61–70 of 349 posts
Sure this is mostly PR not just for doctor but also for the collection agency. But the outcome was positive. Everyone wins.
What about the people who cannot pay their medical bills? Or who cannot get medical care due to the cost? They're winning too?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s intentional. They save billions using this practice because some people don’t have the time, knowledge or resources to dispute.
Are there services that will handle this nonsense for you?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The majority of single payer systems don't outlaw private care. There are private hospitals in the UK for example. Single payer is about removing insurance companies from the process (saving money), standardising care (saving money, improving outcomes), collective bargaining for drugs (saving money), providing a base level of care to all (saving money and improving QOL). But it doesn't usually forbid spending money o…
Indeed, and I retract my final sentence.
Aside from ideological concerns about not giving the wealthy an unfair advantage, this has pragmatic benefit in ensuring that the public healthcare system is up to standard.
That is, if the wealthy and powerful are forced to use it too, it means they have skin in the game and won't just use their power to run it into the ground in pursuit of profit or from lack of concern for others.
Sorry, if this is another angle, but I would have been more happy if instead of mentioning US doctor (or in addition to mentioning it), they would have mentioned his traits viz. "muslim" and "pakistani-origin". (I am happy none the less) Muslims are currently vilified, and Pakistani isn't in the best books right now. So, a little nod to someone who did good being muslim and pakistani-origin goes a long way to neutral…
OBL was found in Abbottabad /minor_nitpick
A good question would be what can be done to fix healthcare in the US ? My understanding is that most voters don't support universal healthcare. IIRC even Obamacare was labeled as controversial. Current model costs way more, the model is clearly broken, why there is no pressure to fix it? ps. I don't want to get political or anything by mentioning Obamacare. I'm genuinely curious because the problems of the current h…
Obama lied about it: https://www.factcheck.org/2017/01/obamas-whoppers/
Also, some like to point at European countries (e.g. France) as proof that universal healthcare works, ignoring that a) some of those countries are very different from the US, and b) even the "successful" ones aren't proven viable for the future, i.e. rising costs.
If you want to improve things, how? The money has to come from somewhere, and so far may of the plans punish those that already have health plans. Some administration needs the balls to truly reform healthcare laws - but that's one hell of a fight, especially while concurrently fighting all the other issues/culture wars at the moment.
Sorry, if this is another angle, but I would have been more happy if instead of mentioning US doctor (or in addition to mentioning it), they would have mentioned his traits viz. "muslim" and "pakistani-origin". (I am happy none the less) Muslims are currently vilified, and Pakistani isn't in the best books right now. So, a little nod to someone who did good being muslim and pakistani-origin goes a long way to neutral…
This is a prime example of a feel good story that is papering over systemic problems. We're meant to read this and think this doctor is a good person (and they are, at least for this act) rather than, "how is it possible there was this much medical debt for cancer treatment to forgive?" Yes, debt forgiveness is great and something we can all do as mutual aid, but we also need to acknowledge that the deeply flawed ide…
This ^ It's a depressing story, anyone who thinks this is a positive story is ignoring the whole context.
Sorry, if this is another angle, but I would have been more happy if instead of mentioning US doctor (or in addition to mentioning it), they would have mentioned his traits viz. "muslim" and "pakistani-origin". (I am happy none the less) Muslims are currently vilified, and Pakistani isn't in the best books right now. So, a little nod to someone who did good being muslim and pakistani-origin goes a long way to neutral…
It seems US was in the title just to give context related to the health care system. I did notice the mutism name (in Arkansas) but it means nothing to me as I am already convinced every culture has good people being the majority. Emphasising that would give the impression that people from that background don't normally do good.
A good question would be what can be done to fix healthcare in the US ? My understanding is that most voters don't support universal healthcare. IIRC even Obamacare was labeled as controversial. Current model costs way more, the model is clearly broken, why there is no pressure to fix it? ps. I don't want to get political or anything by mentioning Obamacare. I'm genuinely curious because the problems of the current h…
> even Obamacare was labeled as controversial Obama lied about it: https://www.factcheck.org/2017/01/obamas-whoppers/ Also, some like to point at European countries (e.g. France) as proof that universal healthcare works, ignoring that a) some of those countries are very different from the US, and b) even the "successful" ones aren't proven viable for the future, i.e. rising costs. If you want to improve things, how?…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't correct in the UK under NHS. There's a set amount NHS is willing to pay for drugs and treatment, and beyond that, it's refused altogether. You'd have to go elsewhere and on your own dime for expensive treatments. Here's a link from the BBC I quickly found but it's widely documented: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-28983924
The QALY metric they mention is exactly what I had in mind, actually, very cool. Wealth won't get you better care, or faster care, or different in the NHS. That's the point I was making, and your article supports that position. > "You'd have to go elsewhere and on your own dime for expensive treatments." [In a single payer system there's nowhere else to go.] (retracted)
We have private health care in the UK in addition to the national health service (eg https://www.bupa.co.uk/). It's insurance-based, and it pays for treatment in hospitals both inside and outside of the NHS. It's even offered as a perk by some employers. Specifically relevant to this HN story, there's access to cancer treatments before they're approved by the NHS and NICE (https://www.bupa.co.uk/health/health-insurance/bupa-cancer-p...).
I realise that some people are politically averse to single payer healthcare, but please read up a bit about how the UK's healthcare system works before posting about it. You're only spreading misinformation if you don't.
For clarity - the UK's NHS is a single payer taxation funded, free-at-the-point-of-use healthcare system, but we also have companies that offer parallel private health insurance funded healthcare for anyone who chooses to pay (and yes, that does mean they're paying for the government service and their own private service, but that's just how taxation works).