Thoughts on health insurance in America

[greenminer]

TOPIC should say health care costs...sorry for confusion!

Is this legitimate?

http://youtu.be/qSjGouBmo0M

Edited September 20, 2013 by greenminer

[MDH]

So last summer I got food poisoning, violently. I was dry heaving for hours and from previous experience knew there was a shot I could get to make this stop. I go into Baylor Uptown and tell them I need this shot. They say I was most likely dehydrated, which was likely, so I agreed to have one bag of IV fluids dumped into me. I come out an hour later and go home.

A month later I get a bill for $1,800. ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS. I'm a healthy, active 27 year old so naturally I have a HDHP. I got to eat all of that.

Guess what? I had this EXACT same shot while at UNT, that's how I knew it existed. At UNT I did not buy the supplemental insurance and I actually did not have private insurance either - I was rolling the dice.

I was billed $20. One bag of IV was the only difference, that does not cost $1,780.

Edited September 20, 2013 by MDH

[MDH]

While at UNT I also came down with a relapse of mono (I swear I'm healthy) but this time I had private insurance. I became very ill, to the point I thought Dr. House would have to cure me. After days of high fever and fainting I go into the ER. I spend 3 days in Denton Regional. All that's given to me is bags of IV fluid. The insurance company was billed over $14,000 for this.

[Harry]

How to Reduce Healthcare Spending: Lies: 1 Wellness 2 Tort Reform 3 Insuring the uninsured Truths: 1 Do less 2 Pay less 3 More competition

— Amitabh Chandra (@amitabhchandra2)

September 16, 2013

[UNTflyer]

I was very sick last week during my trip to PIT. I wound up going to the Minute Clinic at CVS, in and out in 20 minutes (false advertising?). I was diagnosed with an ear infection, sinusitis, and an upper respiratory infection. In the end my co-pay was $20 and my prescriptions were $2.73

Stay out of the Emergency Room unless you are Mostly Dead.

[UNTFan23]

Hospitals are black holes for your money. Stay away if you can help it.

Edited September 20, 2013 by UNTFan23

[oldguystudent]

I was very sick last week during my trip to PIT. I wound up going to the Minute Clinic at CVS, in and out in 20 minutes (false advertising?). I was diagnosed with an ear infection, sinusitis, and an upper respiratory infection. In the end my co-pay was $20 and my prescriptions were $2.73

Stay out of the Emergency Room unless you are Mostly Dead.

I actually agree with you on that one. There was a time when I was in grad school, and I knew I didn't have insurance for my daughter, I had no idea if her mother was carrying any at the time. We went to minute clinic. Strep throat diagnosis, some anti-biotics. Think I got out of there for something like $75 without insurance.

[forevereagle]

The CareNows and others like them are nice to save some money as well. They can do a little more but still can get you taken care of for far less than the ER. For kids, if you can find an Acute Kids, do it. My son got sick awhile back and we took him to one. Great experience. They saw him quickly and got him in and out in under an hour with a $20 copay.

[Rudy]

Last summer I was on duty and got cut. I had to drive myself to the ER to get stitches. 20 minutes later and 3 stitches, I was back on patrol. $1600 fKing dollars. I have health insurance, but the deductible is so friggin high, I had to pay it all out of pocket.

[LongJim]

I actually agree with you on that one. There was a time when I was in grad school, and I knew I didn't have insurance for my daughter, I had no idea if her mother was carrying any at the time. We went to minute clinic. Strep throat diagnosis, some anti-biotics. Think I got out of there for something like $75 without insurance.

So, you mean that you went in without insurance, paid the provider directly, and got out for $75 without insurance? You mean you didn't have to have insurance at all? And it only cost $75? How on earth were they able to do that, what with the cost of healthcare so high?

[oldguystudent]

So, you mean that you went in without insurance, paid the provider directly, and got out for $75 without insurance? You mean you didn't have to have insurance at all? And it only cost $75? How on earth were they able to do that, what with the cost of healthcare so high?

Pfft. The answer to that from my vantage point is the same as to the question of what you get when you cross and elephant and a rhino. I'm on a high deductible with an HSA debit card right now with about two years deductibles built up in the HSA. My employer pays the entirety of my high deductible premiums, and it has 100% coverage after deductible with no lifetime limits. So as long as I keep working here, my health care is essentially free for the duration regardless of what Washington does.

