I might be inflammatory in stating this but here goes.......

I am an Australian and as such I can have access to good health care no matter what my working situation via the Medicare safety net that provide access to health care services to all Australians.
my question is this....
if America has illusions of world leadership - how come it cannot provide good healthcare to all american citizens without having to to demand insurance (see: blood money) off everyone???????
is it health only for those who can afford it?
cheers
leanne

How are you being treated? Rate or "drug" rhythm control? Are you talking about ablation? Are you in afib most or all of the time? (Are you still considered paroxysmal or you persistent or longstanding persistent/chronic). I gather that since you are having an "attack" it may be paroxysmal, but you might have silent afib also. Do they know the cause of afib in your case?

The reason why I ask all this is because if rate control is the answer in your case, the cheapest way is a beta blocker and Coumadin.

petey

I

cjwinter Many cities and towns have a free clinic that people in you position can use for little or no charge.

leanne, Now that it's being proven to reduce the cost of health care and or insurance maybe the republicans will finally give up and not vote against Obamacare as they have done for 38 times now, get their heads out of the sand or wherever they keep them and get something down for the people who built this country. Your country has seen the light and believes that health care for all its citizens is the proper way to act. America is the world leader in the military but is far behind in many other fields such as education, health care and care for our veterans who are returning from one of our continuous wars. We have been at war for my entire life time and I'm 69. NSR to all and Health Care to all Rick

All over the country there are medical clinics called Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). They provide care to the uninsured and under insured. They provide many services and if you don't qualify for Medicare and Medicaid, offer reduced fee for services based on income.
Can't get an ablation at an FQHC, but they can manage your medications, coumadin, etc. and your general medical care. Hope you can find some help that way.

EDIT My first line should have read cjwinter, Many cities and towns have a free clinic that people in your position can use for little or no charge.

Hello CJWinter- I am of the under-insured population. I have insurance coverage but my deductible is very high ($5,200). I consider myself sort of an expert at wading my way through the high costs of Afib. I take a beta blocker ($12 dollars for 90 pills) and warfarin ($10 for a 30 day supply) and monthly blood work at approximately $25 per month. Total monthly is about $50. This cost is WAY down from the money I paid out for diagnostic testing (echos and stress testing), a heart cath, 2 ablations, a stat pericardiocentisis, high cost medications (antiarrhythmics and Pradaxa) and Cardiology visits. It pays to negotiate everything and set up payments that you can afford, especially diagnostic testing. I was diagnosed with Afib over 3 years ago and am finally down to $650 left to pay my EP for my last ablation in 2011.

Changes are also coming with the Affordable Care Act. In 2014 the insurance exchanges will be available. Not sure how that will work, but it should make insurance more accessible and affordable (so they say). It will also expand Medicaid and more people will be able to get insurance that way. I believe it will also expand support to the many FQHCs (see my post above) and increase access to care.

Leanne....I wish we has universal health care. The US can learn alot from other countries. I do not understand why we can spend so much money (lets not even talk about lives lost) on war and not provide health care for those that need it. We do have a safety net for the most needy through Medicaid and Medicare, but lots of others fall through the cracks.
I am a nurse who worked for the last 18 years at an FQHC. Soo many people are struggling. I think Obama Care is a step in the right direction. Now if he could just create some jobs...

Leanne,.. Your post is extremely offensive. I would never go on a public forum and criticize your country. You don't live here so you dont have a clue what it's all about. This is not a political forum, so quite frankly, your post is inappropriate. however, now that youve stirred the pot, Rick and your posts will not go unanswered.

i will say upfront that I'm a libertarian and a constitutionalist. If you don't know what that is, it's somebody who believes in small government and self sufficiency. It's the belief in our Constitution. It's also a belief that the US should stop nosing into the affairs of other countries.

I, and my fellow libertarians strongly oppose the socialized medicine of Obamacare and have already seen evidence of how it will create major doctor shortages and ruin what was once among the top in medical care in the world. There is a reason obamacare is being delayed a year. it wont work! Rick, Obamacare is not cheaper, it's more expensive! Where are you getting your propaganda from?

While our system is not perfect, anyone in the US can get health care. If you are sick or injured and go to a public hospital emergency room, they cannot turn you down. Further, if you are poor, you can receive Medicare. Many hospitals ( like Sloan Kettering) will provide all treatment on a sliding scale, or for free, depending on your circumstances. There are also plenty of free medical clinics.

Drug companies have programs to provide discounted or free prescriptions for those in need.

There are also many affordable state insurance plans as well as free clinics.

At one point, I was self employed. Rather than go uninsured, I researched group health insurance plans and by joining a tool and dye association ( I do nothing in that field) was able to purchase very affordable insurance. You can get very good insurance by ajoining a freelancers group. But to find these plans, you have to take a little initiative and look. They're out there.

Again, our system is not perfect, and does have some flaws. But Obamacare is not the answer, nor is your socialized medicine.

Let me ask you this, if Australia's healthcare system is so wonderful, why do people all over the world fly to the U.S. to be treated here and not in Australia?

