Controlling through-the-roof medical costs

WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
Without regulations on price it's a greed game. "oh you're sick? you want to live? how much you got?" Nothing more than legal extortion.

I refuse to get INS..wonder what my "fine" is this year...F em!.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
see4 said:
You were able to completely misread what I wrote, or read it correctly but was utterly unable to fully grasp the ideas. That is my fault, I clearly was not able to spell it out for you in simple enough terms. Let me try again.

Business, more specifically, corporations exist to earn revenue by any means necessary; and government is there to make sure corporations do not earn that dollar in unscrupulous ways. Ya feel me so far bruh? Ok cool, moving along.

If government were to cease regulating and providing corporate oversight, more likely than not corporations would begin taking advantage of consumers, both informed and the not. And the idea that people would simply stop purchasing services or goods from those companies is simply absurd. Your notion of a free market, in that sense, is absurd. You may not agree, but are you still with me? Ok good.

Did you know, that at this very moment advertisers on national television are sending high frequency beeps that apps on your smart phone are picking up and sending back gathering consumer metrics without your knowledge? Would you argue that is a fair and just thing? Would you argue that government has no right to regulate that? Arstechnica -- read up on it. It's a nasty little discovery.

Anyway, I'm done. Viva la France!!
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Looked and didn't find the article about beeps and smartphones. Can you send me a link?
 
Moldy

Moldy

Well-Known Member
tangerinegreen555 said:
So I went to the eye doctor last month. Routine 2 year check up. He is a good eye doctor and tries to provide the most recent up to date diagnostic tests...

His office got 3 new diagnostic testing machines since I was there 2 years ago. Each one cost as much as a Mercedes, and replaced older machines that cost as much as a Mercedes a few years ago...

I got retinal scans, peripheral vision scan test, retinal photos that are retained for future comparisons, special photos of inner eye blood vessels to check for macular degeneration, glaucoma checks, etc.

My insurance receipt came back with these procedures...over $900 they paid out...

This was good quality medical care... The office is compassionate to those who don't have insurance. They charge an uninsured patient $75 and they get the same tests I did. Those new diagnostic testing machines are sitting there...and the office uses them to check everyone, insurance or not, as they should...

So there's your rising medical costs...over $900 on med insurance payout for me...driving up the costs...for a simple eye check up

So, the question is...how can you improve the system/lower costs...?

Eliminate some of the diagnostic equipment?
Make the uninsured pay more (that they don't have) or refuse them service?
Tell the Dr. to charge me less...after he spent $100K on new equipment to better serve me and others?

Obviously, my medical insurance is paying for others who don't have it for whatever reason...
And doctors want the best medical equipment they can get...which is pricey
Somebody has to pay for it...what's the solution to this scenario that repeats itself in every medical field?
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As a senior my biggest concern is those fucking vampires cleaning me out for an illness. I'm thinking of moving to Canada.
 
tangerinegreen555

tangerinegreen555

Well-Known Member
Moldy said:
As a senior my biggest concern is those fucking vampires cleaning me out for an illness. I'm thinking of moving to Canada.
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It isn't that easy, I checked. Cross the border and you pay out of pocket. Your American health insurance is limited up there and they won't put expatriated Americans on their insurance up there. I'm retired and have insurance from employer I worked for 40 yrs. They are now trying to throw us off to save money by rolling out from under their legacy costs. Corporations fucking suck.
 
tangerinegreen555

tangerinegreen555

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
You know that's how Medicare is set up, right? First, you have to show your indigent just to qualify! Despicable...
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I don't think so. When you're 65 you can sign up. But you still need supplemental insurance to cover the 20% that it doesn't cover.
I asked a Dr. once what people would have to pay if they didn't have insurance. He said we would try to be compassionate and charge them the 'Medicare rate', so it must be lower? Or maybe Dr's. charge more because they know insurance companies will pay...That sucks too
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
tangerinegreen555 said:
I don't think so. When you're 65 you can sign up. But you still need supplemental insurance to cover the 20% that it doesn't cover.
I asked a Dr. once what people would have to pay if they didn't have insurance. He said we would try to be compassionate and charge them the 'Medicare rate', so it must be lower? Or maybe Dr's. charge more because they know insurance companies will pay...That sucks too
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Then it's Medicaid...
 
