Doctor Bills?

[Meister]

BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STUPID!!!!! They are too dense to care because "insurance will pay it". Every insurance will pay for something the cost of the service/item will increase substantially. How many people will insurance that will pay for medication will still shop around for the lowest price? (This is something I did even when insurance paid the cost).

It used to be that people could afford dental care, until the insurance companies got into it, and now the cost for dental care is prohibitive.

Just look at the cost of veterinarians now. We have one in town that has "insurance" and their prices are over twice what the neighborhood vet charges for the same services.

There are millions of people in the US who are too stupid to actually look at what has been going on in the healthcare industry. We are being ripped off, but because the "republicans" support their schemes, the people don't question.

You were making so much sense then you blamed Republicans...

This must have a political element but I'm thinking there must be plenty of blame to go around...

I suppose you may be right, but I was thinking of those who are consistently protecting the corporations that clearly and blatantly are ripping off the public. How they can stand there and say that there is nothing wrong with the prices that people are paying or with the quality of care that they receive for the high prices we are paying, is just appalling. And that they have people who blindly go along with this without question, is extremely frustrating.

How is it that so many people in the US do not question the fact that we pay a tremendous amount more for healthcare than any other country in the world? Until they will admit that the country is failing in this regard, it will never improve.

Has anyone ever given any thought to where this country would be without the corporations?

 

[boedicca]

Russian serfs come to mind....

 

[judyd]

You were making so much sense then you blamed Republicans...

This must have a political element but I'm thinking there must be plenty of blame to go around...

I suppose you may be right, but I was thinking of those who are consistently protecting the corporations that clearly and blatantly are ripping off the public. How they can stand there and say that there is nothing wrong with the prices that people are paying or with the quality of care that they receive for the high prices we are paying, is just appalling. And that they have people who blindly go along with this without question, is extremely frustrating.

How is it that so many people in the US do not question the fact that we pay a tremendous amount more for healthcare than any other country in the world? Until they will admit that the country is failing in this regard, it will never improve.

Has anyone ever given any thought to where this country would be without the corporations?

What is that supposed to mean? We should be so thankful to have them that we don't question anything they do?

 

[Lumpy 1]

BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STUPID!!!!! They are too dense to care because "insurance will pay it". Every insurance will pay for something the cost of the service/item will increase substantially. How many people will insurance that will pay for medication will still shop around for the lowest price? (This is something I did even when insurance paid the cost).

It used to be that people could afford dental care, until the insurance companies got into it, and now the cost for dental care is prohibitive.

Just look at the cost of veterinarians now. We have one in town that has "insurance" and their prices are over twice what the neighborhood vet charges for the same services.

There are millions of people in the US who are too stupid to actually look at what has been going on in the healthcare industry. We are being ripped off, but because the "republicans" support their schemes, the people don't question.

You were making so much sense then you blamed Republicans...

This must have a political element but I'm thinking there must be plenty of blame to go around...

I suppose you may be right, but I was thinking of those who are consistently protecting the corporations that clearly and blatantly are ripping off the public. How they can stand there and say that there is nothing wrong with the prices that people are paying or with the quality of care that they receive for the high prices we are paying, is just appalling. And that they have people who blindly go along with this without question, is extremely frustrating.

How is it that so many people in the US do not question the fact that we pay a tremendous amount more for healthcare than any other country in the world? Until they will admit that the country is failing in this regard, it will never improve.

Somehow.. I'm thinking, it's difficult to get you off the soap box, although I find it rather appealing also..

I tell you what, if you want to rail against corporations.. start a thread and we'll rail in disharmony or agreement.

I'm guessing people are fully aware of the health care problem but I'm tending not to put insurance companies,,,,,, at the top of the list...

 

[Meister]

I suppose you may be right, but I was thinking of those who are consistently protecting the corporations that clearly and blatantly are ripping off the public. How they can stand there and say that there is nothing wrong with the prices that people are paying or with the quality of care that they receive for the high prices we are paying, is just appalling. And that they have people who blindly go along with this without question, is extremely frustrating.

How is it that so many people in the US do not question the fact that we pay a tremendous amount more for healthcare than any other country in the world? Until they will admit that the country is failing in this regard, it will never improve.

Has anyone ever given any thought to where this country would be without the corporations?

What is that supposed to mean? We should be so thankful to have them that we don't question anything they do?

I didn't say that at all. Most corporations don't cook the books, most are on the up and up and yet they are all categorized and then demonized. Wake up....if this continues were going to find more and more corporations in countries with their arms out welcoming these "evil" corporations. For the love of God, we are seeing it now, and everyone is bitching up a storm over it.

 

[Lumpy 1]

Has anyone ever given any thought to where this country would be without the corporations?

What is that supposed to mean? We should be so thankful to have them that we don't question anything they do?

