Re: Red tape ensnarls family in mess
Your daily Letter to the Columnist — Feb. 18, 2013
I retired from the Hopewell Virginia Department of Social Services on February 1, 2011. I was a food stamp and Medicaid worker.
There was a time when a Medicaid recipient had to put her request in writing if she wanted her Medicaid case closed. That policy changed effective February 1, 2009. Part M1520.403A page 10a of the Medicaid manual states that the request can be in writing or verbal.
The eligibility worker probably did not realize the policy had changed and just told Ms. Cadwell to put the request in writing. Ms. Cadwell met her obligation when she made the phone call to her caseworker.
I could speculate about what happened to her written request but I won’t go there.
Margaret Palmer
HUDDLESTON
February 18, 2013 - 1:30 PM
So lets have the government take over all of healthcare so we all can be as miserable as Ms. Huddleston.
“So lets have the government take over all of healthcare so we all can be as miserable as Ms. Huddleston.”
Gotta better idea. How about we pay attention to people’s names, for starters?
terps, how many examples do you want of private health insurers making people miserable?
Call the burn unit, another great, insightful rejoinder from Mr. Casey!
gdad, the problem terps has with it is that public health insurance doesn’t line the pockets of people who work in health insurance or administration at a sufficent rate to satisy him, and he isn’t confident that he could get as much money any other way.
Dan Casey | February 18, 2013 at 2:48 pm
“So lets have the government take over all of healthcare so we all can be as miserable as Ms. Huddleston.”
Gotta better idea. How about we pay attention to people’s names, for starters?
OK
So you want to make all of us as miserable as MS. Huddleston AND Ms. Cadwell.
gdad | February 18, 2013 at 2:54 pm
terps, how many examples do you want of private health insurers making people miserable?
GDAD
What motivation does the government have to please you. None! Thats why statism is a miserble failure whereever it has been tried.
Insurance companies compete for your dollar. They win by pleasing you. If you are mistreated, then shame on you for not getting better insurance.
Ahh terps, for the people in question, the government has already taken over all of their healthcare, that is what happens when you are unemployed and/or too poor to pay for insurance and medical care. The government runs Medicare for seniors (who sure seem to love it), the government runs the V.A. for the care of the military and Veterans (and most seem to like it) and the government runs the health care for the indigent (who have no other choice). The only people left to struggle are the working class. The wealthy can well afford whatever they want. Most of them still have insurance because that is the way to go.
Ms. Palmer lives in Huddleston and was a Social Services worker, nothing in her post implies or says she is “miserable”.
BTW
I have a new “man crush” on Dr. Ben Carson. What a stud!
I’m sure the libs will find a way to destroy him, but it may be harder to make him fit the RW nut caricature that the libs crave for conservatives.
I don’t get the feeling terps read the piece. His response is a complete non sequitur.
“Insurance companies compete for your dollar. They win by pleasing you. If you are mistreated, then shame on you for not getting better insurance.”
–Terps
This is true when it comes to brands of canned tuna, and for car or homeowners insurance. But in terms of health insurance, it’s such a godawful abstraction that it falls into the category of “laughingly false.”
Tell us, Terps, when one of your employees is displeased by their company-subsidized health insurance, what are their options?
Can they bolt the health insurer and pick up another one that’s more eager to please in the next week? Ot do they have to quit their jobs and find another one that offers an insurer who’s better?
Where is their shame?
My two cents on the “upgrade.” If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Where are the “recent comments,” “recent topics” and “archives” bars? Hope this isn’t all we’re getting. Thanks for listening.
Sandi, re: “The only people left to struggle are the working class. The wealthy can well afford whatever they want. Most of them still have insurance because that is the way to go.”
If having private insurance is “the way to go.”, why do the libprogs want everyone on a government system?
Btw… I know many military folk who don’t “seem to like” the services they receive…
Dan, I don’t know about Terps, but on the rare occasion that an employee has an issue, we intervene to assist. I know that cuts against the libprog baseless mantra that (evil, money grubbing, heartless) corporations have no concern for their own employees, but it is a fact.
