Unfit to lead

[Emma]

Will you explain how? You keep saying that but you're not telling me where or why they're off lol.

I'm getting these numbers from the trustee's report.

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

 

[DiveCon]

Will you explain how? You keep saying that but you're not telling me where or why they're off lol.

I'm getting these numbers from the trustee's report.

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

the way to fix the price of medications is to tell the pharma companies they may no longer charge Americans more for the meds than they charge other countries


its not right that Americans have to foot the cost of all the R&D

 

[veritas]

Will you explain how? You keep saying that but you're not telling me where or why they're off lol.

I'm getting these numbers from the trustee's report.

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

So let's say that's 50M and one sixth the population. How many people are on Medicare?

 

[DiveCon]

Will you explain how? You keep saying that but you're not telling me where or why they're off lol.

I'm getting these numbers from the trustee's report.

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

WOW
your going to increase the medicare deduction that much and tell those people they still have to pay for their own health coverage?

 

[Emma]

think Emma's numbers are WAY WAY off

Will you explain how? You keep saying that but you're not telling me where or why they're off lol.

I'm getting these numbers from the trustee's report.

because you are assuming that the costs of adding those people to it will be less than it currently is
and remember, 4 people are paying to cover ONE person now
if you put those 4 people on it also you will need to jump the payroll deduction by a factor of at least 5
now you are talking about taking 15% for the medicare deduction alone
sorry, but that will float like a lead balloon(and not the one the mythbusters team did)

Dive... it's taking 4 to cover 1 (and I thought it was 3 but in any case) because the majority of those covered by medicare subsidized by payroll taxes aren't paying premiums. Only $2.9 billion of its income of nearly $231 billion comes from its client base.

 

[Emma]

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

So let's say that's 50M and one sixth the population. How many people are on Medicare?

About the same number. 45 million and some change.

 

[Emma]

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

So let's say that's 50M and one sixth the population. How many people are on Medicare?

BTW, that additional $313 billion is from premiums and an additional 1.45% employee payroll tax. That doesn't factor in what they receive in interest earnings. For part A (total revenue 230 billion), it receives 15.6 billion in interest. Plan B receives 3.5 billion from interest out of a total revenue of 250 billion.

Obviously, adding $315 billion to the pot is going to increase the interest earnings of each but God knows I couldn't begin to figure that out. That's completely over my head.

 

[veritas]

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

So let's say that's 50M and one sixth the population. How many people are on Medicare?

About the same number. 45 million and some change.

So we're up to one third of the population at 12% of the total cost of healthcare?!?!

The other 88% is VA and private insurance and Medicaid?

 

[Emma]

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

the way to fix the price of medications is to tell the pharma companies they may no longer charge Americans more for the meds than they charge other countries


its not right that Americans have to foot the cost of all the R&D

That's not what we're footing the cost of...

A post from another thread:

Save the crocodile tears.

A new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, contrary to the industry’s claim.

The researchers’ estimate is based on the systematic collection of data directly from the industry and doctors during 2004, which shows the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of the sales dollar on promotion, versus 13.4% for research and development, as a percentage of US domestic sales of $235.4 billion.

Big Pharma Spends More On Advertising Than Research And Development, Study Finds

Perhaps if they didn't spend tens of billions of dollars in marketing and promotion (and hundreds of millions lobbying Congress), they could afford more research. Until they stop that crap, I don't want to hear their sob stories.

 

[Emma]

You accounted for $315B, that's roughly 12% of total healthcare costs for 2009. I don't know what percentage of the population that covers. But we're in big freaking trouble.

That's just adding in the 45 million un- and under insured to the current medicare population.

WOW
your going to increase the medicare deduction that much and tell those people they still have to pay for their own health coverage?

1.45% ? That's negligible.

 

[Emma]

So let's say that's 50M and one sixth the population. How many people are on Medicare?

About the same number. 45 million and some change.

So we're up to one third of the population at 12% of the total cost of healthcare?!?!

The other 88% is VA and private insurance and Medicaid?

I assume so.

