American health care costs

[shropshire 0]

Just saw this ..... how true does it sound to you folks over the water?

Interesting?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Stumpy 284]

I also like the follow up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7LF5Vj2n64&feature=c4-overview&list=UUGaVdbSav8xWuFWTadK6loA

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[shropshire 0]

Stumpy

I also like the follow up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7LF5Vj2n64&feature=c4-overview&list=UUGaVdbSav8xWuFWTadK6loA

Nice. I like his style

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[NewGuy2005 53]

I watched the first 2 or 3 minutes and had to turn it off. That style of delivery is so irritating that I can't stand to watch it.

What I did see sounds about right.

[kallend 2,151]

I don't have the patience to watch videos like these. Is there a transcript somewhere?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[normiss 898]

It's just an almost cute yet annoying sequence of anecdotes and loosely assembled opinions on some problems with US healthcare compared to other countries.
It come across to me like a sales pitch.
Say it fast and it will sound good.
Some of it is accurate, some not.
His delivery is painful. I could. Barely. Tolerate. Style. His.
It hurts.

[airdvr 210]

This subject has been discussed ad nauseum. Tiring. I am certain our new way of doing hc will be so much better than how we do it now.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[normiss 898]

Certainly we will.
The IRS is perfect to handle it.
Debtor's prisons anyone?

[OHCHUTE 0]

In the last 6 months, my doc friend bought:
2 brand new jet skis @ $10K each
1 $75,000 camper
1 deep sea fishing trip for 5
1 $4700 gun
1 family trip to Austin
1 family skiing trip in MT
The wife who does not work took 2 solo trips on airlines.

Now, he complains that medicine is the pits, he's not making any money, working 3 extra hrs per day doing online reports, and will no longer take medicare patients because the Feds don't pay enough per patient.

Docs make too much.

[quade 4]

Essentially, unregulated greed.

Not "supply and demand" not even "what the market will bear" but "how much are you willing to pay to be alive."

And it's not any ONE part of the "healthcare" industry, but all of it including the parts that don't actually provide healthcare at all, just are associated with it.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[wmw999 2,589]

Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[GeorgiaDon 380]

Quote

Some of it is accurate, some not.

What struck you as "not accurate"? It all seemed pretty spot on to me.

About the presentation, different strokes for different folks I guess. Not my favorite "style", but more tolerable than those annoying computer-generated monotone economics-lecture YouTube videos.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[airdvr 210]

wmw999

Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

Agreed. My step-daughter just finished her fellowship in hand surgery and is now practicing in Mountain View CA. She has been in school for 14 years. Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon. But she worked really hard. I don't know if I would have been able to do it. She deserves to make some bank now.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[DanG 1]

Quote

Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon.

Does she have an opinion on the ACA?

- Dan G

[kallend 2,151]

airdvr

***Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

Agreed. My step-daughter just finished her fellowship in hand surgery and is now practicing in Mountain View CA. She has been in school for 14 years. Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon. But she worked really hard. I don't know if I would have been able to do it. She deserves to make some bank now.

So do newly tenured associate professors of (History/English/Anthropology/Archeology/Music...) who also spend 14 years in school and work really hard to get tenure. Should they make as much as MDs? Or is you sympathy reserved for family members?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[turtlespeed 226]

kallend

******Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

Agreed. My step-daughter just finished her fellowship in hand surgery and is now practicing in Mountain View CA. She has been in school for 14 years. Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon. But she worked really hard. I don't know if I would have been able to do it. She deserves to make some bank now.

So do newly tenured associate professors of (History/English/Anthropology/Archeology/Music...) who also spend 14 years in school and work really hard to get tenure. Should they make as much as MDs? Or is you sympathy reserved for family members?

You sound insecure.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[airdvr 210]

kallend

******Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

Agreed. My step-daughter just finished her fellowship in hand surgery and is now practicing in Mountain View CA. She has been in school for 14 years. Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon. But she worked really hard. I don't know if I would have been able to do it. She deserves to make some bank now.

So do newly tenured associate professors of (History/English/Anthropology/Archeology/Music...) who also spend 14 years in school and work really hard to get tenure. Should they make as much as MDs? Or is you sympathy reserved for family members?

I know you'd like to believe understanding Shakespeare is a life or death situation...

As for ACA...I haven't broached that subject with her.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[DrewEckhardt 0]

airdvr

***Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

Agreed. My step-daughter just finished her fellowship in hand surgery and is now practicing in Mountain View CA. She has been in school for 14 years. Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon. But she worked really hard. I don't know if I would have been able to do it. She deserves to make some bank now.

Why would Obamacare take her down a notch?

Medical spending is going to increase. PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) liked the millions of new customers coming their way from Obamacare so much that they spun up a pair of 501(c)(4) organizations which spent $150M to get the bill passed.

It's true that insurers must spend at least 80% of what they take in on actual health care (my insurer was off by 0.3% and had to issue refunds) although the law places no limits on how much they spend and spending more is the only way they can make more money from insurance. Along those lines I expect negotiated rates for procedures to increase.

[turtlespeed 226]

DrewEckhardt

Why would Obamacare take her down a notch?

I assume he is referring to the IRS deciding what fees you are allowed to charge.

