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Seraphim said:
Hmmm.  All the exchanges do is provide a market for companies to showcase their plans. How does a doctor know how one acquires the plan - whether a patient went through the exchange or contracted outside of the exchange? 

Whenever I go to a new doctor, the first thing they do is ask for my insurance card.  The info on that is typed into a computer.  You really think they won't know which plans only pay 60% of market value?

Regards
John
 
Just for the record, insurance companies have never paid 100%. That's why hospitals charge $50 for Tylonol.
And "Market Value" is a pretty loose term.
 
Let's stay on the topic of helping each other navigate the system.

We are NOT going to debate the system, that subject belongs to a different website.

How do we maneuver through the system that is in place is the only topic here.
Bob
 
Don't know if this info is well-known, so even though I posted it elsewhere, it might be pertinent here as it relates to travelers:

I found this website that lists the states that offer multi-state health plans and the provider names.  What I found interesting was in the note section at the bottom of the web page, which states by year four (and we're in year two now) all states must offer multi-state plans... assuming the Affordable Care Act will still be around then. 

(Note the Kaiser Family Foundation is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente insurance.)
 
offroad said:
Its kind of weird about some arguments on this all.  The bottom line is you will get care, or you will suffer.  Does anyone want suffering people, regardless of financial ignorance?  

Income should not matter at all. Less rich doctors is not no doctors. Have read stories about dirt poor clinics closing in states because the health exchange insurance is working. Yes it needs to be tweeked-fixed so that political powers can both claim it. It will eventually be adjusted.

Also looking at expensive medical statistics. After 60 half of you will get cancer. Its going to happen. If you don't have insurance you will have a hard time getting the three treatments you need. Chemo-radiation-surgery.  Even with insurance you will likely pay $5000 in drugs and deductibles.

But will your quality of life be any better?  For my mom it was yes as her cancer was detected early. For other loved ones cancer detected late and made no difference.

I'm afraid I must disagree on this point. If you find out that you have cancer, the last thing you want to do is get sucked into the hospital vortex. Traditional medicine, such as chemo-radiation-surgery will kill you faster in 96% of all cases.

There are several cures for cancer, depending on which kind you have, but please research the work of Dr. Johanna Budwig. http://healthwyze.org/index.php/com...r-how-to-cure-cancer-with-cottage-cheese.html

Her overall cure rate (including patients that hospitals had sent home to die) was 90%, as opposed to the standard treatment approach, which is less than 4%.

If you have cancer, don't let anyone near you with a scalpel!


Jesse.
 
If Steve Jobs could not find a cure --- I have to respectfully and strongly disagree with everyone looking at alternative medicine.
 
If you are alive, you will die.  Sooner than later if you do not take care of yourself.

There are many clinics that can take care of the basics.  I went to one in Quartzite AZ with a nasty leg infection.  They charged me $50 with my medicare, and told me to increase my diuretics. :huh: 

A month later I went to University Hospital in Columbia MO,and they ran some tests and put me on antibiotics.  I am on my second round now and finally am able to do more than hobble from one chair to another.  They have not charged me a penny yet.  

Traditional western medicine does not know everything.  The AIDS crisis is a prime example.  The Dallas Buyers Club is a true story about someone that was told he would die, and went to Mexico and found new experimental drugs that have changed the world.  

I do not discount claims that Cottage cheese or Italian herbs and spices can cure things without doing my research.

In 1928 my mother cut her leg open with an ax while chopping wood.  Grandma killed a chicken, split it and stuffed a loaf of old bread inside it.  and wrapped it on her leg.  A week later she took off the smelly maggot filled mess off of a leg with a faint scar.  

http://medicaledu.com/maggots.htm

Not my choice of treatments, but preferable to amputation.
   
 
offroad said:
If Steve Jobs could not find a cure --- I have to respectfully and strongly disagree with everyone looking at alternative medicine.

Morning offroad (and all)!

It doesn't matter who you are in this life, if you go to the wrong 'store' (so to speak), you're not going to find what you want there.

I can name you half-a-dozen celebrities who died needlessly in the past couple of years alone. Tens of thousands of people die needlessly every year in the U.S. precisely because they did not believe that there was any therapeutic value in Alternative Medicine.

I believe in *all* GOOD medicine. If you get hit by a truck (or have another like accident) then an ER Trauma Center is the best possible go-to choice!

I specialize in Environmental Medicine with the focus on Nutritional Molecular Biochemistry because it focuses on a cure, rather than a band-aid pharmaceutical therapy, which is the focus of Traditional Medicine.

When a traditional doc sends you for blood work, he'll order a CBC (Complete Blood Count), which will give you serum values only. IOW - what's in your blood, because he's not looking for a cure, he's looking for what medication you need (a treatment or therapy). (83% of all traditional docs in N. America are financially compensated by pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their drugs.)

A doc specializing in Environmental Medicine will run any one of a number of test panels, all focused on intracelluar values, or what's going on in your body at the cellular level, so he can 'fix' what's broken and cure the problem. It is a completely different modality.

The body knows how to heal itself, and when fed the proper nutrients and cleaned out (detoxed) of all the poisons it's hosting, total wellness is the outcome.

