Posted on 04/01/2006 11:07:54 AM PST by MRMEAN
Of course it isn't. Medicare/Medicaid has completely ruined our health care system. If Americans wouldn't be paying sky-high taxes for it, they'd be able to afford their own personal health care account.
Medicaid should be strictly for those who are disabled or have some type of end-stage disease. Too many prego women, illegals, drunks and "poor" people are abusing the system.
The idea that we now have "fair" healthcare is false. Healthcare is very tiered in the free market. Fer instance, the healthcare someone receives in a rural area is inferior to that in a major metropolitan area. And there are tiers within major cities. One of the fastest growing type of practices is "boutique" medicine, which still offers house calls.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
2) coke purchasers are not bleeding on the floor, with broken bones jutting out
3) retail vs. wholesale - give me a break, with the strawmen
Again, set any rate you wish, just charge all comers the same.
Raising plywood prices in a hurricane is illegal - how about overcharging the wounded?
I know. One of the physicians I call on has changed his practice. No third party payor - CASH only. He charges a flat monthly fee and his patients get unlimited access to the doctor. He has cut his workload in half, and is making more money.
Of course the other docs in town are pi$$ed, because they have to see the medicare/medicaid patients that he won't see.
Yep. That's the name of the game these days. Fortunately, most ERs still have adrenaline junkies.
Spent some time in an ER lately?
Try it. It's an eye-opener.
You will see dozens of folks with sniffles, a minor fever, drunks, and some who apparently are lonely - all demanding to see an ER doc at YOUR EXPENSE.
Sorry that reality is unpleasant. Ignoring it won't make it go away.
In other words, I (or my insurance) pay $22.31 for a service that costs the uninsured $97.33
How much are you paying the insurance company a year, whether you use it or not, to negotiate that lower price?
My wife and I are paying a pretty hefty bill every month for "nothing". Until we have to use it, then we welcome the 4/5th price cut. (payrool deduction for Blue Cross for her, payroll deduction for my company family plan, and Tricare and Delta Dental for both of us)
We're triple covered so we don't have to pay huge hospital/dental bills. But we pay monthly whether we use it or not.
You'll be going to the man who needs no introduction. Chronic caller of the year three straight and shooting for number four. The duke of drunk, the king of stink, our most frequent flier, Mr. Oh. -- from Bringing Out the Dead
No, those of us without insurance are currently subsidizing you with insurance and the poor.
All that those of us caught in the middle are asking for is to be billed a fair rate. What that rate is has yet to be determined.
Last March I went to an ER thinking I had, had a minor stroke. A lot of stuff was done wrong when it came to stroke victim care. At the time I had catastrophic insurance only and all they did for me leave me lay in the ER for nearly 7 hours. Come morning they told me to go straight my dr., he knew I was enroute. I showed up at my dr. and he flipped out wanting to know why I wasn't kept for proper evaluation. I think the standard of care I received had to do with the high deductible. The ER bill was nearly $5,000 and the negotiated rate ended up as $1100.
This year I had to have surgery. I presented as self-pay up front. As such they told me I would get a 50% discount. No questions asked regarding my financial status in order to get the discount.
So if I apply the 50% rule to the ER visit it is still $2500. A non-insured person would still be paying more than I did with catastrophic insurance.
When was the last time you sat in an ER, and asked the price of anything? "No thanks, doc - I can buy that splint at wall mart for one tenth the price, so I am outta here..."
Doesn't happen.
Right now, those picking up the slack are the uninsured.
What an opportunity for you to start your own health care industry and charge "FAIR" prices.
I don't care if others pay more than I do. Life is inherently "unfair". Some folks are damn ugly and stupid, to boot. Will I be forced to pay for them to get the smarts and a pert new rack?
New York decided to start a massive immigration of the sick and poor to New York.
Yes I have, three times actually. Once for my husband's heart attack and twice for my deep vein thrombosis. I had to go twice because they tried to pass it off the first time as muscle cramps do to low calcium.
You are still obligated to pay and they will come after you full force believe me.
(And, BTW, I spend more time in ER's than I care to admit. Arlington hospital has a coffee mug with my name on it. LOL)
(What can I say - I am clumsy).
What's that got to do with your example. You paid 20 bucks for a $100 procedure. You probably pay a pant load of cash a month to the insurance company to get the lower price.
You probably paid closer to $100 (including your premium) for that $100 procedure.
I have no clue what you are talking about here.
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