271–280 of 442 posts
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I've never understood the meaning of the "retail" rates. How many people are there who can afford to pay these rates and also don't have health insurance?
I had a bad asthma attack while uninsured and got hit with a bill that took me 7 years to pay off.
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The takeaway - you're actually paying for what should be your healthcare in your taxes as an American, but you're not actually getting the healthcare, because that would be socialism.
> that would be socialism. That is a massively incorrect statement, which pops up every time government-mandated healthcare debates appear, which I wish to squash ASAP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism Universal healthcare != socialism. Not even remotely . It's a political mud-slinging attempt to equate healthcare changes with the historical fear of the USSR that seems to have infected far more people than it s…
Of course I don't think it's socialism - but everybody around me in Indiana damn well thinks so. Not that they know what socialism is, mind you - but they know it's really Evil, and it's something liberal people on the East Coast force down our throats in order to pay for all the welfare queens in the cities.... ah, hell, there's that pounding in my temple again.
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"Recap of my wish list: mandatory guaranteed-issue private high-deductable health insurance" Guaranteed-issue meaning "you have to get it, but we [the insurer] can charge whatever the hell we want. So, you, small biz of 10 employees with one person who had cancer, you premium is now more money than the GDP of Haiti, per month. Thanks and come again!" That kind of practice can be fixed by either 1) price-fixing or 2)…
When one person in a typical mid-large group insurance plan (of the sort available to contractor "guilds" today) gets cancer, premiums for the group do not shoot up. It's hard for me to take you seriously. You sound like a DailyKos diarist. I disagreed with you that what we need is the Department of Health and Human Services to set prices for health care by fiat. So, first, you attempt to paint me as against all refo…
I didn't say they did. I said 10-person startup. And, regardless of the existence of an "exchange" or not, policies of that size will still be meted out case-by-case, and those little start-ups will get squeezed, especially if they have someone on board with a pre-existing condition.
There's no getting around that problem unless each state acts as a group insurance pool. You will ALWAYS run into the small business, part-timer, or self-employed worker problem. Full stop. No arguments.
"it turns out... you agree with me."
Let's get this out of the way from square one: I don't agree. At all. In principle or in general. I may agree in some finer details, but my ultimate pie-in-the-sky wish for America is for us to implement a mandatory system in which every man, woman, and child, regardless of age or infirmity can get covered for a nominal price, unless they are a religious or conscientious objector and chooses to opt-out, but must themselves still pay, like we do with defense.
"I disagreed with you that what we need is the Department of Health and Human Services to set prices for health care by fiat."
And, I disagreed that the free market cannot correct what is here _in practice_. Not some theoretical America where we didn't have a glacially large government or a sedentary populace with 50 Million uninsured that didn't eat Cheetos and Mountain Dew for dinner. I'm talking about the reality of the situation and how it will take more than EMR and telemedicine changes to close that 50 Million (and counting) gap, though I do agree that technology can play a non-trivial role in cutting administrative costs.
See, I have wiggle room and patience for negotiation.
"Please stop writing like this on HN."
You, I can see, don't.
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Do you have to have lived in MA for a while to be able to get this or do you just need to live there when you apply for medical insurance?
You can do it right away - and in fact, basically have to, since the other part of the puzzle is that you MUST be insured. Ultimately it's not really that clever - the state just acts as a giant group purchaser, and the fact that it's compulsory spreads the risk around so that it's not an adverse selection problem. It seems silly to shill for it, but all the details are (more or less) explained on the site: http://ww…
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> that would be socialism. That is a massively incorrect statement, which pops up every time government-mandated healthcare debates appear, which I wish to squash ASAP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism Universal healthcare != socialism. Not even remotely . It's a political mud-slinging attempt to equate healthcare changes with the historical fear of the USSR that seems to have infected far more people than it s…
You've heard of irony, I take it? Of course I don't think it's socialism - but everybody around me in Indiana damn well thinks so. Not that they know what socialism is , mind you - but they know it's really Evil, and it's something liberal people on the East Coast force down our throats in order to pay for all the welfare queens in the cities.... ah, hell, there's that pounding in my temple again.
Thanks for the catch, everyone-else, my bad!
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I moved to the US from the UK over a year ago and I can't find words to describe the feeling of not having the NHS to rely on. This whole new world of potential disaster has opened up. It's something you've never had to think about before that is now at the forefront of your consciousness. You can be young, fit and healthy, but get hit by a car and your life is over. Once you're bankrupted by medical fees, you'll nev…
Just out of curiosity, does your NHS insurance cover you while you're in the US?
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Doctors and hospitals bill you more if you're uninsured. TFA mentions this as one of the reasons to get a high-deductible plan in which you will be paying most of the cost out of pocket.
Not in Indiana, they don't. Right now my wife is teaching, so we have insurance - but last year we normally got a 10% discount for being uninsured. Lots less hassle for the office, so they're willing to kick back a little for you.
If you're happy about a 10% discount for being uninsured, the scam is working.
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That's not exactly encouraging.
You're not encouraged that there's price competition in health care, or you don't believe that there's price competition in health care?
In emergency situations, you really just go for 'closest competent solution' and don't spend time negotiating with more distant hospitals.
In non-emergency situations, you're still limited to a fairly small number of competent providers who are near your family/friends, and have the right skills.
And frankly, it's not like you can get a binding estimate anyway. The only thing you know the cost of, for sure, are the procedures they've already performed. But there's no certainty about whether the "cheap" place might recommend this or that and end up deeper in your pockets than the "expensive" place.
So not only is it nearly impossible to compare the costs, you're doing so while really only concerned about whether or not you'll die.
I hope you're lucky enough to remain an ignorant fool who believes that there is meaningful competition in the sector. But if you aren't, you'll quickly realize that you believe some retarded bullshit.
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Japan forces their doctors to charge only what's published in a book that the government issues and negotiates prices periodically. Simple price fixing in an otherwise private healthcare market. In return, Japanese doctors and hospitals (FYI, there are more private hospitals in Japan than the US) are allowed to set whatever prices for ancillary services (like private or semi-private rooms) that they want. BTW, the av…
Yeah, In fact, forcing US hospitals and doctors to publish a price of any kind would be a simple improvement. It is amazing with all the other twiddling that this approach never appears - at least not much.
I'm 35, single, and paying something like $120 per month for Blue Cross coverage that I found on ehealthinsurance. I've used them each time I've not been actively employed, and I've always found an acceptable deal. Mind you, I took the high deductible route since I'm only concerned with catastrophic illness at right now. Also, the moment anything serious comes up, they can cleverly drop me, since they have ludicrous…
Have you actually tried getting a big claim paid by them. My GF is currently embroiled in a dispute with United Healthcare over a temporary insurance plan she bought to cover the gap between graduating college and when her full time position started covering her (wouldn't it have been great if the new healthcare law was in effect at the time and she could have stayed on her parents insurance). Anyway, she had a hospi…