What's Wrong with American Health Care

[Doug1943]

Imprimus is a monthly publication of Hillsdale College, which is probably the leading 'conservative' college in the US today.
It's the transcription of monthly speakers that the College has. (Note: it's FREE! Every patriot should be on the mailing list.)

When I got the latest Imprimus, and saw that it was a talk by a doctor on what's wrong with US health care, I assumed it would be
about Obama care, and would propose a free-market alternative. But, boy, was I wrong!

It's actually a very interesting, very well-informed analysis of what is wrong with medicine in the US today, with respect to its relationship with the big drug companies ... 'Big Pharma'. Really, everyone, Left or Right, should read this.

[ America’s Broken Health Care: Diagnosis and Prescription ]

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

I worked in medical billing for 9 years.

I can tell you EXACTLY whats wrong with this countrys healthcare system.

 

[MarathonMike]

Massive, inefficient healthcare system. Massive greedy Big Pharma companies paying off doctors and politicians to push their drugs. Way too many patients including millions of illegals straining the system causing nurses to quit in droves.

 

[dblack]

Insurance. And insurance regulation.

 

[Calypso Jones]

GOV't INTERFERENCE. AND too many foreign doctors encouraged by democrat administrations. Making doing business for caucasian straight american born males. EDUCATION. Doctors education is NO better than what the rest of us are getting if we're using public education. and then.....attitude. these new docs...Genz/GenX they don't care about ...pee.pul...they care about $$$$.

 

[gipper]

I worked in medical billing for 9 years.

I can tell you EXACTLY whats wrong with this countrys healthcare system.

What?

 

[initforme]

The corporate model is failing in healthcare.

 

[shockedcanadian]

I could write the same headline about Canadas healthcare, as I sit here wth my permanent on and off headache behind my eye. Yes, the U.S probably needs to make itnmore affordable for some, healthcare should be a right (it is stated as such in Canada but like alot of "rights" they are simply "suggestons")

 

[Captain Caveman]

GOV't INTERFERENCE. AND too many foreign doctors encouraged by democrat administrations. Making doing business for caucasian straight american born males. EDUCATION. Doctors education is NO better than what the rest of us are getting if we're using public education. and then.....attitude. these new docs...Genz/GenX they don't care about ...pee.pul...they care about $$$$.

As in, Obama?

 

[multivita-man]

I used to be against government involvement in healthcare but having lived in a country with it, having had a grandmother in another country with it, and knowing a lot of expats from other countries, it's pretty obvious that the US healthcare system is a broken system.

It's not just greedy pharma; there's serious greed in the health systems (hospitals) and insurance companies. Doctors prescribe only what hospitals and insurance companies can agree on what kind of treatment gets paid for. If the insurers won't pay for it, you don't get it - even if it's the best treatment option.

We need a system of public/private hospitals with public hospitals being free of charge (well, not totally free b/c taxes would pay for them). Private care for anyone who doesn't want to use public hospitals. It works elsewhere. Would probably work here if voters had the patience to allow to work.

That's the part I'm doubtful of, though. No politician wants to break a system, however badly it's failing, and possibly replace it with something that might take some time to work out the wrinkles. So I guess our system will just have to completely break first before any real change is made.

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

What?

Aside from greedy doctors, naricssistic nurses, and oblivious orderlies.............
You've got greedmongering corporations buying out or squashing, as many honest doctor practices as they can.
"Healthcare" corporations don't want ANYBODY getting medical care or health care UNLESS THEY APPROVE IT!

Sure there are SOME good medical professionals out there, but more often than not.......you're going to end up with a pill pushing "yes" man/woman to their corporate overlords. Instead of fixing whats wrong with you, they're just gonna throw some pills at it, prolong it, and drag it out until you need a hospital visit or die..........because these corporate managed doctors and nurses are only allowed to do and say what their overlords tell them too. Which is "push the pills" and "drag it out".

But why the high cost of medicine?
Administration. Paper pushers, button punchers, keyboard jockeys. Over 50% of the medical administration and billing offices/services in healthcare are unskilled, untrained, and uncaring workers. They can't be bothered to hire intelligent, well trained, and knowledgable people. Although they do "luck out" sometimes in hiring a few here and there, like me.........but when we see how corrupt and assbackwards, uncaring, unfeeling, and demonic these companies are, we go someplace else. Not that it really changes anything.

But instead of attracting and hiring well trained and educated people for administrative work, they hire "off the street". And they don't train them either. "Training" consists of giving them their passwords, setting up their work station, and then telling them to "figure it out".

Instead of paying competent people to do the work they already know how to do, they hire three times as many off the street, in order to "make do".

And since Obozo was in office, more and more of these "healthcare" companies are shutting down their US administrative and billing offices and sending it all over to India. India.........where they DO NOT have HIPAA laws, and sell OUR private information to all sorts of scammers. These places in India these companies are sending our private information to don't care about it either. If they can make money off of OUR pain and suffering, they are more than happy to do it.

BY LAW, our personal information is NOT supposed to leave OUR borders, but every day it does.......and has for many, many years now.

Ever wonder how all these scammers get your information? Now you know.

The waste of time, personnel, managers, office resources, office buildings, wages, benefits, etc.....has become an astronomical expense of these companies, simply because they refuse to pay above average wages for TRAINED employees that KNOW the business. Instead of hiring ONE knowledgable, competent, TRAINED employee for $30 an hour........companies would rather hire 50 off the street employees at $10 an hour, to do all the work of that one single highly trained employee.

And the fuckups these low wage, off the street employees make all day, every day..........costs the company hundreds of thousands of dollars a week! And that is NOT counting the wasted wages and benefits they get as well!

