Posted on 03/18/2017 7:21:28 AM PDT by NYer
SNIP
As a result of this thinking, most of us have become part of a large system that is so complex that we don’t have any idea how much something costs or why it costs that much—and often don’t even bother to ask! So many things occur to me to ask, but there are few good answers. Should an ankle x-ray cost $700? Why? I know the machine is initially expensive, but so is my car. After driving my car for ten years, the three years of payments are a distant memory. Surely after the 10,000th x-ray the machine should be paid for!
And why do we expect our health insurance to pay for every little thing? I don’t expect my auto insurance to pay for the cost of new tires or an oil change. Medical insurance used to be to protect against financial ruin in the event of catastrophic expenses. Now it covers the annual check-up and even the most elective of drugs such as Viagra. Why?
Obviously we consumers are part of the problem. We can’t just pin this all on insurance companies or “big pharma.” We now expect the smallest incidental expenses to be covered. Further, we sue doctors and hospitals over a tiny scar or a minor oversight. We can barely abide the least inconvenience or suffering related to our health.
I suspect that part of the problem is that we have handed everything over to someone else to pay; as a result, we don’t consider the shared cost we are all now carrying. It’s all just too remote to us. Having now removed most of the economic impact, cost is no longer a consideration. Someone else is paying; who cares what it costs? Just try to pay cash for an x-ray
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Unhindered by American courts.
FYI
Mother Teresa did not run a “hospital”.
Hers was a center to comfort the dying.
She brought them in from the streets and the gutters.
The leftist/progressive movement...
Her order has locations all over the U.S., too.
Do they have hospital administrators who make $400K?
You are a little behind the times... Our local hospital administrators make millions of dollars a year, not $400K.
It’s simple, government involvement.
Beautifully stated.
But there are also those who were bankrupted by a few days hospital stay, and they are at the mercy of the hospital determining their billing fate.
I’ve learned they don’t deserve my trust. I negotiate first. Always. And, truth be told, it is MUCH cheaper to take days off work and care for your sick spouse than to let them drain your savings in only a few days in a hospital.
So much money is wasted in hospital stays, etc. It’s almost criminal.
“fast track approval of foreign drugs”
Perhaps, full recognition of European Medicines Agency approvals on a par with FDA approvals is in order.
The drug industry pipeline has many drugs in development.
Approval time and Phase III testing costs could be cut in nearly in half.
Brexit may complicate this since the EMA is in the UK now.
Letting Government get involved
“health insurance to pay for every little thing?”
It is quite possible to have a personal fund account (think Health Savings Account) linked to a health insurance card.
You would pay 100%, but your doctor wouldn’t need to pay people to take your checks. Your doctor would bill your insurer and your insurer would take your money out of your HSA account and give it to your doctor. This can be easily automated.
“it covers ... even the most elective of drugs such as Viagra. Why?”
state treatment parity laws
People run to their state legislators and demand equal treatment - and they get it - because the state gets an income tax cut of every medical expense.
Just curious what you think doctors and nurses should be paid?
Health care costs were "manageable" at other times and in other places because they didn't have all the expensive scans and drugs that we do.
Malpractice insurance also plays a role -- the system also started working for trial lawyers.
Nail on the head.
Were Americans required to pay 100% for routine doctor visits and checkups, health insurance would be much lower. People would not go running to the doctor for every little sniffle or stub on the toe. People would not be looking for "painkillers" every time they sprang their ankle or anti-depressants for when they broke up with their boyfriend.
It's easy to clog up the system with non-necessary visits when there is only a $10 co-pay to see a doctor or $5 for a bottle of pills.
Health insurance should only kick in for a catastrophic situation like cancer, heart attack or serious car accident.
People keep up with oil changes and tuneups on their cars because they want to avoid costly repairs down the road that are not covered by their insurance. People would have the same attitude about their bodies and would take care of themselves better if they had to pay the full bill.
Not as low as in Europe, not as high as they get now. The problem with cutting costs this way is that everyone has expenses to match their incomes, scouting would be tough.
The average income of all doctors in the US is $208K. If it was $155K instead, nobody would feel too sorry for them.
Interesting. So if you invested 8 years of schooling, plus 3-4 years in residency and 1-3 years in a fellowship and really didn’t start your career at your earning potential until your 30s, plus carried enormous responsibility with your job and continuing education requirements, $155k would be a satisfactory financial reward? Mind you, you will have acquired potentially hundreds of thousands in student loan debt.
Physician and nurse salaries are not the driving force behind healthcare costs. Administrative fees and overregualtion are. Besides, if you want the best and brightest minds going into medicine, you should hope it will be as financially lucrative as possiblein order to attract true talent. I’m appalled and offended that you advocate low pay for people who actually contribute to the betterment of humanity, but made no mention of the obscene salaries paid out to Hollywood actors and professional athletes.
I have been a nurse for 20 years, and my husband is a physician. I assure you that the salaries of actual healthcare providers are not the problem. You are woefully uninformed.
Because these guys want to make more money at your expense.
Even if you have to die.
20 highest paid healthcare ceos in 2015
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/20-highest-paid-healthcare-ceos-in-2015.html
Stephen Hemsley, CEO of UnitedHealthCare insurance
He made $106 million in 2009 and $100 million in 2012 and $66 million in 2015 from what I found.
1 guy whose greed could have funded 10’s of thousands of people healthcare. You can bet he and the other ceo’s bribed every member of congress to get obamacare passed as they figured a captive clientele would make them more money.
Now they are re-working it for Trumpcare.
Ever look at car tires in the big box store parking lots? Many don't keep up with routine tire maintenance? Those people aren't going to pay $500 for a routine office visit and blood work if nothing is going on with their health.
Where are you getting $500? I elected a health plan with a $3,000 deductible (per year) and I pay around $150 for a doctor’s visit.
“Do they have head nurses who make $135K? Do they have hospital administrators who make $400K? Do they have knee surgeons who make $800K? Do they have salesmen for drug companies who make $250K?. “
You don’t need to look to Europe, just look back a few decades here in the US. What’s happened is the cozy relationship between corporate health providers and the insurance cartel.
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