Healthcare and Capitalism - Ya Gotta Love It in the USA!

[Captain Kawaii]

Maryland Woman pays $55,000 for a copperhead snake bite anti-venom and 18 hours in the hospital.

Not to be outdone an Arizona hospital charged a woman $83,000 for a scorpion treatment.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...150152873.html


IN user comments it was noted a man paid for copperhead bite treatment for his mixed breed dog. $59 at the vets office.

I am looking for partners to open a venomous creature milking facility.

Fuck Cows, lets milk SNAKES and SCORPIONS!

[CDSmith]

I think it was more the 18 hours in hospital than the anti-venom itself that ran up the $55K tab.

Those alchohol swabs, couple feet of bandages, tape, and IV bags really add up. :D

[Barry-xlovecam]

Her insurance lapsed and she got the "retail customer's bill".

The article didn't say she had paid the bill yet.

Settle it, or get sued. $28K would probably settle it.

Predatory pricing for the uninsured -- when the uninsured don't pay the ridiculous prices they are charged for the services it gets factored into the insured price charged.

In the end even if the hospital gets governmental payment the insured or the taxpayer picks up the tab.

The whole health delivery system is fucked up in the USA.

[signupdamnit]

What gets me is that the system is pretty crappy even for people with good insurance. The insurance company is doing everything they can get away with doing to keep costs low. That often goes counter to your best interests. Especially as it relates to getting tests done or preventative care. The insurance company usually wants to do everything they can to avoid having you see any specialist so usually you are stuck with a general practitioner who knows a little bit about everything but not a lot about your specific ailments. By the time the insurance company gives in, it could be too late and it might make a big difference. It's not a big deal when you are younger and in good health but when you are older this really matters a lot.

[Robbie]

Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam

Her insurance lapsed and she got the "retail customer's bill".

The article didn't say she had paid the bill yet.

Settle it, or get sued. $28K would probably settle it.

Predatory pricing for the uninsured -- when the uninsured don't pay the ridiculous prices they are charged for the services it gets factored into the insured price charged.

In the end even if the hospital gets governmental payment the insured or the taxpayer picks up the tab.

The whole health delivery system is fucked up in the USA.

You've got that 100% backwards.

Having a horrible car accident in 2002 taught me how it works. I broke my neck and both arms in the accident.

To make a long story short, I ended up with several hundred thousand dollars in hospital bills. No insurance.

After getting out of the hospital and going home I got a call from the COMPANY that owned that hospital (and dozens of others).

A few phone calls from them later and I was talking to a "manager".

He told me that what they were going to do was charge me the REAL price instead of what they show publicly for insurance.

My total bill was something like $15,000 or so. I paid it off in payments over the year.

I asked him how that worked.

He told me that the "business" worked like that. They have outrageous prices set up. The insurance company uses those prices to "adjust" their premiums. And then end up with the "negotiated" price that I was ended up paying. (there is no "negotiation", the insurance company simply pays the hospital the REAL prices)

So on paper everything looks outrageously expensive.

It's a total and complete scam.

Which is why "ObamaCare" is so disappointing because it simply is a deal that makes the insurance companies even more money.

Anyway, all the hype and bullshit that people feed you with statistics are all based on FALSE numbers.
That's right. That little paper dixie cup that you drank water from to take those two tylenols? It doesn't REALLY cost $50 and the tylenols didn't really cost $10 each.

It's flat out made up with the insurance company. And in the end, the insurance company doesn't actually pay that to the hospital either.

It's just a way to raise premiums.

I always wondered about that. And then it happened to me, and I saw it work and got the lowdown straight from the horses mouth. No theorizing, no reading about it...I was told straight up from the source.

[2MuchMark]

Arizona has refused to accept funds or participate in the Obamacare program.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013...ose-8-billion/

[Robbie]

Originally Posted by **********

Arizona has refused to accept funds or participate in the Obamacare program.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013...ose-8-billion/

So did the entire United States Congress and Senate (Harry Reid said "no way" he wanted to be part of it personally).

Also all the big unions are opting out of it as well.

And so far 21 states have opted out of the Medicaid expansion that ObamaCare was imposing on them.

The law is an absolute trainwreck as far as logistics and execution are concerned. Not well written, not well thought out...that's what happens when politicians try to shove something through using procedural tricks to get the right amount of votes in the Senate as fast as they could (without even reading it!)

[Captain Kawaii]

I have high blood pressure and can not get insurance that will cover treatment.

Go figure, me high blood pressure, lol.

So I am moving to a country with national healthcare where I will be covered.

Have to. Can't afford to be here without insurance. And even with insurance I worry about the quality of what I do get. So far, with UCLA medical center residents...has been hit or miss.

[Spudstr]

ON the bright side with obamacare.. the insurance companies can only keep 20% of your premium you pay if you don't use it all.

[Joshua G]

the problem is simple. the country continues to try & make capitalism & healthcare work together. As healthcare inherently is a monopoly style industry, you get lots of shenanigans with prices.

until this country catches up to every other modern country & does single payer, the nonsense will continue & healthcare execs will keep making billions on the back of taxpayers.

i'll never understand how single payer is already provided via medicare, medicaid & the VA, but that model is no good for anyone else.

[Barry-xlovecam]

Plead poverty and offer the 10 cents on the dollar.

Maybe, the settlement statements I see are all paper bullshit. If so, then it is fraud:

PHP is an acronym -- Physicians Health Plan (Insurance)

It's predatory (deceptive is a nicer term ) pricing that was my point.