OT Surgery prices.

From Carpe Diem:

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Reply to
Dean Hoffman
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A point here?

Reply to
gonjah

No, you just pay for it differently.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Their medical personnel are slaves who work for no pay and all medicine and medical supplies are provided by the medical fairy who waves its magic wand and sprinkles pixie dust so the items just appear before your eyes. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

What I don't is understand why I had to pay over $300 in co-pays for a test that routinely saves the insurance company billions. When I was in a HMO plan *all* screens were *always* no cost to me. In fact, I had little out of pocket, period.

Reply to
gonjah

Amen. They can take their national health care and shove it.

Reply to
gonjah

The average person stays with an insurance for less than 5 years while most of these screenings take 20 years or more to show up. Hard for Aetna to justify paying for a test that will benefit United Healthcare. This was made worse over the roughly the same time span by people leaving employers at least as often meaning the employers (who are the REAL customers of the insurance companies and not thee and me) had little incentive to pay for such things. HMOs also skewed the demand curve for health care by hiding so much of the real costs and cementing the idea that people were entitled to free healthcare. Your comment sorta brings that out. Why should YOU have to pay for a screening test that would save the insurance company billions? The real question is why should the insurance company pay for a screening test that will impact on YOUR health. The theory is that my health is somehow the responsibility of the insurance company (is not at all rare).

Reply to
Kurt Ullman

Good comment. Not sure I totally agree with the HMO comment but do they have their faults. Without a doubt, we had our best coverage under Lovelace and Presbyterian HMO's in New Mexico. Very big on screens.

IMO "we" are the primary care givers for our own healthcare which is why I vehemently oppose national heathcare. I think we agree on the main issue. A lot of good it does to have national hc and eat "bangers and mash" each morning for breakfast. That's just BS. I can't understand why so many people don't get it. My bro complains about hc while he's puffing on a ciggy.

Reply to
gonjah

I know people in the UK that get extra medical insurance from their company so they can get services sooner. They will use it to pay the doctor who will take a day's vacation to tend to them.

Otherwise they wait months to see necessary specialists or get something done.

I've heard similar stories from Canada. This was years ago but doctors would work weekends in private hospitals where they could make real money.

Reply to
Frank

That sounds totally unfair and capitalistic! How dare they buy good care while their comrades suffer. We should send Obama to help them.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Giggle.

Reply to
HeyBub

Because the test may show a disease/defect in one out of a million tests while costing $3,000.

If the malady is allowed to come to fruition, that is, it becomes obvious and costs only $5,000 to treat, why would the insurance company pay out $3 trillion to save $5k?

Reply to
HeyBub

Yep. If you can GET the service. There are more MRI machines in my town than in ALL of Canada*.

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  • The last figures I saw, there were 207 MRI machines in Canada. The hospital around the corner from my house has two. No telling what the other hospitals have, but there are over 50 "Imaging Centers" in my town with CAT scanners, MRIs, and other devices.

As of March, 2011, there were 304 MRI machines in the UK.

Reply to
HeyBub

Yeah. I see your point. Some of tests are expensive, in themselves, and doctors can run too many, too often. The physicals and blood-work are still "no co-pay" AFAICT. Or at least a low co-pay.

Reply to
gonjah

I just thought it might interest some folks. It reminds me a bit of when I was a kid 40+ years ago. My mom would take me to the doc, get me fixed up, and pay on the way out. Cash and carry. I wonder how prices would be if that was the general rule now.

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

It's already here, and has been for a long time. If you're "vehement," you should be out there picketing against Medicare and Medicaid. And if you're in charge of your own health care, quit whining about $300 in co-pays. Makes you sound like a commie.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Hummmm Reading impaired? How much of a copay for your head injury?

Reply to
gonjah

AFAIK, because the US is one of the leaders in research and development, we get the tab. In Japan I understand the government sets a low price for MRIs so they had to develop a cheaper MRI machine. So if you needed an MRI, it costs the patient a fraction of what it costs here.

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I ran accounts receivable for several clinics and the prices were based on what Medicare would pay. We adjusted private pay accordingly. So if Medicare went up, so did private. I'm not sure if this is as true anymore but, for the 10 years I worked accounts receivable, Medicare was driving up the prices each year. Your tax dollars at work.

Reply to
gonjah

Hummm? What the hell kind of word is that? And you say *I* have a brain injury? Nope. You were whining about $300 in co-pays, weren't you? Why is that? Sounds like somebody else is subsidizing you. You said you're vehemently opposed to national health care, but the gov is already providing at least 50% of all health care costs. Health care is already a socialist "enterprise." If you stand by your words, and are sincerely "vehement," you should be doing all you can to erase the blight of Medicare and Medicaid. Hope you're not one of these old nut jobs on Medicare who think you're not already on "national health care." You know, "Keep your filthy government hands off my Medicare!" Now I'll get off this, and expect you to come out and say you want Medicare and Medicaid abolished. That gives you a chance to save face.

Reply to
Vic Smith

That's PRIVATE INSURANCE. Get someone to explain it to you. ;)

Besides it was a question. No whining unless you want to read it that way. Go look at the responses and my response.

Huh? Are you from Canada?

Yeah. Vehement is a strong word, but I mean it relatively. I've been against big government all my life. I think it began in the 4th or 5th grade. You know: paper route, sold seeds door to door, Grit, worked at the Circle K before it was legal. Never excepted hand outs and we were poor. Always relied on family and we were proud of it.

My wife and I take very good care of ourselves. We swim and I have to do

30 mins on the tread mill after this post. But yeah I'm a old nut job.

don't need but thanks I guess

Oh yeah. Fu_k medicare and federal portion of medicaid. We can fight with our state legislature.

I feel very strongly about that. I'm beyond most conservatives when it comes to limiting the size of our government. I'm so far to the right I can only classify myself as a Libertarian. Don't let "gonjah" fool you. I'm stone cold sober. ;)

Reply to
gonjah

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