I didn't say that at all. Most corporations don't cook the books, most are on the up and up and yet they are all categorized and then demonized. Wake up....if this continues were going to find more and more corporations in countries with their arms out welcoming these "evil" corporations. For the love of God, we are seeing it now, and everyone is bitching up a storm over it.

Again.. a post that makes perfect sense...

 

[geauxtohell]

What the Hell?

I thought I got something in my eye while working so I go to the eye doctor. The wait at least a 1/2 hour. She checks my eye, swabs it with a Q-tip and tells me it was mucus and gives me some eye drops, 5minutes maximum time............bill 746.00 dollars..

A friend goes to the hospital for a minor operation, 2 day stay at the hospital alone........ 21,178.00 dollars..

I'm not getting why insurance companies are the bad guys here..

The Doctors and the Hospitals are screwing us over Royally from what I'm seeing.

Oh bullshit. You don't get how insurance companies are the bad guys because you don't see how the total racket works.

Did you pay cash out of pocket to your Doctor who stuck it in her wallet? If not, then she saw a fraction of that cost.

I agree your bill was absurd. Here is why: Dude with insurance get's in a catastrophic accident that costs $1,000,000 to treat. His policy maxes out at $500,000. His policy pays out $500,000. Where does the other money come from? Over charging everyone else for minor procedures and office visits. The hospital could go after the guy's property, but that's a PR nightmare. So instead, you pay $200/stitch or whatnot.

If you really care to learn about the giant shell game that is "medical insurance coverage" in America, talk to a Med Mal lawyer about "damages".

 

[geauxtohell]

I know exactly what you mean because I had a very similar experience with an infected finger, a situation that could have been resolved with a quick prescription for penicillin tablets but involved hours of waiting, a fifteen minute interview and completion of a stack of forms, the attention of a tired, harried emergency room physician and billing for several hundred dollars.

If you were in the military you could have turned in to Sick Bay where a perfectly competent Medical Corpsman would have determined that all you needed was an minor eye-swabbing and you would have been out of there in fifteen minutes, tops.

The only reason there are no clinics like that available for these minor medical problems is bureaucracy compounded by fear of lawsuits and standards established by the AMA.

Every medical problem I had in the four years I spent in the military was handled by Navy Medical Corpsmen. I never saw an MD and every problem I had was competently evaluated and adequately treated. So if that level of evaluation and attention is okay for our military personnel it should be good enough for civilians with minor medical problems -- which is the majority of Emergency Room cases.

The AMA doesn't set medical standards. It's a PAC.

 

[Lumpy 1]

What the Hell?

I thought I got something in my eye while working so I go to the eye doctor. The wait at least a 1/2 hour. She checks my eye, swabs it with a Q-tip and tells me it was mucus and gives me some eye drops, 5minutes maximum time............bill 746.00 dollars..

A friend goes to the hospital for a minor operation, 2 day stay at the hospital alone........ 21,178.00 dollars..

I'm not getting why insurance companies are the bad guys here..

The Doctors and the Hospitals are screwing us over Royally from what I'm seeing.

Oh bullshit. You don't get how insurance companies are the bad guys because you don't see how the total racket works.

Did you pay cash out of pocket to your Doctor who stuck it in her wallet? If not, then she saw a fraction of that cost.

I agree your bill was absurd. Here is why: Dude with insurance get's in a catastrophic accident that costs $1,000,000 to treat. His policy maxes out at $500,000. His policy pays out $500,000. Where does the other money come from? Over charging everyone else for minor procedures and office visits. The hospital could go after the guy's property, but that's a PR nightmare. So instead, you pay $200/stitch or whatnot.

If you really care to learn about the giant shell game that is "medical insurance coverage" in America, talk to a Med Mal lawyer about "damages".

A lot of what your saying makes sense to me but the part I'm having trouble with is the .. 1,000,000 to treat....can you explain that?

I'm a novice .. it makes no sense to me...

 

[Lumpy 1]

Luckily, I'm not holding my breath...

 

[Iowa10000]

I just watch a new item the other night about a woman in MPLS that had the same operation done on both feet. a screw was implanted and it had to come out afterwords. The doctor that did the first one the charge was 1600.00.

a few months later she was told that they didn't have the time to do it so she would have to go to another clinic to get it done. she got a bill for 11,000 but the ins company would only pay 6200 of the bill, she was left with 4800.

That my friend is the problem with health care, some Dr's are crooks and even the ins companies don't care and can't do anything about it anyway.

 

[Lumpy 1]

I just watch a new item the other night about a woman in MPLS that had the same operation done on both feet. a screw was implanted and it had to come out afterwords. The doctor that did the first one the charge was 1600.00.

a few months later she was told that they didn't have the time to do it so she would have to go to another clinic to get it done. she got a bill for 11,000 but the ins company would only pay 6200 of the bill, she was left with 4800.

