My Visit to Planned Parenthood Today

a reply to: Throes

then it's just as real for all those faith based groups that are getting grants from the gov't for a variety of things!

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: Throes

well gee, since people are so giving, why don't we just eliminate medicaid entirely, if the healthcare providers don't want to eat the cost of providing low cost to free healthcare to people, they can just start drumming for donations!!!

since the funding you are talking about is medicaid and title x....
planned parenthood can always opt to just not serve that section of the population, or just stop serving when the donated funds run out. then what??

I always hear how generous the american people are, haven't really experiences much of that generousity in my life though. the government doesn't act on it's own accord, it reacts to problems after they've been festering for some time. so, since the government has programs like social security, medicaid, rental assistance, and food stamps...
one can only assume that the american people were either unwilling or unable to be generous enough to prevent big problems from manifesting.
federal dollars are also used to fund free clinics that provide immunizations for various disease throughout the country. not to mention all the funds that are given to the drug companies to produce them... are you so confident about americans generousity that you would be willing to cut that funding and risk seeing polio come back to cripple little children, possibly you children?

Yes I am. We will just agree to disagree on this.

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: Throes

then it's just as real for all those faith based groups that are getting grants from the gov't for a variety of things!

They shouldn't be getting those grants, either. We can agree on something.

I went into a Lululemon today. I saw racks and racks of yoga pants. I even saw yoga mats. Oh the horror. But then I saw a hot yoga soccer mom. All was right in the world.

a reply to: Throes

The point is that PP does a much better job of providing a lot of services for women's health which are less accessible and of lower quality elsewhere. Nobody seems to complain about the many other clinics receiving government money at the same rate in proportion to the number of women they serve which don't also provide abortion.

What I don't understand is how people can't comprehend how much money is SAVED through preventative services and screenings provide by Planned Parenthood, avoiding much greater costs down the line. Whether those costs come out of Medicaid or private insurance (leaving out the humanity aspect of reducing suffering), like it or not, in the system we have, a $250 screening and treatment for cervical cancer, paid by the government, provided by experts at PP, which avoids a future $400,000 cancer treatment expense is a great investment in my book.

As for why the comparison to for profit businesses, you said the same services can be provided elsewhere. So what? There's lots of things that can be done or had lots of places. Are you saying you only want government paid women's health to happen at for-profit clinics? Or only at non-profits which aren't Planned Parenthood?

a reply to: Throes

ya, well, I see the same problem with obamacare trying to force insane insurance policies on people. if the people know that there is no way in heck that they could afford to pay the deductible, then the insurance really isn't doing them much good. they are forced to participate just to add steam to the engine and keep the healthcare chugging along, even though they aren't really able to take advantage of the system. they are taxed out the wazoo, to others less fortunate can get health care, force to add their funds to the insurance pool, and yet, when all is said and done, if they get sick, they are more apt to just hope for the best till they die off or become debt slaves the rest of their lives.
personally, I've chosen the first option.
ya, you pay for your wives birth control yourself... you probably pay for a lot of other things yourself that others aren't in a position to pay and seek gov't help to obtain. this isn't going to change anytime in the near future I don't think. even back in colonial times, there was programs for the poor in most of the states and towns. and, there is no justifiable reason to single out birth control and just claim that it isn't as worthy as other healthcare. for a few women, it might be the most important item on their health care list, and believe me, those women aren't gonna buy your idea that a few free condoms given to them by the local county health clinic is just as good as an iud or sterilization. for a woman who knows that a pregnancy could carry a possible death sentence or some other really horrible outcome.... she's gonna want something a little more reliable or hubby and just take himself on down to the nearest whorehouse.
which is something I really wish women would start telling men!! just say no...to sex!!! it would end all this self rightous, not with my taxdollar crap!

I still think the best thing ive heard is when my dad got a vasectomy.. when he left after the operation they gave him a goodie bag..

With you guessed it! CONDOMS inside?!!?!

Why they thought someone with a vasectomy would need condoms il never know! anyway 13 year old me got them! hahaha

a reply to: AMNicks

Umm...to prevent STIs. That is mainly what a condom is good for. But I understand the humor

a reply to: reldra

HAHA true!

That didn't even cross my mind!

originally posted by: dogstar23
a reply to: Throes

The point is that PP does a much better job of providing a lot of services for women's health which are less accessible and of lower quality elsewhere. Nobody seems to complain about the many other clinics receiving government money at the same rate in proportion to the number of women they serve which don't also provide abortion.

