And I am 100% certain that most people who get shoved into Medicaid either have no idea or have no choice but to sign on the dotted line. That's the tragedy here. Our government is making people sign onto something almost out of desperation.
Let me make my position 100% clear, because those down-voting my post and attacking it might not have understood this. Actually, no, I failed to communicate it.
Medicaid Estate Recovery is an abomination.
It should NOT be a part of the program.
It should NOT exist.
We should provide medical care to the needy without ANY recovery requirements whatsoever.
If someone needs a million dollars in medical care they should receive it.
They should not have to worry about being on the hook to repay it in any way.
That is what a decent and compassionate society does and how it behaves.
If this estate recovery business were done by a private insurance company they would be destroyed by both public opinion and brought-up on fraud charges. We should demand better from our government. We should demand that estate recovery be completely removed from Medicaid.
> That is what a decent and compassionate society does and how it behaves.
Capitalism, especially in the USA, is not an economic system that concerns itself with or encourages a compassionate society. Medicine is one of the most obvious ways that capitalism is literally killing people.
I believe that with the right leadership and a conversation with the nation we could converge on a system that was fair, took care of the needy and got government and insurance companies as we know them to day out of the system to the necessary degree.
I don't, for a moment, believe that we can get both government and insurance companies entirely out of the system in the US. In the first instance, government, you would not want to. Oversight and rules are important. In the second instance, insurance companies, there could be an argument of their need in absorbing some of the risk. Admittedly, not an easy problem.
What we have today, this hodge-podge of laws, agencies and programs is a complete disaster. This should be obvious and evident to anyone who takes the time to take a full dive into the absolute mess healthcare is in the US. The ACA did not fix anything, it made it worst, because it isn't a real solution.
I won't claim to have the solution. As I alluded above, this requires leadership that can bring forth a national-level conversation that, over a year or four, can converge on something that can deal with all issues equitably.
One angle is what I might term a to be a moral obligation: We have the moral obligation to take care of each other. What follows, then, is that we all contribute to a fund or a national health insurance policy of some sort that covers absolutely everyone with, perhaps, reasonable co-pay's to take some of the edge off. If one of us needs a million dollars of medical care he or she should be able to get it.
This should also come with some obligations. I think there's nothing wrong with the idea of requiring regular checkups of some sort. This is where it gets complicated. What do we do about people who destroy themselves through substance abuse. I don't know how we deal with that and other matters.
Anyhow, I think we can all agree that we ought to be able to do far, far better than this mess created by our politicians in playing sick partisan games with one of our most basic needs. And this has been true over at least the last 50 years, no political party is devoid of blood (almost literally) on their hands.
We truly need to take this up to a much higher intellectual level in order to converge on a good solution.
It is interesting to see the reaction had on HN when someone like me, who recognizes the emperor has no clothes, comes along to critique a very real problem with one of these programs, Medicaid. The reaction is evidence of the political polarization out there and the disconnect that exists with what politicians have done to our healthcare system. It's a mess and what we have isn't getting any better.
It is interesting to see the reaction had on HN when someone like me, who recognizes the emperor has no clothes, comes along to critique a very real problem with one of these programs, Medicaid.
The analysis in your heavily downvoted comment is blatantly wrong!
Is Medicaid means tested? Absolutely.
Is Medicaid for elderly patients heavily means tested? Absolutely.
Is what you said: Medicaid enrollment as of 2016 reached over 70 million people. Here's the requisite chart:
Every single one of these people has, effectively, entered into a promissory note with the government. They DO NOT have health insurance, they have a loan. true? Nope, only people over 55 who have remaining assets are subject to estate recovery.
Everything I said is accurate. Yet, you insist in missing my greater point:
This issue shouldn't even exist.
We, as a society, should revolt at having such clauses in a medical program that is supposed to help people.
The US healthcare system should take care of every single US resident. Period. Rich, poor, healthy and ill. And it should do this without the kind of thing I have highlighted regarding Medicaid.
It is my experience that it is extremely difficult to convince people who have a religious attachment to things. So be it. I put the matter on the table. I've done all I could here to raise awareness. And that's the end of the story.
It is my experience that it is extremely difficult to convince people who have a religious attachment to things. So be it. I put the matter on the table. I've done all I could here to raise awareness. And that's the end of the story.
The stuff you are complaining about only applies to people that are over the age of 55.
A 10 year old and their mother that get primary care through Medicaid, they don't ever have to pay anything back (except if they later access Medicaid after age 55, but the asset test would apply to the care received after age 55, not before 55).
And I am 100% certain that most people who get shoved into Medicaid either have no idea or have no choice but to sign on the dotted line. That's the tragedy here. Our government is making people sign onto something almost out of desperation.
Let me make my position 100% clear, because those down-voting my post and attacking it might not have understood this. Actually, no, I failed to communicate it.
Medicaid Estate Recovery is an abomination.
It should NOT be a part of the program.
It should NOT exist.
We should provide medical care to the needy without ANY recovery requirements whatsoever.
If someone needs a million dollars in medical care they should receive it.
They should not have to worry about being on the hook to repay it in any way.
That is what a decent and compassionate society does and how it behaves.
If this estate recovery business were done by a private insurance company they would be destroyed by both public opinion and brought-up on fraud charges. We should demand better from our government. We should demand that estate recovery be completely removed from Medicaid.
Hope that clarifies my position.