I often wonder why you attempt to paint employers as selfish, uncaring entities. Has your employer been so abusive that you feel the need to project that upon all employers? Please enlighten us (employers) regarding your mistreatment by the RT, that is the basis for your angst, that we might all learn from your experience and treat our employees better than the RT treats you.
Or,
You can ignore the question and hurl a personal insult (as is usual when you have no intelligent response).
I do not hate my insurance company. In fact, if I did not have them negotiating prices for me and the others at my company, I would be in pretty rough shape financially. My deductible is high, but that is my employer’s decision. The insurance company is just the administrator. I have had to fight billing errors made by both local hospitals.
“If having private insurance is “the way to go.”, why do the libprogs want everyone on a government system?”
–mikeO
mikeO, have you looked at ACA? Do you realize that it’s not a “government system?” At it’s heart, tt’s a government-mandated system that requires people to have private insurance.
It was dreamed up by a not exactly “libprog” Newt Gingrich, refined and pushed by Jim Demint’s Heritage Foundation, and first enacted into law by a “severely conservative” Republican governor.
Not one hue and cry was raised by conservatives about this until a Democratic president started pushing it. Then all of a sudden, it’s the personification of satan in legislation.
ACA is private insurance companies competing for your business. In the Exchanges for those with inidividal coverage, the insurance companies will be competing on price and service. If you don’t like the service you getting, there will not be barriers to switching (as it is now in many cases).
“Dan, I don’t know about Terps, but on the rare occasion that an employee has an issue, we intervene to assist. I know that cuts against the libprog baseless mantra that (evil, money grubbing, heartless) corporations have no concern for their own employees, but it is a fact.
I often wonder why you attempt to paint employers as selfish, uncaring entities. Has your employer been so abusive that you feel the need to project that upon all employers? Please enlighten us (employers) regarding your mistreatment by the RT, that is the basis for your angst, that we might all learn from your experience and treat our employees better than the RT treats you.”
–mikeO
mikeO, thank you for chiming in. I was responding to Terps’ post. Did you read it? It posited a world where people could willy-nilly change their health insurance if they felt mistreated by their insurer. That’s not the real world, and that was the essence of my post, and you know that. Why don’t you debate honestly?
My comment did not paint employers as selfish, uncaring entities. There was no allowance in Terps’ unreal theory for the employer helping an employee with an issue. If you believe one was there, go read his comment again.
In fact, at the end of 2011 I was discussing the ACA with the president of a company that employs some PHd level scientists and engineers. He proudly told me that when ACA went into effect, he was going to drop the health insurance coverage he already subsidizes and pay the fine instead, because that would be far cheaper. It sounded like he was saying it almost out of spite for his hatred of the law.
“Why don’t you drop it now?” I asked. “That would save you even more money, because there is no fine for not providing health insurance now!”
He did not have a good answer for that, mikeO. Seriously.
“How are you going to recruit those scientists and engineers you need?” was my next question. His answer was that would be no problem, because all of his competitors would drop their coverage, too. You will forgive me if the term “collusion” flitted through my mind when he mentioned that, because it didn’t seem possible for him to “know” such a thing without collusion. Then again, certain RWers seen to “know” all kinds of things that aren’t actually true. They post those things right here every day.
I don’t believe all, or even a majority, of companies are going to drop their coverage. I don’t believe employers are inherently evil, or that this president’s comments about the law are a fair representation of what “all employers” think or will do. But they were a fair representation of what his company would do — at least, based on his statements.
And they were ridiculous, too.
I feel rather happy…we got notice of our health insurance renewal, stating that the plans were being changed to become 100% compliant with the ACA. Our rates changed too.
They dropped $600 a year.
Mike O, if you have any connection with any company in America, I would think you would know the answer to the question you posed. “
If having private insurance is “the way to go.”, why do the libprogs want everyone on a government system?”
1)That group of “working class” Americans is H-U-G-E.
2) Employers are more and more challenged to afford health insurance and gain good coverage for their employees.
Do you really NOT know that?
