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This is the eye opening article in this issue of Time magazine. A long article but astounding!
Quote:
We’re likely to spend $2.8 trillion this year on health care. That $2.8 trillion is likely to be $750 billion, or 27%, more than we would spend if we spent the same per capita as other developed countries, even after adjusting for the relatively high per capita income in the U.S. vs. those other countries.
Quote:
Medicare collects troves of data on what every type of treatment, test and other service costs hospitals to deliver. Medicare takes seriously the notion that nonprofit hospitals should be paid for all their costs but actually be nonprofit after their calculation. Thus, under the law, Medicare is supposed to reimburse hospitals for any given service, factoring in not only direct costs but also allocated expenses such as overhead, capital expenses, executive salaries, insurance, differences in regional costs of living and even the education of medical students.
Quote:
But insurers are increasingly losing leverage because hospitals are consolidating by buying doctors’ practices and even rival hospitals. In that situation — in which the insurer needs the hospital more than the hospital needs the insurer — the pricing negotiation will be over discounts that work down from the chargemaster prices rather than up from what Medicare would pay.
Sorry. I have the same opinion of Time as you have of FOXNEWS. Probably less.
Can't argue with the facts that are in this article. Medical costs are on a runaway train. The only system that is keeping these costs in check is Medicare.
I have a brother who is a Dr. He said that there is no puffary in this piece. He said that the part about a chargemaster that charges people 199 dollars for what Medicare pays 25 dollars for is absolutely true.
The point Time made was that its a lie that you can "shop" for health care. You can't, when you need it you need it now and even if you have the time to shop you can't shop. You can not go into a hospital and say Your competitor down the street will do this procedure for X can you beat it by 10 percent. Its not done.
Next Insurance company's don't pay what Medicare pays. They pay a discount from the chargemaster. Some say as Time pointed out that Medicare makes hospitals lose about 10 percent, but that even if you take up the prices that Medicare pays by 10 to 15 percent its a hell of long way from the chargemaster price you pay if you are not on Medicare of on an insurance plan and the insurance company's are no longer in charge of what they pay or they take their business elsewhere.
So called non profits are so large and buy up more and more hospitals to make monopoly's that the now tell insurance companys what they will pay. It pointed out in Time that its bankrupting the nation and we pay 10 times what other nations pay for the same procedures. We are going to have to dismantle our system and make it some type of Medicare for all. Those who fight against it are either ignorant or are getting the bucks from the system. There is a reason that a drug dealer does not want Marijuana leaglaized, when you make money of a flawed system you don't want the system changed.
The 18 amendment put people like Capone and Moran on top, and when it ended it stopped the money from illegal booze. They had to go to other places to make money from illegal substances, prostitution, drugs ect.
We are gong to have to go to a single payer system or it will collapse. As of now more and more businesses can not afford to pay for health care for employees, or they are making employees pay for more of their plans to the point many can not afford it or the deductibles are too high. It's something like 60 percent of all bankrupcys are because of health costs. As Drs and hospitals even though they are non profit make more money than others in similar professions it takes out of what people have to spend on other things that stimulate the economy.
What will have to happen is more and more people are going to have to feel the affects of this broken system before it gets through their ignorant heads that we have to change.
Then why wasn't Obamacare based on expanding Medicare instead of giving 30 million customers to his campaign donor insurance companies?
Seems like it would have been a perfect time to try Medicare as a choice for people who need to purchase health insurance, yet Obamacare ignored it and is giving the money to private companies.
Hey, that sounds like Ryan care! Obamacare is giving subsidies and taxcredits (aka vouchers) for people to buy insurance from private companies instead of using govt run Medicare.
Who knew, Obama "out Ryaned" Ryan,lol
I'm sure the insurance companies are thankful though
I have a brother who is a Dr. He said that there is no puffary in this piece. He said that the part about a chargemaster that charges people 199 dollars for what Medicare pays 25 dollars for is absolutely true.
