Fight for healthcare continues for Zwans

When I was laid off I tried to get assistance with mine and my daughters medical care. You will never guess what I was told. I did not qualify for assistance because I could no longer "REPRODUCE". Thanks to a tubal ligation. AND, the only way I could get assistance for my minor daughter was if I sent her to live with someone else and gave them temporary custody. Someone please tell me how this makes any sense and how she could get assitance when others of us are denied for no good reason.

Honestly I think health care and health insurance in the US need some makeovers. Not only are insurance companies overcharging but they don't pay out like they should. i have been with several insurance companies. my current one is great thus far. But a lot of these companies that advertise 100/month for you or 300 for the family put you on an HMO which only covers who they want to pay and the things they want to pay for. it is all in the fine print. i know plenty of people who do the billing. most doctor's offices code something wrong so you have to fight the company or pay outrageous prices. As far as government healthcare I have medicaid for my son. I received it while pregnant and I do have a job. But my insurance had to pay what they could first. I have my own but can't afford his so I continue to receive it for him. But just so everyone knows, there are guidelines you have to meet aside from just basic income for assistance. They also count your savings accounts, child support, SSI, anything that is income. Not to mention you can only gross so much per month. That is before taxes and insurance are taken out. I commend the mom for getting what her son needs. God only knows where I would be without the help for my son because he has had to go to the hospital. I think there is a way to nationalize the government healthcare system as well as the healthcare that is received by someone who pays for insurance, and nationalize insurance plans while providing really good coverage. If you set the basic guidelines for coverage and prices into place, as well as guidelines for the amount of time to be seen in, etc a nationalized plan can be successful. Like anything that succeeds it needs planning and careful scrutiny to oversee the success. A lot of failures come from negligence to see things through the proper way. Now on the subject of government healthcare, I don't think that all of the "lazy" people who want to mooch off the government, per se, should be allowed to sit there and get assistance. I am sorry. If you are fired from your job, COBRA is offered, though extremely costly due to you paying your portion plus the employer's portion. I think government assistance should be an option to the people who are laid off from their jobs in addition to COBRA. If you quit your job for the sake of getting assistance then you have issues. If you work and don't make enought money then government assistance is an option. But not every unemployed person out there is mooching off the government. I have paid taxes and I continue to do so. If I need help I should be able to get it. So if we criticize a person for getting help for health care through the government then shouldn't we criticize all the college students who get help for schooling through government grants? Oh wait we won't because they get an education so they can work and pay taxes. Well look at it this way...if a kid is getting Medicaid because his or her parent(s) don't have the money to get insurance, then they will be healthy enough to go to school and get said education, so that they can work and pay taxes like everyone else.

I suggest this family get passports and go to Canada or Europe where they can get in line to enjoy nationalized health care (if they live long enough to get to the head of the line).

She got a taste of abusing the system instead of providing for her family through work and now of course she will jump on the band wagon and demand free health care for her, paid for by taxpayers

The self employed numbers are growing as more and more people get laid off. I worked my tail off for 30 years, 10 of those years very highly paid. I am currently uninsured because when I became self employed I lost my insurance and to pick it back up again, I lost all coverage for pre-existing conditions. I have a heart condition, my wife has some serious medical issues. Coverage for the two of us is over 1,200 per month with a $5,000 deducible AND no coverage for pre-existing conditions. I owe my house free and clear, I have very little debt, I make too much money to get any government assistance and Im not old enough for medicare or social security. I was in the hospital for a $78,000 procedure recently. Im thinking about hiding my assets so that I can qualify for medicaid. Its a shame because Id be more than willing to buy insurance if my pre-existing conditions were covered. So think about all those people, your sons and daughters, your parents that you will have to watch suffer if, God forbid, one of them develops a serious problem. What doctor out there is worth a crap? My last bill from my doctor included a $150 charge for "smoking consultation" I swear to God, all he did was ask if I smoked. All you folks with insurance take a look at your bill. See what you are being charged, you won't believe it. I got a shot while in the hospital that was $2,800, one shot. All Im asking for is the ability to get coverage.

define affordable health care? Just what does that term entail? One sees various health care providers advertising health care at $100 per indiviual and under $300 for a family. Candidly that's pretty reasonable. Check the private sector employers which provide health care, on a subsidized basis, for its employees. An individual is charged about $100 per pay; while family plans are around $250 per pay. That's $200 to $500 coming out of an employee's paycheck AFTER the employer has kicked in a healthy employer contribution. And most of those plans call for a $1500 deductible and a 20% co-pay. So just what is affordable health care? Just how much do some folks think they can squeeze out of the taxpayers who ultimately would be paying for any increase in government spending?

Is the full name of the group "Yes We Can Suck Every Last Dollar out of Successful Working People to Pay for Our Lazy Butts"? Or maybe it is "Yes We Can get another free ride off the wealthy and those that planned for their future."

Sorry Zwan Mom, but NOWHERE in the U.S. constitution does it say that government is resposible for our healthcare.