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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Politics, Religion (Tall Table) >> Healthcare in America /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1342232784 Message started by 360k+ on 07/13/12 at 19:26:24 |
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Title: Healthcare in America Post by 360k+ on 07/13/12 at 19:26:24 I usually try to stay out of this Hell's Kitchen area, but this is something I have to vent... My wife got a bump on her leg about 2 weeks ago that kept getting worse. At first we thought perhaps it was a spider bite, wasp sting, etc., but over a 2 week period it didn't seem to be diminishing and it kept getting more painful. Finally she decided to go to the Dr to see what it was and check on any treatment. Her Dr took a look and decided that she couldn't do anything in her office, so she was sent to the hospital. Once in the hosp, they took blood tests trying to determine the cause. They decided it had become infected and even abscessed, so multiple Drs consorted and decided surgery would be necessary to remove the infected tissue, just to be safe. Long story short, they kept her for 2 days & nights, along with IVs, radiology, etc... They ended up cutting out a plug about 1/2 inch in diameter and 1 inch deep. The resulting wound had to packed with expensive strips of silver nitrate or some such(?), that cost $70 per strip and needed changing 3 times a day. After 2 days she was released and allowed to come home. We were told that the strips would be required for several weeks. Anyway, she has now been home for several days, even tho still in a good amount of pain. The next day we receive a phone call from the hospital billing dept, saying the bill is ready. We, of course asked about the amount? I was thinking... hmmm 2 days at today's hospital prices is going to be expensive, perhaps even $5k .. $8k or so? The gal in the billing dept then calmly informed us that our total was a mere $44k, but that did NOT include the radiology lab and surgeon fee!!! That's $22k per day for a minor surgery and hospitalization, or another way you could think of it is the cost of a brand new car everyday (and not a cheap car either)! Stunned didn't begin to describe our feelings at that moment. This is especially true since we were forced to cancel our health insurance 5 years prior after it had climbed to $12k annually, with automatic increases every quarter due to our age. We are both retired, and decided that if things were left as is, the insurance company was going to clean out our savings and IRAs - money we had worked for and saved all our lives. I became 65 in april and have only just qualified for Medicare, but my 60 year old wife has nothing. I asked the hosp about a payment plan, but their idea of payments was essentially my entire SS check each month, and that is only after signing over our home as collateral. That means if Deb were to die first, I am still on the hook for payments or the hospital can seize my home and other assets for restitution. I must say, we are both feeling very victimized right now, but there seems little we can do against the empire. I think back to my childhood (Leave it to Beaver days), and when I or one of my siblings got sick or broke a bone, Mom took us to the Dr. I don't even think we had anything like health insurance; you simply paid the bill or made payments until you were paid up. That's it - injured person is happy, Dr is happy, hospital is happy! I don't know if I can put my finger on it exactly, but between then and now, something has gone horribly wrong with medical care??? |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Serowbot on 07/13/12 at 19:34:20 Only in America... :-?... So sorry, 360... Hope your wife feels better soon... PS... refuse to pay, or sign over anything... Uninsured don't pay full price. You should be able to talk them down to 1/2 to 1/3... an HMO or Medicare would that, too.. they pad the bill, to get what they want out of them... What a sukass system!... :-?... PS.. also, check with city/state programs for low income... There may be a cost threshold that allows you to be covered before you are wiped out financially... My best to you both... Serow... |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by LostArtist on 07/13/12 at 20:05:10 that sucks man, I believe back in the day, healthcare wasn't as for profit as it is now. Business is what's happened to healthcare. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Starlifter on 07/13/12 at 21:03:20 I am so sorry 360. Send the bill to the wingnut teabaggers...or maybe Rush would be happy to pay the bill from his million dollar a week (4 day week at that) salary. The conservative right... No amout of money is too much for wars and killing. Any amount to HURT. But not ONE DIME to HEAL. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WD on 07/14/12 at 05:32:54 Yet another example of why Lisa and I will likely sell the farm and move to Germany or Spain after her dad dies. It is also why I turned down a full ride to Johns Hopkins. Medicine as a money making machine... only in America. