U.S. health-care spending hits nearly $2 trillion

Reuters ^ | 1/9/07 | Susan Heavey

[DungeonMaster]

No it's not. Your health care cost is 1 million. Your INSURANCE company has also made 1 million in profit.

I should have known you were thinking this. But you are wrong.

Maybe this will help. If you pay 100 dollars in insurance and you received 1 million dollars in health care, your health care cost is 1 million dollars, but you didn't pay it.

The insurance industry is just that, it is not the health care industry.

For that matter the carpenters who build the hospital are not part of the health care industry.

[Kozak]

No, you are wrong. By buying insurance you were PRE PAYING for your health care. Under your semantic nit picking, US companies would be paying zero in employee health care, and so would the Government in terms of Medicaid and Medicare. Ditto most individuals.

[bruinbirdman]

"The government ran the price up?"

Let's not forget what government did not do: TORT REFORM

yitbos

[DungeonMaster]

I think you are lost.

[DungeonMaster]

I'll try one more time.

"Health care costs" are moneys paid to health care providers....PERIOD.

[SheLion]

They left out the expense of treating thousands of illegals................

Wonder why!  ~barf

They left out the expense of treating thousands of illegals................

Wonder why!  ~barf

[SheLion]

I don't know who is driving up the cost of health care, but it is naive to blame the government alone.

They left out the expense of treating thousands of illegals................

Wonder why!  ~barf

I don't know who is driving up the cost of health care, but it is naive to blame the government alone.

They left out the expense of treating thousands of illegals................

Wonder why!  ~barf

[SheLion]

The price of medication is higher because of medicare? The cost of surgery is higher because of fertility treatment coverage on insurance? Hospitals document treatment becasue it's the law and not because of the patients? I'm not very convinced by your current list.

I repeat:  THE ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SheLion]

The price of medication is higher because of medicare? The cost of surgery is higher because of fertility treatment coverage on insurance? Hospitals document treatment becasue it's the law and not because of the patients? I'm not very convinced by your current list.

I repeat:  THE ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!!!!!

One illegal went into a hospital in Mass. When he came out, he left a bill for over $10,000.........GUESS WHO PAYS FOR THAT?

The Saudi woman who are pregnant are flying over to Detroit and staying with friends until they give birth in a Detroit hospital!  Then they fly back home

GUESS WHO PAYS FOR THAT???????  The Mayor in Detroit just threw his hands in the air..........he has no clue how to stop it.

[Kozak]

Great. So then all that stuff about the high cost of health care and it's effect on the economy is a myth. Thanks for clearing that up. /sarc

[DungeonMaster]

Great. So then all that stuff about the high cost of health care and it's effect on the economy is a myth.

No, that just happenes to be the definition of the 2 trillion dollars that this post is about. I was just trying to clear that up. That 2 trillion is up 6.9 percent from the year before, quite a bit more than most people's raises.

[Kozak]

No, that just happenes to be the definition of the 2 trillion dollars that this post is about. I was just trying to clear that up. That 2 trillion is up 6.9 percent from the year before, quite a bit more than most people's raises.

Totally irrelevant. The size of the population grows every year, the proportion of elderly grows every year, and our ability to diagnose and treat grows every year. THAT's the major reason medical care expenses go up and up and up.

[DungeonMaster]

THAT's the major reason medical care expenses go up and up and up.

Obviously.