I work in the personal finance forums. The number of times people get "surprise! your hospital was in network but the (anesthesiologist/specialist/surgeon) wasn't!" is amazing. And they are rarely willing to budge much. If you have savings, they want it. If you don't have savings, they will want it.
Socialism
Socialism
It's not me, it's someone else.
Socialism
That's not a hospital problem. That's an insurance problem. And if they were precertified, they have a legal case against the insurance company.TheCatt wrote:I work in the personal finance forums. The number of times people get "surprise! your hospital was in network but the (anesthesiologist/specialist/surgeon) wasn't!" is amazing. And they are rarely willing to budge much. If you have savings, they want it. If you don't have savings, they will want it.
"... and then I was forced to walk the Trail of Tears." - Elizabeth Warren
Socialism
It's a heatlhcare problem. Our system sucks.Vince wrote:That's not a hospital problem. That's an insurance problem. And if they were precertified, they have a legal case against the insurance company.TheCatt wrote:I work in the personal finance forums. The number of times people get "surprise! your hospital was in network but the (anesthesiologist/specialist/surgeon) wasn't!" is amazing. And they are rarely willing to budge much. If you have savings, they want it. If you don't have savings, they will want it.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Socialism
People should really pay more attention to what medical centers they are transferred to when very sick
People should... I don't know? Never trust anyone? Waste their lives dealing with benefits + coverage?
$3k for a baby? Babies are priceless!
Exercise is probably too dangerous
People should... I don't know? Never trust anyone? Waste their lives dealing with benefits + coverage?
$3k for a baby? Babies are priceless!
Exercise is probably too dangerous
It's not me, it's someone else.
Socialism
No thanks.
Save the Earth, let the fatties eat themselves to death!
They all suck.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Socialism
Was thinking about middle men, today.
There's a layer of "insurance," which isn't, between the consumer and the health care providers. These insurance companies make gigantic profits.
There's a layer of loan providers between students and providers of higher education. These loan providers make gigantic profits.
There's a layer of car dealerships, protected by law, between consumers and car manufacturers. These dealers don't make gigantic profits, but are generally considered comfortable.
Just imagine how much money would be saved by the consumers if these middle men didn't exist. Then think about how much lobbying those first two exampled middlemen give to lawmakers, and how much the consumers get fucked over by the cost of health care, and the cost of higher education. I says, remove those middlemen, return health care and education back to the laws of the free market, and watch those costs return to normal when there wasn't a middleman sucking gigantic profits out of the process.
Then kill everyone who was involved by dragging them through the streets behind horses so it doesn't happen again.
There's a layer of "insurance," which isn't, between the consumer and the health care providers. These insurance companies make gigantic profits.
There's a layer of loan providers between students and providers of higher education. These loan providers make gigantic profits.
There's a layer of car dealerships, protected by law, between consumers and car manufacturers. These dealers don't make gigantic profits, but are generally considered comfortable.
Just imagine how much money would be saved by the consumers if these middle men didn't exist. Then think about how much lobbying those first two exampled middlemen give to lawmakers, and how much the consumers get fucked over by the cost of health care, and the cost of higher education. I says, remove those middlemen, return health care and education back to the laws of the free market, and watch those costs return to normal when there wasn't a middleman sucking gigantic profits out of the process.
Then kill everyone who was involved by dragging them through the streets behind horses so it doesn't happen again.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Socialism
The insurance companies take about 20% of healthcare revenue, iirc. In theory they negotiate lower rates, refuse some expensive treatments, etc.
There goes health treatment for 1/2 of America or more. Assuming you're getting rid of government middlemen too.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Socialism
All middlemen. The costs will reach equilibrium to where the most people can afford to pay.
They say I cost $150 to be born, in 1971. Probably a couple thou in today dollars. Too bad we didn't have "insurance" back then to mitigate some of that cost.
They say I cost $150 to be born, in 1971. Probably a couple thou in today dollars. Too bad we didn't have "insurance" back then to mitigate some of that cost.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Socialism
$150 is $1,000 today, give or take.
Our oldest, with insurance, Was $200. Our youngest, with different insurance, was $2,500.
On the other hand, they have a lot more equipment around for births than they used to.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Socialism
Is that "health insurance takes 20% of revenue" an honest percentage, if costs of care have gone up unnaturally fast due to the insurance industry masking the true cost to consumers?