As we reported last year, Medicare's financial difficulties come sooner—and are much more severe—than those confronting Social Security. While both programs face demographic challenges, rapidly growing health care costs also affect Medicare. Underlying health care costs per enrollee are projected to rise faster than the earnings per worker on which payroll taxes and Social Security benefits are based. As a result, while Medicare's annual costs were 3.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008, or about three quarters of Social Security's, they are projected to surpass Social Security expenditures in 2028 and reach 11.4 percent of GDP in 2083.

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/index.html

 

[Emma]

Ok, veritas. I've got everyone covered, now you can figure out how to rein in healthcare costs

 

[veritas]

Accomplishments: In FY 2008, the Department treated more than 5.6 million patients; scheduled 98.7 percent of primary care appointments within 30 days of the patient’s desired appointment date; launched the Rural Mobile Health Care Clinics pilot project; developed innovative traumatic brain injury treatment for combat veterans; provided compensation and pension benefits to nearly 3.8 million veterans; provided education benefits to approximately 539,000 students; and provided a burial option to 84.2 percent of veterans within a reasonable distance (75 miles) of their residence.

http://www.va.gov/performance/docs/VA_Snapshot_FY2008.pdf

The President’s $112.8 billion budget request for 2010 is the largest percentage increase (15 percent)
requested by a President in over 30 years. It provides the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with
resources needed to become a 21st Century organization that is people-centric, results-oriented, and
forward-looking, and puts Veterans first. The budget request contains four major categories of
transformational activity collectively designed to initiate the process of creating a 21st Century VA.
These include creating a reliable management infrastructure, delivering ongoing services, making
progress on Congressional priorities, and instituting some new initiatives.

http://www.va.gov/budget/summary/2010/Fast_Facts_VA_Budget_Highlights.pdf

so let's say the the uninsured, Medicare, and the VA are one third the population, because I padded the two former, and add 2010's budget to the 315B, so we have 427B........which means a third of the population is at 20-21% of the total projected outlay for 2009........

And two thirds is at almost 80%??? [Private Insurance and Medicaid]??

 

[Emma]

At this point, I'm so fuzzy I'll just say yes LOL.


VA population is 5.6 million? I would have guessed more.

 

[veritas]

Ok, veritas. I've got everyone covered, now you can figure out how to rein in healthcare costs

It appears to me that the way to get that done is to do away with private insurance and take over the present premiums paid into same and dump them into Medicare.

Seize!!!!!

 

[veritas]

At this point, I'm so fuzzy I'll just say yes LOL.


VA population is 5.6 million? I would have guessed more.

That's how many they said they treated, I left a 10M or 10% overall cushion in my one third of the population estimate of the uninsured and Medicare populations, I rounded up.

 

[Emma]

Help me out here.

Medicare's annual costs were 3.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Is it ok to figure that the rest of that 17.6% comes from VA, medicaid and private pay insurances? Or am I not looking at it right...

 

[veritas]

Help me out here.

Medicare's annual costs were 3.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Is it ok to figure that the rest of that 17.6% comes from VA, medicaid and private pay insurances? Or am I not looking at it right...

It's everything else, so yeah.....and out of pocket I suppose.

 

[veritas]

I assume active duty personnel are costed through DOD. So I don't know if the figures for that are even in the GDP for healthcare stats.

 

[Emma]

Help me out here.

Medicare's annual costs were 3.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Is it ok to figure that the rest of that 17.6% comes from VA, medicaid and private pay insurances? Or am I not looking at it right...

It's everything else, so yeah.....and out of pocket I suppose.

So medicare provides healthcare coverage to 15% of the total population, but the demographic with the highest level of healthcare needs for 3.2% of the total GDP.

And there's some minor things to consider. Prison population at 2.5 million... Indian Health Services (USPHS)... and other government provided care like schools and stuff like that. But negligible to the total, I'd guess.

Oh. About the cost of healthcare? I received a group email from our manager. Because an outpatient wasn't charged correctly for IV hydration, we had to eat $2500 (we can't charge if the bags aren't documented). That's $2500 for 3 1/3 IV liter bags. Nothing fancy in them. No medications or other additives. Just saline and a little dextrose.