies from gouging their clients for profit. While they are making record profit.

The insurance companies will gouge you for all they can, until the ACA provisions kick in to stop it.

Just like the credit card companies gouged their clients for all they could, before those consumer protections kicked in.

[Danzig]

i don't take any regular medication.

and i know that the more people who buy insurance, the better. the trick is getting everyone to buy, and i still don't see how they're going to do that. hell, most states still can't get drivers to buy liability on their car; they buy a policy just to get tags renewed, and then they cancel. why pay? they won't wreck-they think. it's why the rest of us have to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
and many will rather pay the fine then buy when it comes times-but what happens when they need care? we pay for it.
i never, ever understood the mindset of people that i hired where i used to work. they were all for the insurance til it came time to sign up, then they balked at the small amount they had to pay. then they'd bitch when they had to go to the doctor-it coooosts sooo muuuuch. duh


as for credit cards, i don't have any of those. easy to avoid that gouging.

[Danzig]

another concern i have-how much will this cost the states? the feds say it'll save them money in the long run, but the states say that's because they will bear more of the burden.
how much will my taxes go up? my premiums go up every year, so now i guess i have an increase in taxes to go along with it...no insurance co. is going to do a thing out of the goodness of their hearts-any increases they will face will be passed on. carrying people with pre-existing conditions will cost me, not the co. kids til age 26-that'll cost me, even tho none of mine are on my insurance. free coverages, yeah, nothing is free.

all the govt should have done was expanded coverage thru medicaid to cover those who can't get coverage.
and get this, arkansas has had that available for some time. if you couldn't get covered, or your plan was too high-you could get covered thru the state. i wonder how many other states have the same type of program...

thing is, many who don't have insurance don't have it for a reason..they don't want to pay.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Danzig

another concern i have-how much will this cost the states?

I don't know what you are talking about. The ACA in it's entirety? The costs are listed in the Wikipedia entry for it, if you want to see how it was paid for. The CBO has scored it a net zero - meaning your taxes are not predicted to go up to pay for any of it.

The birth control thing is a consumer protection for private insurance companies.

all the govt should have done was expanded coverage thru medicaid to cover those who can't get coverage.

I agree. But that was called socialized medicine and death panels, and people feared it and screamed they didn't want that government takeover of their healthcare (they talked about expanding Medicare, not Medicaid). That is essentially what they have come up with temporarily, until the insurance exchanges kick in.

Actually, I think everyone in the country should be able to buy into Medicare if they want.

That would also leave the private insurance companies with only the healthy patients, they would refuse to insure and orphan anyone with any problem at all. That wouldn't work.

[Riot]

Why have your insurance premiums gone up in the past couple of years?

Health Insurers Making Record Profits as Many Postpone Care
By REED ABELSON
Published: May 13, 2011

The nation’s major health insurers are barreling into a third year of record profits, enriched in recent months by a lingering recessionary mind-set among Americans who are postponing or forgoing medical care.

... snip ...

Yet the companies continue to press for higher premiums, even though their reserve coffers are flush with profits and shareholders have been rewarded with new dividends.

Many defend proposed double-digit increases in the rates they charge, citing a need for protection against any sudden uptick in demand once people have more money to spend on their health, as well as the rising price of care.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/bu.../14health.html

What a load of propaganda. They average between a 1-3% profit margin on average.

If you're this b.utthurt over it then you should have eleventy billion threads on Apple, Google and GE.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

What a load of propaganda. They average between a 1-3% profit margin on average.

If you're this b.utthurt over it then you should have eleventy billion threads on Apple, Google and GE.

Poor insurance companies.

BWAWAAAHAAAAAAAAA

Originally Posted by Riot

Poor insurance companies.

BWAWAAAHAAAAAAAAA

Life's not fair so I go after insurance companies for assessing risk properly. They are the worst companies on earth!

*limps off*

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Life's not fair so I go after insurance companies for assessing risk properly. They are the worst companies on earth!

*limps off*

No limping. Don't you pay attention?

I'm limping. Fell down two flights of stairs this weekend. Fortunately for me I'm genetically superior to most humans. No broken bones.