Does it not behoove the insurance companies for costs to go up, so premiums can go up, so profits can go up?
Does it not behoove the insurance companies for costs to go up, so premiums can go up, so profits can go up?
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Socialism
20% is the share of current expenses, obviously it's much more complicated based on the history and evolution of pricing.GORDON wrote: Is that "health insurance takes 20% of revenue" an honest percentage, if costs of care have gone up unnaturally fast due to the insurance industry masking the true cost to consumers?
Does it not behoove the insurance companies for costs to go up, so premiums can go up, so profits can go up?
It's garbage, but I think we're at a point where too many cannot afford something that's essential, and making it market based aint going to fix it.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Socialism
Thought exercise - Imagine what happens on day 1, no insurance companies, no government subsidizing of health care. Correction: insurance is insurance, for catastrophic care. Sniffles get paid cash. No copays, no "free" visits, no out-of-pocket minimum.
Day 1, 99% of all customers turned away because they can't afford what the hospitals/doctors bill the insurance companies.
Day 7 - Faced by almost zero revenue, hospitals and private practices jettison all administration that existed to work with the insurance companies and government. Many begin setting set prices for 1 hour or less visits... $50ish. More for the better parts of town.
Day 14 - Hospitals begin to discover patients aren't going to pay $2 for a straw in their milk, and $50 for a visiting specialist to walk into their room and look at a chart for 20 seconds, without prior consent.
I think by day 30 we'd have a much better look at how much health care really costs, as hundreds of thousands of hospital/insurance company administrators go on unemployment.
I don't know.
But I don't think it can all be broken worse than it is now.
Day 1, 99% of all customers turned away because they can't afford what the hospitals/doctors bill the insurance companies.
Day 7 - Faced by almost zero revenue, hospitals and private practices jettison all administration that existed to work with the insurance companies and government. Many begin setting set prices for 1 hour or less visits... $50ish. More for the better parts of town.
Day 14 - Hospitals begin to discover patients aren't going to pay $2 for a straw in their milk, and $50 for a visiting specialist to walk into their room and look at a chart for 20 seconds, without prior consent.
I think by day 30 we'd have a much better look at how much health care really costs, as hundreds of thousands of hospital/insurance company administrators go on unemployment.
I don't know.
But I don't think it can all be broken worse than it is now.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Socialism
Damn do I hope you're not wrong because the system is a gigantic clusterfuck at the moment.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Socialism
The middlemen are making billions and not actually providing the healthcare services. It is so broken, and no one even sees it. But the leeches have lobbyists, and that's why we're back to "nothing gets fixed without blood." They own the people making the laws keeping them in business.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Socialism
I cannot argue with this.
It will either take some revolutionary legal effort to clean out corruption or a violent uprising by the people.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Socialism
The only thing that concerns me about the Overthrow are the people who will rise to the top as leaders. I'm picturing psychotic SJW progressives who have the charisma to inspire the fear to point a finger and say, "Bring me his head," and it'll actually get done.
I'm the kind of person who will chafe under that bridle, and end up getting summarily executed when I tell some hippie to get fucked even though we share the same philosophical goals of "damn the man."
I'm the kind of person who will chafe under that bridle, and end up getting summarily executed when I tell some hippie to get fucked even though we share the same philosophical goals of "damn the man."
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Socialism
Those type of people only thrive under government protection. They would be the last ones who would want to see power returned to the people.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Socialism
If you want to see what happens to medical costs when people have to pay it out of pocket, look at Lasik eye surgery. That's way lower than where it started.
"... and then I was forced to walk the Trail of Tears." - Elizabeth Warren
Socialism
I live in NC. I work for a company HQd in MA. My insurance in through a company in MA, that exists everywhere, afaik: Blue Cross Blue Shield.
So we call to ask about some benefit. 5 minutes to get a to human of course. Then, we get a human, and we give them the medical code: BUT THE MEDICAL CODE MEANS NOTHING TO THEM BECAUSE WE LIVE IN NC AND THEY ARE IN MA.
So now we're on hold again. Fuck this whole mess.
So we call to ask about some benefit. 5 minutes to get a to human of course. Then, we get a human, and we give them the medical code: BUT THE MEDICAL CODE MEANS NOTHING TO THEM BECAUSE WE LIVE IN NC AND THEY ARE IN MA.
So now we're on hold again. Fuck this whole mess.
It's not me, it's someone else.