Bolas

What time does pioneer night start tomorrow? Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Then Bobby gets Reyes Syndrome from the ASA and has to go to the ER... Now a VERY SICK lil Bobby.... maybe even a dying Bobby And the parents then go to the lawyers. How is the above clinic different from any other HMO PCP or family practice? You're on the inside, how do you propose getting the non emergency cases out of the ER? A change in mentality of THE PEOPLE. You can go to acute care clinics without insurance. Here in Kansas City, we have multiple services Swope Childrens Mercy and others that I don't want to google. Both of those have payment option plans. As a parent, one should acknowledge that having children comes with costs. Just cuz you got knocked up doesn't mean that society should step up just because. NOW... there are some situations that public assistance IS important.... but if you have the ability to take Bobby to Childrens Mercy for a clinic appointment (even if it might cost you $25 or $50), why would you think "I'm just gonna take him to the ER"? But... MANY do. The culture change is very unlikely to happen.... But that is the preferred solution. Hence why since there are other free and low cost options, the super expensive one should be eliminated. It's modern society, if your processes are based on educated people doing the "right" fair honest thing, you're already hosed. People are going to do what's easy and/or free. Knowing this, make the choice you want them to use the most enticing and/or degrade or eliminate the other ones. It's kinda the business equivalent of creating a super complicated process that requires lots of training and maybe even time using to figure it out. Training cuts and turnover are gonna kill ya every time... Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Very intersting about EMTALA. Hopefully things such as this will be taken into account when designing this new solution. An approach of "This is what we intend to do and change the existing laws accordingly will be much more successful that trying to shoe horn something in under the old illogical constraints. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Then Bobby gets Reyes Syndrome from the ASA and has to go to the ER... Now a VERY SICK lil Bobby.... maybe even a dying Bobby And the parents then go to the lawyers. How is the above clinic different from any other HMO PCP or family practice? You're on the inside, how do you propose getting the non emergency cases out of the ER? Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Conduct unbecoming a skydiver... Hell, I'd have that framed. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

And pumping billions or trillions to prop them up is? Sure we'd lose some hospitals and maybe some doctors, but the majority would figure out how to survive and thrive versus being on life support now. Sometimes the best way to move forward is to start again anew...

I pay my way and support myself. However that seems to be rapidly becoming the exception not the norm... Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Agreed - abuse of ER (and EMT) services for routine medical issues is a HUGE drain on the system. This is what probably bothers me the most. There is a huge economic disensentive (high personal cost, even if insured) to go the emergency room for non emergency treatment. Those that do have to pay, don't go unless it is an emergency. Such disensentive does not work when the people are getting the treatment "for free." So how do you discourage those people from going to the ER for non emergency care? Do you just ban them outright? What alternative do you offer them? Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Sadly I used to believe that. These days I think the right thing to do would be also not pay and let the system collapse under its own incompotence and mismanagement. All we're doing now is just delay tactics and the costs to those doing the "right thing" as more people don't pay just keep going up and up. I agree emergency rooms have to treat emergencies. What they don't have to do is treat Bobby's sniffles. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

When is Michelle ever fully functioning?? After the 2nd drink... Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Then why should we pay either? Not just for him, but for our own selves? Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

And people wonder WHY this stuff is so expensive. Cuz ya gotta pay for all the deadbeats. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Ding ding ding. ... which should lead to some advice better than "Sick? Bleed 'em with leeches!", which is basically what the OP has gotten here so far. Hey now, who's the barber here? http://www.hulu.com/watch/3529/saturday-night-live-theodoric-of-york Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

And everyone will drive Priuses.... Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

This is where payment plans come in. Not everyone skips out in their bills. A neighbor of mine when her granddaughter was born there was complications and she was in the NICU for an extended time. No insurance. They worked out a plan with the hospital that the final payment would be made when she was 18. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Once again a bad example. If a friend hurt themselves, you call 911, get them the ambulance or helicopter ride they need and to the hospital for treatment. Many a skydiver without insurance has been hurt and his friends, family, and charities pitch in to help. Then again, they are generally much younger and probably have many productive years left. In the case of the hypothetical old person, they'd have supplemental insurance, charities, family, or friends. If they've got none of those, sounds like they aren't going to be missed by anyone... The other thing that needs to be looked at is quality of life. Personally, if I was in a really bad accident and permanently mentally and/or permanently severely physically injured, just let me go peacefully. These are difficult calls to make but basic care criteria and goals need to established before any nationalized basic plan can even become a reality. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

He's only half black, it doesn't count... Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

And you think there wasn't a similar group deploying similar tactics for the latino churches, etc.? Groups get targetted all the time for marketting efforts. It's what marketers do. If you take away the morality issues, it's genius marketing. Snow job one preacher (or buy him off) and you get a whole congregation. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Have you looked at how many Medicare/Medicaid supplemental plans are out there already to cover "the gaps?" The majority of the money those companies make is in billing back the government. If anything, they prefer bein the middlepeople as they stand to make alot more $$$. Federalized health insurance for all would be the same way. Let's take our hypothetical old person. She goes to her insurance company and gets the procedure done, paying her deductible and whatever %age for the $50K procedure (Out of pocket costs for her: $1000. The insurance company discovers that she is part Albanian and then discover that in the National Health Insurance bill, a rider was added to exempt Albanians from the age limit in honor of (blah blah) They then collect the $50K from the gov't for the procedure. That procedure only actually costs them $15K. They just made $36K on one procedure without even touching what this woman pays per month. Health insurance companies are going to make huge $$$ if things are federalized. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Maybe. My guess is some of the pricier supplementals will just get the patient treated and cared for and then fight the gov't for the $$$, leaving the patient out of it. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Not to be cold, but that's how it has to be. We can't try and save everyone, it's just not possible. This is where the private options can and will come in to play if they can afford it. Taking the human factor out, it doesn't make fiscal sense to give a hip replacement to an 85 year old person with government funding. If they can get their family, a charity, private insurance, etc. to pay, great. Sadly there has to be acceptable losses or it has 0 chance to succeed. You think the whole "no child left behind" debacle is bad? It'd be nothing compared to a "We must save everyone, regardless of cost" government health care plan. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

So you're in favor of racism as long as it benefits you?

So you're in favor of racism as long as it benefits you?

Who was forced? Sales people can't "make" someone buy something. if the numbers are as this article suggests then there has been a pretty systematic defrauding of the black community (in other words affirmative action for the white population) I've noticed that all you're cries of racism are for poor black people, generally from the inner city. There are other ethnic groups too in similar situations, including caucasians, latinos, asians... They also bought into these ARMs. Do you not care about them? Or is it because including them shows that it wasn't racially motivated. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

Who was forced? Sales people can't "make" someone buy something. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.