You get what you pay for. Thanks to obama, we'll soon have substandard care and medical rationing like many other countries with socialized medicine.

Islandluvr: Thanks for saying what I didn't want to get involved in. Rick, lets not mix up veterans (I'm one) with the underinsured.Two different issues.

Someone has to pay for medical care. Insurance doesn't create a situation where everyone comes out ahead. If that was the case, insurance companies would go broke. Of course, most doctors aren't and shouldn't work for nothing. So that means people have to pay for their insurance (if they desire) and their medical care, if they feel it is important to get it.

Someone is always going to come out on the short end. Money drives medical care and advancement in medical care. Personal responsibility in how you prioritize your spending and how you take care of your health is important too. I'm sorry but everyone doesn't get the best health care, eat at the finest restaurants, and travel to the most exotic places. Only the rich get that. But for the people in the middle, we need to prioritize, research, and make hard decisions in life. And our families should help also. The amount that people in the middle get taxed in every aspect of their lives to feed the wastefull (no WASTEFUL) government is sickening. But today, people resent those with more than we have, even if we sat on our fat #$@!s eating twinkies while other people were out working or just so smart they came up with a better mousetrap. Same thing with doctors. They spent megabucks on their degrees (most of them don't have money in college) and stay up night after night studying while others take easier ways out (btw, money is there for anyone in the form of grants and loans, particularly if you meet economic tests or are minority).

People in this country get so much and expect so much. Look around you and see what you have and your parents didn't have. I appreciate that. I don't resent those richer than me. I work for what I get. I got 3 degrees on my own dime. Not even mommy and daddy. I worked as muany as 3 jobs at the same time. I found a job that provided benefits for me. I volunteered and served in the Navy for 6 years during Vietnam. I've helped verterans in veterans hospitals. My brother died from agent orange exposure in Vietnam. My father ran the VFW in AP, NJ and helped so many people and encouraged me to do the same (WW III vet). When my father was sick before he died and for decades before I paid for much of his expenses, appliances in my parents house, and did the same for other family members. OK, enough of that... some are probably cheering and some our already preparing their rebuttals...

So anyway, the bottom line is that ablation and other surgical techniques are still considered experimental by insurers and don't always have good outcomes so they are expensive. So are some drugs. But bottom line is that rate control and stroke prevention are the 2 biggest things you can do. Stroke prevention is cheap: Coumadin. I take Pradaxa. Rate control with proven betablockers is not terribly expensive. I take Bystolic. I have a health plan that covers them so I pay $10 for Pradaxa and $30 for Bystolic. I just cut back on the Pizza to save money... which brings me to another topic... personaly responsibility... lose weight, stop the fast food, junk, etc if you want to be healthy and save money on health care. Turn off MSNBC and take a walk.

I don't think we should be talking about this stuff so I am going to stop abruptly.... be-e-e-e-e-ep....

WWII not III ... ha!

Wow! Lots of really strong feelings about this topic. We could debate it all day. Petey....lots of great points. I agree with all of them except that I still believe we need a new health care system. The one we have is broken and the insurance companies have run amok. We agree to disagree.

leanne--Imo your post is just the opposite of the rant that ialandluvr went into and I still agree with you and also with marikay's observation as a nurse in a clinic.
Islandluvr here are quotes from your rant

" Leanne,.. Your post is extremely offensive. I would never go on a public forum and criticize your country. You don't live here so you dont have a clue what it's all about. This is not a political forum, so quite frankly, your post is inappropriate. however, now that youve stirred the pot, Rick and your posts will not go unanswered.


but then you go on with this quote

Again, our system is not perfect, and does have some flaws. But Obamacare is not the answer, nor is your socialized medicine.

Let me ask you this, if Australia's healthcare system is so wonderful, why do people all over the world fly to the U.S. to be treated here and not in Australia?

Seems to me you are showing some disrespect to leanne because of her comments and then go on to do the same thing.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/17/news/economy/obamacare-health-insurance-new-york/index.html
California is finding out the same thing

petey your comment to turn off msnbc and take a walk sounds a lot like censorship to me and that is no surprise to me. FIY I watch CNN and MSNBC for news and Fox for the entertainment value and would never suggest that you turn off Fox or what ever you watch or listen to and take a walk.
leanne your post is about medical care and we are all here to learn about medical related problems and issues and I found it very refreshing compared to what we generally talk about here. NSR to all Rick

Ok everyone....lets agree to disagree.
America gives us that freedom!

Island- I am interested in learning some specifics regarding your belonging to a group health plan at one time in spite of being self employed. If you dont mind sharing the info, I would like to ask some questions since I have been self employed for 6 years. How long ago was it that you were self employed? For how long were you self employed? Could you also share the amount you paid monthly for your health insurance and what some of your benefits were (for example- deductible amount, whether this also included prescription coverage and once deductible was met, if benefits were paid 100%). I currently pay 8% of my income to my high deductible health plan in addition to my out of pocket expenses. Once my deductible is met, my plan pays 100%. It may pay for me to re-visit shopping for insurance. I just dont want my insurance to cost me more than paying out of pocket :) Thanks, Carrie

Well said Marikay :)