Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Nov 14, 2016, 3:07 AM UTC

ihodes wrote: post #38

no_protocol wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to have some firsthand knowledge of the situation, maybe you can help me with the question I posed earlier. This medical center in Texas seems to be providing a great level of service. I am wondering why patients need to attend directly to get this level of care. I thought that medical findings were published in journals and shared among professionals in the field. If M.D. Anderson has a dozen (or a hundred)…

Your questions are very good, and I answer them below briefly in the interest of expediency, not to be rude. 1. Some knowledge is shared in journals; most knowledge isn't published until years after it's established. Much is never published, and is learned through word of math, and institutionally encoded. MD Anderson is world-renowned for being a center for excellence in cancer care. 2. Doctors don't read every arti…

Post by mmel » Mon, Nov 14, 2016, 3:56 AM UTC

Post by voxic11 » Mon, Nov 14, 2016, 4:04 AM UTC

orangecat wrote: post #35

nradov wrote: post #22

These debates about insurance and payment models are important, but still ignore the biggest issue. US healthcare expenses increasingly go to treating conditions caused by poor lifestyle choices: obesity, substance abuse, and sedentary lifestyles. Certainly there are ways to cut waste and shift costs around more equitably but unless we can improve those root cause factors we're only going to be kicking the can down t…

The root cause is aging. You can exercise religiously and never touch sugar, and at best that will result in racking up huge medical bills in your eighties rather than your sixties.

Post by MichaelBurge » Mon, Nov 14, 2016, 4:20 AM UTC

ubernostrum wrote: post #28

wernercd wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The democrats couldn't do it when they had WH and Congress... they had to go with Plan B - "Obamacare". Personally, I believe that Plan B was written to fail. Government creates problems. How do you solve the problem? More government. Obamacare, imho, was created as the groundwork for single payer. I just don't think they expected it to fail so hard and so fast. I have no faith in single payer... for example, look at…

Single payer works well in many places other than the US. People on private insurance plans in the US die or suffer while waiting for care their plans allegedly offer, while executives of those private insurance companies get "lavish bonuses".

Post by maxerickson » Mon, Nov 14, 2016, 4:32 AM UTC

ojbyrne wrote: post #46

bryan11 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Current insurance plans don't help much with preventative care. While a yearly 'physical' involving an 8 minute talk with a doctor is covered, insurance only pays 10% of lab work and a basic blood panel would cost me $900. Checking things like vitamin D levels aren't covered at all.

Please clarify "Current insurance plans" - Current ACA insurance plans? Because I just checked my recent physical including blood panels and, yes, Vitamin D levels, and all I paid was a $15 copay.