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WebsterMark on 07/14/12 at 05:50:12 I don't know if I can put my finger on it exactly, but between then and now, something has gone horribly wrong with medical care??? Insurance with little competition between companies for your business is what went wrong with medical expense. Once the majority of people begin getting health insurance from their employer, it started going downhill. Most people don’t see the hospital bill, only their deductible and co-pay so the actual amount means nothing. So companies jack up the expense and it gets spread all around. We don’t do that with car insurance. Geico, Progressive, State Farm all battle for my business. Someone with a 16 year old teenage boy pays more than I do. I pick the company that gives me the best value. With health insurance, I don’t have that option. My company ‘gives’ me a health coverage. No competition, prices go up, service goes don’t. I agree with Sew, negoiate. We had a guy at church with little or no insurance, racked up 100,000 or so due to cancer, he begain paying a small amount every month that he considered fair and the hospital ended up writing the rest off. Not saying that's gonna happen, but calculate what you consider to be a fair price and pay based on that. Be prepared to demostrate how you arrived at your figure. If they press you, request an itemized bill showing every service and product charged. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by arteacher on 07/14/12 at 06:10:37 The last (only) time I had surgery was for a hernia repair. Initial diagnosis by family doctor- free. Diagnosis by surgeon- free. Surgery, including an overnight stay in hospital- free. All drugs administered at the hospital- free. Prescription for Tylenol 3- $12.00 Follow up visit to surgeon, including staple removal-free. I am 62 years old, diabetic, have had pneumonia, broken ribs, involved in clinics, blood tests up the wazoo - free My wife has MS. MRI's, clinics, a complete battery of cognitive testing, - free. Mobility devices 75% paid for (her power chair alone cost $13000). Our drugs are not paid for, but will be when we turn 65. Did I say "free"? Sorry, our Ontario Health Insurance Plan cost around $700 per year, based on income. Good deal? You bet! For the life of me I can't understand why some people are opposed to mandatory health care. 360k's sad tale should be a lesson to all opponents. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/14/12 at 06:28:38 For the life of me I can't understand why some people are opposed to mandatory health care. Did they take a copy of your system or did they build one from the ground up? If you wanted something & there were models around the world to look at & base yours on, would you send teams to study the other systems & put the best parts of each existing system together? Of course YOU would, I would, every DUMBASS In here would,, BUT did OUR Goobs do that? NO,., Because its not MEANT to give us what WE need, its meant as yet another Wealth TRansferral System from the pockets of the People into the POckets of the Elite,, Wait & see how OUR system works, its gonna make health care today look Fabulous. In 5 years, people are gonna be seriously unhappy., Print it out, tape it up, |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WebsterMark on 07/14/12 at 06:31:31 Hey teacher; here's what a very young student of yours would say... I was born and my parents took me home to a nice crib; guess what? It was Free! Then I had formula and later food and guess what? It was Free! My diapers were changed for Free! As I got older, I got a bigger bed, my own room and guess what? It was Free! I got new clothes, played little league, got toys at Christmas and guess what? It was all Free! Ain’t life grand?! Everything is FREE!!! |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Serowbot on 07/14/12 at 08:50:00 Webster,... did you cut and paste that, again... or have you committed it to memory, so you don't have to think?... People here, are losing everything they worked and saved for their whole lives, in a matter of days... People that worked hard, played fair, planned well, and saved wisely... Good people... This is not fair or deserved... there is no righteousness to it... Just because you are currently in a fortunate situation, don't think you're immune... life can throw a curve at any minute... If it ever does,... you'll eat your words... Remember Skat?... She lost her job, her insurance, her savings, her bike, and her home, before she died... All Americans should be ashamed that such things happen... I am... If only "Obamacare" had been in place... Skat's family would not have lost everything... ... and 360, would not be worrying about bills and his families future, and be able to focus on his wife's wellness... These tragedies aren't just happening to poor, lazy, people... 3 of 5 bankruptcies involve medical cost issues ... Canada is rightfully proud that they have a good system, and they are free to plan their lives without such financial catastrophe looming over them... Yea, Canada... |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by arteacher on 07/14/12 at 09:25:37 6D5F58494E5F48775B48513A0 wrote:
I can only guess at what you are getting at here-'splain it to me Lucy. :-? |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WebsterMark on 07/14/12 at 09:29:50 Webster,... did you cut and paste that, again... or have you committed it to memory, so you don't have to think?... that's a pretty stupid comment coming from you. My point was, teacher's "free healthcare" is anything but free. Do you think i rejoice in other people's misfortune? The seeds of Skat’s financial troubles that went along with her unfortunate health issues were sowed long ago. The time was ripe for healthcare reform that included competition between companies, lifetime portability, no terminations and a slow weaning away from employer provided benefits, but Hopey-change jumped in for the whole thing and will jeopardize everything. Just because you are currently in a fortunate situation, don't think you're immune... life can throw a curve at any minute... If it ever does,... you'll eat your words... I don’t wish ill will on anyone and I’m aware I’m in a good spot right now. I’m also aware it can change on a dime. There are no guarantees in life. I’ve had my share of tragedies, perhaps more than most, but I’m not in favor of bankrupting the future of the nation to give me a little piece of mind today. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by arteacher on 07/14/12 at 09:46:40 What makes you think it will "bankrupt the nation"? Canada has had it for quite a while and we are doing relatively OK. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Serowbot on 07/14/12 at 10:18:19 605255444352457A56455C370 wrote:
