Well Medicare will do the same to the US Government if it isnt fixed relatively soon(in 10 years max).
Well Medicare will do the same to the US Government if it isnt fixed relatively soon(in 10 years max).
I agree, my information concerning DOS was wrong. The claims must still be fixed by phone calls.
What else do you propose to do with aging baby boomers? Throw them onto private insurance when they're at their worst risk level in their life and let the few that can afford it survive?
This is one reason why I'm largely in favor of single payer. People should be paying into the system from the time they start working. That way when they are older and start to get sick, they have already paid into the system. I know that's the theory behind FICA, but it obviously isn't enough and wasn't properly adjusted for modern medical costs and the aging baby boomer population.
Compare that to now. I've given UHC and BlueCross tens of thousands of dollars that I didn't spend in health care and won't be applied to care when I am an old man.
First idea: make becoming a doctor easier. Many countries have lower barriers to entry to become a doctor and have no issues with quality that these doctors produce. Since the USA has one of the highest barriers to become a doctor, many assume we have the best doctors in the world. This is not the case.
Health care is not a right. If you believe its a right, then you must believe that its okay to force doctors to work whenever the public demands it. With the artificial low number of doctors, to cover everyone, the public must force the limit number of doctors to care for a lot of people.
Bottom line solution: More hospitals, more medical programs, more doctors, residency programs, etc. With more supply of learning facilities, becoming a doctor will be easier. however, AMA, don't like this and they have a big lobbying group.
That's a weak argument. There's no specific constitutional authority to create the FDA, the Interstate Highway System, Medicare, to invade Iraq, or to have military bases all over the world, but we've done it.
Health care is a right in every first world country except for ours.
I support reasonable solutions to increase the number of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. The number of slots in our medical schools is embarrassingly low.
However, I do believe health care is a right, but I disagree that means forcing doctors and nurses to work. It means taking prudent steps to make sure the care is available.
Slew Foot
Lifer
- Sep 22, 2005
- 12,379
- 96
- 86
Haha, always funny to see people argue about topics they have no clue about. This must be what LK is thinking about in finance topics.
Physician salaries are such a small outlay in terms of overall healthcare expense that flooding the field with doctors or reducing reimbursements will have little impact on the overall dollar expenditure. Since 1980 you dropped physician salary 70% and has heathcare gotten cheaper? No because your major expenses are pharmaceuticals and equiptment which skyrocketed in cost.
Medicare is transitioning to an electronic billing and encourages physicians to implement with slightly higher reimbursements. Medicare and commercial insurance both have beauracracy to go through before you get paid.
(will finish later)
Physician salaries are such a small outlay in terms of overall healthcare expense that flooding the field with doctors or reducing reimbursements will have little impact on the overall dollar expenditure. Since 1980 you dropped physician salary 70% and has heathcare gotten cheaper? No because your major expenses are pharmaceuticals and equiptment which skyrocketed in cost.
Medicare is transitioning to an electronic billing and encourages physicians to implement with slightly higher reimbursements. Medicare and commercial insurance both have beauracracy to go through before you get paid.
(will finish later)
SketchMaster
Diamond Member
- Feb 23, 2005
- 3,100
- 149
- 116
Ok, I'm going to put in my two cents at the risk of getting flamed.
People who are in it for the money don't work as family doctors or in the ER, they work in LA doing Botox and plastic surgery.
Medicine is VERY STRESSFUL because you have to see, do and say things for years that most people couldn?t take an hour of. I worked in the vet field for two years as a Vet Tech Asst. and I can tell you that having a pet?s heart stop while on the operating table is not something I would call easy to deal with. And it wasn?t fun being there when someone gets told their pet died or they had cancer/brain disorder/etc, think of what it must be like when it's a family member/close friend?
I was often called in to assist with euthanizations and out of the hundreds I had to do, one stands out. A large St. Bernard named Boston had to be put down because of cancer; I walked in to see the whole family (parents and two boys one was about three, the other 6-7ish) sitting on the floor next to Boston. I had to help hold Boston while they gave the drug, after a moment the dog went limp and I laid him back down and stood up to leave the room while the family grieved, when I felt something pulling at the leg of my scrubs. I turned to see the three year old looking up at me and he asked, ?Did you make him better? When will he wake up??
I almost lost it right there.
I work IT now, I just couldn?t see myself doing that for the rest of my life.
Doctors are stressed from the first day of college until they retire; every doctor I?ve met always looks tired in some way or another. Do they get paid exorbitant amounts of money? Indeed they do. Do they deserve it?
Hell yes.
Fern
Elite Member
- Sep 30, 2003
- 26,907
- 174
- 106
About 5 years ago I was a (silent) partner in a company that sold durable medical goods (wheel chairs, beds, oxygen etc), medicare billing was a b!tch. Worse than private insurance. Much worse.
Private insurers pay when billed, even when a bill/charge gets approved by Medicare they ran about 3 months late in paying. That kills your business.
