Seeking a health care solution
Lansing resident Jeff Caesar waits to request to fill a partial high blood pressure prescription until he has enough money to pay for it in full, at Rite Aid, 1004 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing. Caesar, who is unemployed and has a broken arm, is on the Ingham Health Plan and has trouble affording co-pays. “It’s the last safety net,” he explained of his health care plan for low income and uninsured residents. “I cannot function without medication, without health care.” Caesar, who is waiting to be accepted for Medicaid, suffers from a list of physical and mental disorders including severe depression, seizures and hypertension.
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Two weeks ago, Jeff Caesar had a seizure while watching TV. During the seizure, Caesar dislocated his shoulder and broke his humerus — a bone in the arm. Caesar, a 40-year-old Lansing resident, has insurance under the Ingham County Health Plan for low income and uninsured residents; however, the plan includes a co-pay for most claims. Caesar also deals with anxiety and depression, and his health conditions make it hard for him to keep a job to even cover co-pays, he said.
“I’ve got so many medications I’m supposed to take, and it’s like a $5 co-pay for each one,” he said. “I’m trying to apply for disability. I’m trying to go back to school. I’m trying to generate some type of steady income, but it’s really hard.”
The U.S. House passed a plan to overhaul health care earlier this month, and the U.S. Senate began discussing its version of a health care makeover Monday. Caesar said he’s hopeful a form of universal health care would eliminate some of the stress caused by endless medical bills and co-pays.
The House health care plan narrowly passed 220-215 earlier this month with one Republican vote, and the Senate is expected to examine controversial health care issues before voting, such as inclusion of abortion, the public option — a government-run insurance option that would be an alternative to private insurers — and the control of rising health care costs.
Health care for students
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The legislation’s limited inclusion of college students is an oversight, said James Hillard, MSU associate provost for human health affairs.
The House bill states young adults would be covered on their parents’ policies through age 26, but Hillard said it is unclear if independents or students whose parents are uninsured could get coverage.
“We are at risk for the students getting left out,” Hillard said. “We should treat the university as an employer and have the insurance pools come together to offer coverage for the students, the same way if students were employees of the university.”
Political science freshman Molly Schmidt said she is pleased the House bill requires extended coverage for dependents.
“Everybody deserves an opportunity to get medical attention regardless of age, income and preexisting condition,” Schmidt said. “With (this) health care plan, you are on your parents’ plan until you’re (26). It gives you time to be finding a job but still be covered.”
About 8,000 MSU graduate and undergraduate students are covered by MSU’s health care option, MSU Director of Benefits Renee Rivard said.
The MSU student health insurance plan is offered through Aetna Student Health and is an “injury and illness plan” that covers services such as visits at Olin Health Center, up to $2,000 a year for prescriptions, specialty care and an annual gynecological examination. Rivard said the plan costs single undergraduate students approximately $1,390 per year.
“Until we can get our hands on a final version (of the plan), it will be tough to determine the impact on our students or employees,” Rivard said.
But fearing that the university’s option isn’t enough, ASMSU is devising its own version of a health care option for
students. ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government. Student Assembly approved a bill last week allowing the group to work with an insurance agency to create a more affordable plan that would compete with MSU’s option.
Leonard Fleck, an MSU professor of philosophy and medical ethics, said despite concerns about the federal plan’s lack of attention to students, it should cover independent young adults and those whose parents don’t have insurance.
“In theory, virtually everyone who is a college student would, under a reformed health plan, have insurance,” he said.
Concerned with cost
The House’s health care plan, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., would cover about 96 percent of all Americans, Dingell said in an e-mail.
“It offers everyone, regardless of income, age or health status, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have real access to quality, affordable health insurance when they need it,” he said.
The 4 percent excluded from coverage might be illegal immigrants living in the U.S. or immigrants living in the U.S. with a green card, Fleck said.
Dingell said the House plan stays within President Barack Obama’s $900 billion budget for a health care plan and is deficit neutral.
But some still are concerned about the $1.2 trillion cost of the plan.
“(The bill) increases health insurance premiums, forces families off the plans they like and onto plans designed by Washington, raises taxes on small businesses by over $150 billion, cuts seniors’ Medicare benefits by $500 billion, and kills millions of jobs,” said U.S. Rep Mike Rogers, R-Brighton.
Rogers said the plan would be problematic for college students because it bans catastrophic insurance plans, which only cover emergency situations. Catastrophic plans often are used by college-aged people because they are relatively healthy and need little coverage.
“Instead (it will) levy fines and potentially jail time on college students and others who do not purchase full-scale, government-approved insurance,” Rogers said.
But Fleck said health care reform would create savings for the majority of health care consumers.
“(Cost) will go down in terms of what has to come out of their pockets,” Fleck said. “If right now they are buying health insurance as an individual from an insurance company, that costs a lot more than having it provided to you.”
Commentary
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Das
(12/01/09 3:16am)Report
The 4 percent excluded from coverage might be illegal immigrants living in the U.S. or immigrants living in the U.S. with a green card, Fleck said.
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I am an immigrant living in the US and a graduate of MSU. This bill apparently excludes people like us from getting health care. I pay all the taxes that an American citizen pays even though I dont qualify for unemployment benefits and other freebies from the government to help people during hard times. Now we are also excluded from getting healthcare. This is wonderful news! Way to go punishing legal aliens with illegal immmigrants!
guest
(12/01/09 8:39am)Report
Keep your government hands off of my medicare.
Signed,
teabagger
OOooo poor jeff
(12/01/09 10:32am)Report
I am a poor college student with no health care. I paid the $2500 bill when I broke my arm, so jeff can pay his bills too. It took me a year to pay it, but I did. Stop COMPLAINING about your circumstances, and RISE ABOVE them. Jeff sounds like your typical unmotivated welfare rat. My uncle has had epilepsy his entire life, and suffers from seizures weekly, sometimes daily. He STILL manages to hold a job as an office worker, and makes enough money to pay his bills and maintain his health care plan through his provider. He doesn’t have a drivers license, and probably never will because of his condition, but he gets to work, RAIN OR SNOW. Meanwhile, Jeff sits at home watching TV, whining about his problems and having a pity party (AKA depression). GET A LIFE.
The statenews comment section is basically becoming stormfront
(12/01/09 10:50am)Report
Seriously. The crusade of the comments section here against the poor is hilarious.
Benjamin Campbell
(12/01/09 10:56am)Report
Whoever wrote under “Poor Jeff” should get a heart. While your paragraph of poop spread out diseases thru your family Jeff, has them all, in one person. You and Jeff should go shopping together, he can get a life while you can get a heart. The Human race eagerly awaits your return. To any TeaBagger, facts wont sway you. So We (we the people) are just going to ignore you. We have given up hope that you would bring anything useful to the argument. Now we are going to drag you kicking and screaming like a small child to civilization.
Affirmative Maybe
(12/01/09 11:02am)Report
typical democrat strategy:
buy votes by forcing one set of people to pay the bills of another larger set of people.
it’s un-American
dude
(12/01/09 11:09am)Report
how about Jeff cuts his hair and tries to take care of himself a little better, and actually tries to go out and get a job. Noone is going to come to a guy that looks like a hobo begging him to work for them!
KJ Green
(12/01/09 11:39am)Report
I am more than happy to transfer some of my success to the truly needy (see later comment), and that includes support for improving accessibility to healthcare. However, that does not include supporting a wholesale overhaul of healthcare, as currently proposed by our elected officials, as their attempts to “fix” the system for the problems of the minority will degrade the system for the majority of those who are at least generally satisfied with the healthcare they receive.
Our society also needs to take a different view of “truly needy” — something in line with a more modern version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Specifically, you are not truly needy and requiring government assistance if you are spending money on non-essentials, like cable tv, cadillac cell phone plans, fancy car, etc. It blows my mind that the government can (rightfully) dictate how businesses receiving government support can spend their money (e.g., banks), but it is hesitant to demand similar obligations (such as expected behavior) from individuals receiving assistance.
Parting question: Has anyone thought about the point at which we have more takers than producers in our society? What then?
Barack Obama = Bernie Madoff
(12/01/09 1:44pm)Report
America has the best health care in the world. I’m not going to give up my insurance for some Canadian style wait list. H-ll no I don’t want to wait a year to get treated for cancer. If I wait that long I may as well plan my funeral.
Oooooo poor jeff
(12/01/09 2:12pm)Report
I don’t get it, what is with people that feel they are ENTITLED to stuff because they are “poor”, compared to other americans? To the Jack Asses that think that I’m some sort of savage: What about the starving kids in africa, you racist bastards? I don’t hear you saying anything about extending coverage to them? Jeff is not poor, he just isn’t living the american dream. NEWSFLASH: Many, MANY people will NEVER live the american dream, because they don’t have what it takes, and yes, not having what it takes includes diseases like the epilepsy my uncle has. He does not DESERVE anything more because he has a harder time than others.
