111–120 of 163 posts
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> But there are countries that have systems similar to ours Really? Which ones are they?
Switzerland has a private insurance model IIRC. Israel and the Netherlands, too, according to Wikipedia.
Totally unlike the US's private insurance in every way that matters.
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I haven’t heard of some of this and it raises a whole lot of questions. Can you tell us more? What is a “minor bone injury?” What sort of alternative healthcare do they use instead to treat it? Maybe give us an example of some people who do this?
Well, to make an example that doesn't stretch into ethnic traditions and stays within the contemporary and modern experience that you and I probably share: Consider two non-professional runners who develop a stress fracture. It's a fairly common injury for distance runners who push themselves too far. It presents as a certain kind of pain and that pain becomes aggravated under certain conditions. It's generally easy…
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When I was covered by an employer plan, a lot of people seemed to gravitate towards high deductible plans because they were cheaper so long as you didn't consume a lot of healthcare. (Personally, I never did but a lot of people were adamant that you saved money that way.)
You really need to look at how the employer funds it but often those are cheaper no matter what.
I live in north Texas, and the situation here is pretty much on par with the article. Urgent Care & Emergency Room combos are here on every corner. It’s a lucrative business, so it makes sense that private equity firms are gobbling it up. But I think the more interesting problem here is one level up. Why are there so many of them? I see two possible reasons: 1. Anytime one of my family members gets sick, it’s rather…
You also have Insta-clinic in chains like CVS. Not sure it's a bad thing. Came back from a trip with minor but persistent cough symptoms that were a LOT like the time I had COVID even though I tested negative. Got an appointment the next day at a clinic with a nurse practitioner who prescribed me an inhaler and said it was a "virus" after listening to my chest, etc. I think I maybe had a $40 bill. Told my primary car…
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Most people in the U.S. think regulations are bad in and of themselves. Regulations as a concept are the wrong target. Lack of government oversight and regulations almost always leads, eventually, to cartel pricing and/or monopolistic type pricing.
> Most people in the U.S. think regulations are bad in and of themselves. Regulations as a concept are the wrong target. Regulations as a concept are the category of thing which is causing the problem. You then have to look into which specific regulations are contributing to the problem, but there are 10,000 of them. You can name some of them, like Certificate of Need laws, but that's just a representative example ra…
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> But there are countries that have systems similar to ours Really? Which ones are they?
Switzerland has a private insurance model IIRC. Israel and the Netherlands, too, according to Wikipedia.
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3. Demand for immediate care is high. The next "one level up" might explore how much is because the community is quite morbid and unwell, because modern culture has displaced traditional home/self care with consumerized services, or because of other things. There are people I know who are largely healthy and who consult paid medical services many times per year for everyday disturbances, and others who take decades t…
> traditional home/self care Not sure what you mean by this? If I have a broken bone, I'm not going to set it myself at home and take a few aspirin. Same if I'm puking my guts out. If you just mean getting exercise and eating healthy then I fully agree with you. But, when you're actually sick, and need to see a professional, that is the right time for "consumerized services".
I live in north Texas, and the situation here is pretty much on par with the article. Urgent Care & Emergency Room combos are here on every corner. It’s a lucrative business, so it makes sense that private equity firms are gobbling it up. But I think the more interesting problem here is one level up. Why are there so many of them? I see two possible reasons: 1. Anytime one of my family members gets sick, it’s rather…
The FTC really should put a stop to labeling community ERs as Urgent Care when they aren't subject to the same billing regulations and are just an excuse for a predatory money grab.
But if you come in during UC hours and the procedures are outside of UC, you can still end up being billed as an ER customer. The difference is usually in thousands.
I live in north Texas, and the situation here is pretty much on par with the article. Urgent Care & Emergency Room combos are here on every corner. It’s a lucrative business, so it makes sense that private equity firms are gobbling it up. But I think the more interesting problem here is one level up. Why are there so many of them? I see two possible reasons: 1. Anytime one of my family members gets sick, it’s rather…
$300 is your part of a regular doctor visit? Or the total bill? Do you have one of those high-deductible plans designed to discourage people from seeking any healthcare?
The $300+ bill usually gets adjusted to about 50% by the insurance (I’m in network), and then I pay my share, depending on the state of my deductible and out-of-pocket expenses. (So in my case, 90% before deductible is met, then 10%, until I reach my OOP max.)
UC bill is processed in a similar fashion, and my actual responsibility tends to be less than from my primary care doctor.
I live in north Texas, and the situation here is pretty much on par with the article. Urgent Care & Emergency Room combos are here on every corner. It’s a lucrative business, so it makes sense that private equity firms are gobbling it up. But I think the more interesting problem here is one level up. Why are there so many of them? I see two possible reasons: 1. Anytime one of my family members gets sick, it’s rather…
3. Demand for immediate care is high. The next "one level up" might explore how much is because the community is quite morbid and unwell, because modern culture has displaced traditional home/self care with consumerized services, or because of other things. There are people I know who are largely healthy and who consult paid medical services many times per year for everyday disturbances, and others who take decades t…
I cannot just schedule an appointment for 3 days ahead because “late” cancellation costs $$ too.