[JesseMartin]

The cost of healthcare can't be discussed without overall policies. I'm not trying to turn this into a debate thread worthy of moving to the "Cage Fighting" thread but really, it's insane. Other countries that are considered "conservative" have universal healthcare without the excessive expenses. The reason I don't think this belongs in the politics thread is that the level of politics injected into the issue are unnecessary...calling it "socialized healthcare" is like saying we have a "socialized military". The biggest priority should be to keep people alive and kicking so that they can be productive consumers and taxpayers, so military and health should be part of the top tier of concern.

The reason healthcare can be so expensive (depending on what type of care you seek, your preferred provider, your coverage, etc.) is because of the huge amount of money spent ON politics. The money spent on lobbying and faux advertising in the pursuit of brand equity is labeled as part of the free market, and is a deceit even to many who support "free market economics".

And now that you probably think you have me figured out, let me tell you that I am a huge proponent of the real free market. Our ingenuity and development of new pharmaceuticals and medical techniques should absolutely yield positive results for the pioneers that advance them. But for your actual care, the taxation pay-in without the excesses of political lobbying funds and other excessive equity expenses would still allow for considerable funds for all of the providers and companies that house and utilize them.

I could really go on about this quite a bit but really, the fact is that costs for countries that are far from socialists are so reasonable and we are the only ones that try to make it seem like a "commie issue". So if knowing you have care available becomes as natural as knowing you have a badass military, it becomes less of a political hot-button and more of a normal part of life. Level of care is not diminished, but the majority of excesses - primarily in terms of lobbying, equity attempts, and ads - are eliminated.

So, in a sense, I suppose this post has, more than anything, been my defense in regard to why discussion of healthcare shouldn't be that much of a political issue. I know liberals and conservatives alike that think that this is a bizarre stance, but to me, there really is a parallel between saying "Our nation should have a military" and "Our nation should have health coverage". Politically, you may differ on the details, but when you remove the politics you're just talking about more reasonable rates that allow you to keep everybody healthy and alive.

[oldguystudent]

One way or the other there is nearly certain to be a revolt a la the taxpayer revolts of the late 70s early 80s.

[KRAM1]

Interesting piece in today's Dallas Morning News regarding limiting choice with Obamacare. Have yet to find anything positive about this massive mistake. All the folks who actually read and studied the bill BEFORE it was passed and signed into law predicted all that is now being seen as to costs, companies dropping coverage, cutting back on hours for employees, dropping coverage and forcing folks to the exchanges, the actual high costs for low income folks, etc., etc.

Massive massive mistake, but hey, the Obama folks got to say "see, look what we did..,we love the people". Ha! Biggest screw job in the history of legislation and that is saying something.

[JesseMartin]

I think the reason Obamacare is and will continue to be problematic is that it's a half-assed attempt to do what works for pretty much everybody else. Because of political infighting (which basically boils down to wanting to keep relationships and money rolling in from pharma companies and such), they kept the issue nice and political and overcomplicated it. So by trying to do something that would be pretty reasonable, Obama may have inadvertently made it a bigger and weirder mess than before.

[oldguystudent]

and overcomplicated it.

I generally ascribe it to the industry in which I work (tax), but on a broader scale, if there is legislation involved, it's going to be as complicated, as difficult to understand, as problematic to execute as humanly possible.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Wellness is nothing but horsesh*t.

Tort reform lowered Workers Compensation costs for businesses and Medical Malpractice Insurance for doctors, but it didn't slow down premium increases to those purchasing health insurance.

Many of the uninsured are uninsured because they have terrible health due to poor lifestyle choices. It was always laughable to anyone with half a brain in their head to think throwing them into the actuarial mix would lower premiums.

As far as the three truths he lists, they are kind of fuzzy.

Do less? Okay, of what? Diagnosing?

Pay less? For what? Less coverage?

More competition? Okay, fine. Go to health insurance without borders. You think every governor's office, state's attorney general office, and state department iof insurance can get together and agree on what nationwide regulations and policies there should be? Buttf*ck, Wyoming in the same pile as New York City? Get a rope. This joke that we now call Obamacare PPACA.

Look, the simple fact of the matter is this: the responsible will continue to be billed for the irresponsible. In the cost of health care, incarceration, uninsured auto costs, etc. You name it.