What I don't understand is how people can't comprehend how much money is SAVED through preventative services and screenings provide by Planned Parenthood, avoiding much greater costs down the line. Whether those costs come out of Medicaid or private insurance (leaving out the humanity aspect of reducing suffering), like it or not, in the system we have, a $250 screening and treatment for cervical cancer, paid by the government, provided by experts at PP, which avoids a future $400,000 cancer treatment expense is a great investment in my book.

As for why the comparison to for profit businesses, you said the same services can be provided elsewhere. So what? There's lots of things that can be done or had lots of places. Are you saying you only want government paid women's health to happen at for-profit clinics? Or only at non-profits which aren't Planned Parenthood?

I never said Planned Parenthood shouldn't exist. It existed for over 50 years without federal funding. It will continue to exist without federal funding.

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: Throes

ya, well, I see the same problem with obamacare trying to force insane insurance policies on people. if the people know that there is no way in heck that they could afford to pay the deductible, then the insurance really isn't doing them much good. they are forced to participate just to add steam to the engine and keep the healthcare chugging along, even though they aren't really able to take advantage of the system. they are taxed out the wazoo, to others less fortunate can get health care, force to add their funds to the insurance pool, and yet, when all is said and done, if they get sick, they are more apt to just hope for the best till they die off or become debt slaves the rest of their lives.
personally, I've chosen the first option.
ya, you pay for your wives birth control yourself... you probably pay for a lot of other things yourself that others aren't in a position to pay and seek gov't help to obtain. this isn't going to change anytime in the near future I don't think. even back in colonial times, there was programs for the poor in most of the states and towns. and, there is no justifiable reason to single out birth control and just claim that it isn't as worthy as other healthcare. for a few women, it might be the most important item on their health care list, and believe me, those women aren't gonna buy your idea that a few free condoms given to them by the local county health clinic is just as good as an iud or sterilization. for a woman who knows that a pregnancy could carry a possible death sentence or some other really horrible outcome.... she's gonna want something a little more reliable or hubby and just take himself on down to the nearest whorehouse.
which is something I really wish women would start telling men!! just say no...to sex!!! it would end all this self rightous, not with my taxdollar crap!

Well Obamacare is another story all together that needs to be repealed and replaced with something that makes sense.

It's my money, I have an opinion of how my tax dollars should be spent.

a reply to: Throes

The deductables for "obamacare" were too high in redstates only bc the republican governors refused to expand medicaid. Why Obama left it up to them and did not make it a mandate...I wish I knew.

However, it is beyond the clarity of my mind why people would not want to use their tax dollars to ensure premium health insurance to take care of themselves, if not for themself...then for their families.

Intelligent people want good health insurance (especially without pre-existing conditions) and that is exactly what Obama gave us (with the exception of the crooked republican governors who did not expand medicaid at the expense of peoples lives).

Please smarten up and gain a glimpse of truth and intelligence on the subject.

And to all of you...please take care of yourselves and go get health insurance.

My visit to Planned Parenthood today:

"Sir, who are you here to pick up?" the receptionist asked.

"No one," I replied. "I'm here to schedule a physical, including a sperm count test, as I'm planning on fathering a human specimen and would like to know what my odds of success, or failure, are."

"Sir, we only treat women at our facilities," the receptionist informed me.

"Fine, if you insist, I will self identify as a woman for the purposes of utilizing the services here. Now that we settled that, may I please schedule my time with the doctors here, that I am paying good tax dollars to subsidize, in order to see if my twig and berries will create a tiny little human shaped object in the uterus of the host I stick them into?"

The receptionist answered, "Sorry sir, you will have to leave."

So I left.

Should not be called Planned Parenthood, it should be called Planned Motherhood, or simply Women's Health Clinic; and my tax dollars should not be used to subsidize it as I will never utilize the services they provide. I felt like a gay couple trying to by flowers at a shop owned by an ISIS sympathizer - obviously without the whole being thrown off the roof and onto the pavement in front of an oncoming lorry ceremony...

1. I went to PP all through college for birth control and female issues. They were always cost effective and delivered excellent care.

2. I didn't even realize until just a couple of years ago that any PP did abortions. Myself and multiple female friends have always used them for regular healthcare.

