Christine O’Donnell Is Uninsured
Mike Mahaffie pointed to this article about Christine O’Donnell. Kent County physician Dr. Joann Fields has a blog about health care and health care reform. She was able to attend a Kent County Republican event and asked Christine O’Donnell about health care reform.
Christine O’Donnell does not have health insurance. I got my chance to ask her at the Kent County GOP headquarters on Thursday evening 10/14/10. She was an hour and a half late. She gave a standard speech. Then she said we could ask questions.
I walked up to her and said “I admire your dedication and convictions. My main concern is health care and I would like to ask a couple of questions“.
Fields: Do you have health insurance?
O’ Donnell : No. I pay for myself.
Fields: Isn’t that kind of frightening?
A well dressed man was standing with her, listening to us. He seemed to be a public relations person. There were two body guards. She turned away briefly to sign an autograph then turned back to me.
O’Donnell: There is a difference between health insurance and health care.
Fields: In this country you can’t really separate the two.
O’Donnell: That’s the problem.
Please read the whole post. A lot of people ask “what does insurance do?” It negotiates prices for you. I can’t imagine going into the hospital with a broken leg and haggling over price. One big advantage an insurance company has is just having a large pool of people – they can get better prices for the group (that’s why universal, government-run systems get the best prices).
So O’Donnell wants us to haggle while bleeding on a gurney. Perhaps she wants hospitals to turn you away after checking your credit. That’s the problem – health care isn’t like other services.
Also, I have to ask, how does someone who only made $5800 in one year afford any kind of health treatment? My guess is that she’s gone without medical care for a while and has the good fortune to be healthy.
Tags: Christine O'Donnell, DE-Sen
What’s the point of this post? Health Care is actually cheaper when you pay cash. If she has something really bad happen to her, obviously she cant pay in a timely manner, so the hospital would have the same recourse against her that her cell phone provider would. Court, judgment, wage garnish.
Under the Republicans version of health care for the masses it seems that if you’re unlucky enough to break your leg and don’t have the money to have it fixed, you should just be shot.
They shoot horses, don’t they ?
My experience is that it is more expensive sometimes when you pay cash because the big networks can negotiate a lower price. Paying cash costs the entire system less. That is where they make their best profit. I agree with Phil, I am not sure of the point except that having an excuse to mention Christine raises the hits to the site.
Christine is right that we have to something different. I think Glen has hit on some interesting solutions.
Health Care is actually cheaper when you pay cash.
Uh, no it isn’t.
O’Donnell is 41 years old. That means she should have had at least two mammograms by now. How much do you think that costs if you pay cash?
David is right. The whole system would be a lot cheaper and easier for everyone if we all lived off the political donations to our fake campaigns rather than Obama stealing money from us to give to marxist gays.
I’m still waiting for a Republican to explain how insurance companies can make profit and cover pre-existing conditions at the same time without an individual mandate.
“What’s the point of this post?”
Another perfunctory, thinly veiled attempt at character assassination of the candidate, Just lay some innocuous information out, and some simpleton will eventually take the bait, and run with it…
“… Under the Republicans version of health care for the masses it seems that if you’re unlucky enough to break your leg and don’t have the money to have it fixed, you should just be shot.”
The point of this post is that health care repeal is an issue she’s running on. Here’s what she believes.
You posted nothing about what she believes, but you have it right that she wants to replace the health care bill with something she thinks is better. Except for the fact it gives her more credibility because she would be affected by the mandates and is affected by the current lack of strong HSA tax credits, it seems irrelavent.
“My experience is that it is more expensive sometimes when you pay cash …”
Not in mine, or my daughter, who was just picked up on her husband’s health care plan. Prior to her coverage, and when the physician was aware of her status, she was typically billed at a rate 65-75% lower than the rate they bill the provider.
The provider also does not pay the billed rate.
Reporting that O’Donnell is uninsured – how is that character assassination? It has nothing to do with her character.
miscreant:depraved, villainous, or base.
You’re too dense to understand the nuance of my outlandish post.
You’re too depraved to be on THIS website.
Go hang where your fellow perverts laugh and scoff at the poor and unfortunate.
I’m sure you’re a BIG STAR there.
Here, you’re just one more FUCKING ASSHOLE we have to deal with.
“…– how is that character assassination?:
I suppose I put it in context with the rest of the derogatory posts, and jumped to a conclusion.
My bad.
Good morning, Skippertee.
Top of the morning to you, Miscreant.
How does the assumption that we should permit the hospital “court, judgement, wage garnish” against patients without insurance square against right wing calls for tort reform and objections to government? All those mechanisms ARE government, you pinheads! And darned expensive forms of government, into the bargain!
It mystifies me how these people manage complicated tasks like getting dressed in the morning. It honestly does.
Nothing screams compassionate conservatism to me like hospitals taking away the homes of cancer patients.
“O’Donnell: There is a difference between health insurance and health care.”
She is right about that, and it is a distinction that most supporters of Obomba’s “HCR” bill fail to understand. Under Obombacare, many people will not be able to afford to purchase healthcare services, including paying cash for high deductibles and drugs, after having 8% of their income extorted to fund private insurance company profits.
They will have insurance but not healthcare.
HCR 2010 = WMD 2002. Obomba lied while real HCR died.
I guess this is just another example of the fact that if you’re not in a group plan, then you’re better off being a deadbeat that owns nothing. When those hospitals find out there’s nothing to garnish – believe me – they will be more than happy to renegotiate the price after the fact.
I’m still waiting for a Republican to explain how insurance companies can make profit and cover pre-existing conditions at the same time without an individual mandate.
If the Repubs do take power I hope they repeal the individual mandate while leaving all the other provisions in place because they are too popular. Just a fantasy though, because their insurance company patrons will never let that happen.
If the Repubs do take power I hope they repeal the individual mandate while leaving all the other provisions in place because they are too popular.
It’s a bit of a fantasy but would that lead to an actual public option?
Prior to her coverage, and when the physician was aware of her status, she was typically billed at a rate 65-75% lower than the rate they bill the provider.
Nice that you got charity, but let’s see if many other doctors are as charitable to large numbers of patients who might be not quite so white and middle class.
“I’m still waiting for a Republican to explain how insurance companies can make profit and cover pre-existing conditions at the same time without an individual mandate.” It’s as mutually exclusive as covering pre-existing conditions and saying that insurance costs won’t go up. It boils down to whether we prefer the “D” liars, or the “R” liars.
Anvil: Not contesting your point, but the idea of forcing everyone to pay is that hospitals will no longer have to spread the cost of treating the uninsured among those with insurance. Theoretically, at least, costs would go down, which theoretically would allow for lower premiums. It won’t happen, but there’s at least some logic behind the wishful thinking.
Actually that would be a neat trick if Dems forced a straight up or down vote on repealing the individual mandate. Not only would Repubs have to vote against repeal, they would have to go to their base and explain why the individual mandate is necessary. Too bad we don’t have that kind of leadership.
Isn’t “O’Donnell = freeloading grifter” getting to be kind of a dog-bites-man story?
Didn’t Reid at one point try to keep progressives in line by promising a separate vote on a public option? Whatever happened to that?
Geezer, I’m not contesting your point either. If you get a $100 bill from Christiana Care, $26.00 went for indigent care. A large block of uninsured in this country are those who can afford insurance and elect to gamble that they won’t need it. I’m sure that COD has health insurance now since her campaign is flush with cash and she can add benefits to her campaign funded compensation package.
Uninsured people may be able to negotiate a lower cost with a generous doctor, but that goes out the window if they get sick – think cancer. There isn’t much negotiating with chemotherapy – which costs approx. 10,000 a pop.
Basically, healthy people can negotiate for annual doctors’ appointments and the common cold or flu, but that negotiating ceases once you really need insurance. Christine is fortunate that she is healthy. If she was diagnosed with cancer or in need of emergency surgery due to an accident, her two million in the bank would vanish pretty quickly.
Without subsidy, I wonder how she can afford her Clozapine script?
Again, a vote for her or any of her jabroni brethren is a vote for self-imposed retardation. The vote may be under the guise of some stupid single-issue bs but the desired effect is still the same.
If she was diagnosed with cancer or in need of emergency surgery due to an accident, her two million in the bank would vanish pretty quickly.
Then she could experience a conversion and tour the country being a spokesperson for public health care. I’d pay to see that.
True, anon. Do conservatives/republicans actually not know anyone in this situation? Or do they simply ignore them? … or blame them.
Right now I am helping a very dear friend deal with cancer (and unfortunately, not winning the battle – which is also contributing to my lack of blogging). Every f*cking time she goes in she fights with insurance. She’s even had to put off treatment because the insurance paperwork wasn’t in order, and she didn’t have the 10,000.00 to pay.
Not much room for “negotiating” in cancer treatment. Hopefully, Christine will never experience this first hand. Altho, you’re correct – her tune would change.
She’s even had to put off treatment because the insurance paperwork wasn’t in order, and she didn’t have the 10,000.00 to pay.
I know of other stories like that. They are real.
Please take good care of yourself and your friend.
Thanks, anon.
This blog ‘report’ is indicative of two things:
1. That it shows that COD hasn’t really ‘earned’ a living like most hardworking folks. Thus, she has no employer-funded healthcare insurance. And she’s not married (can’t use her spouse’s healthcare plan); and she’s over 26 years old (new Obamacare threshold).
2. Ironically, she would have to use the emergency room, if she were to get seriously hurt or ill, no matter if she could afford it or not (just what most Republicans and Democrats hate), and it’s a serious problem with or healthcare problem.