How?... How is it stupid?.. and how, particularly coming from me?.. This lame attempt at insult, has no teeth... it only serves to show how how ill equipped you are, to debate with any intelligence... Enough... |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Starlifter on 07/14/12 at 10:39:59 Webster is playing dumb again (I think...he can't really be that stupid can he?...oh wait.) "Ain’t life grand?! Everything is FREE!!!" -Webster In Canada taxes (albeit they are high) are used for the good of the people. In the US taxes are used to go overseas and murder people for corporate profit and the people be dammed...big difference. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by 360k+ on 07/14/12 at 11:09:58 Thanks a lot you guys, for your sympathies, empathies, and any other "..thies" you've offered. You give us moral support in a time when it is very easy to slink down into depression. As much as the financial situation seems dire, I feel especially sorry for my wife because she is not only in pain, but also feels responsible for what has happened (even tho I tell her it could as easily been me). The hospital has "graciously" given us a short window to decide how we are going to weather this storm. They already have a list of our assets, home, vehicles, bank account, IRAs, etc. Since we had no insurance, they required us to divulge that information BEFORE any services were performed. It makes me wonder what would've happened if we had not given them the info? I guess you'd have to go back home and die! I fully understand some of the arguments here about "free", but want to say I never expected free, and honestly don't want free. In fact, anytime I hear the word "free", I find myself wondering how much "free" will cost this time? However, $22k per day is not right either! I would be very happy to purchase REASONABLE health care for my wife (again, I now have Medicare), and fully understand that her policy is not going to cost the same as the policy for a 25 year old. We retired in 1999 and promptly purchased our own health insurance. The policy was $2400 annually for myself and my wife and included discounted office visits and pharma. In 9 short years that policy had risen to $12k annually (500%) and reduced to catastrophic events only (no office/pharma). Plus, it automatically increased every payment (quarterly) even tho neither of us went to the Dr more than once or twice a year. We tried looking at several other companies, but most wouldn't even accept us because of our pre-existing condition called age! The system just seems "fixed" so that, one way or another, your assets will be squeezed out of you in the later stages of your life. Anyway, enough rants. We will figure a way to get thru this, even tho it may involve a considerable lifestyle change. I think I noticed cat food on sale the other day ;) Thanks again guys. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Serowbot on 07/14/12 at 11:20:01 696F7C77373B3D3C370E0 wrote:
Yum,.. cat food!... ..tastes better if you call it pate'... ;D... Keep spirits up,.. my best to you both... |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WebsterMark on 07/14/12 at 11:39:16 How?... How is it stupid?.. and how, particularly coming from me?.. This lame attempt at insult, has no teeth... it only serves to show how how ill equipped you are, to debate with any intelligence... Enough... It wasn't an insult. For some reason I expect you to be a bit smarter than some fool like Star but I guess I was wrong. I don't recall ever typing those comments before in that manner. Not sure what you mean by cut and paste. I was replying to teachers post that his treatment was free. Of couse it's not free and people shouldn't get the idea in their heads governement healthcare if free. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by arteacher on 07/14/12 at 17:05:45 685A5D4C4B5A4D725E4D543F0 wrote:
Did you bother to read the entire post? I stated exactly how much it costs. "Currently in Ontario, people who earn salaries above $20,000 must pay an annual health care premium ranging from $300-$900. Funding for medicare in Ontario also comes in part from a dedicated Employer Health Tax (EHT) that ranges from 0.98%-1.95% of employer payroll. Eligible employers are exempted from EHT on the first $400,000 of payroll." Mine is about $700. You can't argue that it is not a good deal. BTW, one year our medical expenses were high enough (Powered wheelchair, standard wheelchair, stair lift etc) that we paid no Ontario tax and therefor no OHIP premium. The more "incidental" medical expenses you have the less OHIP costs you. As I get older the only things I will have to worry about will be the price of cat food, rent, and whether or not I can get my leg over the bike. ;) |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by bill67 on 07/14/12 at 17:20:55 People that are self employed have to pay more than someone who works for a big outfits,So the old American dream of working for yourself isn't as good as it was years ago. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by arteacher on 07/14/12 at 17:55:55 Bill- those benefits are built into the salaries. Some places here allow you to opt out of benefits, and receive more pay. It's a good deal for the youngsters that are not likely to need large amounts of drugs. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Starlifter on 07/14/12 at 18:31:15 Give it a rest Webster. We are all so very tired of your "Screw You Jack, I've Got Mine." attitude. You may be well off financially, but morally and spiritually you are bankrupt. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by bill67 on 07/14/12 at 18:35:54 242F2F262A25243E3F4B0 wrote:
