healthcare

[kmccune]

just got my copay amount for me 90 sec catscan
(,$195.00).totql price 2246.00 glad I didnt have to pay it all ,I was in there maybe 5 minutes at most ,the old guy that does these things has 2 assistants that as far as I can tell that do nothing.They kept me waiting 4 hrs to hear the results ,am starting to really have a problem with the health system as to how it functions ,every office they send me to has the same forms to fill out,ask the same questions ,why all this nonsense ,does the internewt not exist any more and to top this off, the Drs office will not email me any results,they insist on phone calls(most of the time I am out of service ) they will have to stop milking me shortly as I am out of money ,I believe there is a disconnect between the healthcare system and the general public(they charged more for 90 secs then I make in a month)
Just a gripe,from now on I am planning on refusing most superflous testing,blood tests everytime you go in the office ,really ?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Ghost Story (Ricky Gervais) has a great sequence where he refuses to answers questions at the reception desk when he goes in for his routine colonoscopy.

"How many drinks do you have during a typical week?"
"What's that got to do with anything?
"They want to know"
"Well yes THEY want to know but I don't want my personal details fondled and spread all over the internet"
"I'll put 'None' then"

[kmccune]

Good reply.

[Bicycle Bill]

Next time you're sick, just die like a good little boy and save all the high-tech diagnostic technology and other life-saving gizmos for the people who are willing to pay for them.

-"BB"-

[kmccune]

Exactly ,that is what I am contemplating ,but on the whole I believe single payer or social medicine would be better ,many of us cant afford a platinum plan or a thousand dollars for the doctor that walks by the door on the way to the Kuerig machine .(BTW most Drs even in this economically depressed area are welloff,owning Horse farms hunting camps ,boats,airplanes ,etc -so dont cry Dr poverty on me .

[rubato]

Obamacare, just a step on the road to national health.


yrs,
rubato

[kmccune]

Maybe Hillary or Tim Kaine will straighten out this health care debacle ,when they are elected.

[Big RR]

that depends on the composition of Congress, and how well the program could be sold to the people.

[kmccune]

True,I keep reading on "Quora " the pros and cons of Europeans that move to the US,the one thing they agree on is the absurd cost of healthcare in the US ( another thing is how huge everything is in America- plus they are surprised at how friendly and helpful most Americans are )

[MGMcAnick]

You paid $195.00 out of $2246.00. I'm not sure I see a reason to complain.

[Long Run]

I think he was commenting on how expensive even simple medical procedures are. And $195 is real money, especially for lower incomes. The co-pays and deductibles are a big reason the Exchange plans are so unpopular with healthy people. They pay a substantial premium, and then if they get sick or injured, they have to pay the next $X,000 out of pocket before any insurance kicks in. Medical care is expensive, no matter how we divvy up who pays what. That's why there are no easy answers to making it work better.

[dales]

My daughters and their respective husbands (both parties in their 30's and in superb health) are getting reamed!

[Big RR]

I think he was commenting on how expensive even simple medical procedures are. And $195 is real money, especially for lower incomes. The co-pays and deductibles are a big reason the Exchange plans are so unpopular with healthy people. They pay a substantial premium, and then if they get sick or injured, they have to pay the next $X,000 out of pocket before any insurance kicks in. Medical care is expensive, no matter how we divvy up who pays what. That's why there are no easy answers to making it work better.

You make a good point there LR, but then one serious illness or injury and they'd be glad they have the insurance.

But again, insurance is not and has not ever been a zero sum game--you should be grateful if you have it and have not had to use it all that much. I know I am.

[oldr_n_wsr]

When I was growing up, we only had major medical and routine (checkups, sick, etc) doctor visits we paid for out of pocket. No co-pays, no deductables, you just paid the doctor for the visit. And he did house calls one or two days a week.
Dr Siegel was his name and he had a practice in his house on Mineola Blvd in Mineola.
It was just him. No receptionist, no insurance specialists. Walk in's were the rule not the exception.

[Big RR]

Well it was the insurance companies that pushed for setting up networks and including primary and preventative care because these services saved money in the long run. And if you had a serious disease or injury, major medical had plenty of copays and deductibles.

I believe under obamacare you can opt to have that kind of a policy if it's what you want. I know a number of companies offer this type of policy as well as a high deductible (the first $5000 or $10,000 is yours before the insurance kicks in) and they are ACA compliant.

[Long Run]

The ACA does appear to have a "bar-bell strategy". It mandates full coverage for preventative care and then provides for coverage for really expensive items (by limiting the out of pocket max and eliminating the annual/lifetime limits). The middle several thousand dollars of medical costs are mostly on the insured to pay out of pocket.

[kmccune]

MG, in reply to what you said(lost my first reply ,thanks to this crazy computer and keyboard) .I was scheduled for another MRI this winter I will refuse it it costs almost $17,000 for over 90 minutes of bladder bursting discomfort(again no effort to ease my pain) on the catscan,I cannot see why it costs $25 a second to sit in that chair.I have started to refuse some procedures when I found out what they cost the insurance company.During the MRIs they seem to refuse to look at what is really bothering you while they are in the area ,I know its all about the money but give me a break.
The major HMO in this area refused to let another imaging service establish an office here(they also made the pharmaceys stop filling the prescriptions ,written by non affiliated pain clinics-How do I know? an RPH told me )
In a letter of rebuttal the major hospital group admitted they didnt want any competition,the old outdated MRI machines were "cash cows " their words ,believe or not .I used to do "orbits " before an MRI,till I found out what a joke that was,My wife who is an RN( the only reason I am covered under a health plan that is a little better then "Bronze") tried to warn me about these never ending referral visits ,now I under stand .