The point Time made was that its a lie that you can "shop" for health care. You can't, when you need it you need it now and even if you have the time to shop you can't shop. You can not go into a hospital and say Your competitor down the street will do this procedure for X can you beat it by 10 percent. Its not done.
Next Insurance company's don't pay what Medicare pays. They pay a discount from the chargemaster. Some say as Time pointed out that Medicare makes hospitals lose about 10 percent, but that even if you take up the prices that Medicare pays by 10 to 15 percent its a hell of long way from the chargemaster price you pay if you are not on Medicare of on an insurance plan and the insurance company's are no longer in charge of what they pay or they take their business elsewhere.
So called non profits are so large and buy up more and more hospitals to make monopoly's that the now tell insurance companys what they will pay. It pointed out in Time that its bankrupting the nation and we pay 10 times what other nations pay for the same procedures. We are going to have to dismantle our system and make it some type of Medicare for all. Those who fight against it are either ignorant or are getting the bucks from the system. There is a reason that a drug dealer does not want Marijuana leaglaized, when you make money of a flawed system you don't want the system changed.
The 18 amendment put people like Capone and Moran on top, and when it ended it stopped the money from illegal booze. They had to go to other places to make money from illegal substances, prostitution, drugs ect.
We are gong to have to go to a single payer system or it will collapse. As of now more and more businesses can not afford to pay for health care for employees, or they are making employees pay for more of their plans to the point many can not afford it or the deductibles are too high. It's something like 60 percent of all bankrupcys are because of health costs. As Drs and hospitals even though they are non profit make more money than others in similar professions it takes out of what people have to spend on other things that stimulate the economy.
What will have to happen is more and more people are going to have to feel the affects of this broken system before it gets through their ignorant heads that we have to change.
Then why wasn't Obamacare based on expanding Medicare instead of giving 30 million customers to his campaign donor insurance companies?
Seems like it would have been a perfect time to try Medicare as a choice for people who need to purchase health insurance, yet Obamacare ignored it and is giving the money to private companies.
Hey, that sounds like Ryan care! Obamacare is giving subsidies and taxcredits (aka vouchers) for people to buy insurance from private companies instead of using govt run Medicare.
Who knew, Obama "out Ryaned" Ryan,lol
I'm sure the insurance companies are thankful though
I am pretty sure Obama wanted a public option but that would never have passed congress.
That a bunch of politicians are trying to kill it is evidence it is a superior system. For profit medical means everyone down the line adds a profit of probably 20%. That is after excessive executive salaries. True conservatives are right about one thing: more competition would help consumers. But the monopolies are big campaign donors so that will never happen.
I have a brother who is a Dr. He said that there is no puffary in this piece. He said that the part about a chargemaster that charges people 199 dollars for what Medicare pays 25 dollars for is absolutely true.
The point Time made was that its a lie that you can "shop" for health care. You can't, when you need it you need it now and even if you have the time to shop you can't shop. You can not go into a hospital and say Your competitor down the street will do this procedure for X can you beat it by 10 percent. Its not done.
So called non profits are so large and buy up more and more hospitals to make monopoly's that the now tell insurance companys what they will pay. It pointed out in Time that its bankrupting the nation and we pay 10 times what other nations pay for the same procedures. We are going to have to dismantle our system and make it some type of Medicare for all. Those who fight against it are either ignorant or are getting the bucks from the system. There is a reason that a drug dealer does not want Marijuana leaglaized, when you make money of a flawed system you don't want the system changed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pvande55
That a bunch of politicians are trying to kill it is evidence it is a superior system. For profit medical means everyone down the line adds a profit of probably 20%. That is after excessive executive salaries. True conservatives are right about one thing: more competition would help consumers. But the monopolies are big campaign donors so that will never happen.
It isn't the for profit model that is a problem. The problem is the fact that is no real competition. There was an article about the health system in Minneapolis, MN some time ago that found a heart operation that should cost about $13K was costing people $38K. Without competition people pay more.
I am pretty sure Obama wanted a public option but that would never have passed congress.
I never heard Obama express any sort of support / advocacy for a public option in any shape, fashion or form.
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