Holy crap, this is so screwed up...

[onodera]

http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/print/

How hard can it be to fix that? Include everyone into the Medicare program (but then send the bill to those who didn't originally qualify instead of paying for them), let Medicare negotiate the prices and presto. Can American people recall their congressmen? Let them recall everyone who didn't vote for that bill and elect new ones.

[giblets]

Are you crazy? That would be socialist.

[kentonio]

If they renamed singlepayer to something like Free Market Value Healthcare you'd probably end up with about 90% of Americans thinking it was a great idea.

[Dr Strangelove]

http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/2...ling-us/print/

How hard can it be to fix that? Include everyone into the Medicare program (but then send the bill to those who didn't originally qualify instead of paying for them), let Medicare negotiate the prices and presto. Can American people recall their congressmen? Let them recall everyone who didn't vote for that bill and elect new ones.

Why did they have to go to M D Anderson for treatment? The Cleveland Clinic is much closer, for that matter there may be an oncologist in their local medical community. It's only 33 miles from Columbus, Ohio.
Currently to qualify for Medicare you have to be disabled. In the article it stated that cut rate insurance costing $469/mo. was 20% of their income, so their annual income was around $27,000. In some states that might qualify a family of four for Medicaid. I looked up the financial requirtements in Ohio and alas, they don't qualify until their monthly income dips below $1700. OTOH had he stayed in-state it might have been easier for them to get some sort of assistance.

Let's put it this way. Should public healthcare pay for treatment in the swankiest joint in the country? I know that the UK has private medical facilities. Should the NHS pay for treatment at those private facilities if comparable or even identical treatment is available at NHS facilities?

Having said that, let me assure you that I have knowledge of cases far more outragious than the one in the OP. Medical ethics prohibits me from discussing them.

[Uncle Sparky]

Let's put it this way. Should public healthcare pay for treatment in the swankiest joint in the country? Should the NHS pay for treatment at those private facilities if comparable or even identical treatment is available at NHS facilities?

Yes. But pay at the same rate. If the inner city community clinic receives $1500 for a procedure, then the swankiest joint in the country will receive $1500 for the same procedure. Universal health care.

[Dr Strangelove]

So you're saying that the NHS should be able to fix prices even for services provided at non-NHS facilities?

[Uncle Sparky]

I am saying that, ideally, there would be no non-NHS facilities. All services paid for through NHS would be paid at a rate fixed by NHS. This would, hopefully make $3,500 band-aides a thing of the past. It would also allow people like me to have heart surgery without going bankrupt.
the $3,500 is in reference to a friend of mine who has a gold plated institutional insurance policy in the US, and, of course was ushered through a full waiting room to have a tick removed from his neck. For informational purposes, he was sent a copy of the invoice his insurer happily paid. I'm not sure what a fair market value for the minute of physician's time, use of tweezers and a band-aid.

[Dinner]

http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/2...ling-us/print/

How hard can it be to fix that? Include everyone into the Medicare program (but then send the bill to those who didn't originally qualify instead of paying for them), let Medicare negotiate the prices and presto. Can American people recall their congressmen? Let them recall everyone who didn't vote for that bill and elect new ones.

It's mostly due to corruption. As in the companies profiting the most from medicare not negotiating the prices down for bulk buys bribe Congressmen with campaign donations and everyone wins... Except, you know, the tax payers who get stuck with massively inflated bills for all the corruption.

[Hauldren Collider]

Onodera, you're of course aware opening yourself up to some truly devastating copycat threads about Russia?

[onodera]

Onodera, you're of course aware opening yourself up to some truly devastating copycat threads about Russia?

Why should they be a problem? I'm well aware of the problems we have, including those in the healthcare services. Doesn't mean I shouldn't start threads about ridiculous problems the self-proclaimed best country in the Earth has.

[onodera]

It's mostly due to corruption. As in the companies profiting the most from medicare not negotiating the prices down for bulk buys bribe Congressmen with campaign donations and everyone wins... Except, you know, the tax payers who get stuck with massively inflated bills for all the corruption.

So, can you recall your representatives or can you only write them a letter?

[Dr Strangelove]

It's mostly due to corruption. As in the companies profiting the most from medicare not negotiating the prices down for bulk buys bribe Congressmen with campaign donations and everyone wins... Except, you know, the tax payers who get stuck with massively inflated bills for all the corruption.

Politicians nash their teeth over cutting back medicare, but the face is that the cutting of Medicare is a process that's has been going on for over 2 decades. When I was a resident Medicare and Medicaid were responsible for about 2/3rds of the funds paid to the healthcare system, and about 2/3rds of the hospital stays and clinic visits were from Medicare and Medicaid patients. Today Medicare and Medicaid contribute about 1/3rd of the payments for heathcare, but still Medicare and Medicaid patients account for 2/3rds of the hospital bed-days, clinic visits and ER visits. Private pay patients, who account for 1/3rd the hospital bed-days and clinic visits pay 2/3rds the funding of hospitals and clinics. Mind you we haven't even mentioned the uninsured no-pays. Basically it means that Medicare and Medicaid are paying half what they should be and everyone else is forced to pay double.
I can site my own experience. The average family practitioner and general internist in this area makes about 50% more than I do, yet they on average see 80 patients / week while in order to just keep our heads above water we have to see over 140 patients / week. The reason for the discrepancy is that about 2/3rds of my clinic visits are from Medicaid patients and most of the rest are Medicare patients. That gives me a little over 15 minutes / patient which is really pushing the amount of time I should be spending with each patient.

[Dinner]

If they renamed singlepayer to something like Free Market Value Healthcare you'd probably end up with about 90% of Americans thinking it was a great idea.

Sadly, most Americans really are that stupid. How else can you explain Drake's posts?

[Dinner]

So, can you recall your representatives or can you only write them a letter?

It depends on the state. Some states have recall petition laws but most don't. For some reason politicians don't like passing laws which allow politicians to get recalled.

Also you have to understand that the Congressional districts have been gerrymandered to hell and back again for partisan advantage or at least they are in most states. As usual California is superior to the rest though as we have both recall petitions and anti-gerrymandering laws requiring congressional districts to be drawn based on a math model instead of allowing the politicians to draw their own districts. Sadly, most of the rest of the country is still in the stone age wrt such reforms.