3. One time I had an IUD that had come out of place. It was very pinchy and painful. My regular OBGYN had a 2 week wait. I walked into a PP and saw a nurse practitioner within 30 mins.

4. A lot of docs don't accept Medicare/Medicaid. And of the ones that do, a lot of time they aren't accepting new Medicare/Medicaid patients. Meaning- they're accepting patients, just not if that's your insurance. I'm in Texas, this is a large area. If the nearest docs to you aren't accepting Medicare/Medicaid you could easily drive an hour to find a doc that does. This is why it's so important for Medicare/Medicaid to be able to pay out to PP. It's ridiculously hard to get care, and if a PP is nearest to you, you should be able to go. The politicians that are cutting funding damn sure aren't building clinics.

5. For the guys: some of you may not realize, but owning a vagina opens up a whole other realm of healthcare. Not even sex or baby related stuff, just routine medical maintenance and weird stuff that can go wrong. If you take a strong antibiotic you can get a yeast infection. There's a whole mess of stuff (pun intended) that women have to deal with that you do NOT want to know about. That's why they need to open more PPs so that they can deal with it!

a reply to: reldra

would it be nice for them to take an appointment for your 14 y/o daughter without your knowledge. even going so far as to call your house with a fake name in case you answer the phone. And give her an abortion and/or birth control without your knowledge? because they do that. all the time.

originally posted by: veracity
a reply to: Throes

The deductables for "obamacare" were too high in redstates only bc the republican governors refused to expand medicaid. Why Obama left it up to them and did not make it a mandate...I wish I knew.

However, it is beyond the clarity of my mind why people would not want to use their tax dollars to ensure premium health insurance to take care of themselves, if not for themself...then for their families.

Intelligent people want good health insurance (especially without pre-existing conditions) and that is exactly what Obama gave us (with the exception of the crooked republican governors who did not expand medicaid at the expense of peoples lives).

Please smarten up and gain a glimpse of truth and intelligence on the subject.

And to all of you...please take care of yourselves and go get health insurance.

I worked for a health plan which was bleeding money due to ACA. The deductibles are associated with risk pools. If you have to give insurance to everyone the projected risk of any age group increases significantly. Insurance companies have to pay out on all the procedures. Costs increase. The government is inaudated with debt and can't afford to give the insurance companies the money to remain profitable.

Here we are. I think I am pretty educated on the issue. The plan I worked for was in a Blue state (at the time). Didn't matter.

But please educate me some more. Our taxes are out of control as it is and our debt situation is the same. But yeah let's bleed the middle class some more! No thanks!!

a reply to: Throes

Yes, the insurance companies will make less money than what they were making. They were robbing us blind and increasing premiums each month and dropping patients bc of pre-existing conditions just to line their pockets so a plan to make them bleed a little is not of my concern. Their hands are covered in blood anyway. To let someone die bc you want to be super-rich is not cool in my book.

If you believe they are not making a profit still, then i guess you are twisting some truths to fit your agenda.

originally posted by: veracity
a reply to: Throes

Yes, the insurance companies will make less money than what they were making. They were robbing us blind and increasing premiums each month and dropping patients bc of pre-existing conditions just to line their pockets so a plan to make them bleed a little is not of my concern. Their hands are covered in blood anyway. To let someone die bc you want to be super-rich is not cool in my book.

If you believe they are not making a profit still, then i guess you are twisting some truths to fit your agenda.

The insurance company I worked for was in the red. ACA killed any profitability it had. I worked there and was privy to the financial updates.

a reply to: Throes

They may have made it look like they were in the red (perhaps the CEO had to sell one of his vacation houses and he thought that was red) but they will never ever ever be in the red bc of Obamacare. THey will just be making 2 million each instead of 6 million dollars each.

To me, they are not in the red. Just not as rich.

originally posted by: veracity
a reply to: Throes

They may have made it look like they were in the red (perhaps the CEO had to sell one of his vacation houses and he thought that was red) but they will never ever ever be in the red bc of Obamacare. THey will just be making 2 million each instead of 6 million dollars each.

To me, they are not in the red. Just not as rich.

I'll just exist in reality and you can go exist in your idealistic socialist utopia fairytale land. I left the job shortly after because I knew significant layoffs were happening after review of the financial situation. They let go of 20% of the work force.