Family member in the last year has generated upwards of $1M in medical bills (brain surgery, rehab, extended PT, chemo, radiation etc..)
After the adjustments nearly $700K of that disappeared off the billing, insurance paid most, UW wrote off about $140K for radiation due to it being part of a clinical trial, our out of pocket <$2000 mostly for prescriptions and co-pays.
Of all that the brain surgeons time stuck out as being pretty cheap all considered. I think it was $3600 for a 5 hour operation. Compare that to $20,000 a day for ICU post-op or $40,000 for the operations room.
I'm not saying that there isn't shit to fix in terms of the way clinics and hospitals bill their patients...
But it seems like there's a lot of people in America who want to have their cake and eat it, too. I know this guy who makes damn good money who bitched about how he had to pay $1,500 for an ER visit, and went on about how much better universal healthcare (or whatever it's called these days) would be.
I was like "you have $50,000 in your checking account BECAUSE you live in America and get to keep a relatively reasonable amount of the money you make. The lack of universal health care if what allows you to have the money to pay that bill."
He didn't understand, which makes me mad that he makes so much more money than me.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
My wife rang up a hundred grand visit in 2014 when we were poor and broke. The great thing is the hospital social staff walked right past me to her and naturally assumed she was poor and broke (Black) and we ended up paying nothing, Senator. At all.
She has had two visits since and I just knock down the bill with my cash discounts. We also get in and out in a fucking hurry
My wife rang up a hundred grand visit in 2014 when we were poor and broke. The great thing is the hospital social staff walked right past me to her and naturally assumed she was poor and broke (Black) and we ended up paying nothing, Senator. At all.
She has had two visits since and I just knock down the bill with my cash discounts. We also get in and out in a fucking hurry
My wife rang up a hundred grand visit in 2014 when we were poor and broke. The great thing is the hospital social staff walked right past me to her and naturally assumed she was poor and broke (Black) and we ended up paying nothing, Senator. At all.
She has had two visits since and I just knock down the bill with my cash discounts. We also get in and out in a fucking hurry
I'm not saying that there isn't shit to fix in terms of the way clinics and hospitals bill their patients...
But it seems like there's a lot of people in America who want to have their cake and eat it, too. I know this guy who makes damn good money who bitched about how he had to pay $1,500 for an ER visit, and went on about how much better universal healthcare (or whatever it's called these days) would be.
I was like "you have $50,000 in your checking account BECAUSE you live in America and get to keep a relatively reasonable amount of the money you make. The lack of universal health care if what allows you to have the money to pay that bill."
He didn't understand, which makes me mad that he makes so much more money than me.
Except countries with Universal Healthcare pay half of what Americans do, per capita. The US pays more for healthcare than any country in the world.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
I'm not saying that there isn't shit to fix in terms of the way clinics and hospitals bill their patients...
But it seems like there's a lot of people in America who want to have their cake and eat it, too. I know this guy who makes damn good money who bitched about how he had to pay $1,500 for an ER visit, and went on about how much better universal healthcare (or whatever it's called these days) would be.
I was like "you have $50,000 in your checking account BECAUSE you live in America and get to keep a relatively reasonable amount of the money you make. The lack of universal health care if what allows you to have the money to pay that bill."
He didn't understand, which makes me mad that he makes so much more money than me.
Except countries with Universal Healthcare pay half of what Americans do, per capita. The US pays more for healthcare than any country in the world.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
This happens when you let people on cancer waiting lists die instead of treating them. Saves a ton!
I'm not saying that there isn't shit to fix in terms of the way clinics and hospitals bill their patients...
But it seems like there's a lot of people in America who want to have their cake and eat it, too. I know this guy who makes damn good money who bitched about how he had to pay $1,500 for an ER visit, and went on about how much better universal healthcare (or whatever it's called these days) would be.
I was like "you have $50,000 in your checking account BECAUSE you live in America and get to keep a relatively reasonable amount of the money you make. The lack of universal health care if what allows you to have the money to pay that bill."
He didn't understand, which makes me mad that he makes so much more money than me.
Except countries with Universal Healthcare pay half of what Americans do, per capita. The US pays more for healthcare than any country in the world.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I like to pretend access to healthcare isn't tied to diet and lifestyle.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I'd love to see an outlier adjusted average. I doubt any universal care country has the exorbitant outliers that we have. They just pull the cord instead. Of course, that will never happen, because the people that generate these studies have agendas and narratives to fit.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I'd love to see an outlier adjusted average. I doubt any universal care country has the exorbitant outliers that we have. They just pull the cord instead. Of course, that will never happen, because the people that generate these studies have agendas and narratives to fit.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I'd love to see an outlier adjusted average. I doubt any universal care country has the exorbitant outliers that we have. They just pull the cord instead. Of course, that will never happen, because the people that generate these studies have agendas and narratives to fit.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I'd love to see an outlier adjusted average. I doubt any universal care country has the exorbitant outliers that we have. They just pull the cord instead. Of course, that will never happen, because the people that generate these studies have agendas and narratives to fit.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I'd love to see an outlier adjusted average. I doubt any universal care country has the exorbitant outliers that we have. They just pull the cord instead. Of course, that will never happen, because the people that generate these studies have agendas and narratives to fit.
What outliers are you talking about?
Outliers such as people on long-term life-support, people with terminal diseases, pre-mature births, people who are old and rich and want to live as long as possible, medical tourism(Gasp! People in universal care countries come to the US for treatment bc no lines or panels to decide if they get treatment). etc.
What you may not realize is that we have a section of the medical industry that is already single payer in the US. Dialysis. FYI, it's a disaster. god-help-you-youre-on-dialysis
And then there's the VA where no expense has been spared to give universal coverage through the government and the coverage continues to be abysmal for a section of the population we all agree deserves good care.
I've always been in favor of a global study of all health systems, figure out who has the lowest cost per person with a good wuality of care, and them straight up copying it.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
Sounds like you are a commie.
I like to pretend that health expenses are about medical care and not about diet and lifestyle, that's what I like to do.
I like to pretend access to healthcare isn't tied to diet and lifestyle.
You always get a cash discount. Doctor gets his money now not after the insurance company decides to give it to him and with no overhead to fill out the bullshit forms
Comments
After the adjustments nearly $700K of that disappeared off the billing, insurance paid most, UW wrote off about $140K for radiation due to it being part of a clinical trial, our out of pocket <$2000 mostly for prescriptions and co-pays.
Of all that the brain surgeons time stuck out as being pretty cheap all considered. I think it was $3600 for a 5 hour operation. Compare that to $20,000 a day for ICU post-op or $40,000 for the operations room.
But it seems like there's a lot of people in America who want to have their cake and eat it, too. I know this guy who makes damn good money who bitched about how he had to pay $1,500 for an ER visit, and went on about how much better universal healthcare (or whatever it's called these days) would be.
I was like "you have $50,000 in your checking account BECAUSE you live in America and get to keep a relatively reasonable amount of the money you make. The lack of universal health care if what allows you to have the money to pay that bill."
He didn't understand, which makes me mad that he makes so much more money than me.
Why reinvent the damn wheel
She has had two visits since and I just knock down the bill with my cash discounts. We also get in and out in a fucking hurry
TLDR Rich countries spend more on healthcare than not rich countries
What you may not realize is that we have a section of the medical industry that is already single payer in the US. Dialysis. FYI, it's a disaster.
god-help-you-youre-on-dialysis
And then there's the VA where no expense has been spared to give universal coverage through the government and the coverage continues to be abysmal for a section of the population we all agree deserves good care.
why-the-doctor-takes-only-cash(fixed & upfront costs)