Why we are in trouble, healthcare wise

[cravnravn]

I have a younger Son, hes 22, hes Mr knowitall, he moved back north and proceeded to get injured, not at work..And injured badly I might add..My pension would have covered him, IF HE WAS STILL IN SCHOOL, of course he isnt...

 

So, I finally get him back South, no one will treat him because of him having no insurance..We find a chiroprator, that will not take me over the coals. He has seen my son 3 times a week since Christmas, hes getting very little improvement, the Chiropractor said a MRI is needed..He sets us up at an imagining center,

 

I know what MRI's cost, they are upwards of 1800..we go there, and tell them my Sons story, and they do the MRI for 300 cash..

 

I dont get the price difference between, if you have Insurance or cash, If a company can do an MRI for 300 cash vs 1800 with insurance, some sort of investigation is needed.

 

 

Now the fun begins, he has 2 blown discs in his back..

[Dunno]

 

If you need a reference guide to actual market prices for various procedures, this is the clinic they are talking about.

 

I hope he gets well soon.

[papasmurfbell]

http://www.facebook.com/WeAreMarkSchmidter#!/WeAreMarkSchmidter/info

 

 

Is your wallet weeping from high health care costs? TIME’s Steven Brill explains in their new cover piece 'Bitter Pill'

Despite President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation, medical costs continue to rise every year in the U.S. This week's TIME cover story "Bitter Pill: Why medical bills are killing us" takes an exhaustive look at exactly why the bills are piling so high for so many Americans.

According to the report, published in partnership with CNN, the U.S. will spend roughly $2.8 trillion on health care this year. That is 27% more per capita than most other developed nations, which amounts to an extra $750 billion. TIME magazine contributor Steven Brill joins “Starting Point” to discuss his story and break down the exorbitant health care costs.

In his research, Brill found that two economies exist in this country: one comprised of regular Americans, and the other is the health care economy. The health care economy 'is prospering, it's thriving, adding jobs all the time, everybody's making money,” Brill says.

“GE is making money on CAT scans, and your favorite local hospital you think is non-profit hospital is making tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,” he says.

Early on in his article, Brill discusses the “chargemaster,” which is a “7,000, 10,000 item schedule of fees so everything that happens to you at the hospital whether it's outpatient or inpatient or even in a lab has a charge.” He explains, “If someone hands you a tissue that might be $1 or $2. If you get...a blood test that is totally routine, which costs the hospital basically nothing, that could be $150 at one hospital, it could be $250 at another hospital. Nobody can explain why.”

Brill says that besides the hospital and doctors, an insurance company will also get a discount off the chargemaster. “But your insurance company will probably get a 40% discount, maybe a 50% discount, but a 50% discount off of a $25 bill for Niacin is still a lot of money for the hospital,” he says.

Brill adds that “the hospital CEOs are making $2, $3, $5 million a year. The hospitals are making exorbitant profits and the fundraiser you go to probably accounts for one half of 1% of their revenue. The real revenue is from the Niacin pills but it’s also from the cancer drugs where they might charge the patient $10,000 or $11,000. It might cost them $4,000 and it might cost the drug company $100 or $200.”

 

[vmax]

Sorry to hear about your son.

There is a huge population of Americans who fall between the cracks and don't have health insurance. It's so screwed up I don't know where to begin.

[papasmurfbell]

I saw this morning that insurance companies do not think hearing aids for kids are required. They think kids going deaf is fine.

[cravnravn]

Sorry to hear about your son.

There is a huge population of Americans who fall between the cracks and don't have health insurance. It's so screwed up I don't know where to begin.

 

Its a mess, I personally have already layed out 1700 out of my pocket, and hes not really getting any better, I think hes going to have to go the Binder & Binder route..

 

Sad thing is, if he would have went to a tech school, my pension insurance would cover him til age 26!!!!

[dc.]

