I bash the far left, too. They just haven't been in power since Carter and don't control current policy. If Obama and the Kennedy Democrats win this one, you'll likely hear a lot of criticism from me. You're kind of new here, but I'm an independent moderate. We don't live in a black and white world, Shane, and there is every shade of gray. Most Americans consider themselves moderates. It doesn't include just the centrists, but also the center-leaning people of the left and the right. Quite a bit of the political spectrum stands there and neither party really meets our needs. Well, at least I back up my statements when they are questioned . . . If you are talking about me, you are quite mistaken. You have no idea where I've been, what I've seen, what I know, and where I get my information. You might be surprised.
and that is exactly why I didn't name you in that statement. As I've said before, just because we don't agree doesn't mean I don't realize who/what I'm dealing with. I know you got some smarts.
Your point is taken. The government shouldn't be in the process b/c they pay too much. And life expectancy and healthcare don't go hand in hand. Look at the habits of the US people vs. the other countries. I'm sure they are much worse and attribute to that.
The government pays far less than any private payer. Medicare/ Medicaid typically disallows 45-50% of charges. Insuarance companies disallow about 25% of charges. An example is if you get a routine exam which caries a charge of about 80 bucks your insurance company contractuall can reduce that to 60. The doc eats the other 20. Medicare would disallow 35, and Medicaid would dissallow 41. The docs eat the difference.
Some would say that the medical service providers, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors compensate by raising their asking prices to astronomical levels, so that they end up getting what they want anyway. Witness the 15K wheelchair.
See, now we are sorting it all out. Take tri-care for instance, our lovely way of taking care of our service members. Astounding as to the red tape that we have to go through. I just got the statement for my sleep study. Procedure cost like 4000.00 according to the clinic that did it. Tricare allowed or paid 600.00. This is why it almost impossible to find an off post provider that will accept tricare. My wife is about to have a surgery done and the doctor told her she would be his last tri-care patient because they don't pay enough and are too difficult to deal with. I'm with you here, in that these prices are out of control. I will stand firm on the fact that we do more for R&D though.
I would agree on Pharm, but most of the docs I know are far too quick to write off a debt, write down a debt, or give patients an interst free payment plan. The docs don't have a lot of wiggle room or negotiating power. If the insurance companies only want to pay $75 on a particular CPT code it doesn't matter what the doc charges because it is going to be written off. The folks who get really screwed by this or the uninsured. A visit that is $80 dollars for me gets reduced to 60 because of my providers contractual disallowance, but the uninsured guy has to pay $80. There's a hallmark for an efficient market. The guy who can afford the least pays the most.
Red, you had mentioned the wheel chair, as I posted a few weeks ago, my MIL has ALS and MDA provided the wheel chair for her. At least I think that is where it came from. If it wasn't MDA it was a similar agency. I don't know what the cost would be but it looks to be more than 1k. Damn thing weighs a couple hundred pounds. I don't know what the situation is but there are places to go for help with these situations. You can PM me and I'll give you what I have.
You mean the employees and managers of pharmaceutical companies actually get paid? What an outrage! They should all be hung. It is a darn good thing they are highly profitable or you would not have many to bitch about. I wish all companies were highly profitable.
I think this is the primary debate. Liberals think that healthcare should be a right. I don't mind a very small level of health care being an American's right, but above that I believe it should be a privilege.
