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Old 08-26-2016, 08:08 AM
 
1,304 posts, read 1,095,966 times
Reputation: 2717

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The whole healthcare "system" is a scam on taxpayers.

No other industry hides their charges as much as hospitals/insurance companies/big pharma. NOT EVEN MORTGAGE BANKERS. Think about that: the industry that almost destroyed our economy is more clear cut than our healthcare system. You can apply for a loan or refinance your existing loan and get a breakdown of the closing costs and the amortization table to see how much is going to interest vs principal. Good luck getting anything remotely as useful in medical billing...

I saw this interview on CNBC from the Epipen CEO... It ticked me off so much I had to stop watching and go play with my kids lol. I'd rather referree their fights than be lied to by people who make more money in a year than I'll probably make in my lifetime.

Mylan CEO Bresch: 'No one's more frustrated than me' about EpiPen price furor

This company, whose CEO is the daughter of a Senator, successfully lobied to have their product placed in schools nationwide, jacked the price up, then moved to the Netherlands to avoid taxes... Somehow none of this is illegal...

Sorry, I'm ranting now. This crap just irks me.
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Old 08-26-2016, 08:58 AM
 
112 posts, read 147,145 times
Reputation: 104
About a year ago, I got a mallet finger throwing football with neighbor's adult son (tendon pulled away from bone). Hand doctor didn't recommend surgery just a plastic splint. Sent me down the rehab floor to get a splint. Saw an occupational therapist who showed me how to put on splint and setup appointments every 2 weeks for 8 weeks.

When I finally got EOB from Cigna:

Doctor 1 (Sports) - $331
Doctor 2 (Hand Surgeon) - $317
Doctor 2 Follow Up - $331
Plastic Splint - $370
OT Visit 1 - $374.25
OT Visit 2 - $193.75
OT Visit 3 - $404.00
Doctor 2 Follow Up 2 - $331

Total charges - $2726.25

Alternatively, I could have gone to walgreens and bought a splint and tape for $20.
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Old 08-26-2016, 09:05 AM
 
Location: New Caney, TX
672 posts, read 849,159 times
Reputation: 737
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugargenius View Post
About a year ago, I got a mallet finger throwing football with neighbor's adult son (tendon pulled away from bone). Hand doctor didn't recommend surgery just a plastic splint. Sent me down the rehab floor to get a splint. Saw an occupational therapist who showed me how to put on splint and setup appointments every 2 weeks for 8 weeks.

When I finally got EOB from Cigna:

Doctor 1 (Sports) - $331
Doctor 2 (Hand Surgeon) - $317
Doctor 2 Follow Up - $331
Plastic Splint - $370
OT Visit 1 - $374.25
OT Visit 2 - $193.75
OT Visit 3 - $404.00
Doctor 2 Follow Up 2 - $331

Total charges - $2726.25

Alternatively, I could have gone to walgreens and bought a splint and tape for $20.
Holy cow....what a scam!
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Old 08-26-2016, 09:40 AM
 
112 posts, read 147,145 times
Reputation: 104
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prey521 View Post
Holy cow....what a scam!
The American Health System is the very definition of a scam.

Here's CEO compensation from some NON-PROFIT hospitals

1. Jeffrey Romoff, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center — $5.97 million
2. Delos Cosgrove, MD, Cleveland Clinic — $2.31 million
3. Herbert Pardes, MD, former CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City) — $4.35 million
4. Lars Houmann, Florida Hospital Orlando — $2.92 million
5. Thomas Priselac, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles) — $2.77 million (2011)
6. Martha Marsh, former CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinics (Palo Alto, Calif.) — $1.92 million
7. Steven Safyer, MD, Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, N.Y.) — $4.07 million
8. Garry Scheib, executive director of Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) — $1.53 million
9. Sandra Gomberg, former interim CEO of Temple University Hospital (Philadelphia) — $508,753
10. John Hillenmeyer, former CEO of Orlando Regional Medical Center — $2.24 million
11. Peter Slavin, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) — $2.5 million
12. Robert Garrett, Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center — $1.83 million
13. Patrick Gavin, Crozer-Chester Medical Center (Upland, Pa.) — $266,926 (named president in July 2010)
14. Daniel Evans Jr., Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital (Indianapolis) — $2.08 million
15. Elizabeth Nabel, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston) — $1.6 million
16. Larry Goldberg, former CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.) — $842,854
17. Robert Grossman, MD, New York University Langone Medical Center (New York City) — $3.49 million (includes compensation from related organizations)
18. Ronald Hytoff, former CEO of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital — $2.33 million
19. Kevin Wardell, president of Norton Hospital (Louisville, Ky.) — $743,592
20. Dean Harrison, Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago) — $9.72 million
21. Thomas Lewis, former CEO of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia) — $1.28 million (2011)
22. Susan Somerville, RN, executive director of North Shore University Hospital (Manhasset, N.Y.) — $839,734
23. Ron Girotto, former CEO of The Methodist Hospital (Houston) — $2.57 million (2009)
24. Ruthita Fike, Loma Linda (Calif.) University Medical Center — $997,707
25. Kevin Sowers, president of Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.) — $658,592
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Old 08-26-2016, 03:09 PM
 
1,304 posts, read 1,095,966 times
Reputation: 2717
Didn't you know? Non-Profits in general are a great way to get rich. LOL

They get preferential tax treatment as long as they don't record an operating profit. All that means is any extra income at year end has to be spent somehow. Usually in the form of fat bonuses and perks.

