The Insanity Of Medical Costs

[aczlan]

If I eventually need a few replacement parts I'll probably wait longer than someone with great insurance in the USA would. The upside is that even the poor folk get the same (still very good) treatment. That helps to even out some of the disparities between the "haves" and the "have nots" and makes for a society that is nicer to live in.

That is the catch in our system here in the US, as ultrarunner can attest, those at the bottom can receive excellent care if they go through the hoops and fill out the paperwork, I recall stories from him talking about people who have nothing and are living off of the government and having children receiving millions of dollars worth of care with nothing out of pocket.
At the other end you have the people for whom money isn't a big deal and they get whatever they want and pay for it without even blinking.
The problem is the people in the middle who have enough that they can't afford to lose and go bankrupt (and enough that they don't get a government subsidy on their healthcare) but not enough to hand a blank check over to a doctor and say "fix me".

Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

I'm a Canadian, retired now and have the Cdn medicare.
When I suffered from kidney stones it took a few weeks for treatment but I survived,
Then they suspected heart problems and all kinds of tests.
No waiting.
Woke up totally plugged up and I called 911, come and get me.
Was operated within 6 hours to remove dead small intestine blockage and 8 days in hospital.
Total outlay was $5,00 for parking!

I'm COPD, usually in and out with occasionally a $5.00 parking for scan follow ups, most often not even parking fees.
Recently I had onset of pneumonia and was treated within 24 hours with Xrays for confirmation and no fees (other han meds)
OK, all cleared up and just A OK now.

At that even meds are affordable under our system as the gov't goes out to bidding process for best prices.
Hey, I don't complain!
Real emergency? yes that is taken care of.
Bad cold, aches and pains, no rush but that's acceptable.
Triage is what it si all about.
Trust them, they are the experts.
Strokes and heart attacks you'll get immediate treatment but for a sprained ankle or kidney stones you'll wait, sure not comfortable but not life threatening.

This year for flu shots they instigated an appointement system that worked out just great. In and out in 20 mins!
Downside is my GP has retired but the clinic covers for him until I can get a new GP (and unfortunately I've had a few minor issues) but so far they have covered for him.
Hey, I passed the 80's and so far so good.

 

[Travelover]

...........The problem is the people in the middle who have enough that they can't afford to lose and go bankrupt (and enough that they don't get a government subsidy on their healthcare) but not enough to hand a blank check over to a doctor and say "fix me".

Aaron Z

This is true. The problem is that the price of medical care has gone up much faster than inflation for years and in spite of promises from politicians on both sides of the aisle, little has been done to rein in the cost of care. Medicare is prohibited from negotiating the price of drugs, for example. Why? Prices for services are totally opaque until the bill arrives. Why? Other countries all over the world deliver better care for less, yet there is no serious effort to study and adopt best practices even as health care in the US approaches $10,000 per person per year. Why? Follow the money.

 

[5030]

I'm a Canadian, retired now and have the Cdn medicare.
When I suffered from kidney stones it took a few weeks for treatment but I survived,
Then they suspected heart problems and all kinds of tests.
No waiting.
Woke up totally plugged up and I called 911, come and get me.
Was operated within 6 hours to remove dead small intestine blockage and 8 days in hospital.
Total outlay was $5,00 for parking!

I'm COPD, usually in and out with occasionally a $5.00 parking for scan follow ups, most often not even parking fees.
Recently I had onset of pneumonia and was treated within 24 hours with Xrays for confirmation and no fees (other han meds)
OK, all cleared up and just A OK now.

At that even meds are affordable under our system as the gov't goes out to bidding process for best prices.
Hey, I don't complain!
Real emergency? yes that is taken care of.
Bad cold, aches and pains, no rush but that's acceptable.
Triage is what it si all about.
Trust them, they are the experts.
Strokes and heart attacks you'll get immediate treatment but for a sprained ankle or kidney stones you'll wait, sure not comfortable but not life threatening.

This year for flu shots they instigated an appointement system that worked out just great. In and out in 20 mins!
Downside is my GP has retired but the clinic covers for him until I can get a new GP (and unfortunately I've had a few minor issues) but so far they have covered for him.
Hey, I passed the 80's and so far so good.

Just the opposite for me. Had 3 stones in my bladder I couldn't pass 2 years ago, saw my doctor, got in and had them removed in 3 days. Total outlay, nothing. Parking was free. Between the diagnosis and the procedure, doc gave me drugs to lessen the discomfort. Medicare paid it all, no BC/BS at all. Don't want to get into the procedure, glad I was asleep.:laughing:

 

[5030]

I wait longer for Kubota parts than I do for my parts.....

 

[Travelover]

I mentioned earlier that it is crazy that Medicare is legally prevented from negotiating drug prices. Today a bill passed in the House to allow just that. I don't understand why there is not bi-partisan agreement on this, but there is not. House empowers Medicare to negotiate drug costs - Columbian.com

 

[Jstpssng]

I mentioned earlier that it is crazy that Medicare is legally prevented from negotiating drug prices. Today a bill passed in the House to allow just that. I don't understand why there is not bi-partisan agreement on this, but there is not. House empowers Medicare to negotiate drug costs - Columbian.com

There's got to be some behind the scenes cash involved.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My son was just in ER, cost $746

 

[Chris616]

I don't understand why there is not bi-partisan agreement on this, but there is not.

"Pharmaceutical companies spend far more than any other industry to influence politicians. Drugmakers have poured close to $2.5bn into lobbying and funding members of Congress over the past decade."

That quote from an independent newspaper outside of the US:
How big pharma's money – and its politicians – feed the US opioid crisis | US news | The Guardian

Here's the Media Bias Fact/Check report on that newspaper:
The Guardian - Media Bias/Fact Check

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I was in twice in July, ER then admitted. $68k and $72k. Don’t know how much was the ER cost.