Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Fact is, no matter what side of the political fence you find yourself on, the system as it is is severely broken.
I am a proponent of universal health care. I firmly believe with all of my heart that heath care is a basic human right that is not based on one's ability to pay. Sooner or later we will figure it all out. Until then, whatever needs to happen to ensure we are all covered needs to happen. A single mother should never have to worry about going bankrupt because her child comes down with leukemia. A family should never lose access to health care because the dad or mom loses their jobs. Having health care tied to a job is criminal.
My Mom had a seizure and spent two days in the local hospital. The total charge was $30,000+, including half a dozen doctors who were "consulted," 3 MRI's and a $2500 ambulance ride from the rest home to the hospital (Total miles one way...3). Every penny of it was paid by Medicare.
I'd suggest that if a reduction in Medicare payments is causing doctors to go "broke," maybe they ought to wean themselves off raping the taxpayers and learn to live with a reasonable fee.
And your point is what. What I stated is a fact. I guess it isn't doom and gloom or anti-Obama you don't want to hear it. It doesn't make it a lie though.
Your statements contain nothing buy your own personal observations and have little bearing on FACTS regarding doctors' income.
State another way,..."I work in the healthcare industry, have friends and family members who are doctors,"...and NONE of them spend days on the golf course, at country clubs, or in exoctic automobile dealerships buying new cars.
Personal observations regarding what doctors do, or do not earn, is not a good measure of the truth or facts.
In oncology, doctors were allowed to profit from drug sales. So doctors would buy expensive cancer drugs at bulk prices from drugmakers and then sell them at much higher prices to their patients.
"I grew up in that system. I was spending $1.5 million a month on buying treatment drugs," he said. In 2005, Medicare revised the reimbursement guidelines for cancer drugs, which effectively made reimbursements for many expensive cancer drugs fall to less than the actual cost of the drugs.
Your statements contain nothing buy your own personal observations and have little bearing on FACTS regarding doctors' income.
State another way,..."I work in the healthcare industry, have friends and family members who are doctors,"...and NONE of them spend days on the golf course, at country clubs, or in exoctic automobile dealerships buying new cars.
Personal observations regarding what doctors do, or do not earn, is not a good measure of the truth or facts.
Again, what I stated is a fact. I didn't say that it applied to all doctors. If you don't know the same doctors that I do, you can't dispute what I said. Most of the doctors I know drive luxury vehicles, play golf and make 6-7 figures. That is a fact.
Why so much focus on my post when another poster sited their personal observation to say that doctors work 60 hours a week and struggle financially? If a doctor is broke, it's his fault not the governents.
You don't get it. School teachers are greedy union thugs but doctors are bleeding Mother Teresa's.
Gee. Who has not only a lot more educational training and debt, works more hours but more importantly a heck of a lot more legal and ethical responsibility in terms of life or death decisions?
The other thing is to move your practice to a hospital (where the paper pushing can be centralized and done affordably). This is pretty much part of the Obama plan, eliminate the family doctor and substitute her/him with a government paid and controllable doctor at a nice government controlled hospital.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xanathos
The average doctor in this country makes over $300,000 per year. If a 25% drop in what Medicare is giving them is what's causing them to go broke, they should re-evaluate their business model.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ovcatto
Wait, wait...wait. Can I believe what I am reading???
Doctors are going broke because the government subsidies, and that's what medicaid and medicare payments are, are becoming less and less??? In other words the free market doesn't support the number of doctors in the market and it is the government's job to infuse the medical economy with taxpayer money to keep these practitioners in business? Tell me this isn't the underlying reality of the arguments that I am reading???
Quote:
Originally Posted by ovcatto
Whether doctors average $300,000 or $30,000, the issue on this thread is; is government driving down the income of physicians or is the government actually subsidizing their practices because the market doesn't support the price that believe they deserve?
There is no law that requires a physician, outside of an emergency room, to treat a patient, accept medicare/medicaid or even private insurance.
So what is it going to be, government subsidized healthcare at a price the government chooses to pay or a purely market based pricing system?
Quote:
Originally Posted by stillkit
Well...lessee...
My Mom had a seizure and spent two days in the local hospital. The total charge was $30,000+, including half a dozen doctors who were "consulted," 3 MRI's and a $2500 ambulance ride from the rest home to the hospital (Total miles one way...3). Every penny of it was paid by Medicare.
I'd suggest that if a reduction in Medicare payments is causing doctors to go "broke," maybe they ought to wean themselves off raping the taxpayers and learn to live with a reasonable fee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MIKEETC
This is interesting:
Looks like a savings to the American taxpayer.
lets assume that the average doctor grosses $300,000 per year shall we? straight off the top they are going to be paying an average of $100,000 per year in malpractice insurance, then there are taxes the governments want, and then the costs of running their office, meaning the money and benefits they pay their staff, travel expenses to the various hospitals they have privileges at, the cost of complying with the various non health care related regulations, etc.
and the reality is that obamacare with its regulations is going to cost the average doctor MORE per year to comply with all the paperwork that will be required, which means hiring more employees, and with the reduction in medicare/medicaid payments, that means doctors are going to be paid less than before, while they are paying out more.
as for working to push all doctors to working in hospitals, that is the worst thing that can happen as it means that either more hospitals will need to be built, or patients are going to pushed out of the hospitals at higher rates before they are ready to be discharged(this is already happening even with private health insurance). we need to push for more clinical services not fewer. we need to push for fewer hospitals, not more.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