You don't understand it a insurance company can give a better rate per person to a company with 100 people than they can one person.I never had heath insurance I paid for my 4 kids and any doctor bills myself.My wife went to work so she had insurance that paid for her and all her cancers bills,which were around $200,000 25 years ago. Once she died I didn't have insurance.I got a girl friend and she said I should have insurance so I did for 5 years,Then I saw how much it was going up ever year is when I decided to go to the VA .So I paid for insurance for 5 years. My brother and partner in business never had insurance he's in the VA now too.He was in National Guard,Back then he didn't even have to go for 6 months. If I get cancer tomorrow it want cost the government much because I want take radiation or chemotherapy. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by bill67 on 07/14/12 at 19:03:58 One more thing when I was a kid and my kids weren't going to the doctor all the time,Like my grand kids who's parents have insurance.They are always going for some little thing.Just one reason insurance is higher now.the other reason the doctors charge to much and the Indian doctors have a lot to do with it. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Retread on 07/16/12 at 13:15:28 The only reason America has not embraced socialism is because we all feel we will become millionares.. 360K, I would most likely go see a lawyer on that hospital bill, file bankruptcy, or file suit for overcharging/gouging.. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/16/12 at 20:43:39 The first step in a fight with a hospital bill is to make them send an itemized bill. Then, look thru it carefully for things billed you didnt get. Then, confront them with the discrepancies, then, if theyre any notable %age of the bill,, have them send a new itemized bill, with those items removed. Then, youve got them admitting fraud.. I made them eat a rather large bill in West Texas that way. After I got the New Itemized bill, I called thgem & told them they would forget it or I would contact my insurance company & have them study the billing on other patients,, they went away & never said a word to the credit reporting agencies.. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Starlifter on 07/16/12 at 21:17:51 Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France Source Washington Post <snip> There is a simple reason health care in the United States costs more than it does anywhere else: The prices are higher. That may sound obvious. But it is, in fact, key to understanding one of the most pressing problems facing our economy. In 2009, Americans spent $7,960 per person on health care. Our neighbors in Canada spent $4,808. The Germans spent $4,218. The French, $3,978. If we had the per-person costs of any of those countries, America’s deficits would vanish. Workers would have much more money in their pockets. Our economy would grow more quickly, as our exports would be more competitive. There are many possible explanations for why Americans pay so much more. It could be that we’re sicker. Or that we go to the doctor more frequently. But health researchers have largely discarded these theories. As Gerard Anderson, Uwe Reinhardt, Peter Hussey and Varduhi Petrosyan put it in the title of their influential 2010 study on international health-care costs, “it’s the prices, stupid.” As it’s difficult to get good data on prices, that paper blamed prices largely by eliminating the other possible culprits. They authors considered, for instance, the idea that Americans were simply using more health-care services, but on close inspection, found that Americans don’t see the doctor more often or stay longer in the hospital than residents of other countries. Quite the opposite, actually. We spend less time in the hospital than Germans and see the doctor less often than the Canadians. <end of snip> ...healthcare in America is a racket and will stay a racket as long as our health care needs, decisions, choice of doctors, treatments etc. are decided by the "for profit" insurance companies. How can Americans be so DUMB that they WANT private (deny the claim) insurance companies to manage their health care??? We need a single payer system because insurance companies openly engage in price gouging hurting those least able to pay. Providers largely charge what they can get away with, often offering different prices to different insurers, and an even higher price to the uninsured. It's criminal. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/16/12 at 23:31:43 I would expect that I could get a lower price if I went to a doctors office & told them I had no insurance, but was ready to pay cash for my visit. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WD on 07/17/12 at 03:35:31 I wish my last set of MRI's had only cost $1080... contrast MRI was billed at just over $3400. My health insurance has a $25K yearly maximum benefit amount. Over 10% for 1 procedure... Had a wisdom tooth taken out a week ago. $202 out the door. For a 5 minute procedure. Self pay, the kid ahead of me with state dental coverage was supposed to be charged $329, coverage only pays $235. So I did get a hefty self-pay "discount". $202 for a $50 non-surgical extraction... And since when is a set of x-rays and a cleaning worth $268... Was talking about all this with a German friend the other night online. Same procedures would cost less than $100 each. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WebsterMark on 07/17/12 at 04:01:18 It cost that much because competition has been taken out of healthcare. Once health insurance became a common employee benefit, the public began to view healthcare as a monthly expense, a deduction on their paycheck. With no free market competition to rein in the insurance companies, they did what unions did to the big 3 auto companies; they raped them. The reason Japanese cars used to cost so little compared to US cars a couple decades ago is the same reason why it cost more for an MRI in the States than it does in Germany. Now that the automobile playing field has been leveled by a decline in the UAW raping habits and more foreign cars made on US soil, the prices of both cars are closer to one another. Bring competition into healthcare insurance and the companies will need to compete for our business. Prices will drop. If you don’t think that’s true, see how expensive dental work has become over the past 5-7 years once dental insurance became more and more popular. I remember 10 years ago, dental coverage was rare and it was cheaper to go to the dentist. I paid cash most of the time. Now I have a dental policy at work and all the prices have gone up. Insurance companies are not evil, they do what all companeis do, take advantage of the market conditions. If they had to compete for our business the way auto insurance companies do, prices would come down. Competition between companies always increases quality and lowers cost. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by arteacher on 07/17/12 at 04:55:48 In Ontario OHIP dictates what the costs are. It tells the doctors how much they can charge, and the hospitals how much an MRI is, and how much per day they can charge. Dental cost are covered by private insurance (if you have it), and a cleaning cost $350. I had benefits for a while, and had a whole bunch of dental work done, but when the dentists office called me to schedule my yearly cleaning after I lost the benefits, I told them to blow it out their ears. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Retread on 07/17/12 at 06:35:03 Take a long look at the insurance industry, it depends on profits from NOT having to cover medical expense. Take a look at the medical industry, it depends on the insurance industry, medicaid, and medicare to not look at the charges. Example- my Mother was billed for a scheduled checkup she didn't have, she had passed away three months before.. My Father had the same scenario.. You have whole sections of the hospitals,and doctors offices, all geared to sort through all the different insurance policies, see which ones they can gouge, and which they can't, then you have those who don't pay. They slip into the emergency room, get their care and slip out, your tax dollars, insurance, and people like 360K pay the difference. You won't find a medicaid patient at the doctors office, they go straight to the emergency room with their hangnail, their colds, and scratches. All paid for with our dime... When Tiawan was looking at different ways to upgrade their medical system someone asked them about the American example, they said "Thats a perfect example to stay away from."... They went to a single payer system. Our medical community is a for profit enity, they are not their to care for the patient. You go to the hospital for nursing care, not doctor care, they do a short procedure, and the understaffed nurses bring you back to health.. Another way to make more money, cut staff, some nurses are taking care of over ten patients per nurse! If you think thats OK, try to work and have ten people on your butt all day.. Our medical costs are high because of all of the above factors, and one more, GREED.. People will spend their last dollar on their health, an do... My Father was Navy, he spent thirty years in the service of this country, my Mother followed him around as a RN, she worked in many government hospitals, in fleabag corners of the world all her life.. Mom and Dad had very little life savings when they retired, they were nomads, they never asked anything from this nation, never wanted welfare, or handouts, worked hard long hours. My father passed in 91, my mother lived on until 2009, she was blind for her last fifteen years, and my wife and I did her shopping, paid her bills and did our best to make her comfortable, she was always upbeat, loved her dirty jokes, and shot of whiskey in the evening.. She became sick her last year, pnemonia, and a perforated bowel, she decided to go to a nursing home, the nursing homes would not take Medicare, or Tricare, so she had to go on medicaid.. She had signed over most of her life savings to the wife and I a year before, which we kept in trust for her, but not within the timeline that medicaid requires (five years). So no matter that WE had taken care of her for fifteen years, we did not deserve this money in their eyes.. So I handed over her and Dads life savings to the nursing home, before I did this the director of the nursing home told me they would put my mother out on the curb if I didn't!!! It was the closest I have ever come to strangling a woman with my bare hands! >:( After all this my Mother lived for another two months died of pnemonia she caught in that crappy nursing home, she recieved two weeks of Medicaid!!!!!!! So folks, work all your life, never ask nuts from anybody, and this is what you have to look forward to, hand your money, home, and all your stuff over to a hospital... Not me, I like the line, "Take a gun and the horse up into the hills, send the horse back!"