Kinda like the government stepping in and allowing you to make a portion of your salary, as if they can say you make to much and tell you that you are only going to be making "X".

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[airdvr 210]

DrewEckhardt

******Are you resenting the rich? He went to med school, made the grades, built his practice. I thought that being rich was within anyone's grasp if they just invested a little effort.


Wendy P.

Agreed. My step-daughter just finished her fellowship in hand surgery and is now practicing in Mountain View CA. She has been in school for 14 years. Little does she realize Obamacare will be taking her down a couple of notches soon. But she worked really hard. I don't know if I would have been able to do it. She deserves to make some bank now.

Why would Obamacare take her down a notch?



Hmm...let's see. Health insurers as we know them BCBS, Kaiser etc... will be gone in less than a decade. ACA mandated coverages and the requirement to take all comers regardless of pre-existing conditions will drive them out of business. Have fun purchasing insurance from the markets when no one is offering anything. The next phase will be a single payer system much like Canada's. Do you think docs will make more or less?

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[DrewEckhardt 0]

airdvr

Hmm...let's see. Health insurers as we know them BCBS, Kaiser etc... will be gone in less than a decade. ACA mandated coverages and the requirement to take all comers regardless of pre-existing conditions will drive them out of business.

Except

1. There is _NO_ limit on the amount of money they can charge. As group plan purveyors have demonstrated high rates (My employer and I pay about $1000 a month to cover my wife and I) allow insurers to profitably cover people with pre-existing conditions as long as it's hard to opt out.

2. Americans earning up to $94,200 a year for a family of 4 (which is at the 75th percentile for household income) are eligible for government subsidies which cap their share of those charges and make them less likely to opt out.

3. The fine for not buying health insurance is about as big as their capped premium contribution for many Americans. For instance, as of 2016 the fine will be the greater of $2085 and 2.6% of income for a family of 4. The median household income in the US is $45K which is less than 200% of the federal poverty level for a family of 4 dictating a 6.3% spending cap on health insurance which is $2835. That makes the delta between paying the fine and getting insurance $750 and 1.6% of income. There's no reason the fine can't increase as needed so it's never preferable to prefer paying it over buying insurance.

While $100B/year tax funnels into for-profit industries are wrong, things like Medicare Part D show no sign of going away.

Universal insurance by private companies also isn't without precedent in the US - Massachusetts has had its ironically named "Romneycare" program since 2006.

[turtlespeed 226]

DrewEckhardt

***
Hmm...let's see. Health insurers as we know them BCBS, Kaiser etc... will be gone in less than a decade. ACA mandated coverages and the requirement to take all comers regardless of pre-existing conditions will drive them out of business.

Except

1. There is _NO_ limit on the amount of money they can charge. As group plan purveyors have demonstrated high rates (My employer and I pay about $1000 a month to cover my wife and I) allow insurers to profitably cover people with pre-existing conditions as long as it's hard to opt out.

2. Americans earning up to $94,200 a year for a family of 4 (which is at the 75th percentile for household income) are eligible for government subsidies which cap their share of those charges and make them less likely to opt out.

3. The fine for not buying health insurance is about as big as their capped premium contribution for many Americans. For instance, as of 2016 the fine will be the greater of $2085 and 2.6% of income for a family of 4. The median household income in the US is $45K which is less than 200% of the federal poverty level for a family of 4 dictating a 6.3% spending cap on health insurance which is $2835. That makes the delta between paying the fine and getting insurance $750 and 1.6% of income. There's no reason the fine can't increase as needed so it's never preferable to prefer paying it over buying insurance.

While $100B/year tax funnels into for-profit industries are wrong, things like Medicare Part D show no sign of going away.

Universal insurance by private companies also isn't without precedent in the US - Massachusetts has had its ironically named "Romneycare" program since 2006.

Man, I hope it works out . . . But Dude! The IRS? Seriously? Why?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[GeorgiaDon 380]

Quote

. . . But Dude! The IRS? Seriously? Why?

Well, if the alternative was to create a whole new government agency, maybe the IRS is the lesser evil?

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[turtlespeed 226]

GeorgiaDon

Quote

. . . But Dude! The IRS? Seriously? Why?

Well, if the alternative was to create a whole new government agency, maybe the IRS is the lesser evil?

Don

Fucking Hell, if those are our choices, we're definitely on the bad end of the fuck stick.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[airdvr 210]

Quote

1. There is _NO_ limit on the amount of money they can charge.

What are new federal requirements for insurers to set premiums?

Currently, federal law does not place any limits on the ways that insurers set their premium rates. However, beginning January 1, 2014, insurance companies must meet minimum premium rating rules for health plans for individuals and small businesses. Health plans will be allowed to adjust premiums based only on the following factors:

Individual vs. family enrollment (i.e., individual + spouse, individual + dependent(s), etc.)
Geographic area
Age (but cannot vary by more than three times among adults)
Tobacco use (the rate cannot vary by more than 1.5 to 1)
Other factors that insurers traditionally use to charge higher premiums, such as health status, use of health services and gender, will no longer be allowed under the ACA. The rating rules in the ACA set a floor, so states can retain or enact a tougher standard than federal law.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne