Maine Voices: The problem isn’t Obamacare; it’s the insurance companies

Patients and primary care physicians are getting the raw end of the deal for the sake of corporate profits.

Randy responds:

Interesting perspective from a primary care physician in Maine. Nevertheless, I would point out that it is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) that allows insurance companies to participate and to impose their high deductibles on patients. The present situation is better than before. (Then, millions were barred from health insurance and the consequence of this was non-treatment, suffering, and death.) However, health care policy can be improved and it is time to move beyond insurance companies and their unhealthy deductibles that prevent the sick from obtaining medically necessary treatment.

From a social security disability standpoint, it is unlawful to deny disability benefits on the basis of failure to seek treatment if the reason for the failure was the inability to afford the cost of care or health insurance. See Craft v. Astrue, 539 F. 3d 668, 679 (7th Cir 2008).