So I was already paranoid...

[Mackay]

Frankly, if it weren't for insurance my family would be in deep financial do doo.

$35,000 for a complicated gall bladder operation for my husband 4 years ago, $6,000 for an emergency throat operation on his trachea, $5,000 for a complicated colonoscopy.....all in the same year.

Of course we could just let people die who need those $100,000 sugeries and $180,000 hospitalizations post op...you know, auto accidents, long rehabs that require in hospital assistance.

and that middle aged woman who falls and breaks her hip at 55 and still hasn't finished raising her kids, who needs a hip replacement at $40,000 who makes about $32,000 a year....

and the baby who is born premature and needs advanced levels of care for 8 weeks before going home, $250,000.

and the highschool student who picks up a case of MRSA in the locker room....$80,000 for 6 months of treatment in and out of hospital for antibiotics, skin graft, reconstruction of knee.

Thank god people have insurance for these things.....elsewise they would be enslaved to debt for ages, if not forever.

What is needed is sound regulations of the hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies....and CEO's should not make a 50 million a year or more a year. The greedly little turds.

Fact of the matter is that hospitals in general are not the main cause, many many US hospitals operate in the red....look into it. Its true.
Actually, I don't know how they do it. We will be seeing more and more close over the next 10 years I think unless creative solutions are found.

I don't know why this is not talked about on the news. It could be a major consideration on why Obama wants to reform the medical industry.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health...ul_hospitals_face_uncertain_future/index.html

http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?id=16452&option=com_articles&view=article

http://www.hasc.org/lott.cfm?ID=73623

 

[inchworm]

Mackay,

I totally agree - we DO need insurance for those things. I'm suggesting that we should reconsider insurance for routine doctor's office visits, bumped knees, and boo-boos. Unfortunately, insurance was originally designed for things that were UNLIKELY to happen. It's gambling in a way, that something bad will or won't happen. When merchants insured their cargo being shipped across the seas, if was to cover them in case a bad fortune happened and the ship MIGHT sink -- not that is WOULD sink. Now insurance covers things that are inevitably going to happen. Except for life insurance. We all know we are going to die one day. There the gamble is if the pay out will equal the amount paid in.

Grinchy Inchy

 

[Wifezilla]

The price for all those things is TOTALLY inflated due to the insurance companies in the first place. You aren't just paying for the doctor, the nurses and the hospital. You are also paying for that multi-million dollar/year insurance executive parked in that multi-million dollar building driving that fancy car and flying around in that corporate jet.

And what is his job? Running an army of people who's main responsibility is to figure out how to NOT pay out on your claim.

 

[me&thegals]

Mackay--well said!! I SO agree! My own life has been saved twice through modern medicine at an extremely high cost that my parents and then my husband and I would have spent our lives paying off. At my birth, my parents had my costs written off by the hospital--thank you, wonderful hospital for not holding my young, impoverished parents to the bill. But, of course, that's how hospitals end up in the red.

I would like to see people use healthcare better, more wisely. As a transcriptionist, I'm privy to what brings every single person into our clinic. A LOT of it could be prevented by good diet, exercise, quitting smoking, drinking in moderation and, seriously, toughening up a little bit. WHY are people coming in for colds and sore throats if they are otherwise healthy? It costs a LOT to visit a clinic. You have the appointment clerk who made the appointment, the medical records person who pulled the chart, the receptionist who greets, the MA who brings you back to the exam room for vitals, the doctor, the transcriptionist who transcribes your visit, the coder who codes it, the medical records person who gets that information stored in the appropriate place, the billing specialist, and that's all BEFORE it gets to the insurance company!

In college, I remember learning about some health insurance companies that provided their customers with a book that basically went through a triage process. It would ask, for example, for people to describe the length, quality, productiveness of their cough. Customers would go down a chart, figuring out whether it was something that needed immediate attention or could wait a bit. It was supposed to cut down on frivolous visits and get people in for things that really needed attention.

Ok--just my little rant.

 

[Mackay]

I think that even if the insurance company did not make so much money it still would be unaffordable with out the pooled resources that insurance provides.

If you go to India for a triple by pass the cost is around $12,000 cash without insurance....here $50,000 and up.

