Son's broken arm: Bill Huizenga says people must be responsible for own health care costs

[tenderfoot]

While the Affordable Care Act put in place under President Obama is credited with giving 20 million Americans health insurance, it has been criticized for driving up insurance rates and adding regulations that interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

<snip>

"There's definitely going to be changes in the health care delivery system," said U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland. "We can't just continue to squeeze providers to say this is how we are going to save money. It's forcing health care providers ... into some very different actions that in most people's opinion is unhealthy."

Instead, Huizenga says more responsibility needs to shift to the shoulders of patients to reduce costs. One way to do that is having them pay a bigger share of their medical expenses by increasing their insurance deductibles and incentivizing them to use HSAs, health savings accounts, to sock away pre-tax money to pay medical bills.

<snip>

The father of five offered a personal example of how this shift might play out. He says his youngest son fell and injured his arm. Not sure if it was sprained or broken, he and his wife decided to wait until the next morning to take the 10-year-old to the doctor's office, instead of going to the emergency room that night. The arm was broken.

"We took every precaution but decided to go in the next morning (because of) the cost difference," Huizenga said. "If he had been more seriously injured, we would have taken him in. ... When it (comes to) those type of things, do you keep your child home from school and take him the next morning to the doctor because of a cold or a flu, versus take him into the emergency room? If you don't have a cost difference, you'll make different decisions."

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/12/sons_broken_arm_bill_huizenga.html

[Gothmog]

1. This idiot is scary

[WhiteTara]

2. What a cheap Bastard!

He values money over his child's well being. Where is Dept of Child Protection Services? They should investigate him for neglect.

[femmocrat]

3. Isn't that child abuse?

Not seeking medical care for a child with a broken arm? Heartless a-hole.

[blue neen]

9. Yes, it is.

Cruel. Who would let their child suffer like that?

[sarcasmo]

11. Republicans only care about the womb.

[octoberlib]

4. This guy's a psychopath! Bragging about making his child suffer like that.

[MFM008]

5. Who's this toad?

??

[Glassunion]

6. No mention of how outrageous the costs to set, and cast the arm in the US?

[VOX]

7. I'd call that ABUSE, making a kid suffer overnight like that...

When his arm was broken. I'll bet the farm that if Bill himself had, say, severe chest pain, he wouldn't wait it out overnight on the chance it might be acid reflux.

As for health savings accounts, no working family can sock away enough to pay for anything serious. On other words, if you get sick or injured, that's just your tough luck.

I seriously HATE all Republicans. They are a cancer on this country, and they're killing it.

[Me.]

8. He & His Wife Should Be Arrested

and their kids should be taken away.....just as would happen with other families.

Edited to ask how the child broke his arm in the first place.

[erpowers]

10. His Healthcare Paid for by Taxpayers?

Isn't his and his family's healthcare paid for by taxpayers? How much do members of Congress pay for their insurance deductibles? Do members of Congress have health savings accounts?