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Posted on 07/20/2024 10:56:56 PM PDT by grundle
Americans spend more money on health care on a per capita basis than people in any other developed nation, yet almost half say they've struggled recently to pay for medical treatment or prescription drugs, according to a new study from Gallup and West Health.
About 45% of those polled by the organizations said they'd recently had to skip treatment or medicine either because of cost or lack of easy access. Of those, about 8% said they also wouldn't have access to affordable care if they required it today, a group that Gallup and West Health termed "cost desperate."
While 55% of Americans are "cost secure," meaning they can afford care and medicine, that's a decline from 61% who fell into that category in 2022, the study found.
More people are struggling with health care costs partly due to higher inflation as well as a long-term trend toward insurance plans with higher deductibles and less comprehensive coverage, Tim Lash, president of West Health, a nonprofit group focused promoting affordable medical care, told CBS MoneyWatch. About 94% of those surveyed believe they or Americans in general are paying too much for health care and not getting their money's worth.
"We see individuals and families making decisions that no one should have to make, from, 'Should I go on vacation or do I pay for health care and medication,' or at the worst, 'How do I ration my food to afford my prescriptions?'" Lash said. "As the wealthiest and most developed country, that's not where we should be."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
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Another SCUM TRAITOR who didn’t leave until he was in a coffin!! These bastards need to go after 2 terms PERIOD!! Lobbyists have total control over these scumbags it needs to stop!! The only way is a convention of the states there was a huge movement on this getting done what the hell happened to that going forward??
Yet we seem to have plenty of money for healthcare for illegals!!
[Another SCUM TRAITOR who didn’t leave until he was in a coffin!!]
Yep. I stood in line to vote for that jerk in 2008; hoping that he’d be better than Obama. What a disappointment.
Held my nose and voted for Romney in 2012. Another jerkwad.
Those two there along with W. Boosh is why I cannot stand GOP Establishment.
People who’ve illegally invaded the country get all the healthcare they want free of charge. You and I pay for it which is on reason why our healthcare costs so much.
Never mind that the coverage was (pretty much) for catastrophic incidents and simple "wellness" exams. Never mind that the portion of any medical bill covered by the ACA was minimal at best.
The Dems could claim people who bought coverage and paid big bucks for it, had health insurance! Whether or not it actually ever paid for anything was irrelevant. Optics. Kabuki theater. Dem tactics.
This is your legacy you POS. Spit on all the virtual signaling dumbasses who voted for this a$$hole.
I pay out over $800 a month for Federal BC/BS and Medicare for the wife and I which includes dental and vision. I’m covered fully under VA care but the wife needs coverage as well.
I never understood the cost Drs and Hospitals charge and what they accept from insurance companies. Got a bill for $1575.00 for an X-ray, ins pays $315.00 and I owe nothing. That’s a $1260.00 loss or over charge for the X-ray.
Before the turn, I was a health benefits examiner for Great West, out of Portland, Oregon.
It was setup that the company “in their 80% of the paid benefits”, actually paid 80% of the 80%, and left the rest to the customer.
What you’re paying for is the hypochondriac on Medicaid, who goes to the emergency room over 50 times in one year and has a laundry list of prescriptions (and gets them all filled because it’s “free”) but only takes the Dilaudid (which is what he seeks when going to the ER).
I know someone exactly like that. I estimate that the medical care for this 47-year-old man who has hardly worked a day in his life (he’s on SSI) has cost the taxpayers well over a million dollars by now (that includes the numerous surgeries he’s had for his knee problem, his shoulder problem, and his Crohn’s disease).
Right, and the ‘care’ wer’re getting for our money is diminished all the time
Well...it’s affordable for all the illegals that Americans and legal immigrants are paying for.
“Affordable Care Act in the real world.”
Yeah... the “Affordable” Care Act... that the damned Democrats exempted themselves AND THEIR STAFF from ... due to unaffordability. Thus proving that literally everything the Democrats say and do, every law they pass, is based on nothing but lies.
Don’t forget the cost of malpractice insurance...
The government pays about 15%-20% on the dollar to doctors and hospitals...so doctors and hospitals “up the ante” to collect the $315. they actually need to cover the cost of that x-ray procedure you had. (Notice that $315. is 20% of $1575.) They usually make a bit more on insurance contracted prices. The real loser is the “self-pay” patient, they are lucky to get a 10%-15% “discount” off the reimbursement inflated prices.
The real cost driver has been government reimbursement rates since the government is paying about 50+% of health care costs nationwide (Medicaid/CHIP, Medicare, VA, TriCare).
