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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. MARCH 4, 2010 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
How are people satisfied
with current health system?
Dear Editor:
I do not understand how the
majority (they say) of Americans
are satisfied with their health
care and their insurance. These
must be all the people, mostly
young and naturally healthy,
who have yet to interface with
the medical industry. Both your
column and Frank Gillispie’s
of Feb. 25 point out well why
it is all such a mess. For those
satisfied Americans, here is my
story that could just as well be
their story.
I became self-employed in
1982 and acquired an old-fash
ioned indemnity policy cover
ing me, only, which worked
reasonably well for nearly 10
years. Then, with my health
essentially unchanged, the rates
started skyrocketing (double
digit) and I kept upping the
deductible and reducing the
benefits. Five years later I found
myself paying $600 a month
with a $10,000 deductible fol
lowed by an 80/20 co-pay for
only a million dollar cap, no
drug coverage and restrictions
on pre-existing conditions. For
a decade I had to fight a royal
battle for literally each and
every claim I made and I won
them all. This was insane!
I tried to buy a different indi
vidual policy by applying to dif
ferent insurance companies via
the Internet. They were either
no better, just as expensive or
found the slightest reason to
reject me. These inquiries, I
discovered later, created an
obstacle to securing coverage
elsewhere because now I had a
record of being turned down for
insurance. I turned to an agent
who managed to get me a Blue
Cross & Blue Shield policy that
very soon also got too expen
sive. He then put me on his
own company’s group policy
along with two people I knew
in the same boat. I thought this
was odd, but he said it was O.K.
Eight months later BC&BS sud
denly cancelled us all without
warning. Apparently, this was
not “kosher.” He then got me a
$200 a month temporary policy
with only scant catastrophic
coverage that I kept renewing
for three years because I simply
had no other option. I became
afraid to go to a doctor (still
do) for fear something would
appear on my medical record
that would keep me from ever
getting coverage again.
In 2005 my doctor of 16
years went to a concierge (VIP)
practice far beyond my means.
I felt abandoned and margin
alized. I decided to stop the
madness and simply do without
the insurance and the medical
world, to just let nature take its
course as human beings have
done since time began until the
last couple of centuries. It felt
peaceful to be relieved of this
losing battle for health care, at
least for a few years.
When I moved to Madison
County recently, an agent in
Athens arranged a $449 a
month BC&BS policy for me,
very steep during these eco
nomic times, but I began to fear
the medical industry would not
attend to me properly or at all
if I didn’t have coverage. Nine
months later the premium went
to $555, a 24 percent increase
even though I have made no
claims. I know that as soon as
I have any medical condition
that will cost BC&BS money,
they will immediately cancel
me before I can even get to a
hospital. So why am I paying
so much money every month?
This makes no sense; no won
der so many people drop this
incredibly poor value.
I decided to keep paying and
try using the medical industry
again to at least get some return
on my premiums. Properly,
one should have a primary
care physician, so I carefully
researched and selected a large
group practice in Athens and
called to see if any of the doc
tors who were accepting new
patients had had any experi
ence with a particular problem
I have. The receptionist called
back to say (sheepishly) all the
doctors in the practice agreed
that none of them wanted to
take me as a patient because
of this problem, which makes
diagnosing other problems a bit
more difficult. Not only have
I been rejected by insurance
companies for hardly profound
pre-existing conditions, now
doctors are doing the same! I
cannot win! This is wrong! This
is immoral!
Insurance companies are evil,
doctors are greedy and hospi
tals are sloppy and inefficient.
I guess I go back to nature
taking its course. At least it’s
peaceful.
Sincerely,
Virginia Moss
Hull
Fuse has been lit; Georgia
budget is in a state of chaos
Thanks for support of Purity Ball
Dear Editor:
The Madison County
Pregnancy Center’s second
annual Purity Ball was held
Feb. 6, at the Kiwanis Club.
Everyone had a wonderful
evening. Teresa Jackson, from
Alto, shared how we must
keep covenant with the Lord
and wait for the special one
God has prepared for them.
Special thanks for the beau
tiful table decorations pro
vided by Danielsville Florist.
A beautiful rose arrangement
and boutoniers were done by
Madison County Florist.
The following churches
helped with a delicious meal
and desserts: Colbert Baptist,
Colbert Methodist, Comer
Baptist, Hull, Moon’s Grove,
Trinity and Union. We wanted
this to be a “night to remem
ber” and everyone agreed it
truly was. Thanks everyone.
