How do we fix our healthcare system in America?

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No offense, but..............18 pages of posts to somehow realize that America is $$ first !!!
 
zannej said:
Bud, a friend of mine had doctors refuse to put a cast on her daughter's broken arm until she could cough up the money up front. They did splint her arm, but they wouldn't give her a cast.
Another friend of mine who had insurance but a high deductible couldn't get the doctors to treat her daughter for some sort of severe nerve pain that required surgery. They insisted that she pay up front before they would treat the child and she had to save up for two months and then take her child back in. Those were both prior to the ACA. First incident was in Texas and second was in North Carolina.


Chris, I agree that the amount people pay is obscene. And there is proof that the prices are arbitrary.
I can't find the initial article I'd been reading, but I googled and found a few:
https://thinkprogress.org/new-gover...ical-bills-are-completely-random-221492d89900

http://www.arbiternews.com/2014/03/...harge-19-for-an-aspirin-and-get-away-with-it/

Last one is more relevant to your wife's situation-- they charged $40 to hold the newborn baby.
https://qz.com/805664/arbitrary-hos...rn-and-other-hidden-charges-new-parents-face/

Also, hospitals can and do bill people again for stuff that was already paid by their insurance or that the people already paid. They double bill. That is why you always have to look at the itemized bill. We've had that happen numerous times and had to call them and say "This was already paid". But they do it because some people don't check and just pay it. And they will even charge for services they did not tender. Like the time they charged me for two injections (plus the medicine) that I never received. And this is not just some clerical error, one of the articles I read before (I don't think I found it again) had hospital staff admitting that they deliberately charge for things that they think patients won't notice so they can get more $. They really LOVE to charge Medicare and insurance for things they didn't actually give to patients.

I forgot to quote it, but I completely agree that if a person doesn't want to have health insurance, they shouldn't be forced to pay for it and they shouldn't be fined for not having it.
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Every activity you mentioned above is illegal. If hospitals, doctors and insurance companies all break the law regularly we don’t need new or different laws we need the ones we have enforced.
 
bud16415 said:
Every activity you mentioned above is illegal. If hospitals, doctors and insurance companies all break the law regularly we don’t need new or different laws we need the ones we have enforced.
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True-- of course it costs money and more organization to enforce it. And you pretty much just mirrored my stance on gun control.

But, the double billing and charging for stuff people didn't receive is only a very small part of the medical bills. The biggest problem is the arbitrarily inflated prices and the fact that a lot of people don't know how much things are going to cost before they seek treatment. So, we still do need to reform the healthcare system. If costs go down, then the insurance companies can't justify charging so much for insurance. They have to get permission from the commissioner to raise their rates.

I hope I'm making sense-- my bro got me sick so now I'm coughing so hard I can taste blood.
 
Watching TV right now.......I can't stand those commercials for medicine, where only ~1/4 of the commercial is to talk about the product itself, and the 3/4 left is to talk about side effects, just to protect themselves in case of a law suit !!!
That's ridiculous.......!
And why a medicine that is cheap in some countries is outrageously expensive in the USA?
 
Just got the call back that I don't qualify for the discount on my Idaho health coverage for my family. Back up to 1500 a month on the quote. I am probably going to have to go a year without or pay the high price. Once 2018 starts my business will be no longer and my tax forms will start looking more normal and realistic again. I am stuck with a dilemma, I sold a couple rental homes this year in order to reinvest in Idaho and continue so I have some sort of retirement when the time comes. These rentals have never made me any money on a monthly basis but I have done well on the equity side. My plan was to take those proceeds through a 1031 exchange that defers the taxes and reinvest into new rentals closer to my new home. In order to pay the 18000 for health insurance I will have to pull 30,000 from my 1031 account to cover the taxes in order to pay the 18k for insurance and then that is one less rental for my retirement and my children's future. What would you do? As it is right now my company did a couple jobs this year and probably didn't even make enough to cover the taxes let alone give me a paycheck. I an getting close to the time where I need to get my stuff moved and start looking for a new source of income in Idaho.
 
So, anyone heard about the current clownery in Congress? They took away the ACA for everyone but themselves-- they actually voted to exempt themselves from the new plan but it's apparently good enough for the rest of us? And the things that were added as preexisting conditions are absurd-- like being the victim of rape, assault, or domestic violence. It's almost unbelievable.

Sorry, venting a little. I don't know a single person who doesn't have something that would be considered a preexisting condition and I really wish we could get a referendum going to take away the ability of Congress to give its members exemptions/privileges that are not afforded to average citizens.
 
Why did you use "almost"......?
It's COMPLETELY unbelievable.....and UNACCEPTABLE !!!
 
French_guy said:
Why did you use "almost"......?
It's COMPLETELY unbelievable.....and UNACCEPTABLE !!!
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I said "almost" because it isn't overly surprising given the history and the selfishness of Congress. I agree that it is unacceptable, but I was only mildly surprised. What would truly shock me is if they did something that wasn't selfish.
 