Our problem is the rank of the irresponsible are now surpassing the ranks of the responsible.

[KRAM1]

Our problem is the rank of the irresponsible are now surpassing the ranks of the responsible.

HOF worthy statement, Sir. Pretty much sums it up in one statement.

And can be applied to so many aspects of today's society. Not just the disaster of a piece of legislation that we know as Obamacare!

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

HOF worthy statement, Sir. Pretty much sums it up in one statement.

And can be applied to so many aspects of today's society. Not just the disaster of a piece of legislation that we know as Obamacare!

Which is why I've preached before and I'll preach again, America will someday be like Mexico:

(1) A small, politically connected wealthy class

(2) A small, constantly struggling middle class

(3) The vast majority poor.

In voting, there are three main parties that split the vote in Mexico. One leans to what Mexico considers "conservative" (PAN), another is a reformed version of what we would consider a Democrat Party (PRI), and one which is basically communist (PRD).

America's three party split will be different. You will have the leftist brand staying with the Democrats. Moderates will be the Republican Party. And, there will be whatever becomes of the Tea Party.

There will never be another Republican president. The demography has shifted permanently in favor of the irresponsible in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Colorado's major cities to the degree that these states are now as unwinnable in the electoral college for the GOP as California and Massachusetts.

Republicans don't like to hear this, but it's the truth. Texas will be a blue state by 2030, and probably 2024.

The last bastion of Red States will be outposts like Alabama, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

The effect on the economy will be to turn it into a mass of inefficiency rivaled only by underachieving countries rich in natural resources like Mexico.

Although inflation is said to be low, it is disguised because the way inflation was measured was changed in the 1990s. It doesn't matter, though, how it is hidden. The old "invisible hand" in economics is still working the way it always will.

The result will be a the junking of the currency, again similar to what has happened in Mexico...and several other Central and South American countries. The fed will print money like hotcakes as Democrat-controlled Congress after Congress continues to pile on debt in attempt to appease the vast and growing numbers of poor.

Our children will eventually see expropriation of land, private property, and industries similar to that which occurred in Mexico during the presidencies of Echevarria and Portillo from 1970 to 1982.

The poor will fare no better then than they do now in Mexico and other Central and South American countries similarly situated. It's just that there will be more of them...and, as always, with their hands out...and, led by the politicians who keep their boot heels on their necks, always blaming someone else for their poverty.

It will be an excellent time to be dead and gone. Our children are already fluent in English and Spanish. The oldest boy is in his third year of Chinese. Our daughter, 5, began Chinese last month. We'll prepare ours to be able to leave the country and compete economically and intellectually at some other port of call around the globe.

Our parents saw America at its zenith; our kids will see it trampled under foot by its own.

Edited September 27, 2013 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[forevereagle]

I wish I had this kind of positive outlook.

[KRAM1]

I wish I had this kind of positive outlook.

Agree...Obamacare sort of does that to folks. I assume you were being a tad sarcastic with that comment.

Lots of folks lost their positive outlook about where the country was headed about two weeks after Obama's first swearing in as Prez.

[glick1980]

Agree...Obamacare sort of does that to folks. I assume you were being a tad sarcastic with that comment.

Lots of folks lost their positive outlook about where the country was headed about two weeks after Obama's first swearing in as Prez.

Oh yeah positivity was at an all time high at the end of the Bush regime as we were losing 700,000 jobs a month and almost every bank on the US was having major problems. Let's not forget about the Iraq war lie. The stock market crash, record high deficits, public distrust. Man if we could only get back to those great times in our contry's history.

[KRAM1]

Oh yeah positivity was at an all time high at the end of the Bush regime as we were losing 700,000 jobs a month and almost every bank on the US was having major problems. Let's not forget about the Iraq war lie. The stock market crash, record high deficits, public distrust. Man if we could only get back to those great times in our contry's history.

Whose administration are you talking about? You seemed to have just described Obama's first 8 years.

[glick1980]

Whose administration are you talking about? You seemed to have just described Obama's first 8 years.

For one Obama has been in office for 5 years, not 8. Actually, America has gone from losing 700,000 jobs a month to gaining about 200,000 per month. The Iraq war? You think Obama started that war really? The stock market? From 7,000 to over 15,000. Deficits cut by hundreds of billions. But keep watching Faux News.

[oldguystudent]

It's adorable that people still think it matters as to who is in the white house.