Next time you get a letter or statement from your doctor office or the healthcare company..........KEEP IT! That piece of paper costs YOU THE CUSTOMER, on average, of $250.00 - $500.00 for processing!

So remember that next time the nurse gives you a $60 aspirin tablet........when a bottle of 100 tablets only costs $1.25 at the dollar store!!!!!

 

[Anathema]

I used to be against government involvement in healthcare but having lived in a country with it, having had a grandmother in another country with it, and knowing a lot of expats from other countries, it's pretty obvious that the US healthcare system is a broken system

I always have been and always will be agains ALL government involvement in healthcare and medicine. It’s part of why I won’t go to European country.

We need a system of public/private hospitals with public hospitals being free of charge (well, not totally free b/c taxes would pay for them). Private care for anyone who doesn't want to use public hospitals. It works elsewhere. Would probably work here if voters had the patience to allow to work

I would not go to a “public” hospital. I would rather die than take government medical care.

 

[Calypso Jones]

I used to be against government involvement in healthcare but having lived in a country with it, having had a grandmother in another country with it, and knowing a lot of expats from other countries, it's pretty obvious that the US healthcare system is a broken system.

It's not just greedy pharma; there's serious greed in the health systems (hospitals) and insurance companies. Doctors prescribe only what hospitals and insurance companies can agree on what kind of treatment gets paid for. If the insurers won't pay for it, you don't get it - even if it's the best treatment option.

We need a system of public/private hospitals with public hospitals being free of charge (well, not totally free b/c taxes would pay for them). Private care for anyone who doesn't want to use public hospitals. It works elsewhere. Would probably work here if voters had the patience to allow to work.

That's the part I'm doubtful of, though. No politician wants to break a system, however badly it's failing, and possibly replace it with something that might take some time to work out the wrinkles. So I guess our system will just have to completely break first before any real change is made.

Insurance companies don't set the rates they try to control them and keep them down. Doctors lie on insurance claims moreso than patients. Haven't seen the stats on that. I should look it up. Claims have been taken OUT Of our hands...and yes there was a time when people filed their own claims to the insurance company. NOW they bypass us totally and it's dealing between doctor/insurance/gov't...and mostly gov't. Health insurance companies are walking a thin line. They know gov't wants what they have. LIFE Insurance companies HAVE TO HAVE RESERVES in the amount of everything they have sold in the event that every person has a loss at the same time. THAT is billions. Gov't wants it. Insurance companies are stepping all over themselves to be accomodating to gov't to stay in business. Gov't will get it eventually.

WE are not free.

 

[Calypso Jones]

I always have been and always will be agains ALL government involvement in healthcare and medicine. It’s part of why I won’t go to European country.

I would not go to a “public” hospital. I would rather die than take government medical care.

What hospitals did to Americans was to take money from the gov't to off their patients and because it was gov't ordained, they could do it with no worries. You know what you call people who kill for money? Assassins. I'm not gonna be happy till somebody pays for this...a lot of somebodies.

 

[multivita-man]

I always have been and always will be agains ALL government involvement in healthcare and medicine. It’s part of why I won’t go to European country.

I'm sure they're offended.

I would not go to a “public” hospital. I would rather die than take government medical care.

Why, because you believe it's communist? Is there something in the Bible about public hospitals being the mark of the beast?

 

[Anathema]

Why, because you believe it's communist? Is there something in the Bible about public hospitals being the mark of the beast?

Personal Responsibility, for one thing. Secondly, I still can’t find any mention of the Federal government having legislative or spending powers relative to healthcare or medicine anywhere in the US Constitution.

 

[multivita-man]

Insurance companies don't set the rates they try to control them and keep them down. Doctors lie on insurance claims moreso than patients.

As a patient I've never been in a position to lie about insurance claims, so yeah, if anyone's lying about what needs to be paid, it's the healthcare provider.

Insurance companies are trying to control costs, but don't lose sight of the fact that they're also trying to score a profit, as are healthcare providers.

Health insurance companies are walking a thin line. They know gov't wants what they have.

Oh God, another Big gubmint boogeyman horror story.

Healthcare companies spent $700 million on lobbying last year, so why would members of congress want to trade that system for one where there are no lobbyists kissing their asses and showering them with free re-election cash?

LIFE Insurance companies HAVE TO HAVE RESERVES in the amount of everything they have sold in the event that every person has a loss at the same time. THAT is billions. Gov't wants it. Insurance companies are stepping all over themselves to be accomodating to gov't to stay in business. Gov't will get it eventually.

It's people who want a public health system like they have in other developed countries. For fucks sake, with our patchwork system, we spend more than any other country on healthcare, and we get the shittiest outcomes. We're currently the only developed country in which the lifespan is declining - and it's declining rapidly.

 

[Anathema]

What hospitals did to Americans was to take money from the gov't to off their patients and because it was gov't ordained, they could do it with no worries. You know what you call people who kill for money? Assassins. I'm not gonna be happy till somebody pays for this...a lot of somebodies

I’m of the opinion that those with no way to pay should not get care. Just as simple as that.

 

[multivita-man]

Personal Responsibility, for one thing.

Since you just threw personal responsibility out there for...reasons, I have to ask, what the fuck are you talking about?

Secondly, I still can’t find any mention of the Federal government having legislative or spending powers relative to healthcare or medicine anywhere in the US Constitution.

They have the power to raise taxes. The end.

 

[multivita-man]

I’m of the opinion that those with no way to pay should not get care. Just as simple as that.

Yeah, well who cares.