..... Sorry for the long rant, but I get a tad pissed.. Single payer now, everybody pays, everything is covered, from birth to death... |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Starlifter on 07/17/12 at 19:17:42 Amen! Ms Starlifter's father died unexpectedly and mom had to go into a nursing home (Alzheimer's). They took everything...every dam* thing they had... Their life savings, earned the hard way, working and working, scrimping and saving, buying the no-name brands because they were a little cheaper than the good stuff. They took their home,...everything. Dad was self employed, no health benefits, no retirement (except for his life savings which the nursing home stole). Yea! Rah! Rah! woot woot!...what a country! ...What a health care system! .... What a DISGRACE! |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/17/12 at 20:14:27 I AGREE,, the way things have been is screwed up,,but if you were drowning, would you want someone to paint "Life Preserver" on an anvil & toss it to you? No? REally? Why not? Because it Will Not Help[ You?? Well,, guyess what? This "ANSWER" to our problems is the equivalent to handing an anvil to a drowning man,, & you guys crowing about what a Win this is? Youre gonna be cryin in about 5 years,, if it takes that long,, Print this out & stick it on the wall, |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by WD on 07/17/12 at 20:17:04 Happens a lot. My great grandmother lost everything when her son put her in a home. Home, car (64 Nova SS, first one on the road where she lived), the very little bit of money she had... Black church up the road had conned her out of the house she'd lived in since 1930. As soon as she left, the place got broken into. And her late husband's immaculate 1938 Chevy truck was auctioned off for pennies on the dollar (gotta hep the chirrens doncha know). And the home's contents were destroyed. Not sure which was worse for her, crooked nursing home (state facility) or crooked preacher... |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Starlifter on 07/17/12 at 21:22:18 Hmm, (I found it.) Here is a letter to the editer a friend forwarded to me last winter from Wisconsin... (Gotta LOVE our great health care system.) ****************************************** "I just got the itemized bill from my hospital stay last month. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. Now mind you I had a wonderful experience while I was in the hospital. My husband had the same surgey (GallBladder removal) at another local hospital and he had the absolute worst experience. My husband was in the hospital for 3 weeks. I was there for 5 days. But our hospital bills were exactly alike. How is that even possible?? His bill was $110,000 in 2005. I can't believe the costs have gone up that much in 7 years. Here are a few items I found interesting: * Accomodations - $4500 (I could have stayed at the Breakers for less money) * Pharmacy - $35,000 (I know I had some good drugs, but WOW) * OR Costs - $30,000 * Sterile Supplies - $7500 And here is the kicker. I have insurance, so these items were all negotiated down to 1/10 the cost. My insurance company paid $11,000 and the bill is done. So those people without insurance don't get a negotiated rate?? How can someone afford that without insurance?? And how are they allowed to get that much of a discount?? At the end of the day, I've met my deductible for the year ($2800). Still not sure how I'm gonna pay for that, though. But hopefully I can make installment payments . . . And finally I want to thank the Affordable Care Act of 2010. My company before 2011 had a lifetime limit on medical of $100,000 and a yearly amount of $20,000. I might be paying a ton more money out of pocket without ObamaCares!! If more people would actually read what is covered they would see that this is a good thing for this country. If people would stop listening to Talking Heads who know nothing and actually learn for themselves, this country wouldn't be as angry as it is. S.H. Ashland. |
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Title: Re: Healthcare in America Post by Retread on 07/18/12 at 07:37:29 I have a good friend who was working at a dead end job for ten years, the only reason he stayed there was the health insurance, and the fact his youngest has MS. He dared not leave because of the pre-existing condition clause on most if not all insurance policys. This year he got another offer from a company that has wanted him for the last five years, paid medical, better pay, and a chance to move up the ladder.. He was able to take this job only because of the ACA.. No, it not the best we could have, and I really don't think it'll do a darn thing for me, unless it offers me a cheaper better policy in one of the COOPs it supposed to create. I will be most likely stuck in my retired company plan, which will rip me off until Medicare kicks in three years from now... No one has really looked at the ACA in detail, we know a few highlights, and we know the GOP is against it, thats enough for me to like it... ;D |
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