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John Stossel: Insurance makes healthcare far more EXPENSIVE
20/20 and YouTube ^ | 8-29-09 | John Stossel

Posted on 09/15/2009 11:16:47 PM PDT by SideoutFred

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To: fso301

He’s moving to Fox


21 posted on 09/16/2009 3:30:00 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Just mythoughts

Be a capitalist pig:

(1) Get a different doctor.

(2) Negotiate the price.

(3) Start you own clinic, in many states you’ll have to partner up with State Certified Medical Providers, but that’s not a high barrier.

(3) Start you own insurance company

STOP WHINING!


22 posted on 09/16/2009 3:37:59 AM PDT by bvw
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To: Safrguns
WHich is why we need MSA's (which is what I have been saying for a long time) not gummint run health care.

Μολὼν λάβε


23 posted on 09/16/2009 3:52:21 AM PDT by wastoute (translation of tag "Come and get them (bastards)" or "come get some")
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To: SideoutFred
DUH!!!

When our measure of "affordability" is whether or not we got more than we paid for, of course the cost go up.

Ask yourself how you keep your auto insurance premiums low? Odds are, you take a high deductible, you don't make claims for routine maintenance or minor dings, and you only make bigger claims knowing that if you do, you're rates are likely to go up next year.

So, why are we surprised to see our health insurance premiums go up year-over-year when we expect unlimited office visits every time we get the sniffles?

We need to reconsider what insurance should be...protection in the event that we have chronic issues or catastrophic health problems. We ought to be paying out of pocket for routine visits and for maintenance care.

24 posted on 09/16/2009 4:22:05 AM PDT by Fredgoblu
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To: SideoutFred

My wife had a gastric banding procedure that our health insurance did not cover. With a cash deal the cost was probably $5,000-$7,000 less than what would have been charged to our insurance company. We figured that our share of what we would have paid in deductables and co-insurance would almost have equaled the cost of paying for it ourselves.


25 posted on 09/16/2009 4:30:41 AM PDT by The Great RJ ("The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." M. Thatcher)
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To: bvw
Be a capitalist pig: (1) Get a different doctor. (2) Negotiate the price. (3) Start you own clinic, in many states you’ll have to partner up with State Certified Medical Providers, but that’s not a high barrier. (3) Start you own insurance company STOP WHINING!

WHINING? I have not objected to paying for my health care in a capitalist system. My objection, NOT whining is how much socialism has already crept into the SYSTEM!!! IF I got what I wanted for $155.00 for a 5 minute visit then I would be participating in a capitalist system.

26 posted on 09/16/2009 6:06:09 AM PDT by Just mythoughts
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To: Just mythoughts

You did say that. I just expanding on it...

The government wants electronic medical records so they are portable - and therefore easily available to government...

Paper records are for the most part out of their reach.

So while I’m all for modernizing, in this case I believe there’s a more sinister underlying reason for it...


27 posted on 09/16/2009 6:41:30 AM PDT by DB
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To: Lmo56

Yes, he has signed a contract, according to this report:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,548989,00.html


28 posted on 09/16/2009 6:42:39 AM PDT by Tired of Taxes (Dad, I will always think of you.)
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To: Fredgoblu

Absolutely agree.


29 posted on 09/16/2009 6:42:55 AM PDT by DB
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To: Just mythoughts

It looks like my grammar fell apart too...

Time to go to bed...


30 posted on 09/16/2009 6:44:08 AM PDT by DB
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To: Safrguns

The cost of medical increased when Medicare was passed. We had private insurance and $7.00 a day hospital rooms before that.


31 posted on 09/16/2009 6:49:34 AM PDT by Big Horn (Rebuild the GOP to a conservative party)
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To: Just mythoughts
it is obscene that a 5 minute doctor visit cost $155.00

Indeed, it is obscene. Once, one of my children fractured a bone, and a specialist looked at him for five minutes, said there was nothing that could be done, "just buy a sling and put his arm in it." His bill was $700. Insane.

When I was a young adult, I was uninsured from time to time, and once, after I was married, an insurance company wouldn't cover a preexisting condition (pregnancy). Here's what I found out during those periods without insurance:

#1 - Although some doctors will refuse to take you, others are willing and will charge a reasonable cost if you have no insurance.

#2 - Students at dental schools are always willing to practice on you. ;-)

#3 - When I was paying out of pocket, doctors wouldn't send me for lab tests I didn't need. Because I hated wasting my time with unnecessary tests and appointments, I told some doctors I had no insurance and paid out of pocket even after I became fully insured. The doctors would give me a deal. I never had to depend on gov't help. But, I applied for help for the pregnancy, thinking, "Well, I've been paying taxes, and I've never asked for anything before," but the gov't refused to help. A pro-life organization referred me to a low cost midwife program, and I saved $1,000 doing without anesthesia. I'm so glad the gov't refused because I continued to use midwives and do without anesthesia even when we were insured.

We've been fully insured for many years now. Once, when I brought one of my children to an eye doctor, as his secretary was completing my paperwork, the doctor quipped, "You know, the funny thing is, if you'd walked in here off the street without insurance, I would've charged you $15." It dawned on me later that he was hinting that he was willing to do without the insurance payment if it meant his secretary wouldn't be so inconvenienced. (I'm typing $15, but I remember him saying $5. My memory must be mistaken, though he only looked at my child for five minutes.)

Of course, there are times when insurance is necessary - emergencies, serious illnesses, etc. But, the fact that insurance is paying for every little doctor visit is what has driven the cost upward.

32 posted on 09/16/2009 7:24:59 AM PDT by Tired of Taxes (Dad, I will always think of you.)
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To: kittykat77

At the time he suggested that the only form of insurance should be catastrophic coverage. Without a change he believed that medical practices would be swamped.


33 posted on 09/16/2009 5:15:26 PM PDT by the_Watchman
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