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How much does a new, non-luxury midsize family car cost in either of those countries?
I eagerly await your response...
I looked at the Toyota Camry. Seems like a reasonable comparison as it is the #2 car in the specified category in the USA. Also very popular in Australia.
Google tells me that in the US, a base model Camry costs USD$24,280. The same car in Australia costs AUD$28,290.
If I convert my AUD$28,290 to USD today I would receive USD$17,017 and could buy 70% of a Toyota Camry in the USA.
Last edited by Aussiehoff; 04-05-2020 at 11:34 PM..
Reason: typo
BTW, I agree with the OP that this is the end of the line but for another reason.
Medical capacity has been cut in NYC since the early 2000s largely to control costs, which private entities have to do. If the government was running it, the number of doctors, hospital beds, etc, that are needed could be determined by scientists who advise public policy makers.
actually 35% nationwide, and nearly 50% in NYC are PUBLIC hospitals
and the city's hospitals are running in the red, and have been for decades
and those hospitals are closing/cutting services why...they are losing money hand over fist
The cost at which hospitals operate leaves very thin margin and it is absolutely important that the business managers keep an eye on the expenses, or else the margin may vanish
NYC (public) hospitals have been closing left and right over the last few years....
Greenpoint Hospital (Brooklyn)(where I was born), has been turned into affordable housing
Kew Gardens Hospital (just across in queens) closed also
Then Mayor Mike Bloomberg (D) in an effort to cut the city's $1.2 billion budget gap in the next year's budget by laying off about 500 workers and ending contracts with "a significant number" of physicians
it costs a lot to run a large (square footage) building, electricity is over 7 million annually
it costs a lot for building maintenance
it costs a lot for sanitization
hospitals produce a lot of garbage and specialized garbage (solid waste and bio-hazard waste)
it costs a lot for laundry:
Consumption expenses
A variety of medical and non-medical inventory gets consumed during patient care process. Medicines, surgical items, food, linen, stationary etc. are items that is required for patient care and adds a substantial cost on hospital management. Providing for these consumption item as per data can account for about 20% to 24% of the total expenses.
it costs a lot for supplies:
Increasing supply costs, however, may not equate to increasing patient visits. As reported by Modern Healthcare’s Ben Kutscher, many hospitals incur supply costs that are increasing more rapidly than their patient volumes. Kutscher reports supply costs at Milwaukee’s Froedtert Health rose by 14.5 percent in the 2014 fiscal year, ending the year with a 5 percent operating margin despite a 10.4 percent revenue boost. It seems, according to Kutscher, that the increasing cost of specialty drugs and more serious patient illnesses drive this significant supply increase. While patient volumes may not rise, supplies continue to increase as a top cost when running a hospital.
it costs a lot for equipment and its maintenance/upkeep/upgrades of that equipment
and lets not forget personnel:
Payroll is a huge factor and varies the most between big and small hospitals with six figure compensation across as much as half of the employees and a few making seven figures (heart surgeons, neurosurgeons, very high dollar specialists) with the rest doing clerical work, mostly billing, or clean up work on patients and facilities at good wages ($10-20/hr.) with little training or a two year degree, call it 70% of total operating costs or more. ...more than $200 billion in administrative costs
80% of the services performed at the NYC Public hospital clinics are to the un-insured
and lack of supplies is normal....
see the comment in the link
Quote:
I work in the Lincoln ED. For lack of gauze I one used a SANITARY NAPKIN (Maxi Pad) to soak up blood from an oozing wound… the lack of supplies was dismissed by the administration saying, we routinely supply the ED with essential supplies. If gauze is not an essential supply in the ED, then either I’m an absolute moron, or someone is deeply misinformed? So I contacted our central supply coordinator, “the allotted gauze for the the week was supplied two days ago.” My response, “it’s not here. I have checked and others who stock our supply room have checked and there are no further supplies in our storage room. Can we please have some large 4×4 gauze?” I was told, “no there is NONE FOR US TO SUPPLY YOU WITH. “
Just get rid of all the Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud and start there. Half the money is wasted their. Oh, and on illegals who have no business tapping into a system they never paid a single dime into. If they walk into an ER to have a baby, get their credit card or throw them out. No real ID? Throw them out, we are not a charity organization,
I don’t know about Medicaid, but Medicare is famously one of the less fraud-ridden entitlements.
Also, when you have a non-dehumanizing way to talk about illegal immigrants, I’ll be happy to talk to you more about that.
Either way, I’m still highly skeptical of UHC, even if it’s for different reasons than you.
Anybody who wants to buy private healthcare insurance can do so, and they don't even have to go to the ACA web site.
If they lost their coverage through work, there's Cobra, or the coverages (and supplementary financial assistance if they qualitfy) provided by ACA, or they can call private insurors directly, or through brokers.
Part of the reason we retired out of the U.S. was affordable HC.
We pay $80 per month for the two of us. No deductibles or copays. There is also a no-cost system for those who can't afford any premiums. Then there are private clinics.
I had 2 artificial hip dislocations that were handled through the public system with ambulance rides to private clinics the Gov't paid for. No cost to me.
Like most expats, for non-emergency stuff, we often pay out of pocket, just for ease. $30 to see a cardiologist or dermatologist, for example. $50 for an ultrasound. $230 for a MRI.
It seems similar in Spain and Portugal. National system, or affordable private care. Your choice. I've used HC in both countries.
Despite the current crisis, I don't see much change for the U.S. Too many powerful entities making huge profits. Incompetent government oversight. Everything is so overpriced and no one will let go of that. Too many citizens "happy" with paying $1,500 a month and huge copays...
,
I had insurance for over 20 years but lost it because of Obamacare. Monthly premiums went from $450 to $650 to $929 then it went to $1440 a month. I couldn't afford it at $929 a month and did without a lot but at $1440 a month I had to drop it.
So cry me the blues OP, cry me the blues.
I remember when I posted on cd about the cost and a liberal replied... "Just pay it and shut up!" So just cry me the blues OP. And Democrats were in shock because Trump won?!
I had insurance for over 20 years but lost it because of Obamacare. Monthly premiums went from $450 to $650 to $929 then it went to $1440 a month. I couldn't afford it at $929 a month and did without a lot but at $1440 a month I had to drop it.
So cry me the blues OP, cry me the blues.
I remember when I posted on cd about the cost and a liberal replied... "Just pay it and shut up!" So just cry me the blues OP. And Democrats were in shock because Trump won?!
This ^^^^.
So many leftists argued that people were lying, didn't know what they were talking about, didn't understand the bills or how great the O-care policy was, hated poor people, you're racist, and finally to just "shut up" and color when people pointed out they couldn't pay their insurance premiums.
LOL.
Still the same story from them because they don't have the cognitive abilities to accept the realities real people were facing.
We have healthcare insurance, and we never even went to the ACA web site.
Why would we go there? Its just a web site that has a narrow selection of 3 plans we read....Gold, Silver, Bronze. Am I missing something? We don't qualify for any free stuff, or supplements.
Please enlighten me. My wife handles this, and she said we got a much better deal than what is offered by ACA. I don't even think ACA offers what we have (very high deductible). The insurance guy sent us comparisons between ours and the ACA options, so that's how we know ours is better.
You are making too much sense. Just read the title like most of the people: Affordable Care Act.
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