That my friend is the problem with health care, some Dr's are crooks and even the ins companies don't care and can't do anything about it anyway.

This thread gets more frustrating, the longer it goes on..

Like the problem can't be solved...

The squeaky wheel or wheels in this case, needs some oil..

Maybe a Tea Party? .. kick ass on Doctor Bills.. find the true culprits and kick their asses.

 

[Lumpy 1]

I do like the thread

 

[boedicca]

Those prices are highly inflated. Insurance companies negotiate a lower rate, but the remainder is still obscenely high.

The cost structure for private care has become more and more inflated as a shrinking share of private care subsidizes the losses on care provided under government programs.

People also are paying much less out of pocket for health care. The more the consumer is shielded from costs, the more the costs run amok.

Government Funding Increases Healthcare Costs The Enterprise Blog

My wife took my son to see a doctor when he was sick in Canada a few years back. As you know, there are no out of pocket expenses in Canada as the government pays everything. Total cost? $49.

So it certainly isn't just more coverage being paid by third parties.

And there are huge waiting lists in Canada for people with serious health conditions due to lack of diagnostic equipment and doctors.

No thank you.

 

[boedicca]

I just watch a new item the other night about a woman in MPLS that had the same operation done on both feet. a screw was implanted and it had to come out afterwords. The doctor that did the first one the charge was 1600.00.

a few months later she was told that they didn't have the time to do it so she would have to go to another clinic to get it done. she got a bill for 11,000 but the ins company would only pay 6200 of the bill, she was left with 4800.

That my friend is the problem with health care, some Dr's are crooks and even the ins companies don't care and can't do anything about it anyway.

This thread gets more frustrating, the longer it goes on..

Like the problem can't be solved...

The squeaky wheel or wheels in this case, needs some oil..

Maybe a Tea Party? .. kick ass on Doctor Bills.. find the true culprits and kick their asses.

Maybe people need to realize that health care isn't magically produced by elves and sparkly unicorns.

Nor should they hold to a standard of perfection at no cost with absolutely no problems ever occurring. Serious health conditions are called serious for a reason. Doctors are able to treat things from which people died or were permanently disabled in past eras. The reductio ad absurdum of punishing doctors for not being GOD is that we will see the clock turned back on health care, and the level of care deteriorate.

 

[judyd]

Those prices are highly inflated. Insurance companies negotiate a lower rate, but the remainder is still obscenely high.

The cost structure for private care has become more and more inflated as a shrinking share of private care subsidizes the losses on care provided under government programs.

People also are paying much less out of pocket for health care. The more the consumer is shielded from costs, the more the costs run amok.

Government Funding Increases Healthcare Costs The Enterprise Blog

My wife took my son to see a doctor when he was sick in Canada a few years back. As you know, there are no out of pocket expenses in Canada as the government pays everything. Total cost? $49.

So it certainly isn't just more coverage being paid by third parties.

And there are huge waiting lists in Canada for people with serious health conditions due to lack of diagnostic equipment and doctors.

No thank you.

Have you ever had to have a surgical procedure in the US? If it's not an emergency, you would probably also have to wait a couple of months.

 

[Meister]

My wife took my son to see a doctor when he was sick in Canada a few years back. As you know, there are no out of pocket expenses in Canada as the government pays everything. Total cost? $49.

So it certainly isn't just more coverage being paid by third parties.

And there are huge waiting lists in Canada for people with serious health conditions due to lack of diagnostic equipment and doctors.

No thank you.

Have you ever had to have a surgical procedure in the US? If it's not an emergency, you would probably also have to wait a couple of months.

What? I needed rotator cuff surgery, and within 3 weeks it was a done deal. No way would that be considered an emergency. I probably would have been waiting up to a year in the UK.

 

[Greenbeard]

What? I needed rotator cuff surgery, and within 3 weeks it was a done deal. No way would that be considered an emergency. I probably would have been waiting up to a year in the UK.

Stick with Canada. There's a reason people choose Canada as the point of comparison on wait times: it's one of the few nations that scores worse than the U.S. on all wait time metrics. If you include countries other than Canada in the comparison, we don't look quite as great.

 

[MikeK]

Has anyone ever given any thought to where this country would be without the corporations?

The problem is not corporations but the way they are managed.

 

[Meister]

What? I needed rotator cuff surgery, and within 3 weeks it was a done deal. No way would that be considered an emergency. I probably would have been waiting up to a year in the UK.

Stick with Canada. There's a reason people choose Canada as the point of comparison on wait times: it's one of the few nations that scores worse than the U.S. on all wait time metrics. If you include countries other than Canada in the comparison, we don't look quite as great.

Greenbeard, fuck off....don't tell me what to stick with....got it??? I'm saying that I had rotator cuff surgery in a timely manner...that seems to have upset you, huh?