For doubters, I highly recommend the book Detox or Die by Sherry Rogers MD ND (she's an Environmental Medical specialist). It could save your life.

Shalom,

Jesse.
 
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif](83% of all traditional docs in N. America are financially compensated by pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their drugs.) [/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I hate to argue this point with someone so well informed with the medical INDUSTRY, but this link tells a different story.[/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]http://groups.law.gwu.edu/lr/articlepdf/79-1-weiss.pdf
[/font]



[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]5 On average, the drug and medical device industries spend over $20,000 per doctor each year on marketing efforts that include gifts, meals, travel, consultancy fees, and continuing medical education programs.6 The reach of medical marketing has grown so broad that one recent survey reported that ninety-four percent of physicians have received some form of benefit or payment from the drug and device industries.
[/font]



[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]With so much information/misinformation out there it is hard to wade through what is hyperbole and what is reality.[/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Keep up the good fight, and remember that 92% of statistics are made up on the spot.  (or is it higher?)   ;) [/font]
 
There are few Doctors out there that are trying to help people with proper nutrition but not many. Dr Joel Furhman and Dr Joel Wallach are few I know of. Being a truck driver with a $4000 deductible on insurance I help I can get. I have followed Dr Furhmans advice on eating healthy and it works I feel a lot healthier, but as a truck driver working 14 hour days it's hard to eat healthy. So I'm supplementing my diet with minerals and vitamins. Dr Wallach seems to have the best research with minerals that the body needs.

Dr Furhman's book: https://www.drfuhrman.com/weightloss/about.aspx
To learn more about Dr Wallach see the link below.
 
GotSmart said:
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif](83% of all traditional docs in N. America are financially compensated by pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their drugs.) [/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I hate to argue this point with someone so well informed with the medical INDUSTRY, but this link tells a different story.[/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]http://groups.law.gwu.edu/lr/articlepdf/79-1-weiss.pdf
[/font]



[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]5 On average, the drug and medical device industries spend over $20,000 per doctor each year on marketing efforts that include gifts, meals, travel, consultancy fees, and continuing medical education programs.6 The reach of medical marketing has grown so broad that one recent survey reported that ninety-four percent of physicians have received some form of benefit or payment from the drug and device industries.
[/font]



[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]With so much information/misinformation out there it is hard to wade through what is hyperbole and what is reality.[/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Keep up the good fight, and remember that 92% of statistics are made up on the spot.  (or is it higher?)   ;) [/font]


Mornin'!

I can't comment on sources with which I'm unfamiliar, so let's go with the American Medical Association's own quote (from 2013).
'The Journal of the American Medical Association reports over 87% of the medical "experts" who make the rules for the practice of medicine (called practice guidelines) are financially linked to the pharmaceutical industry (Choudhry).  <---- source.

"Less than 11% of recommendations made by cardiologists are based on scientific evidence (Winslow). The rest of the practice of medicine, dealing with the top cause of death (serious heart disease), 89% is wrapped around a pharmaceutical focus." (Source: Winslow R. Study questions evidence behind heart therapies.  Wall Street Journal, DI, Feb. 25th, 2009.)

Wow! 89% of the the decisions that physicians make regarding your health are 'wrapped around a pharmaceutical focus.' which means that they never were looking for a cure, but rather a drug (or several drugs) to give you.  

Neither doctors nor pharmaceutical companies 'get rich' (to the tune of billions per year) if you are cured.  They want you as a patient, dependent on drugs for the rest of your life, which never fail to make you sicker, quicker!

Tell me, who was the last person you met who had a Tylenol (NSAID) or Metoprolol (beta blocker), or Lipitor (statin) deficiency?  You won't find one!  What you will find is that most of the population is deficient in critically important minerals, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and micronutrients etc., any or all of which deficiencies can (and sooner or later will) cause high blood pressure, fatal heart attacks, strokes, arrhythmias, cancers, diabetes, and a host of other maladies which can (and usually do) kill you.  The good news is that ALL OF THEM ARE CURABLE - EVERY ONE!

For example, if you go to the ER with A-fib (a potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia), they'll restore you to a NSR (normal sinus rythm), if they can, with either Metoprolol (or a similar first-line drug), or they'll cardiovert (electrocute) you with defibrillators and then put you on Metoprolol (highly toxic, addictive, and it will increase your risk of sudden death two-and-a-half times)for life.

If you come to me (or any other competent medical professional who specializes in Environmental Medicine) with A-fib, I'm going to cardiovert you with a non-toxic cocktail consisting of elemental magnesium, potassium, and arginine, and give you a tablespoonful of Cod Liver Oil every fifteen minutes, and have you sip on a glass of warm water with a teaspoonful of cayenne in it.  THEN, when you're stable, I'm going to have a Cardio-ION panel done to find out the CAUSE of your A-fib, and CURE it - or rather you'll CURE it; I'll merely show you how.

Once you understand what's 'broken,' it's easy enough to 'fix' it, and you won't be tied to a totally unnecessary, toxic drug regimen for the rest of your life.