The Medicare system was a huge mess, IDK if things have changed for the better.
Fern
The biggest problem with health care is insurance. It needs to be regulated and randomly audited fraudulent treatments. Doctors and hospitals are overcharging for services and fees since the average patient wouldn't care less as long as they are approved and only have to pay a co-payment or deductible.
When I had my wisdom tooth pulled, I didn't care what the total amount was - I only cared about what my out of pocket expenses were. The actual BILLED amount was somewhere in the $1600 while I only had to pay about $160.
My friend's to the emergency room for minor car accident went over $10,000. They performed an MRI scan and found "nothing". The insurance gots billed $10,000, she paid $500 deductible for about a 2 hour stay in the hospital
Shit like that makes the actual cost of health care skyrocket whether or not you have insurance.
When I had my wisdom tooth pulled, I didn't care what the total amount was - I only cared about what my out of pocket expenses were. The actual BILLED amount was somewhere in the $1600 while I only had to pay about $160.
My friend's to the emergency room for minor car accident went over $10,000. They performed an MRI scan and found "nothing". The insurance gots billed $10,000, she paid $500 deductible for about a 2 hour stay in the hospital
Shit like that makes the actual cost of health care skyrocket whether or not you have insurance.
Well lets see, an injection takes 15 seconds, another 20 or so for the patient to leave the room and another enter... So that comes to what, $28 an hour?
Oh wait, he also nailed them on the way in for just showing up, must be awful to be a doctor.
Except a large majority of the high costs are from people doing emergency room visits because they cant afford a family doctor...
Hospital Regulation and Universal Health Care with a reasonable Co-Pay are perfectly fair solutions. The current system is fucked up beyond any hope of repair.
This trend has, I'll bet, been reversed with the current economic climate. A lot of my older friends have had their retirment accounts trashed by the Bush Derivative Gouging Administration. So, they only go to Medicare doctors.
I'm afraid some doctors just don't like the idea of getting $250 for a pulmonary consult, for instance, when private clients will pay $500. Would you? On the other hand, what is the greater good?
Another problem is that some of the Medicare reimbursements have been too low for some areas of the country. If you are a doctor in NYC, you are not going to be happy with your fees from Medicare. But if you practice in Toledo, you will be fine. So, the New York example above is not representative because larger cities have fewer doctors willing to take Medicare patients for obvious reasons. The answer is to get Medicare to change its ways.
Good luck moving that beast!!
We aren't going to have socialized medicine in America for a long time. Don't worry about it happening to you Winnar. But, I'd like to be a fly on the wall of your doctor's office when you turn 65. Oh, how the tune changes....
-Robert
I'm afraid some doctors just don't like the idea of getting $250 for a pulmonary consult, for instance, when private clients will pay $500. Would you? On the other hand, what is the greater good?
Another problem is that some of the Medicare reimbursements have been too low for some areas of the country. If you are a doctor in NYC, you are not going to be happy with your fees from Medicare. But if you practice in Toledo, you will be fine. So, the New York example above is not representative because larger cities have fewer doctors willing to take Medicare patients for obvious reasons. The answer is to get Medicare to change its ways.
Good luck moving that beast!!We aren't going to have socialized medicine in America for a long time. Don't worry about it happening to you Winnar. But, I'd like to be a fly on the wall of your doctor's office when you turn 65. Oh, how the tune changes....
-Robert
Better to die because of denial of pre-existing conditions or denied insurance altogether! Let those suckers die!!! SOCIALISM!!!! Doctors are greedy? NEVER!!!
My brother just had his dog Bowser euthanized. It was dreadful, but at least the poor dog's suffering was stopped quickly. I would hope someone would do that for me, or at least keep me outta' ATPN.
-Robert
Hayabusa Rider
Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
- Jan 26, 2000
- 50,879
- 4,268
- 126
It's not all about billing. There are more and more roadblocks to providing health care which cannot be resolved by outsourcing. I used to spend 15 minutes out of a 12 hour day resolving insurance issues. It's closer to two hours now. A pediatricans office nearby let a nurse go so they could hire two people who do nothing but insurance. It's ridiculous.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
- 9,859
- 1
- 81
It's a hassle they pay their receptionist(s) to deal with: i.e. it's a cost not a hassle. In fact, it may not even be much of a cost, but it looks better if you can list another reason, other than money.
Note that areas of medicine with more pronounced doctor shortages should see fewer medicare doctors, because the shortage drives the price up, so you can see fewer, richer patients, and make more money, with more time for golf, too.
Stop that silly talk. Logic has no place in the health-care industry.
Medical students are lining up in droves to devote themselves to a lifetime of non-stop education for the opportunity to face million dollar lawsuits every step of the way
Originally posted by: cubby1223
Stop that silly talk. Logic has no place in the health-care industry.
Medical students are lining up in droves to devote themselves to a lifetime of non-stop education for the opportunity to face million dollar lawsuits every step of the way
Like I said earlier, malpractice insurance and settlements comprise less than 2% of health care spending.
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