Sincerely,
Paulette Naylor
President, Madison County
Pregnancy Center
By Rep. Alan Powell
Last week, I joined fellow
members of the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees for the
first half of a two-week round of
hearings on the annual state budget
for fiscal year 2011. State depart
ment heads met with the committee
members for discussions on more
cuts to the $18.2 billion spend
ing plan proposed by Gov. Perdue,
who is forecasting a 4.2 percent
growth in revenue for next year,
despite the fact that state tax col
lections have fallen 14 months in a
row and are down by 13 percent so
far in fiscal year 2010.
The decline in revenues is so
steep that the current year’s budget,
already cut by $1.2 billion, will
have to be reduced by another $210
million. It has been reported that
federal stimulus/bailout funds bud
geted in FY 2011 will have to be
transferred into the 2010 budget to
make up for that shortfall between
now and the end of the current fis
cal year, which is June 30.
That transfer will contribute to,
as I have predicted, a $1 billion to
$1.5 billion shortfall in the 2011
budget. When stimulus/bailout
funds run out next year, we could
be looking at a deficit of $3 billion
to $4 billion for fiscal year 2012,
a problem for the legislature and
a new governor to deal with after
Gov. Perdue has left office.
The fact of the matter is that
Georgia’s budget is now a ticking
time bomb. The fuse has been lit
by the economic recession, but the
mechanics of the bomb were put
in place by eight years of fiscal
irresponsibility and systemic prob
lems within the state’s budgeting
process.
I take no joy in saying “I told you
so," but I have been voting against
the out-of-control budget policies of
this administration for seven years,
each time with a public warning
that disaster was just around the
comer. The numbers we are seeing
at these Appropriations Committee
meetings are not pretty, and the
reports we are hearing from depart
ment heads are not easy listening.
The citizens of Georgia are now
facing the consequences of fiscal
irresponsibility, and everything is
on the table for discussion.
The current legislative leaders
have indicated they are considering
more personnel cuts. Department
heads are being asked for lists of
employees who are fully vested
in state pension benefits, with
the thinking being they could be
encouraged to retire early. The
Senate Majority Leader said there
will be "massive layoffs” of thou
sands of state employees.
Severe budget cuts to law
enforcement and our criminal jus
tice system are now threatening
public safety in our communities.
Across tlie state, Georgia Bureau
of Investigation Crime Labs are
scheduled for closing. The traveling
public will be less safe due to the
proposed closing of two Georgia
State Patrol posts. Despite our
growing population, the number
of State Troopers on our roadways
has decreased from nearly 1,000 to
approximately 700 in recent years.
Further cuts in Quality Basic
Education funding to our local
school systems will simply pass the
buck once again to local property
owners in the form of tax shifts.
These cuts over file past eight years
now total nearly $2.5 billion, the
major reason I have consistently
voted against the budget plans of
recent years.
TheUniversitySystemofGeorgia
has already cut $360 million from
its budget since July 1,2008, and is
being told to cut another $300 mil
lion for next year. The result will
be massive tuition increases for
students, thousands of personnel
layoffs and place Georgia's public
colleges and universities into what
the University System Chancellor
said is file educational equivalent
of "bankruptcy."
These are just a few of the con
sequences we expect to hear about
as budget meetings are continuing
this week before the full legislature
reconvenes on Monday, March 8.
Tmly, we are in a state of chaos
regarding file state budget.
As I told the Hart County “Eggs
and Issues" breakfast gathering
on Saturday, Georgia has gone
several years without a tmly bal
anced budget as mandated by the
state Constitution. Revenues did
not match revenue projections, and
we have had to fix the unbalance
in midyear. The past two budgets
were bailed out by federal stimulus
dollars, but we cannot count on that
funding in the future.
The current leadership has gone
beyond looking at spending cuts
and now is considering other
means of raising revenues. The
governor has proposed a hospital
tax increase, and a tobacco tax
increase is also under consider
ation. Legislation has been intro
duced to bring pari-mutuel betting
to Georgia in file form of horse
racing, and one Perdue administra
tion official has raised file idea of
bringing back video gaming with a
tax of $250 on each machine going
to the state treasury.
I value your opinion. As the state
government starts to look "outside
file box” for ways of dealing with
file budget crisis, I would like to
know your views and ideas. Please
call or e-mail me at file contact
information below, so that your
voice is heard in this process.
Rep. Alan Powell {D-Hartwell)
represents the 29"' District
(Franklin, Hart and Madison
counties) in the Georgia House
of Representatives. Contact him
at 507 Coverdell Office Building,
Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone
at 404-656-0202 or by e-mail at
alanpowell23 @ hotmail. com. For
more information, visit www.alan-
powell.net.
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Lower Percentage Better
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