Mike O, from what I understand, military folk are able to get insurance on their own or through an employer if they do not “like” the services they receive?
Mike O, “on the rare occasion that an employee has an issue, we intervene to assist.” And are you saying that your intervention makes the insurer back down? I question that as it has never been my experience with Anthem.
It has nothing to do with an employer being “selfish” and everything to do with coverage being coverage and not all groups fit every individual. Certainly not the ones both can afford.
Whatever “abusive” situation anyone is talking about, it is not the employer who can change it or fix it until they drop or change their coverage. No one here has attempted “to paint employers as selfish, uncaring entities“. Do you deny that any are?
BTW, were not your uses of “libprog” an insult you “hurled” and was not your whole post snide, condescending and baiting? Why do you ask for better than you give?
I’ve had military and Tricare insurance for almost 25 years and it’s fabulous. I pay a minimal fee for medicine, and nothing for anything else.
Thank you Ms. Palmer. (Welcome to the world of blogging, by the way, where most of the posts make no sense in the context of the original thread.)
It was especially terrific you cited exactly where Ms. Caldwell hould look in the Medicaid manual. You are exactly right, I read it myself. All she had to do was call, which she did. You many well have ended her bureaucratic nightmare and it will be interesting to hear what happens with this bit of info you provided (hint to Dan to mark calendar to follow-up with us all!
Please, terps, private health insurance doesn’t compete for anything, at least not at the individual level. That was probably one of the more ridiculous statements I’ve seen in ages.
GDAD
You must have never run a company. Our first criteria for renewal is employee satisfaction. We are small enough that we are acutely aware of the treatment that our employees are getting and I have the same plan. We frequently change and the decision is based on cost and quality… The way all decisions should be made in a free society.
Your “one size fits all” government utopia plan is a path to gaurenteed misery.
I am sorry terps, but truly small companies, meaning groups of 15-30 are hardly catered to by ANY insurance carrier. Many smaller companies are having to go with higher and higher deductibles and have less and less choices on what plans cover in my experience.
My husband works for a very large company and his insurance is better than what my small company can offer even at paying an extra $600.00 per year to have it. THAT is who an insurance company will cater to, offer incentives to and make accommodations for, big.
All comments are showing in this thread.
The problem doesn’t happen until you hit 50 comments in a thread, Sandi.
Sandi
Your small company needs a better benefit advisor. You have an unlimited number of choices out there that can be tailored to your companies specific needs. It takes work to find the right match, but the payoff is worth it.
Thanks Gdad, I guess I missed that.
I disagree terps, but thanks for the caring advice.
Sandi
You can disagree about healthcare policy and I respect that. But you can’t disagree about the unlimited number of health plans for small companies that exist. That is a fact.
I think what you mean to say is that you would prefer a universal plan for all and that the hassle and expense involved in choosing a plan is not worth the benefit of having the freedom to choose your own plan. I like having the choice, but I certainly respect your point of view.
17. Dan, I agree with you. with the new law going into affect, there may be times where it is more beneficial for the individual to elect to purchase their own insurance rather than the company policy and there may be times that the company will benefit by offering a better plan. The changes allow much freedom in purchasing a plan in spite of what is being discussed by some.
Frankly terps, I am not certain you know what you mean, so do not attempt to tell me what I mean.
–
I can and I do “disagree about the unlimited number of health plans for small companies that exist” and how good any of them are. What you claim is simply not a fact unless a company is willing to spend more and more for the same or worse coverage. That is a fact.
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I would prefer that health insurance be completely untied from anyone’s job. It is a hassle for the employer (even with the tax incentives) and it lacks any kind of choice for the employee. Most business has to decide on a cost basis out of necessity. You clamoring about all the choices and options is leaving out that many are cost prohibitive and lock people in for a year.
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If your truth was the truth, no business would be going bonkers reducing hours and trying to avoid offering health insurance. Duh! They are doing so because it is cost prohibitive, even with more people added to the group.
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No one in a business has “the freedom to choose your own plan” except the boss who makes the decision. Of course you like being the boss, but do not pretend everyone likes your choice.
What world does Terps live in?