Thursday, November 1, 2012

Things the HHS does NOT mandate

1)  From the HHS website: "HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is joining with the Ad Council to launch a new nationwide public service advertising (PSA) campaign called “Together We Can All Fight the Flu.” “Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your family against the H1N1 flu virus,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “Fighting the flu is a shared responsibility, and it is up to all of us to help prevent the spread of the flu in your community.  Right now, Americans have a window of opportunity to get vaccinated.  These new PSAs will encourage pregnant women, children, young adults, and other priority groups to protect themselves by getting the H1N1 vaccine.”

The HHS has not mandated that the shot be covered


2)  Mammorgams.  From the HHS website: "In October, during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we remember those who have lost their lives to breast cancer, and those who are battling it now, by recommitting ourselves to their fight and spreading the word of the importance of prevention and early detection.  Because of the Affordable Care Act, it’s a new day for women’s health and the fight against breast cancer.  Budgets are tight, and even moderate copays can deter many women from getting those important screenings.  Because of the Affordable Care Act – the health care law signed by President Obama two years ago – many private health plans and Medicare now cover mammograms and certain other preventive services with no copays or other out-of-pocket costs."

sidebar question here - what does Obamacare do to move the needle from many insurers covering it before Obamacare to still having many cover it now? Many covered it before Obamacare, and many cover it now! 

Regardless...the HHS has not mandated that mammograms be covered


3)  From the HHS website: "Nearly 26 million Americans are affected by Asthma, including 7 million children, especially minority children and children with family incomes below the poverty level. Asthma rates of African American children are currently at 16 percent, while 16.5 percent of Puerto Rican children suffer from the chronic respiratory disease, more than double the rate of Caucasian children in the United States. The annual economic cost of asthma, including direct medical costs from hospital stays and indirect costs such as lost school and work days, amounts to approximately $56 billion."

The HHS has not mandated that asthma meds be covered


4)  From the HHS website: "Last year, 45.9 million adult Americans had a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health. These conditions affect individuals, their families and loved ones, and communities.  Unfortunately, many individuals do not receive needed services and treatment."

The HHS has not mandated that mental health medicine be covered


5)  From the HHS website: "Right now, half of those Americans with high blood pressure still don’t have it adequately controlled. African Americans are at particular risk—often having more severe hypertension, and developing it at younger ages.  Each year, more than 795,000 Americans have a stroke and more than 130,000 people in the United States die every year after a stroke—an average of one stroke-related death every 4 minutes.  Together, the financial costs of high blood pressure and stroke are staggering.

The HHS has not mandated that blood pressure medicine be covered



But...contraceptives/sterilizations/abortion causing drugs...we got you covered here in the USA.

17 comments:

  1. Do you have sources showing these coverages aren't mandated? Because I'd like to be able to share this.

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  2. Matt,

    With mammograms, the HHS' own statement illustrates that mammograms aren't mandated.

    As for the rest, they aren't covered, and certainly if they were the HHS would be talking about them in their briefs. Instead we read the HHS talking about trying to raise awareness or work for better coverage...if any of these things were covered the HHS would be bragging about it and we would have heard about it.

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  3. Thanks Father, this says a lot about our government's priorities, not the best as we can see. To not cover this but cover other things that go against our conscience is just sad

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. Mental health care will become more accessible to more people.With the passage of the federal mental health parity law a few years ago, many (but not all) insurers were required to treat mental disorders with the same coverage limits as any other disease or health concern. While this has helped many people obtain needed treatment without having to jump through as many insurance company hoops, it hasn’t really mattered much to the poor — who didn’t have insurance coverage in the first place.

    With more people obtaining either private insurance or joining an expanded Medicaid program, the bet is that more people who have inexpensive access to mental health treatment.
    People won’t be denied coverage based upon their pre-existing condition.This is huge for many people with mental health concerns. Changing employers or insurance providers often meant having to pretend that a pre-existing psychiatric diagnosis didn’t exist. The new law says that you can’t discriminate against a person because of a pre-existing condition. This means that more people will get the care they need and have it covered by their insurance plan.

    It also means an insurance plan can’t cancel your coverage for a pre-existing condition, something that was problematic for many in the past.

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    Replies
    1. But it means that Obamacare doesn't MANDATE mental health meds, right?

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    2. Magical thinking:

      Virtually everyone who can afford coverage is already covered.

      That leaves those who can afford coverage but think they do not need it - the young.

      If the few, young, affluent yuppies who still have jobs join the system, the resources they bring to the party will be squandered.

      Proof: Where did the health care system today come from? From the Freedom People had.

      As the system grew, Envy grew, and rather than Celebrating, and Rewarding the Ever-greater availability of Health Care, Do-Gooders want to "Fix-it."

      See the Health Care history of the Iron Curtain, the Bamboo Curtain, or any Banana Republics. Those who are moving forward, not "forward," are following the same path.

      Govt mandated healthcare is static, if not falling behind. Rationing has replaced surplus, and innovation is dead, and quackery is rife, and the privileged go overseas (they used to come here, but there are new destinations), and the not-special go without.

      One last quibble: Insurance is not healthcare. Going without insurance is not going without healthcare, and having insurance does not ensure access to healthcare.

      Prediction: Far more people will have Less Healthcare, and pay far more for Healthcare they will Never Receive, than anyone who benefits from Obamacare.

      Oh, there will be early "success" stories, just as the first to join a Ponzi scheme or an MLM network are "successful" but the system will fail millions of sick people.

      If you want More Health Care For The Poor: End the Third-Party Payer System, and remove the Government entirely save only minor regulatory authority to prosecute frauds and quacks.

      And we haven't even reached the moral, ethical, or philosophical issues. Wait for the Affordable "housing" "food" "drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll" and "green energy" ... oh, yeah.

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  7. flu shots too...

    http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2010/09/affordable-care-act-immunization.html

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  8. So your posts have a lot of government-speak in them. So which of the things I posted about does Obamacare ACTUALLY mandate?

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    Replies
    1. It looks like flu shots are covered but there is so much government speak there I'm not quite sure.

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  9. Someone has been replying to me with PAGES of comments and it sounds very "governmentish", almost like the person responding also wrote Obamacare. Is it possible the Obama administration is a follower of the blog? That would be awesome!

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  10. Under the Affordable Care Act, women’s preventive health care services – such as mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer, and other services – are already covered with no cost sharing under some health plans.

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  11. Flu shots and mamagrams are mandated, as preventative medicine.

    As you cross-posted this blog post to your fb, I hope you correct yourself there too.

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  12. Replies
    1. We must remember it's not about health care, preventive or otherwise, it's about control. HHS and FedGov couldn't care less about your health or welfare. They DO care about POWER - their POWER and CONTROL. Debating details is a waste of time and effort. It is what it is and we cannot back out of it.
      It's no longer God or Allstate who hold you in the palm of their hands, kids. Welcome to the gulag.
      That 52% of Catholics who voted for this regime, just chose the IRS, TSA and Post Office to manage your
      health care . . . happy with that?

      All those enamored of the idea, Ask an Indian or a Veteran about government health care, or even a serving soldier. And no, it won't be better 'this time'.




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  13. The flu, breast cancer, asthma, mental illness and high-blood pressure are illnesses. Pregnancy isn't (although the government treats it as such). And, even it it was, it's 100% avoidable without having to buy anything at the pharmacy or injesting potentially harmful drugs into your system and into our evironment.

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