All you entitled morons need to get a life, and get back to reality. I don’t know where this happy fuzzy world you live in is found, but I’ll guarantee you it’s not reality, and it’s not what america was built on.
Morons.
Benjamin Campbell
(12/01/09 2:18pm)Report
Just to prove that you do not care about facts
Benjamin Campbell
(12/01/09 2:28pm)Report
Dear Oooo Poor Jeff, You need to calm down abit. Your say get a life and get back to reality. Well, I have to question yours. We have Medicare, we have welfare, and social security in my reality, whats your have?
~Ben Campbell
OOOooo poor jeff
(12/01/09 5:03pm)Report
What’s that? Medicare, welfare, and social security? Those bankrupt, government-run programs that are widely abused? I have been saving for retirement since I was about 21. I don’t expect their to be social security if I ever retire, and neither should anyone else. I life a small life, and buy only what I can save for, as opposed to taking out massive debt to live one’s perception of the american dream (you know, the “dream” that got us in this financial “crisis” to begin with). My reality is much more reasonable and REAL than yours – I don’t complain about my circumstances, I OVERCOME THEM, no matter how much work it takes. No, I don’t have much time to play, but someday, I will, and it will be because of all the hard work I’m doing now. There is no excuse for not overcoming your circumstances. My great grandparents immigrated to this country with NOTHING. They were desolate and poor, and worked around the clock their entire LIVES so that their children could live a better life than they could. My great grandmother died of some kind of cancer, and my great grandfather had health problems his entire life, probably due to the factory which he spent most of his adult life in. So, F you, and F your false perception of reality. You are weak.
Translation: You fail. Try again.
Benjamin Campbell
(12/01/09 6:22pm)Report
Ha, I’m not the one hiding your face like a klan member, preaching nothing but anonymous hate. You really dont have anything to say do you? You weak mind can only come up with so many things to regurgitate from Glen Beck. I’m afraid I’m gonna have to send you back to the kids table, you have plenty of anger but no thought process behind it.
~Ben Campbell
Jim JOne
(12/01/09 6:30pm)Report
Oh Ben…are you really regurgitating some incredibly biased report FROM THE UN to show how “bad” our health care system is? Do you even know what factors that supposed “report” is based on? They skewed the US numbers downward for the simple fact we don’t have public health insurance, not because we have worse health care or because Americans don’t have access to great doctors and hospitals. Do you honestly believe that the doctors, hospitals, etc are better in Colombia than here!? I’ve been to Bogota…I’ve seen how they live and I can tell you they certainly don’t have better health care.
OOOOO poor Jeff
(12/01/09 6:35pm)Report
Wow, ben, you are incredibly typical for “your” type, and I see what’s wrong with you now. You have the need to accuse anyone you disagree with of horrible things, like racism and bigotry, and also are making reference to some talk show on a TV station that I don’t watch.
That’s right. I’ll have you know that I don’t watch fox news, and though I have heard recent controversy about glenn beck but have no idea what it’s about since I have never watched his show.
So, stop acting like the obama campaign by trying to discredit me with ridiculous and horrible accusations. I suspect that YOU are in fact a racist and a bigot, and are trying to project those negative aspects of yourself on me. I assure you that I am neither; I am simply a HARD WORKING AMERICAN who is fed up with lazy people complaining about the cards they were dealt. DEAL with it. GET OVER IT. There is no HATE behind these words (I assume that you consider capitalized letters to be hateful?). I am simply trying to get a point across – ANYONE can OVERCOME their circumstances. If you think otherwise, you’re just plain stupid.
You fail.
Benjamin Campbell
(12/01/09 6:52pm)Report
You are reciting Beck word for word. Whats my type anyway. I dont think you are a hard working American. I am one, and I work with them everyday, no one I know says what you say. No one I know would be so heartless to people in need. You accuse me of racism, can you even identify my race? You fool, I am of mixed race. No, your no hard working American, you may be posing as one, but your not. You would know more poor people personally if you were so. Your a fail-bot.
Hows your Anyone can overcome anything philosophy panning out? Have you been elected president yet? DO you rule the world? Why haven’t you overcome everything, you make it sounds so simple.
~Ben Campbell puts his name behind what he says. Kinda like John Hancock.
Benjamin Campbell
(12/01/09 7:17pm)Report
Jim JOne That post was just a response to “America has the best in the world “ We do not have the best in the world. Personally, I think France has the best. How France deals with newborns and there parents is above excellent.
In Response to Das
(12/02/09 12:01am)Report
If America is such unbearable tyranny, you can haul your ass back to your native India and get their healthcare instead.