I think it was 60 Minutes who had a big report in the middle of the NFL season, on hospital purchasing co-ops - some complex system where, in decades past hospitals would group together to order their supplies to get cheaper prices. But like everything, it's been corrupted.

 

Now, the co-ops (the customers, technically) are getting kickbacks from major medical manufacturers on their own purchases, so they have incentive to buy higher priced (and sometimes lower quality) products, and then pass the cost on to the patient. The co-op group then gets a kickback from the companies and makes some extra cash for its members.

 

Not only is it incredibly sketchy and probably illegal, but these co-op buying groups now control so much of the market across the country that they are practically oligopolies. New products, new companies, and small hospitals cannot match price or break the cartel - so we get screwed.

 

The more I read, the more I study, the more I try to understand... the more I am convinced a single-payer option is the only option to fix the damn thing. (And morally, it's probably the best option as well - but that's another debate)

[dc.]

In looking for the other 60 Minutes piece, I found this one from December: hospitals setting admission quotas for doctors. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57556670/hospitals-the-cost-of-admission/?pageNum=3

[papasmurfbell]

Hell congress should make it so we can negotiate with pharma for better prices or get drugs in Canada. Oh yeah they have been paid off by pharma. Never mind.

[cravnravn]

I think it was 60 Minutes who had a big report in the middle of the NFL season, on hospital purchasing co-ops - some complex system where, in decades past hospitals would group together to order their supplies to get cheaper prices. But like everything, it's been corrupted.

 

Now, the co-ops (the customers, technically) are getting kickbacks from major medical manufacturers on their own purchases, so they have incentive to buy higher priced (and sometimes lower quality) products, and then pass the cost on to the patient. The co-op group then gets a kickback from the companies and makes some extra cash for its members.

 

Not only is it incredibly sketchy and probably illegal, but these co-op buying groups now control so much of the market across the country that they are practically oligopolies. New products, new companies, and small hospitals cannot match price or break the cartel - so we get screwed.

 

The more I read, the more I study, the more I try to understand... the more I am convinced a single-payer option is the only option to fix the damn thing. (And morally, it's probably the best option as well - but that's another debate)

 

Agree 100% and another thing I get tired of hearing about, is the high cost of malpractice insurance they must carry...HEY DUMMIES, Malpractice rates is regulated by supply and demand, just like anything else, you Dr's stop worrying about tee times, Beamers, and what intern you are planning to screw and did your jobs then maybe you wouldnt be smacked with outrageous law suits..

[dc.]

Malpractice is out of control, though. Medicine is certainly science, but it's also investigative. Of course I want the right treatment, right away with no mistakes. But a 'rash' could be anything from a bug bite to an STD to a precursor to a much bigger issue. Mild incontinence could be diabetes, cancer or just getting old. You either pay all of the costs for all of the tests - which likely create more questions than answers - or you trust your doctor. But you don't sue him unless something has really gone wrong. And too many people think they know better. How about we ban pharma commercials? You shouldn't be going in "asking" your doctor about your symptoms and all the drugs, he should be asking you and guiding you. But if he says "no, you don't need ________" - most people just go find another doctor until they get a yes. And then when the drug gives them other side effects, they sue the doc and the pharma. Sweet.

 

I have a few friends who are doctors at various levels in the field - it's criminal to overbill, but it's also criminal and negligent to underbill. The assumption is you are trying to hide something or cover something up. They can't win. It's an unenviable spot.

[cravnravn]

The Pharma commercials are pathetic. more time is devoted to the side effects then the actual product---WTF

 

Short story, my Dad was diagnosed in 2006 with stage 4 small cell Cancer, they gave him 3 months at the most..At that time our good friend Sock was also going through the same thing, I spoke with Sock on many occasions, about his treatments, looked them up on line then would pass it on to my Dad,.The exact pill Sock was taken, was manufactured by my dads insurance company...My Dad was denied, because his cancer was stage 4, and the pill was 1000.00 a day "miracle pill", and the insurance company figured it was a waste of money..