Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.

The Club takes on Healthcare - Free Market Style

12357

Comments

  • UW_Doog_Bot
    UW_Doog_Bot Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 18,596 Founders Club
    Franny?!!?!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BleachedAnusDawg
    BleachedAnusDawg Member Posts: 13,830 Standard Supporter
    UW_Doog_Bot said:

    BleachedAnusDawg said:

    My plan is all people who have medical conditions due to being obese or smoking, etc get no help from taxpayers. Costs of everything go down for people who try to lead a decent lifestyle. Leave the fat people to the churches.

    Or just don't socialize the costs and let people pay for their own medical needs and expenses as they see fit or can afford to. *gasp
    Yes, but to go full-market you would need to allow insurers to turn people away who cost too much to insure.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • UW_Doog_Bot
    UW_Doog_Bot Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 18,596 Founders Club
    BleachedAnusDawg said:

    UW_Doog_Bot said:

    BleachedAnusDawg said:

    My plan is all people who have medical conditions due to being obese or smoking, etc get no help from taxpayers. Costs of everything go down for people who try to lead a decent lifestyle. Leave the fat people to the churches.

    Or just don't socialize the costs and let people pay for their own medical needs and expenses as they see fit or can afford to. *gasp
    Yes, but to go full-market you would need to allow insurers to turn people away who cost too much to insure.
    Binary argument, see the OP. In the very real presence of negative externalities no where do I argue for a completely free healthcare market. I do the contrary in fact.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • HoustonHusky
    HoustonHusky Member Posts: 6,017
    edited April 2021
    I'd argue there are several concepts being grouped together here that are separate. The US by far has the best health care system when you have something wrong...in identifying it and in treating it. You have cancer and you will likely have it diagnosed here before anywhere else. You have money and cancer you come to the US for treatment. You are an average Joe and tear up your knee you would much rather be here than anywhere else in the world.

    US system is shite for preventive/proactive treatment...you are overweight instead of paying more insurance and losing weight we'll give you a pill.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Doog_de_Jour
    Doog_de_Jour Member Posts: 8,042 Standard Supporter
    HoustonHusky said:

    I'd argue there are several concepts being grouped together here that are separate. The US by far has the best health care system when you have something wrong...in identifying it and in treating it. You have cancer and you will likely have it diagnosed here before anywhere else. You have money and cancer you come to the US for treatment. You are an average Joe and tear up your knee you would much rather be here than anywhere else in the world.

    US system is shite for preventive/proactive treatment...you are overweight instead of paying more insurance and losing weight we'll give you a pill.

    Well said. If our healthcare system was a football team we’d be tearing it up on offense and special teams, but our defense sucks.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • PurpleThrobber
    PurpleThrobber Member Posts: 48,710 Standard Supporter
    CSB, I know
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Pitchfork51
    Pitchfork51 Member Posts: 27,690
    edited May 2021
    Divorce healthcare from employment. It's fucking absurd.

    I hate hr people.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Doog_de_Jour
    Doog_de_Jour Member Posts: 8,042 Standard Supporter
    PurpleThrobber said:

    Here is why health care if fucked up and expensive:

    The Throbber just spent the better part of eight hours today trying to secure a referral to a specialist (cardiologist) with whom he'd already been going to for years. Haven't been the last couple years because, well, forgot one year on the annual visit and then the Vid hit.

    Little bit of pain in the chest, couldn't tell if it was cardiac related, just fucking old age or what. No problem, right? Wrong.

    1 - Call cardiologist...sorry, you haven't been in for two years - we need a referral from your primary care physician. Ok, fine. whatever.

    2 -Call Primary Care Physician...uh, we're not in the office today, you should go to our affiliated clinic, get checked out and they'll refer to you the cardiologist.

    3 - Go to the affiliated clinic - walk in get the vitals, tell RN guy the problem and ask for a referral to the cardiologist. I'm not dying or in distress, mind you....just want to get a fucking referral.

    4 - RN guys says, well, we don't have EKG machines or anything like that so I need to send you to the ER and get some work done....I'm like WTF?!? ER???? Seriously? RN guy says, Oh yeah, I do this 6 or 7 times PER DAY!!!

    5 - Go to the ER...get vitals checked again. Get an EKG which takes 5 minutes. They must want to make sure I'm not going to stroke out immediately. Get IV drip line put in. Sit in waiting area with godforsaken people for two hours.....take me back to get a chest xray...sit in waiting area with godforsaken people for another 90 minutes. Get taken back to some room and hooked up on a heart monitor. Wait for another 30 minutes. Nurse comes in and asks the same fucking thing Steps 1 thru 4 did. Takes a lab sample. Nurse then goes on lunch break...new nurse monkeys around with shit (no my junk, the heart monitor shit)...wait around another 20 minutes for Dr. Doogie Howser Bro.

    6 - He says "what's the problem?" Explain it for the sixth time....I just want a fucking referral. Oh, easy, I can do that....let me get your last lab sample back first...wait some more...."Alright, dude, you're good - I'll send the referral to the cardiogist. This is six hours into this ordeal.....

    7 - Throbber goes home. Rants to Mrs. Throbber v2.0.

    8 - Phone rings and it's the cardiologist office. "Mr. Throbber - we're sorry but we don't accept Premera Whatever the Fuck Plan" you have. We accept all other Premera plans, just not that one. It's out of network and you'll have to pay out of pocket". Like fuck I am. Can you forward my referral to another cardiologist who DOES take my cadillac insurance plan?

    9- "Uh, no. You'll need to have your Primary Care Physician make that referral".

    Honest to fucking god. That was my entire day. And I'm right fucking back where I was at the beginning....

    My guess is that debacle just cost me/my insurance company a shit ton of money. A SHIT TON.

    For a goddamned referral.

    Yeah, aren’t referrals supposed to help keep costs down by preventing specialists offices from being clogged up with hypochondriacs and other patients who could receive alternate treatments?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter