> Thanks, David. Just got the hospital's bill for Carolyn's angiogram 2
> weeks ago. $14,000 before adjustments and insurance. It would be
> quite a bit less to start with if I didn't have to pay for all the
> people doing what you suggest..... ;-)
No, it would be more. In case you haven't looked at your medical
statements lately, you will see that your insurance company has haggled
them down on the price that they wanted to charge and told them what
they will get paid for the procedure. The folks who "self-insure" as several
have suggested, don't have the clout to do this and get to pay "MSRP".
This helps subsidize those charges that you are complaining about.
> Seriously, folks... The cost of health care is what caused the cost
> of your health insurance to increase.
As Bill said, it is more about malpractice insurance and the unwillingness
the government has to place caps on settlements. States like Illinois have
lost many doctors and clinics to Wisconsin because they could not afford
the insyurance overhead in Illinois.
> And the cost of health care
> increased because the Federal government won't allow hospitals to turn
> people who don't pay away from the ER. If you are honest and hard
> working, and pay your bills (even if you have to pay a little at a
> time) you get screwed having to pay a share of everyone who isn't as
> nice as you.
Oh so true!!!
> My daughter runs an Ob-Gyn section in a large hospital. She tells me
> that nearly 50% of their "walk-ins" can't pay for their healthcare and
> about 80% of those are illegal aliens. They are also not allowed to
> turn in the illegals. One day she had 3 different pregnant women who
> spoke no english show up with the same social security card and fake
> green card. Had to sile and treat them anyway.
Gotta love government inconsistencies! If they were to hire them before
treating them...
> Oh.... And ditto on everything Buster said about the British
> National Health system.
I grew up in Brazil with national health care. The system there worked
fairly
well, although, as a minor at the time, I am not a real expert on it. I can
tell you
that most of the doctors and dentists worked for the government AND for
themselves. The dentist I went to spent his mornings at a government dental
office and his afternoons in his own office. National health care meant
that, with
a bit of patience, you could get treated eventually and it WAS a viable
option.
On the other hand, the government was subsidizing the medical profession, so
you could pay a fairly reasonable fee to get treated sooner by the doctor of
your
choice. Things had balanced out fairly well, so enough patients went private
so
that the delays were not impossible. That was 27 years ago, however, and it
might well have fallen apart by now. Nonetheless, national health care CAN
work, but NOT if it is the ONLY option.
David Lieb
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