Posted on 09/20/2016 10:35:52 PM PDT by benfranklinthomasjefferson
I have not found one study that says the US health system is number one. While there are pockets of great number one care, we are overall not doing that well.
In addition, the prices are astronomical paying 9k per person.
What can be done about this? How can we make it a competitive market? Should we make it a single payer system like all the other countries doing better than us?
“Common Wealth Fund is an advocate for single payer run by an ultra left wing flunky of former president Jimmah Carter.”
Thanks! I suspected as much. The title,”Common Wealth Fund,” is a tip-off to the socialist/collectivist motives it advances. Methinks a non-troll would have posted this redistributionist article with a barf alert.
Sigh......reimbursement rates won’t matter if the cost of healthcare decreases by 80%. Again, Surgury Center of Oklahoma. Those listed prices are between 65-80% LESS than the ‘normal’ cost being charged out now by ‘mainstream’ providers. With insurance deductibles being between $4000-$6000 now, those prices (SC of O) potentially make nearly everyone a ‘cash customer’. Insurance becomes what it should be, for catastrophic circumstances.....and yes, the carnage amongest the insurance industry will be horrific if that happens. But considering that healthcare costs is the fastest growing segment of the federal budget, growing at nearly 9% a year, projected to account for 1.3-1.4 Trillion dollars of this years federal spending, a potential 80% reduction....well that could solve deficits at the federal and state levels. It could lead to an economic boom we haven’t seen in decades.
It does not matter what their prices are; unless you are a cash customer. The reimbursement rate is fixed by the payor, i.e., MEDICARE, MEDICAID or private insurance.
The surgery center you mentioned is cash and carry.
From the FAQ: "What methods of payment are acceptable?
To keep our prices as low as possible, cashier’s checks or cash are the methods preferred. Credit cards are accepted on a case by case basis. Human resource departments or divisions of self-insured companies can make other arrangements if necessary.
They do not bill insurance.
For those who do have insurance; pricing is fixed by the payor. The provider will bill their customary fee and be paid a portion (usually 70-80% of the allowable). Yes, that amount is usually billed to the patient as a 'deductible' or 'out of pocket'. Makes no difference what the posted prices are.
It is a scam. A scam codified into law forcing everyone to pay into the system (insurance premiums) with little or no benefit from having insurance (high deductibles).
0bamacare forces the productive citizens to subsidize the dependent class. We get screwed from both ends; paying outrageous premiums and outrageous deducibles. It needs to be scraped; the insurance 'industry' gutted and everyone go full free market.
But how do we get the government out? Do you think we should ask them to stop taking lobbying money? It seems a bit unrealistic to me that they would ever get out of it. Do you think it’s possible? If not, what do you propose?
I would like to publish the prices, but the AMA forbids giving out the codes. How can I publish the prices when without coding? They offer payments to every politician at the federal level. How can we get a pricing system that works?
I think tort reform is about 2-4% of cost, but the insurers are terrified of their liabilities that might come due because of some of their court cases getting sued for billions due to collusion etc.
I find this article interesting and I saw a Google patent on the repricing scheme but can’t find it now.
http://surgerycenterofoklahoma.tumblr.com/post/17555104043/ppo-repricing
What I mean is a study that says our overall system is number one.
I love the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. Those are the only free market guys in the country for medical care I can find.
The insurance industry nearly put them out of business and refuse. They refuse to put them in their networks and discourage other people from using them.
I would like to see this catch on everywhere. I’m not sure why it’s not.
“0bamacare forces the productive citizens to subsidize the dependent class. We get screwed from both ends; paying outrageous premiums and outrageous deducibles. It needs to be scraped; the insurance ‘industry’ gutted and everyone go full free market. “
Yes, but how is that possible? How can a free market in health care exist. How can we break the monopoly?
Thanks for that link.
We can’t. An all powerful dictator could but then we would have an all powerful dictator which, of course, presents another problem.
Health insurance as it has come to be is not insurance in the meaning of the term. It is prepayment of medical expenses which makes medicine more expensive because your premium has to support a host of people who do not give you antibiotics for your staph or set your broken leg. Now it also includes the necessary support for a host of clerks and bureaucrats. People wonder why medicine is so expensive.
We have to get gov out of healthcare. Phase out all fed gov health programs. Won’t be easy or pretty, but it will lower cost. The states should support care for the needy and disabled. The nation did just fine with state programs until LBJ came along.
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