BFL
Question: Do those figures cover GOVERNMENT spending only, INDIVIDUAL spending only, or ALL spending combined?
The funny thing about “defensive” medicine is it often leaves the patient in worse shape, but at least they can’t sue anybody. Case in point:
I learned in the 80’s that C-Sections were becoming very common. The reason? If a doctor opts not to do one and something serious happens due to complications during birth, they can be sued for not doing a C-section. If they just do a c-section, the chances of complications are significantly reduced, and they get they added bonus of charging you for it.
This means there are a LOT of women going around with c-section scars because the doctor just didn’t want to get sued.
This is about more than just money
We left the american culture when we got rid of TV in 1997. And we further distanced ourselves the day obamacare became the law. That was 1/1/2014. We are both 63 and have not had health insurance since that day.
We have saved, after tax, around $50,000 on health insurance premiums and taken responsibility for our own health. We’ve not needed to see a doctor, though we do see the dentist one a year, at a cost of $125 a person including x-rays. We get our glasses at Costco and I’m getting a hearing aid there for $1,500.
If something really, really bad happens we use holistic methods (like my two friends that were cured of stage four cancer via the Gerson and some other method, which cost a couple thousand and a dramatic temporary diet change).
Or we die, which all human beings do, no matter how good their health insurance coverage. I supposed if I was not the Lord’s and this is all I had I’d feel differently about it. ;-)
The Uniparty has shown ZERO interest in reducing actual healthcare costs, instead are gobbling up all the lobbyists gifts to ensure the lawyers, paper-pushers, and insurance companies keep on getting rich with their non-heathcare fees added on to every doctor’s visit and Rx purchase.
When our mom passed away a couple years ago, when cleaning out her things, we found a rec’t from hospital for birth of our oldest sister in 1956.
$250 - for 7 days in hospital, including attending OB/GYN and anesthesiologist. Also included treatment of my sister for “jaundice.”
We estimated that Dad probably earned $4500-$5200 that year year as a white-collar manager in the personnel office at a large industrial plant.
About 5% of yearly average income to have a child. Seems reasonable.
Any guesses what a hospital would bill directly for same service today? I bet would be close to 100% of an average American’s salary $40-$50K.
We live in a corrupt world and country.
When it comes to health care any expense is justified but not necessary.
Spending more money does not equate to better health. See below.
The numbers then inflated to now are worthless data. What matters is what it costs now compared to an inflation adjusted cost years ago. Somebody was just having fun with numbers.
“Families with 100% coverage spent an average of 16% more on healthcare than families with 75% coverage, 22% more than families with 50% coverage, and 58% more than families with 5% coverage.
Using mathematical “techniques better suited to such data,” families with 100% coverage were predicted to spend 24% more than families with 75% coverage, 49% more than families with 50% coverage, and 45% more than families with 5% coverage.[17]
The increased spending that occurred under the plans with higher coverage had “little or no” effect on health outcomes except for the poorest 6% of the population.[18]”
The only reason plans with higher coverage had any effect on the poor is that without their FREE high coverage plans they didn’t want to wait in line at the ER.
EXCELLENT informative post!
No other US business can get away with refusing transparency of cost disclosure, ie: provide an accurate estimation of what entire medical procedure treatment will cost a customer.
Here are the major culprits driving US healthcare skyhigh towards a marxist single-payer state system: (along with US pharma, med-device suppliers, trial attys and FAT UNHEALTHY smoker slob patients that steal 80% of hospital beds for “lifestyle health related cardio-vasular diseases.)
Why Hospitals Mark Up Prices by 1,000 Percent - Newsweek
www.newsweek.com/why-hospitals-mark-prices-1000-percent-343006 Proxy Highlight
Jun 15, 2015 ... Why Hospitals Mark Up Prices by 1,000 Percent. By Wendell ... (Chargemasters are lists of all the items and services hospitals bill for. Hospitals ...
Many U.S. hospitals mark up prices 1,000 percent: study - Reuters
www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-hospitals-prices-idUSKBN0OO2C920150608 Proxy Highlight
Jun 8, 2015 ... Many U.S. hospitals mark up prices 1,000 percent: study ... markups, but in the past hospitals have said list prices, shown on a “chargemaster,” ...
Some Hospitals Marking Up Prices More Than 1,000 Percent - 2015 ...
www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2015/some-hospitals-... Proxy Highlight
Jun 8, 2015 ... The 50 hospitals in the U.S. with the highest markup of prices over ... Many hospital patients don’t actually pay the “charge master” or full price.
How Hospitals Mark Up the Cost of Over-the-Counter Supplies Like ...
https://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/03/how-hospitals-m... Proxy Highlight
Mar 17, 2013 ... Chargemaster: Hospitals’ Killer App for Sucking Your Financial ... Cost of Over- the-Counter Supplies Like Aspirin and Q-tips as Much as 1000%.
50 US Hospitals That Mark Up Prices the Most - Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/51134-us-hospitals-mark-up-prices.html Proxy Highlight
Jun 8, 2015 ... Some hospitals charge more 1000 percent mark-up for certain ... more so than a hospital’s internal list of prices, known as the chargemaster.
Extreme Markup: The Fifty US Hospitals With The Highest Charge ...
content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/6/922.full.pdf%20html Proxy Highlight
Jun 24, 2015 ... In the United States, hospitals use the chargemaster, a list of .... This means that they are charging markups of more than 1,000 percent.
Study: Hospitals charge more than 20 times cost on some - JHU Hub
https://hub.jhu.edu/2016/09/08/hospital-markups-price-gouging/ Proxy Highlight
Sep 8, 2016 ... However, the relation between chargemaster markups and hospital revenue, and the variation in markups across hospitals and departments, ...
50 hospitals charge uninsured more than 10 times cost of care ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-scienc... Proxy Highlight
Jun 8, 2015 ... Researchers said the hospitals with the highest markups are not in pricey ... it costs the hospital $100, they are going to charge you, on average, $1,000. ... In the United States, hospitals have the chargemaster, a lengthy list of ...
50 hospitals with markups of around 1,000 percent - CBS News
www.cbsnews.com/news/50-hospitals-with-markups-of-around-1000-percent/ Proxy Highlight
Jun 8, 2015 ... At these hospitals, prepare to pay markups of 900 percent — or more ... compared hospitals’ so-called chargemasters — lists of procedure codes ...
Irrational Drug Prices Being Charged by Hospitals Continue to ...
www.panaceainc.com/enews/61-finance-and-reimbursement... Proxy Highlight
In particular, one hospital’s charge of more than $13,000 for a dose of the ... Because of this payment method, a hospital is incentivized to mark up a drug to ...
Drum roll, please ...................
It’s Bush’s fault.
cymbal crash!!
Its the Law of Unintended Consequences again. Bites you every time.