Had a local anesthesiologist on the radio a few weeks ago admitting that they have to pass on a lot of the costs to insurance payers or cash payers because Medicare/Medicaid is a JOKE and the docs don't even break even, so the service is basically free and doesn't even pay for overhead. Very few docs around here will even take MC/MC patients because of that and that's corroborated by trying to find my father-in-law a doctor who will accept it. Then when we do find a doctor, he's incompetent. The only reason this anesthesiologist's group does take MC/MC is they are the biggest in the area.
Wonder why the current Congress will not hear talk of tort reform or increasing the competition of buying insurance outside your state or dealing with the millions of dollars of Medicare fraud? Anytime government is involved in anything there is waste, fraud and abuse.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,426981,00.html
Then my GYN said he pays close to six figures for malpractice insurance.
Then there's illegals getting free health care we can't. Read the section about the Navy wife who can't get the free stuff the illegals get and that the hospital can sue citizens, but not illegals:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/parkland.asp
Then there's people who use the emergency rooms like an urgent care and the ER can't turn you away. Like I posted before, MOST of the ER visits I see in my job are stupid stuff, mostly psych patients who stop taking their meds or start taking drugs again and decompensate, drunks, dialysis patients who skip dialysis, diabetics who don't take their insulin, etc. How many psych patients, drug users and drunks are working and have insurance? Nope, they're on SSDI.
Make sure you check your bill with a fine tooth comb - you'll most likely find bogus stuff they never did that's obvious like supplying a male patient with estrogen (when he's not having a sex change operation)
Also, the healthy and/or "invincible" crowd in their 20s who don't pay for insurance are going to be forced to - that'll go over well with them. I'm in my mid 40s and never get sick, don't even get colds. My insurance is only for catastrophic and has a $4,000 deductible, but it's almost $300 a month.
Then my doc says I need to get my boobs squished. So I make the appointment and for a tech to squish my boobs, take a picture and have a rad look at the x-ray - over $300.
I guess for those of us who can't afford the types of insane bills the hospital gives we can always go to prison where there IS free health care and you don't have to work.
I thought that was hilarious that in the current House health care bill you go to jail and/or pay a hefty fine for not having insurance, but prisoners get their health care paid for by taxpayers.
"Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years."
http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153583
Here in Missoula we have these new CostCare clinics that are privately run and doing so well they've expanded. "How CostCare keeps fees low:
We focus on those “everyday” problems that often do not require expensive equipment or lab tests. For some procedures like X-rays we have contracted with low-cost, high-quality suppliers...To keep our costs to a minimum, we do not process insurance. However we’ll be happy to provide you with a submission-ready receipt that will allow you to be reimbursed by your insurance company...We treat common ailments — the kind of minor problems that can turn into a major inconvenience. That includes a truly wide variety of conditions, so consider the list below as a guide. Basic Visit $45"
Our list of treated ailments includes, but is not limited to: Allergies, Asthma, Bladder Infections, Bronchitis, Cat/Dog Bites (simple), Cellulitis, Colds,Cuts, Ear Complaints, Eye Complaints, Fractures, Impetigo, Insect Bites, Minor Burns, Poison Ivy, Rashes, Ringworm, Sinus Infections, Skin Infections, Sprains, Strep Throat, Swimmer’s Ear
Our list of procedures includes, but is not limited to: Diabetic Foot Care, Earwax Removal, Nebulizer Treatment, Stitches, Tick Removal, Wart Removal. Suture Removal $8"
http://www.costcare.com/
