To End The FReepathon
Posted on 12/07/2015 10:43:23 AM PST by Kaslin
Reforming our dysfunctional health care system requires more than high deductibles and HSAs.
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Right. We have to do something about the politicians who prefer dysfunction because that leads to bigger government, more money and more power for them.
Central planning, cartels, and government programs are the problem.
Good post. No one should look at Canada for a good example since coverage has been slowly diminishing by constantly removing covered procedures and medications. Health care here has become rationed big time. Surgical waits are unbelievable and dangerous. I’m so thankful we were smart enough to continue employment extended health care on our own, sort of costly, but more valuable every year.
Go back to free market. Let charity work w/the poor. Used to have charitable hospitals before the depression.
I know it's simplistic .... but isn't that what we want ?
The Affordable Healthcare Act is typical of all liberal policies. It does the opposite of what it claims to do.
Vastly increase the bureacracy required to run it. Vastly increase the amount of paperwork, digital or dead-tree, Add in no modifications for pre-existing conditions, and you are going to lower costs? The only way tolower costs and keep the new structure is to eliminate medicine, remove all health delivery from the system but continue to legally require everyone to buy coverage. Even with that the overhead will inevitably rise to far outstrip income.
What crap. What the author is saying in the bold section is that it is a problem when high deductible plans work as they are designed. Their purpose is to keep you from going broke when the SHTF. But according to this idiot, it's a problem that you can now afford to keep getting health care after you've paid the deductible. He'd prefer that the seriously ill consider not getting so much care.
And then he talks about policymakers designing the plans. If it was an Aetna policy designer/actuary, then ok. But I'm sure he's talking about a government policymaker, who was the person who got us into this mess in the first place.
It's shocking an adult could be this naive.
This person thinks medical centers don't try to keep costs low? What's the thought process behind that?
Every patient is on DRGs (diagnostic related groups) or Medicare. The services they charge for are capped!!!!!
If you go in for DRG 324, you get what the insurance company or Medicare pays for DRG 324. PERIOD!
What does the hospital try to do? It tries it's very best to cover that DRG 324 for the lowest possible outlay.
The idea the care for these patients is lush and over the top reveals the writer to have no clue whatsoever about modern health care.
I think a robust savings plan and high deductible policies is the way to go. In effect you will be self insuring for a portion of your own medical care.
By the time a person is thirty and well established, they may be able to cover a $20,000 dollar deductible. That saves a whomping amount of insurance premiums. It will in short time cover your established deductible.
I support this in a plan I’m developing that covers health, cars, and homeowners. It also incorporates a private retirement plan into it.
I think there’s a way a person can start saving, avoid insurance costs, and purchase a home while still retiring very comfortably by 50-55.
Speaking solely for myself, I want insurance for when things go sideways. Kid breaks his arm and needs emergency surgery, and so on. I don't CARE about the nickels and dimes - kid has a sore throat and needs a prescription, or I need a yearly physical. That's "routine maintenance", and I wouldn't expect my insurance company to cover it, any more than I'd expect GEICO to cover fillups and oil changes.
Perhaps that is the very reason why I can get an oil change for $19.95 and can't get out of an emergency room for under $500 ... insurance companies pick up the tab for one, but not the other. But I digress....
But - politicians have gotten involved and mandated coverage. For instance, I'm covered for drug addiction treatment (not gonna be a problem), mental health evals and treatment (ditto), and treatments for both erectile dysfunction AND pregnancy (don't even know what to say, here). What's worse is that I'm paying for everyone else to have these things, too.
I think that shopping for insurance across state lines - much like auto insurance - would help drive costs down. Perhaps an a la carte plan - "There's a family history of breast cancer, let me up that part of my coverage just in case." Would take the do-good politicians out of the loop, at the least, and would let me buy health insurance that I actually might need.
That they have never worked in medical administration.
My doctor's office has four doctors, four nurses, one tech and six administrators. They used to have two. They are looking to add another two administrators after the new year to handle the paperwork.
What has changed in the past eight years?
You have three guesses and the first two don't count.
I’m not a big insurance guy. As much as possible I want insurance out of my life. That being said, we all need insurance. I just think things are out of whack.
We tend to want insurance to cover everything, so we pay very high premiums for it. We shouldn’t.
We should have $10,000 in a special savings account to cover exposures to catastrophic illness. We should cover the $10,000 fees.
It’s my take that if you look at the savings you get by not buying the policy that covers everything from $0.00 on, you more than make up your deductible. Mow that $800 a month premium down to $200. a month, and it takes about a year and a half to make up your deductible. Not using your deductible every year, you more than make up the deductible and increase your savings.
The insurance company still makes money off your policy. You still increase your net worth.
Take that deductible savings and build it up for a down payment on a home. Sound crazy until you realize you can do the same thing with your vehicle and other insurances.
If a husband and wife are both working under this plan, the savings can be extensive over a decade.
The services “they charge for” are capped.
The weakness in your argument is in “they”.
The solution used is to have “out-of-network” suppliers bilk the patient and then charge the “out-of-network” suppliers for the privilege of participation.
A center can also demand, collect and retain additional amounts from the unwary. Estates can be pilfered easily.
I agree. Paperwork...
Happy hands..
Feel good Leftist policies on parade...
Probably a good point. An agreement should be reached that the insurance fees will be the only fees the hospital will have access to.
Of course there’s the physician’s, anesthesiologist’s fees et al too.
Insurance companies will pay those fees too.
You have to play tough.
You mean something such as this-——http://surgerycenterok.com/
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