Moldy

Moldy

Well-Known Member
tangerinegreen555 said:
It isn't that easy, I checked. Cross the border and you pay out of pocket. Your American health insurance is limited up there and they won't put expatriated Americans on their insurance up there. I'm retired and have insurance from employer I worked for 40 yrs. They are now trying to throw us off to save money by rolling out from under their legacy costs. Corporations fucking suck.
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Oh thanks for the info. I guess I really wouldn't move up there but it's a thought. I'm on medicare and it isn't what I thought it'd be. Healthcare really should be a right, not optional due to your financial situation. I think Obama care really falls short. It still give those ^&(*&&_^^%^_++_*& insurance companies a few million more customers and the healthcare costs are still going up right alone with the insurance rates. We need a non profit insurance system to begin with. Then maybe the false economy that healthcare lives off of would maybe vanish.
 
tangerinegreen555

tangerinegreen555

Well-Known Member
Moldy said:
Oh thanks for the info. I guess I really wouldn't move up there but it's a thought. I'm on medicare and it isn't what I thought it'd be. Healthcare really should be a right, not optional due to your financial situation. I think Obama care really falls short. It still give those ^&(*&&_^^%^_++_*& insurance companies a few million more customers and the healthcare costs are still going up right alone with the insurance rates. We need a non profit insurance system to begin with. Then maybe the false economy that healthcare lives off of would maybe vanish.
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Obama sold out to the medical insurance companies, they helped directly write that legislation. It was the best Obama could do...all things considered. Single payer or Medicare for all would be better...
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
tangerinegreen555 said:
Yeah...get rid of government altogether, right? Let's go back to smoke covering towns...rivers that are orange with waste, dead fish covering beaches...

If fucking corporations did the right things to begin with...you wouldn't need 'protectionism'...

But corporations think about profits first and second...and the hell with everything else...
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Corporations are incapable of doing the right thing to begin with. That's the problem. A corporation is a government construct and owes its existence to a system which arises from coercion. Things which use an unjust means cannot deliver a just end as the means is part of the whole.


I think the things you fear can be solved in ways you've never considered.

If you'd like when you are done spouting liberal platitudes we can talk about root causes and solutions sometime.
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
londonfog said:
You can't believe the shit you type.
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Someday, if I'm high on marijuana and I fall from the top of a tall building and hit head my head causing a huge drop in intellect, you and I could have a great conversation.

I'll let you know if that happens, until then I'll continue putting out basic economic concepts beyond your grasp and ability to refute to amuse myself.
 
Moldy

Moldy

Well-Known Member
Rob Roy said:
Someday, if I'm high on marijuana and I fall from the top of a tall building and hit head my head causing a huge drop in intellect, you and I could have a great conversation.

I'll let you know if that happens, until then I'll continue putting out basic economic concepts beyond your grasp and ability to refute to amuse myself.
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You must be wealthy and without health issues. Consider yourself very lucky. You will get old and you will need healthcare at some point. Just make sure you save enough cash. It's too bad that you have to be a condescending asshole right now because your attitude will change when you grow up.
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
see4 said:
You were able to completely misread what I wrote, or read it correctly but was utterly unable to fully grasp the ideas. That is my fault, I clearly was not able to spell it out for you in simple enough terms. Let me try again.

Business, more specifically, corporations exist to earn revenue by any means necessary; and government is there to make sure corporations do not earn that dollar in unscrupulous ways. Ya feel me so far bruh? Ok cool, moving along.

If government were to cease regulating and providing corporate oversight, more likely than not corporations would begin taking advantage of consumers, both informed and the not. And the idea that people would simply stop purchasing services or goods from those companies is simply absurd. Your notion of a free market, in that sense, is absurd. You may not agree, but are you still with me? Ok good.

Did you know, that at this very moment advertisers on national television are sending high frequency beeps that apps on your smart phone are picking up and sending back gathering consumer metrics without your knowledge? Would you argue that is a fair and just thing? Would you argue that government has no right to regulate that? Arstechnica -- read up on it. It's a nasty little discovery.

Anyway, I'm done. Viva la France!!
Click to expand...

Your second paragraph is full of unicorns when you get to the part about the purpose of government. You laughably want your false champion, government, to solve the problem its edicts created when it acted forcefully to limit the number of service providers in a given market. Hint -Dousing your fire with gasoline will not put it out.

Thru existing government protectionism, the number of service providers in a given market are artificially limited, to the benefit of government and cronies and to the detriment of the consumers (you and me) . Scarcity is a word you haven't contemplated in this discussion. False scarcity (government induced) is something you haven't considered either.

When the number of service providers are limited to a set of favored cronies all the possible solutions aren't available and consumers won't benefit to the level they could.

Regulations, licensure, prohibitions, etc. RESTRICT the number of competitors in a given market, which results in higher prices and inferior products.

It's too bad you don't really understand the root causes, because until you do you won't be able to understand the solutions a free market provides.

Anyway I'm just beginning....Viva la free market!
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
He tried to introduce universal health care and even his own party balked, remember? He passed the bill he COULD. Don't like it? Tell all your REPUBLICAN friends.
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Your grasp of the underlying root causes of what makes healthcare affordable or not is stunningly bereft.

That just makes you like millions of others though, so you have lots of company.
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
Moldy said:
You must be wealthy and without health issues. Consider yourself very lucky. You will get old and you will need healthcare at some point. Just make sure you save enough cash. It's too bad that you have to be a condescending asshole right now because your attitude will change when you grow up.
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If you understood the history of the back and forth between myself and Mr. London Fog perhaps your judgement of me wouldn't be quite so harsh.

Also, it's generally considered impolite when addressing somebody the first time to go a little slower than you have on the insults.
I'll forgive you. Have a great day.
 
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