As for stats on this and that in medicine, they change with time, as does everything else, so stats from a 2010 report will differ from a 2014 report, and so on.

Hope this helps,


Jesse.
 
Capsaicin allergies run in my family.   :s If you did that to my daughter, her breathing would shut down.  
We agree 100% on the unreliability of posted medical "facts", and the duplicity of big pharma. 
The AMA is about as trustworthy as the IOC.   :mad:
They put on a good show, but at what hidden cost.  :rolleyes:
I always tell my provider that I hate drugs, and ask what do I need to do to fix this.  By asking the right questions and challenging them I have gotten better results, as well as found out who to avoid for my  health advice.
 
GotSmart said:
Capsaicin allergies run in my family.   :s If you did that to my daughter, her breathing would shut down.  
We agree 100% on the unreliability of posted medical "facts", and the duplicity of big pharma. 
The AMA is about as trustworthy as the IOC.   :mad:
They put on a good show, but at what hidden cost.  :rolleyes:
I always tell my provider that I hate drugs, and ask what do I need to do to fix this.  By asking the right questions and challenging them I have gotten better results, as well as found out who to avoid for my  health advice.


Good for you, GotSmart; you certainly suit your username!

I gave the A-fib cocktail as an example only. The first thing any medical professional asks a new patient for is a list of current maladies and any and all allergies. Clearly, I'd make a different choice were I treating your daughter, but then I have many routes I can take to achieve the results I want. :)


Jesse.
 
One Awesome Inch Wrote:
Jesse, can you recommend a simple but effective de-tox regime? I'm curious.

Sure, but not knowing you personally, I can't treat you, but I can give you a few GREAT pointers, and if you can hold out 'til November, my book should be helpful in guiding you to perfect health. Here are a few quickies - good for everyone who isn't allergic to any of the ingredients. NOT for kids! Children need to be assessed by a medical professional, and so do you if you'd like to find out exactly what your deficiencies are. Try to find a doc who will order a Cardio/ION panel, so you won't be working 'blind' - so to speak. Tell him/her that the test can be ordered from (www.metamatrix.com 1-800-221-4640).

Meanwhile....

Toss refined sugar from your diet - completely.
Just this one act will have you feeling better than you have in at least a decade. (Personally, I felt twenty-years younger when I did this, and my vision improved so dramatically in just six weeks that I had to get a new pair of glasses. I could see as well as I had been able to see twenty years earlier!)

Avoid *all* processed foods - period.

Eat only whole foods. Unless you're diabetic, check out the macrobiotic diet and follow it as closely as you can. (CURED diabetics can utilize the macro plan too, but not before you're CURED. - Give it six months.)

Treat yourself to a tablespoonful of cold pressed, Norwegian Cod Liver Oil three times a day (add a little lemon juice, if you like. It's okay to use the Real Lemon concentrate), and if you find that's too much for you, scale it down to three teaspoons and work back up from there.

Dissolve one teaspoonful (5 grams) of powdered Vitamin C (available from most health food stores) in one liter of water, and drink it down.

Purchase good quality elemental magnesium (from your health food store) and dissolve 600 - 800 grams in 8 ounces of water daily. (It tastes pretty good.) If it comes in caps, just undo them and sprinkle them into the water.

Drink 4 liters of water daily. Do NOT drink tap water or buy water in plastic bottles/containers.

Filter your water using a good quality filter and store it in 5 gallon glass containers. Drink out of a glass or undamaged ceramic container (even Mason jars and jam jars will do). Plastics leach phthalates (carcinogens) into your food and water. (You won't detox well if you continue to eat and drink from plastic containers.)

Find a good source of CoQ10. My favorite is Ultra Accel from Primal Force.com because it contains PQQ and no other source that I know of does. Be sure you buy the ULTRA and not just the regular kind. The difference is like night and day. Take one gel cap a day.

Buy Ultra Greens (again from Primal Force.com). A couple of teaspoonfuls in water a day is a powerful detox and immune system booster, as it contains the equivalent in nutrients that eating 9 lbs of fresh veggies should, but of course, fresh veggies (even organic) contain, on average, 83% fewer nutrients than they did just thirty years ago. Plus Ultra Greens contains dozens of other nutrients. Check it out online and click on 'product ingredients.' I wouldn't willingly miss a day of taking mine.

There's more, of course, much more, but this should get you off to a good start. Warning: Don't stray too far from the loo for the first few days - you *will* have to go - a lot! Rolleyes If you find you're having diarrhea for more than three days, cut down the amount of Vitamin C you're taking - but don't cut it down too much - you need it!

Try this for six weeks and then tell us all how you're doing!

Maybe a few here would like to join you so we can have something to compare. Think of it as a summer tune-up! Smile

STAY AWAY FROM *TRANS FATS* AND ANY OIL EXCEPT COLD PRESSED OLIVE, FLAX SEED, for cooking, AND OF COURSE, TAKE CLO DAILY.

*Check every label on every thing. There IS NO SAFE AMOUNT OF TRANS FATS.

Same thing for Corn Syrup. Don't go anywhere near it!


Jesse.
 
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