I read about Goodwill once and decided to never give them anything ever again. Pretty sure if I did more digging I'd get even more incensed...
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Old 08-26-2016, 08:22 PM
 
15,531 posts, read 7,565,501 times
Reputation: 19440
Quote:
Originally Posted by Augiec View Post
Didn't you know? Non-Profits in general are a great way to get rich. LOL

They get preferential tax treatment as long as they don't record an operating profit. All that means is any extra income at year end has to be spent somehow. Usually in the form of fat bonuses and perks.
That's not really true. Any income they get from their primary non-profit purpose is tax free, even if they make money. They can't over pay executives without getting into trouble with the IRS. And, working for a non-profit doesn't mean you have to make sub par pay. Those institutions compete for management talent, and have to pay market rates. A couple of million a year is not out of line for the CEO of an organization with a billion dollar budget and thousands of employees.
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Old 08-27-2016, 07:00 AM
 
Location: Texas
5,848 posts, read 6,202,275 times
Reputation: 12327
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRM20 View Post
That's not really true. Any income they get from their primary non-profit purpose is tax free, even if they make money. They can't over pay executives without getting into trouble with the IRS. And, working for a non-profit doesn't mean you have to make sub par pay. Those institutions compete for management talent, and have to pay market rates. A couple of million a year is not out of line for the CEO of an organization with a billion dollar budget and thousands of employees.
True. Also, the vast majority of hospitals and health care systems in this country are not for profit, including every institution in the Texas Medical Center, per its by laws. The only ones that aren't are the ones owned by publicly traded companies (like HCA) and small privately owned facilities that are essentially boutique hospitals. Even so, several of the examples on that list above make me go "Hmmm". Others seem perfectly aligned with what I'd expect given the size and complexity of those organizations.

I'll also say that you will occasionally see non profit hospitals getting into hot water over not truly fulfilling their commitment to indigent care required for them to maintain not for profit status. I believe Methodist had that issue a few years ago, iirc.

Last edited by Texas Ag 93; 08-27-2016 at 07:16 AM..
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Old 08-27-2016, 10:55 PM
 
28 posts, read 62,610 times
Reputation: 44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93 View Post
True. Also, the vast majority of hospitals and health care systems in this country are not for profit, including every institution in the Texas Medical Center, per its by laws. The only ones that aren't are the ones owned by publicly traded companies (like HCA) and small privately owned facilities that are essentially boutique hospitals. Even so, several of the examples on that list above make me go "Hmmm". Others seem perfectly aligned with what I'd expect given the size and complexity of those organizations.

I'll also say that you will occasionally see non profit hospitals getting into hot water over not truly fulfilling their commitment to indigent care required for them to maintain not for profit status. I believe Methodist had that issue a few years ago, iirc.
That's why all those hospitals have started opening up for facilities in other locations all around the city as well.
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Old 08-28-2016, 06:05 AM
 
Location: Texas
5,848 posts, read 6,202,275 times
Reputation: 12327
Quote:
Originally Posted by billybob069 View Post
That's why all those hospitals have started opening up for facilities in other locations all around the city as well.
The systems position these satellite facilities in suburban areas that are rapidly growing in population that is generally well insured. They cater to people who don't want to go into the Medical Center (which can be very daunting to some people). The physicians tend to mostly be system employed and are as well trained and credentialed as the ones at the flagship hospitals. It's a good idea, really, assuming there are not more facilities or hospital beds than are needed.

Here's the new trend, which should be even more concerning to people: Insurance companies actually owning large hospitals and health systems (not on a small scale like Kelsey Seybold). A good example is Allegheny Health System in Western PA. It's actually owned by Highmark, which is an insurer. Allegheny is a big system, not as big or well known as UPMC, but very large and even has an Academic and teaching component. I could definitely see some potential for issues in such an ownership arrangement. OTOH, Highmark came in and rescued Allegheny after it went bankrupt from years of criminal mismanagement, so they should be commended for that.

Last edited by Texas Ag 93; 08-28-2016 at 07:08 AM..
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Old 09-07-2016, 03:13 AM
 
112 posts, read 147,145 times
Reputation: 104
Industry Insiders Estimate EpiPen Costs No More Than $30 - NBC News
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