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The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

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Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#261

Post by vinay427 »

snovv_crash wrote: post #257
s3nnyy wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not like this in the US? In Switzerland there is a deductible for adults but everything connected to pregnancy and child-birth is deductible-free. Also, kids below 18 yrs old have mandatory insurance that is has no deductible, thus treatments for them are free.

In the US the deductible is different depending on the treatment required. Defeats the purpose of insurance in my opinion.

It's still a deductible and is comparable in coverage to a single deductible if you choose lower deductibles for each type.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#262

Post by manquer »

paulddraper wrote: post #255
manquer wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is surprising to me. In my country the cost of english degree is totally different than a chemical engineering degree. Even without the commercial angle , the cost of teaching English is not remotely the same as chemical engineering, you need lot more labs , more depts with different expertise , more courses to cover etc. why is it costed the same ? Unless both are heavily subsidized and cost is a just token amo…

And that is from India?

Yes..

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#263

Post by bryanrasmussen »

tptacek wrote: post #254
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article says that people in the U.S are not having children because of prohibitive costs, 15000 dollar bill from a hospital was mentioned somewhere. Various Europeans said they paid 0 in their country, somebody said that even in Europe you pay and the cost is approximately the same (the implication being that you pay a bill, not a tax) which is quite the lie and prompted me to join the people saying hey, we pay 0…

You can't call people names on this site and claim to be "appropriately civil". And his point isn't a gotcha argument. The Dutch system might be better, and it's probably cheaper overall given what a terrible deal health care is in the US, but it isn't free, and there's a significant economic tradeoff to it. I don't know why it takes you four paragraphs to try to wiggle out of that observation; it took the other comm…

I don't think I did any namecalling.

As far as that goes referring to Danish people as Dutch could also be considered less than civil.

Maybe it takes me a lot of words because I am an especially prolix person, sorry, I hadn't realized how damaging verbosity was to your feelings. I do realize however brevity is the soul of wit so let me cut it down:

Everybody knows that taxes pay for hospital costs in Europe. The context of the conversation was being charged money at the birth of a baby, which people in Europe are not. To say that I paid 0 at the birth of my children was not an untruth but the exact truth. That I have paid taxes in the past and will pay them in the future does not change that.

Given that I was accused of lying, I think I maintained the appropriate level of civility.

Given your hectoring tone here, your insults to my nationality, complaints about my wordcount, and accusations of wiggling I worry I've been too civil.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#264

Post by miscreanity »

dsr_ wrote: post #196
miscreanity wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulation inevitably squeezes it into government one way or another. The only long-term beneficiaries are the government itself which constantly requires more funding through any means possible, and those involved in regulatory capture - typically banks and large corporations. It is important to note that relaxation of regulation is important as well, since the direction of that easement usually favors banks and big…

It seems likely that your grandfather was quoting someone else, or perhaps he published the quip widely. The earliest reference I see in Google is from 1992, with an Arizona anti-Semitic pamphlet.

Probably, I always wondered but hadn't found anything from a cursory search - thanks.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#265

Post by snovv_crash »

s3nnyy wrote: post #258
snovv_crash wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US the deductible is different depending on the treatment required. Defeats the purpose of insurance in my opinion.

So if you have a disease/accident that costs $100k to treat, how much is the deductible? If it's like $5k, it's okay.

I've seen people paying 30% of hospital bills with "full coverage" insurance. The insurance doesn't actually insure you, they just give discounts for a monthly subscriber fee. It is really really stupid.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#266

Post by snovv_crash »

vinay427 wrote: post #261
snovv_crash wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US the deductible is different depending on the treatment required. Defeats the purpose of insurance in my opinion.

It's still a deductible and is comparable in coverage to a single deductible if you choose lower deductibles for each type.

Yes, but compared to Switzerland there is no annual cap. If you have 3 medical incidents in the same year you pay the deductible on each. This means the insurance doesn't actually protect you from financial ruin if enough bad stuff happens to you, thus defeating the point of the insurance all together.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#267

Post by s3nnyy »

snovv_crash wrote: post #265
s3nnyy wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if you have a disease/accident that costs $100k to treat, how much is the deductible? If it's like $5k, it's okay.

I've seen people paying 30% of hospital bills with "full coverage" insurance. The insurance doesn't actually insure you, they just give discounts for a monthly subscriber fee. It is really really stupid.

I heard, doctors make 2-3x than in Switzerland. Someone has to pay for that I guess.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#268

Post by shorttime »

afpx wrote: post #138
neuronic wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unless you came from wealth, or you’re definitely in the top 1% of your peers, maybe set your expectations a bit lower. Why should any of us set our expectations lower? Because you say so? Why is the best piece of the cake reserved to some 1% folks largely with inherited wealth? Why should 1 billion Chinese set their expectations lower? Because they happen to not be born in Silicon Valley and their father doesn't r…

I’m just providing an alternative perspective. It’s certainly not a mandate. If you know that you’re exceptional, then by all means go be exceptional. But, the vast majority of people aren’t exceptional. And, the truly exceptional are probably out there working their ass off right now, not reading HN. High expectations = high chances for disappointment. I was exceptional in high school. One day a teacher bluntly told…

I'm sort of with you with housing and education but where I'm in violent disagreement is health. Some are born with a terrible hand and there's little that they can do, on their own, to resolve those issues. It's unacceptable to lose everything for health treatments. People have options with school and housing. People can put forth effort to improve their situation. With health, you can't just get up and move somewhere else to be healthy.

Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth

#269

Post by iends »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #93
mikeash wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing is stopping them, other than people not shopping medical procedures based on price, partly due to a complete lack of price transparency. Maybe you could move in and set up a maternity ward and advertise it as “only $10,000!” And then people will ask what the competition charges and you won’t be able to answer. They won’t be able to answer.

I would hope it’s common knowledge nowadays, at least amongst the educated, that you should call your insurance or check their website for in network providers. I can call mine and find out how much certain procedures or codes cost, and if it’s not an exact amount, they can usually give a pretty good estimate. Also, I would expect any service to cost 50% more in the Bay Area.

You'll have to go back to the doctor and ask for a list of the exact ICD-10 codes that they are going to use and bill the insurance company for.
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