I've already said that I hate the US Health system, but this is going to get worse......:mad::mad::mad:
 
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr2192/summary


ya'll need to stop listening to the left wing media, they are pumping out false news as fast as they can




H.R. 2192: To amend the Public Health Service Act to eliminate the non-application of certain State waiver provisions to Members of ...
... Congress and congressional staff.
Overview
Summary
Details
Text
GovTrack's Summary
This bill has been proposed to be passed in tandem with the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the bill that would replace the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). In order to meet the requirements of the budget reconciliation process so that the AHCA is not subject to the Senate filibuster, the AHCA exempt Members of Congress from some changes to the health care law. This bill, H.R. 2192, removes those exemptions so that Members of Congress face the same health care options as other Americans.

https://policy.house.gov/legislativ...ervice-act-eliminate-non-application-certain-


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXjCqPABDwE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXjCqPABDwE[/ame]
 
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The more I see about our government and healthcare the more I think they should not be involved at all.

They change things in the name of forcing insurance companies to pay for things then the insurance companies retaliate by ripping us off.

Government makes us hate the insurance companies.

Insurance companies make us hate our government.

I'm starting to think we are just pawns for both of them to get rich off us.
 
Well, I have been pretty much silent on this subject on this site.
I do not believe the government should have anything to do with health care.
certainly not the insurance aspect of it.
because what they are pushing is not insurance it is a health tax, plane, and simple

insurance
a thing providing protection against a possible eventuality:

tax
a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions

going to the doctor for check-ups is not part of a possible eventuality
that is maintenance,
insurance is to take care of accidents and unforeseen illness

anyway, I ramble.
Should we provide our own healthcare and the poor? what about them?
it is part of Gods plan, the weak get sick and die, the hardy gene pool is replenished by strong genes
that are the way of life. it is harsh and not fair. no one ever said mother nature was or is fair
I know, my views are not PC and I am a meany poo poo head who must be a racist bigot to say such a thing about the poor poor people who can not help themselves
fair enough,
The government's job is to protect borders, keep enemies away and deal with infrastructure
their job is not handing out phones and health care, that is the responsibility of the communities at the community level
all issues pertaining to the homeless and welfare and HEALTH CARE are in my opinion community issues


Chris, we are not just Pawns, we are pee-ons , if you catch my drift
 
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frodo said:
Well, I have been pretty much silent on this subject on this site.
I do not believe the government should have anything to do with health care.
certainly not the insurance aspect of it.
because what they are pushing is not insurance it is a health tax, plane, and simple

insurance
a thing providing protection against a possible eventuality:

tax
a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions

going to the doctor for check-ups is not part of a possible eventuality
that is maintenance,
insurance is to take care of accidents and unforeseen illness

anyway, I ramble.
Should we provide our own healthcare and the poor? what about them?
it is part of Gods plan, the weak get sick and die, the hardy gene pool is replenished by strong genes
that are the way of life. it is harsh and not fair. no one ever said mother nature was or is fair
I know, my views are not PC and I am a meany poo poo head who must be a racist bigot to say such a thing about the poor poor people who can not help themselves
fair enough,
The government's job is to protect borders, keep enemies away and deal with infrastructure
their job is not handing out phones and health care, that is the responsibility of the communities at the community level
all issues pertaining to the homeless and welfare and HEALTH CARE are in my opinion community issues


Chris, we are not just Pawns, we are pee-ons , if you catch my drift
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See herein lies the problem, not everyone sees it your way, there are hundreds of viewpoints. For example I would wager if you were born with serious health issues or your children were and you literally could not afford hundreds of thousands of dollars in healthcare cost you would have a different viewpoint. If your child would die because you couldn't afford the care and an insurance company said no coverage you have a pre-existing condition you would think differently.
On the other hand I have been blessed with good health. My children have been blessed with good health. I have worked continually since I was 14 years old, 35 years with the same company. I have a great, good paying job and a fantastic retirement plan. I pay a lot in taxes. But you know what? I'd pay more to help get everyone decent healthcare. Whether that system is administered by the government or by a private company or some combination I'm flexible, what ever costs the least and works the best. But my faith and conscience would not let me take the "you can't afford it too bad go die" attitude. You say its God's plan well you don't have to thumb through the bible too far to see how God thinks we should treat our fellow man. If Jesus Christ we're walking the earth today what plan do you think He'd support?

I respect your opinion and support and defend your right to have that opinion but when it all boils down we disagree. Our problem as a country is we seem to have lost any ability to look at each others opinions and come to a compromise between them and move forward. The media and our leaders have slowly groomed the American people to dig in their heels and refuse to work with the opposition on any basis. So nothing gets done. We had 8 years of it with the last administration and it looks like we are headed for at least 4 years with the current one. What a waste.
 
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