Uh, no. That means half of Americans pay for the healthcare of the other half—and 60 million illegals.
Without insurance, which is mandated to do a bunch of crap that is useless to the average family, you can get just about Any good care for 20 cents on the dollar by paying CASH.
I had my first SVT (super ventricular tachycardia” event, thought I was dying….the local hospital I went to converted it and released me within two hours, $5800. Six months later we were on vacation in Aruba, had another one, went to hospital there. Identical procedure, blood work etc. including a follow-up cardiology appointment the next day $600.00.
Suggested political positions for federal and state legislative candidates from my profile page:
EMTALA
EMTALA care provision responsibility would be limited to one episode per patient in any 365-day period excluding paid-up previous visits, with a limit waiver to be at least $200 in cash or its equivalent.
EMTALA care uniformly billed at no more than 300% of Medicare amounts, including interest and late and other charges, could be collected in the manner of federal student loan debt.
PPACA SUBSIDY CAPS
PPACA subsidies would be limited to no more than 90% of policy cost instead of the 98% now. It is absurd that Mr. Recipient Democrat might pay $14/month for the same type policy that Mrs. Healthy Republican might pay $700/month for.
REFUNDABLE TAX CREDITS
To cut back on fraud, refundable tax credits for individuals would not be refunded except for PPACA premium and federal student loan payment.
DRUG APPROVAL
Drugs approved by the European Union/Health Canada would be deemed eligible for import, sale and use in the USA six/eighteen months after such approval unless Congress acts otherwise.
NEW DRUG PLANS
Federal PPACA exchanges would offer Interstate Class Drug Plans,
exempt from state control, that to be fully federally subsidy eligible must cover at least:
1. 80% of all recombinant drugs by key active entity
(or 100% less the percentages held by the top three domestic rights holders by percentage),
2. 80% of all FDA breakthrough drugs by key active entity
(or 100% less the percentages held by the top three domestic rights holders by percentage),
3. 80% of all drugs covered by a key active entity patent
(or 100% less the percentages held by the top three domestic rights holders by percentage),
4. 90% of all WHO “essential” drugs
Any percentage shortfalls would result in twice the percentage reduction in the federal subsidy amount and must have the word ‘Deficient’ in the drug plan name to at be all federally subsidy eligible.
This system would allow for genuine negotiation between drug plans and drug companies. Drug plans would have an incentive to try to buy drugs from drug companies and drug companies would have an incentive to make deals to make sales.
All drugs would be supplied at on an all-the doctors prescribe basis. The co-pays would be roughly equal to mere manufacturing cost.
The baseline federal drug subsidy would be the average policy holder age (as of the beginning of the policy period) divided by 3 taken as a percent of PPACA baseline subsidy amount for the PPACA household.
EXAMPLE A: For a PPACA household with a 34-year-old, a 36-year-old, and a two-year-old, the baseline federal drug subsidy would be 8% ((34+36+2)/(3*3))% of the PPACA household’s baseline subsidy amount.
EXAMPLE B: For a single PPACA policy of age 60, the baseline federal drug subsidy would be 20% (60/3)% of the PPACA household’s baseline subsidy amount.
A&B Medical Service Plans
A&B Medical Service Plans would have the same medical service coverage as Medicare Parts A & B. They would not have built-in drug coverage that Medicare Part B currently has. They would be PPACA subsidy eligible up to the PPACA baseline subsidy amount for the PPACA household less the household’s federal drug subsidy.
A&B Medical Service Plan coverage providers would have to continue to offer PPACA coverage plans unless the provider’s PPACA plan(s) would would have less than 10,000 subscribers in total.
A&B Medical Service Plans would have to keep their funds in federally regulated financial institutions.
ENHANCED HOSPITAL SERVICE COMPETITION
To reduce hospital costs, state law would be changed to allow:
1. large hospital complexes and systems to be split up
2. competitive hospitals to be built adjacent to existent hospitals
(if a building purchase request is refused)
3. independent surgical, imaging, lab and nursing care facilities to coordinate
to state law requirements to effectively function as hospitals
AFFORDABLE DENTISTRY
Two-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for:
1. basic dentistry: dental imaging, oral examination, extractions, cavity filling and crowns
2. implants
3. dentures
4. root canals
One-year higher education programs and licensing options would be provided for independent dental imaging, oral examination and dental hygiene for those persons with over $40000 in paid dental hygiene earned income.
Main reason for the lack of affordability — much of what we pay hospitals and health insurers goes to cross-subsidize patients who cannot afford care.
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