Alas, the vast majority of healthcare required is not the type you have an option to travel for.

and there in India you can rest easy that the nurse is making less than $200 a month and probably lives in a shack somewhere in a barrio.

In Mexico RN's average $350 a month, dito for Costa Rica. These nurses live in 1 or 2 room concrete houses with lots of other folks and they are likely the main provider for a family.

So, I guess I would say that in many respects I am for a socialized medical system or a system that allows you the option for private or socialized medicine....and really really strict controls on the pharmaceutical, medical products and insurance industry.

 

[Wifezilla]

I guess I would say that in many respects I am for a socialized medical system or a system that allows you the option for private or socialized medicine....and really really strict controls on the pharmaceutical, medical products and insurance industry.

Fair enough.

My belief is that a system like this will kill innovation and lead to rationed care like we are seeing in England and Canada.

Time will tell which of us is right.

I was happy when MA started their health care program. I thought it was a great opportunity to show the effectiveness (or non-effectiveness) of a socialized program. Of course, if we are all forced to join a federal program, there will be no chance to evaluate the state program and learn from its implementation.

My own experiences with the medical system have been quite interesting. My mom, since she was "paying all that damn money for insurance" dragged us to the doctor for every single sniffle. She wanted to get her money's worth I guess

I had issues during the birth of my second child because of a stupid nurse. I went to the emergency room because I was leaking fluid. She told me I wasn't and sent me home. When I went in to labor the next day, I got chewed out by the doctor for not telling him my water broke. Uhhh...EXCUSE ME!?!

Over the years my weight has been a serious issue. I was always told to cut fat and cut calories. This turned me pre-diabetic and gave me hypertension while my weight continued to climb. I did my own research (THANK YOU GARY TAUBES) and learned the actual history of dietary recommendations and diseases of civilization (heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, alzheimer's, etc...). What it basically boils down to is that current dietary advice coming from the government is making people chronically sick. By going back to a more evolutionary diet and ignoring the gooberment advice, I have dropped over 40 lbs and instead of being on the verge of a stroke, I now have the same BP I had in high school (and I am 45).

So, in my mind, the same idiots that are making us sick will now get total control of the health system. Will alternative treatments even get to be tried? If something doesn't work (like my old low fat, low calorie diet), what happens then? If you have a strange reaction to a pill, but that's what the government program says you are supposed to get, will I have the option to even try something else? This is of particular concern to me because despite the fact that I am a giant amazon, I can't take the dose someone my size should for several medications. I also react very badly to vicodin, percoset, etc...

Like I said before, time will tell.

 

[reinbeau]

So, I guess I would say that in many respects I am for a socialized medical system or a system that allows you the option for private or socialized medicine....and really really strict controls on the pharmaceutical, medical products and insurance industry.

You forgot one huge piece of the insurance issue - medical malpractice awards. There needs to be some controls on that, too, it's what has driven insurance rates the doctors pay right through the roof. It's all connected.

 

[farmerlor]

So, I guess I would say that in many respects I am for a socialized medical system or a system that allows you the option for private or socialized medicine....and really really strict controls on the pharmaceutical, medical products and insurance industry.

You forgot one huge piece of the insurance issue - medical malpractice awards. There needs to be some controls on that, too, it's what has driven insurance rates the doctors pay right through the roof. It's all connected.

I agree. I do not think there should be arbitrary caps because each situation is different. Obviously, if there is clear negligence and a doctor does something which radically changes someone's life and/or requires a caretaker of some kind for life that doctor should pay BUT I don't think the doctor should have to pay for the person to live in a mansion with a caretaker.

 

[FarmerChick]

good gracious there isn't a thing in this world that "isn't over-inflated"

med bills are huge. It is a business. They require alot of "expert" advice none of us can fathom if we aren't in "the field of medicine". so we pay dearly for that advice..........and remember, hospitals are a business and you know they must make a profit....and stay alive.

everyone has ups and downs with insurance

for me, it has saved me big time from bills that would have put me in the poor house---just my experience. everyone is different. everyone will see this one in "their" own experiences!!!!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Here's the thing that probably no one wants to hear: Doctors are human and sometimes they make mistakes. It is my opinion that if you see a doctor for services you should trust the doctor and yet understand that you are taking a risk (the severity of that risk depends upon the procedure). There are no guarantees in life.

But I guess lawyers need to make a living too.