The Sadism of American Health Care

Let's Review

• Insurance is not healthcare.
• Insurance is premiums and co-pays
• Insurance companies are known to deny claims for expensive catastrophic conditions, such as cancer treatment.
• 61% of bankruptcies are due to medical debt.
• Many people in debt had insurance when they first got sick, but claims were denied.
• There are no regulations to require insurance companies to honor claims, or to regulate premiums.
• Cancer is a multi-trillion dollar annual industry
• Most all processed foods and chain restaurants sell carcinogenic foods.
• Good food, such as organic food, is more expensive than bad food.
• Health care costs are multiple times higher for the insured than the uninsured. 

 

Ask Your Doctor

Just check with your doctor on what the charges are for you when you are insured versus when you are uninsured.  The same goes for your pharmacist.  I have heard reports (and have personally experienced) pharmaceutical costs at three to ten times higher when you are insured than when you are not insured.  Why should I pay $600 per month to get "free" medications (plus a small co-pay) that cost $500 when I'm insured?  But if I am uninsured, I pay for the same medications outright for $100 and I save $500 monthly, because I pay no premiums.  I can use that money to buy high quality foods that prevent health problems.

Insurance is the Catastrophe

If I should face a catastrophic health care claim, I would have no insurance and therefore be billed at the uninsured rates of one-third to one-tenth the rates I would be billed if insured.  Suddenly catastrophic costs are not as high and are somewhat affordable.  If I go to the right hospital, they will provide a social worker to help me work out payments or get alternative insurance.  I don't need to have catastrophic insurance in advance.  I can live without insurance and get it when I actually need it. If unemployed, there are state programs (like Medi-cal in California) that will cover everything. So it becomes very clear that having insurance is more expensive, more risky, and downright life threatening, compared to not having it. With no health insurance I can afford a better healthier life with better foods, and prevent the need for insurance.

Insurance companies may or may not deny coverage. So you are gambling that your exorbitant premiums might cover you and your family when you need it the most.  But there is no guarantee.   Insurance companies do not guarantee they will cover you for anything.  We know that many people die for lack of coverage even when they have insurance. Why buy it? What we really need is insurance for insurance companies that will cover you when they don't.

Is your life and your family's lives worth the risk of insurance that is worse that not having any?  At least without insurance, you qualify for care under numerous social service programs. But with insurance you run the risk of being denied care and left to suffer and die. The cost of care when you are insured is also many times higher, making it more unlikely for you to get care.  Just tell your doctor, hospital ad pharmacist that you have no coverage and your bills will be cut down drastically.

 

Obamacare

The ACA (Obamacare) is supposed to make insurance affordable for people who previously could not afford it. In fact Obamacare insurance is hardly less expensive. Poor people who can't afford even low cost insurance are left out in the cold, having to buy cheap foods that are actually a health risk.  California's Prop 65 lists over 900 carcinogenic chemicals that may be found in our food, air, and environment.  The law merely requires establishments to post a notice that these chemicals exist in their products. Most every food chain, including McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell,  Carl's Junior, Starbucks, Wendy's, Chili's, Applebees and many more, sell food with carcinogens.  Some of them post the required notice. Most do not. Any processed and prepackage food is a likely candidate for carcinogenic chemicals or malnutrition.

Even with Obamacare, children over 26 do not qualify to be on their parents plan. In our lousy economy, it is most likely these kids are unemployed, grossly underemployed, or faced with extravagant college loan payments, and cannot afford insurance on their own, no matter how cheap it is.  This is a blessing in disguise as insurance is more of a liability than a protection.

We choose our own fate. We can choose to deny insurance companies our money and support, instead of paying for them to deny us coverage and charge us both exorbitant premiums and exorbitant health care costs.

Insurance is not what we should be discussing. As activist Dr. Margaret Flowers says, we need to change the discussion to be about health care, not insurance.  Care for your health.  Eat nutritious, organic, non-carcinogenic foods.  Your food is your medicine. Your medicine is your food. Insurance is just a sadistic business based on keeping people sick. Don't buy it.

PHEAA: Scandalous, Infamous, Corporate All American

The PHEAA is the infamous scandalous private student loan corporation that masquerades as a Pennsylvania State agency. They operate as AES (American Education Services) but use a PHEAA letterhead to intimidate loan holders into thinking they are a government agency. They send out bogus federal student loan default notices like this one to intimidate employers and debtors into signing over 15% of their paychecks to the PHEAA. Of course they also offer debtors an option to have a lesser amount deducted directly from their personal checking accounts, if the debtor has a personal checking account. And if the debtor does so, they have to sign an agreement with AES that AES has the right to share their personal banking information with any "third party" or "criminal justice agency" that requires it. Yet, they cite no law to support this mandatory agreement to infringe on people's personal banking information. If you have a direct deposit agreement between your employer and your bank, you have to sign the same kind of statement to allow "third parties" access to your bank account.

Here is a scenario that has happened to a friend. They had direct deposit. They owed some money to a creditor, which had gone to a collection agency, similar to AES. Because they signed this "third party" infringement of privacy agreement, the bank freely gave out their banking information to the collection agency. So the collection agency knew in advance how much money was deposited on payday and when. The collection agency proceeded to get a levy of the debtor's bank account and unbeknownst to the debtor (they failed to notify them in advance as required by law), they siphoned off the entire account balance on payday. So much for the convenience of direct deposit. It's convenient for the banks and for the creditors. Extremely convenient. Now you may say, well these people asked for it. They put themselves into debt. Oh really? So for that oversight they deserve to go for two weeks without any money at all, which would easily send many people into homelessness and unemployment. But at least the creditor gets their money and that's all we care about in America's corporate welfare state oligarchy.

If you ever face a similar situation you should contact your bank to see if you can have the situation reversed. Likely you won't get the money back taken by the creditor or the bank's fees (around $200) for aiding them to take all your money. But you may get the bank to reverse any overdrafts that occurred in the meantime.

Did you know that the U.S government has agreements with private corporate financial blood hounds like AES? Interestingly, By the way, the letter you see here was sent to a debtor who took out a college loan in California. What the freakin' hell does Pennsylvania have to do with it?  Good luck trying to find legal help against these mafioso-gone-legit government approved loan sharks. You'll do better to file your complaint and represent yourself.

OK. This is where we cue the Star Spangled Banner. Hold your hand over your heart and look lovingly at the American flag, and remember all the people who die for it.