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.
As an internist at the low end of doc reimbursements I have done well enough since I started in the '80's where a good living could be had by all (docs). But newer docs, those starting more recently, are not nearly so flush.
In 2012 I about closed my office. Despite having about the lowest overhead possible sharing expenses with 10 other docs in a low COL area, our overheads still went up every year like the rest of the world. I hadn't had a raise since 1988. Luckily about 2 years ago we finally got some Medicare bonuses so I can stay in business.
I went into medicine to help others, not get rich. But I won't keep an office open at a loss.
Now that post I totally understand and commiserate with. That is another danger of the present conundrum with U.S. healthcare: those doctors in it for the "right" reasons become frustrated and demoralized.
Would removal of those costs associated with filing claims to multiple insurance companies (many of which require multiple filings with additional information), medicare, et-al, reduce your costs significantly?
Sorry, Doc, but that is one attitude that is going to have to change.
I again turn to Japan as an illustration of an alternative. Physicians there can choose to work for lower wages at government-regulated hospitals, or operate private clinics for well-to-do patients. Some divide their time between the two. Obviously, private docs make way more money -- but an alternative exists for those who choose a less remunerative practice, without the crushing overhead and draconian regulations imposed on doctors in the US.
The same thing would be feasible in the US if we got the insurance conpanies out of the equation, reigned in the lawyers, and set price controls on drugs.
What's your take?
It just might. But then the best and brightest are already not entering medicine as it is. And more are going into cash only and concierge. Better for the docs, not so good for most patients when they limit their practices.
Now that post I totally understand and commiserate with. That is another danger of the present conundrum with U.S. healthcare: those doctors in it for the "right" reasons become frustrated and demoralized.
Would removal of those costs associated with filing claims to multiple insurance companies (many of which require multiple filings with additional information), medicare, et-al, reduce your costs significantly?
Not mine. But solo docs take it real bad in their shorts.
I don't disagree, but I do believe that we do not want gov't provided hospitals as our only choice.
No, but we want it as a viable choice, then the private hospitals would be forced to compete, and this means not billing $10,000 for a $800 procedure, or $2000 for a 100 yard ride in an EMS between two hospital wings. This would also mean that the people who don't pay for their treatment won't be on the private hospital balance sheets.
In other words, a basic medical care for all, with private add-ons. But that basic care must be at a high enough level that if it's the only insurance you carry, you can still get the required, high quality healthcare.
However I simply don't believe that the US Goverment and US taxpayers are capable of maintaining such a system in working order. Sadly. In some areas, we're great, in others, we're a bunch of morons.
We must make a single-payer program for healthcare in America.
It is the only moral solution.
If you pay taxes, you are paying for all care for those without enough assets
to pay for their care. But when it's you're turn to need that care, they take
everything. So you get the shaft !!!
Long term care costs can easily drain one's finances. According to the Harvard University Study in Compensation & Benefits Review, 72% of Americans become impoverished after just one year of nursing home care. Long term care isn't typically covered by private medical insurance and major medical insurance plans. Medicare only pays for skilled and rehabilitative care after a three-day hospital stay; this excludes custodial care, the assistance someone needs for daily living. Medicaid only covers nursing home bills after a loved one is bereft of assets. Statistics from the Genworth Financial 2012 Cost of Care Survey exemplifies why so many elderly Americans lose all of their savings and assets due to healthcare costs. The national average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home is $83,950, based on the 2012 figures. If someone needs 40 hours of in-home care for one year, the national average cost is $56,717. And these average costs are rising every year by about 5 to 8%. Often a person only needs long-term care for a limited period of time before returning to good health, but even this can be a catastrophic financial event. Long-Term Care Insurance: Costs & Benefits
We must make a single-payer program for healthcare in America.
It is the only moral solution.
If you pay taxes, you are paying for all care for those without enough assets
to pay for their care. But when it's you're turn to need that care, they take
everything. So you get the shaft !!!
Not to worry. Bernie will solve this problem with free health care.
Unfortunately yes. With the advent of the ACA and the large number of people who want single-payer, we'll likely never go back to our old system. The system is now too screwed up to fix, so single payer will be seen by most as the only reasonable option.
The big failure of the ACA was focusing on access rather than costs. There was no measures in the ACA I'm aware of to bring down out-of-control healthcare expenditure -- who cares how many people are covered now when families are facing $12,000 deductibles?
I think we'll see some form of single-payer within the next 10 years, simply because its been fast-tracked due to the mess we've created.
This is true. We went from a mess to a disaster. We went from high costs to even higher costs.
Not to worry. Bernie will solve this problem with free health care.
it's unlikely to happen nationwide unless some Republicans are willing to vote for it.
Americans need to wake up and stop believing the lies. The ACA did not raise
healthcare costs. Healthcare costs have been rising at the same rate under all
administrations. Just go to any search engine and look for a historical health care cost
chart. Rising health care has nothing to do with the ACA.
Of course, the ACA expands care but we must also restructure the entire chain of
distribution to eliminate all the unnecessary layers of profit-driven costs that are
making it rise. The answers are already done for us, thanks to the work of the
more mature and intelligent populations of Europe and Canada.
No, but we want it as a viable choice, then the private hospitals would be forced to compete, and this means not billing $10,000 for a $800 procedure, or $2000 for a 100 yard ride in an EMS between two hospital wings. This would also mean that the people who don't pay for their treatment won't be on the private hospital balance sheets.
In other words, a basic medical care for all, with private add-ons. But that basic care must be at a high enough level that if it's the only insurance you carry, you can still get the required, high quality healthcare.
However I simply don't believe that the US Goverment and US taxpayers are capable of maintaining such a system in working order. Sadly. In some areas, we're great, in others, we're a bunch of morons.
Perhaps you are being a bit too harsh on yourselves. Consider that the entire information you receive about your healthcare and, more importantly, other countries healthcare delivery up until the internet age was patterned and shaped for delivery to you by vested interests who'se lobbyists paved the halls of congress with golden carpets.
Consider also that those leaders making decisions regarding your healthcare systems are completely immune from any of those decisions impacting negatively upon themselves as they and their families are among those "Platinum Plan" members.
Kinda tough to think rationally about something when you've been told all your adult life it's the best and all others are crap by comparison if you have no way of factually knowing any different.
I paid $1,200.mo last year for insurance for my wife and I, and my policy had a $10k deductible. If single payer reduces my bill $200/mo, I don't mind paying an extra $400/yr in taxes. The government should allow a buy-in to Medicare at age 40. This option would keep the private healthcare companies in line. The government should also mandate that the private companies must accept a certain percentage of customers with pre-existing conditions, that way the 'burden' is spread among all of them. First get rid of Obamacare, unfortunately the hundreds of millions spent on the non-working software cannot be recovered.
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.
